WRAP UP

So, after a semester of learning about information in a networked world, its time for one final blog post. At first when my group chose to focus on video games and gamification, I was terrified because I am the furthest thing from a gamer.

Even though my group was all focused on the same topic, we all managed to take a different approach to it. Xiaoran looked into the benefits of gaming, Cheng Zhao focused on the economic value of video games, while I looked at the educational benefits of gamification.

Admittedly, my posts were mostly influenced by TedTalks. Considering my lack of knowledge in this area, they were the easiest sources for me to fully understand.

Overall, the benefits of gaming and gamification are overwhelming. From my research, gamification tactics have been especially useful in grade school settings. With the advancements in technology, children are learning in many different ways, and it is important to consider how to adapt to this. Paul Andersen has done a great job of this, as was highlighted in his TedTalk video. He also noted how there was still room for improvement.

Obviously this is a field where there are so many opportunities for advancement and improvement, and I would not be surprised if an education reform is on the horizen.

Your brain on Video games

This is a TED presentation, the presenter is Dr. Daphne Bavelier and she is a brain scientist. She is talking about that video games cannot damage your brain. And screen time cannot make your eye sight worse. In her lab, the statistical data shows that video games cannot make your eyes worse. Another example is that games lead to attention problems and greater destructibility. In fact, she did some experiment in her lab, and the result is showing video games cannot make the attention problems and greater destructibility. On the other hand, video games can make your brain more efficient, in other words, the right video games can make you more smarter, better, faster and stronger.

http://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_bavelier_your_brain_on_video_games.html

What Gaming Means to the Canadian Economy

Canada has the third largest video game industry in the world. Although there is conflicting data about how large the gaming industry really is, we know that gaming is a large part of Canada’s economy and is expected to grow. This article talked about four different sections about video games industry of Canada that included Careers, Global, Growth and Trends. 

What Gaming Means to the Canadian Economy

Video game industry 'should be government priority

This news talked about the future of Scotland's games industry and the UK government priority. MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee also said it was a "golden age" of opportunity for the sector but said it faced an uneven global playing field. Many of our competitors, like Canada, France and the US, offer tax breaks for games production, often at substantial levels, so the effect of that is that it is driving investment away from Scotland and away from the UK to these other jurisdictions. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12373513

Facebook games good for the economy

Today, there are many small interesting games what can be played on Facebook. However, those tiny games will make a great contribution to our economy. In this video, Li Anne will tell us how playing Facebook games is boosting world economy!

Being modern parent

This article is telling people that games can definitely be good for the family. In fact, this article explains why a video game can make parent be better. A good video game can teach kids to learn socialization and leadership and foster dynamic problem-solving and decision making. As Steinberg said, “Video games promote exercise and physical activity, encourage socialization and leadership, and foster dynamic problem-solving and decision-making skills – all areas of tremendous benefit to kids and adults alike,”

http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/10/why-video-games-are-good-for-you-the-cheat-sheet/

Flipping the Classroom

This video builds upon the TedTalk by Paul Andersen about flipping the classroom and being able to meet the learning need of students.

This teacher started this "flipping" process by recording lectures for kids who missed class, and that has grown so much so that he, as a teacher, is able to better teach his students during class time while students learn at home at their own pace.

So far, this teacher has seen decreased failure rates, and kids are learning how to better access information and process that information in meaningful ways, possibly even improving students' problem solving skills.

Even though there isn't any specific mention of technology in this video, the idea of flipping the classroom utilizes the power of the network, allowing teachers and students to better ineract iwth each other, and students are even better equipped to learn from each other.

http://www.upworthy.com/i-have-seen-the-future-of-education-it-looks-a-lot-like-this?c=ufb1