Are video games better teachers than books?
Three University of Wisconsin-Madison professors are saying that they believe video games may be better at teaching than textbooks.
I can’t say I argue with them at all. Certainly those of us that grew up along with video game technology recognize that video games are far more detailed and useful than the Pong stereotype and have dramatically more depth than is portrayed in the ‘violent’ stereotype. As Tim O’Reilly has noted, video games are already taking over jobs previously filled by books. The level of immediate physicial, auditory and visual interactivity can’t be rivaled by any other medium. Particularly with those games involving 3D environments, gamers have to develop temporal and spacial strategies to solve 4 dimensional puzzles in a way often more complex than possible in regular physical activity.
In addition, the image of the teenage male gamer is apparently gaining more and more of a myth status as time goes on. According to a recent survey conducted by the Entertainment Software Association and widely reported, the average age of gamers is 29 and 39% are female. This trend apparently shows no sign of ending. More than half expected they would be playing as much or more 10 years from now.
This isn’t to say that video games can take over all of the jobs of books. Far from it. However, they represent a new medium for educators of all kinds.
Times are changing. How are libraries going to fit into this future?