games and books (Score 1)

I was part of the Wisconsin presentation, No one in their right mind--including myself and my colleagues who gave this presentation--would argue that games are "better" than books (or that books are "better" than games). That is some media "take" on the event we were part of. Games and books are good when used in certain ways and bad when used in other ways. No technology is just "good" or "bad". Technologies are good and bad depending on how they are used and the contexts into which they are placed. My argument is that school textbooks are bad when they are read out of any context of application, use, activity, or real understanding of how the words in the textbook apply to the world. School is full of people who can pass physics tests but can't do any physics. Games can add simulated world experience to what texts say, making texts more useful. And, of course, as I have argued in many places, games--like Pokemon-are replete with higher-order language and reading. Many of the posts on this site are responding to some media hype, not anything any of us would claim. Good video games are an amazing addition to our world--they don't have to be "better" than books to be wonderful and good. James Paul Gee University of Wisconsin-Madison