Learning through doing

Michael Madison has been pondering the value of reading and playing as learning methods.

" My take is that the “rules” that we learn via reading are broadly applicable, well beyond the world of literature, and well beyond the world of creating art on our own...

Does playing work at those same broader levels, or does the feedback from playing teach players (merely) the rules of the games themselves? That’s a genuine question, though what little gaming I’ve done over the last 30 years hasn’t taught me too much that I can use outside the world of games. I do, however, have pretty good hand/eye coordination. My students tend to be gamers, not readers, and they tend to have a very difficult time seeing or constructing narratives in the law."

Playing shouldn't be set against reading any more than privacy should be set against security and Michael himself says that "The dichotomy between “reading” and “playing” is a false one." Both have their merits. His thoughts have been triggered by a satirical extract from Steven Johnson's book "Everything is Bad for You", where he wonders what would have been the reaction to books if computer games had pre-dated them.

Update: It seems that Jenny Levine aka the Shifted Librarian has also been thinking about games.

"I’m late to the whole gaming and how it affects libraries thing, but I’m a total convert now and it’s something I’m going to actively track from now on. At first I thought it was just interesting, and while I did like the idea of bringing tweens and teens into the library using gaming as a social carrot, I’m gaining a totally different perspective for the way we can use the characteristics, expectations, and interplay of gaming and gamers in a “tipping point” kind of way.

The latest catalyst for this round of “gaming on my brain” is Moira Gunn’s interview with John Beck for IT Conversations. I’ve listened to the podcast of it twice in the last three days, and a couple of his points really resonate with me."