I hope this explains everything...
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Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Second Life
I am not a fan of Second Life. In theory, it’s interesting, but I found it very frustrating. I started out as a cute little dragon, but accidentally transformed myself into a hideous woman. After not being able to fix her, I made a new avatar and started over again. I thought the tutorials were useful (I don’t know what I would have done without orientation island), but it was very time consuming. I also experienced some technical glitches while in Second Life. I got stuck in “appearance” mode and couldn’t get out without logging out of the program. Then when I logged back in, Second Life couldn’t locate my last location so it plopped me into a new location. I teleported my way to
Johnson and Libraries/Education
“If everything ‘bad’ is indeed good for you, what does this mean for the world of Libraries and/or Educational organizations?” We should burn all of the books and just play video games and watch movies and TV all day every day!!!
JUST KIDDING!
What I really think this all means is that we (librarians and teachers) need to stop thinking of video games, TV and movies as “bad” things. They have their benefits, just like reading books. And since younger generations LOVE video games, TV, and movies, we should try to use them to our advantage. The way Johnson described them, many video games, television shows, and movies require attention, focus, and some degree of learning. If we can capitalize on this love of learning in children, we have a new way to challenge kids in a way they’d like to be challenged. We should encourage children to play the thought-provoking, decision-making, long-term planning video games. We should encourage video game makers to continue to challenge children in more and more advanced ways. We should also support child-oriented television shows and movies that challenge children’s intellectual capacities. In the library we can show support through sales; primarily purchasing intellectually stimulating materials for the children’s department. We can also have library events that promote these intellectually stimulating games, movies, and shows. We can allow the children to watch/play as we explain to parents the different ways their children are learning. Of course nothing can replace the many benefits of being an avid reader, so we will continue to constantly promote reading, but I don’t think it hurts to stimulate and engage children in a variety of ways.
JUST KIDDING!
What I really think this all means is that we (librarians and teachers) need to stop thinking of video games, TV and movies as “bad” things. They have their benefits, just like reading books. And since younger generations LOVE video games, TV, and movies, we should try to use them to our advantage. The way Johnson described them, many video games, television shows, and movies require attention, focus, and some degree of learning. If we can capitalize on this love of learning in children, we have a new way to challenge kids in a way they’d like to be challenged. We should encourage children to play the thought-provoking, decision-making, long-term planning video games. We should encourage video game makers to continue to challenge children in more and more advanced ways. We should also support child-oriented television shows and movies that challenge children’s intellectual capacities. In the library we can show support through sales; primarily purchasing intellectually stimulating materials for the children’s department. We can also have library events that promote these intellectually stimulating games, movies, and shows. We can allow the children to watch/play as we explain to parents the different ways their children are learning. Of course nothing can replace the many benefits of being an avid reader, so we will continue to constantly promote reading, but I don’t think it hurts to stimulate and engage children in a variety of ways.
If I were Steve…
I really learned a lot of practical, useful skills in the class. I honestly wouldn’t subtract anything (although I didn’t love the Sirsi/Dynix Institute videos, but only because they felt soooooo looooong). I hate to say this, because I could barely keep up with this class as it was, but I wish we learned vodcasting and screencasting this summer. I understand why we couldn’t fit it into the curriculum, but perhaps if the class was offered in an 8 week summer session we might have had time for it. Maybe Steve could give us 6 week students a chance to learn it on our own by upload the videos for us on iTunes so we can explore how to do vodcasting and screencasting after the class is over (please). I really don’t know enough about all of this stuff to know what could be added to the class or changed within it. Based on what I knew and now know, I feel like we’ve been run through the social software gamut. Thanks Steve, I’m glad to have had these experiences, and I really will use my new knowledge as a techno-friendly librarian!
Johnson- "sophisticatedly deliver stupidity"
Based on the reading I must admit that pop culture doesn’t seem to be doing what George Will describes. Johnson makes a good argument in favor of pop culture’s increasing demands on people’s intellectual abilities.
He argues that video games are anything but mindless; they’re difficult, complex puzzles that rely heavily on a delayed gratification reward system, decision making, strategies, and collateral learning. They force players to explore their worlds and decipher the rules of the environments for themselves. Players must manage multiple layers of tasks, mastering smaller goals that need to be completed before tackling the one larger goal or objective. These types of activities require attentive focus as well as long term planning abilities. Johnson also notes that “the games that people reliably line up to buy are the ones that require the most thinking” (p. 136).
Johnson also argues that television has grown to be more demanding on people today. With subtlety and discretion, TV shows challenge their audience to follow more complex and numerous plot lines. There are often a number of layers to TV shows, where regular viewers can appreciate references that new viewers may not even notice. Many reality shows also request audience participation, which is a fairly new concept in television. Reality shows are also often about strategy. In addition they evoke real emotional intensity from their contestants as well as their viewers. Just like today’s television, movies portray many plot layers and layers within the dialogue. Movies and television seem to be training people to follow multiple threads at once.
The Internet, which pop culture relies upon heavily, is also extremely interactive. Many people spend their time blogging (writing), surfing the net (exploring), and learning how to use many new technological devices, software, and systems.
Before I read Johnson’s book, I may have agreed with George Will, but I must admit, Johnson makes a good argument. He’s caused me to have second thoughts about the benefits of pop culture. As he said in his introduction, “the sky is not falling” (p. xiv)
He argues that video games are anything but mindless; they’re difficult, complex puzzles that rely heavily on a delayed gratification reward system, decision making, strategies, and collateral learning. They force players to explore their worlds and decipher the rules of the environments for themselves. Players must manage multiple layers of tasks, mastering smaller goals that need to be completed before tackling the one larger goal or objective. These types of activities require attentive focus as well as long term planning abilities. Johnson also notes that “the games that people reliably line up to buy are the ones that require the most thinking” (p. 136).
Johnson also argues that television has grown to be more demanding on people today. With subtlety and discretion, TV shows challenge their audience to follow more complex and numerous plot lines. There are often a number of layers to TV shows, where regular viewers can appreciate references that new viewers may not even notice. Many reality shows also request audience participation, which is a fairly new concept in television. Reality shows are also often about strategy. In addition they evoke real emotional intensity from their contestants as well as their viewers. Just like today’s television, movies portray many plot layers and layers within the dialogue. Movies and television seem to be training people to follow multiple threads at once.
The Internet, which pop culture relies upon heavily, is also extremely interactive. Many people spend their time blogging (writing), surfing the net (exploring), and learning how to use many new technological devices, software, and systems.
Before I read Johnson’s book, I may have agreed with George Will, but I must admit, Johnson makes a good argument. He’s caused me to have second thoughts about the benefits of pop culture. As he said in his introduction, “the sky is not falling” (p. xiv)
Purchasing a Console for the Library
To begin, I entered the search terms “video game console” in Wikipedia.com and learned about the various popular consoles available. Since I’m researching for the library, I want a popular system because I want our system purchase to draw children and teens into the library. I also want a popular system so there will be a large variety of games to choose from. The three major consoles on the market now are the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. To further research these three consoles, I went to the manufacturers webpsites where they display system capabilities and a variety of the games available. I noted that all three systems allow for parental control options which would also be handy in a library setting. On Amazon.com, the Xbox 360 cost $349, the Wii cost $319 (though bundles were much more costly), and the PlayStation 3 cost $399. I didn’t feel the price difference was significant enough to choose one console over any other. I then checked the price difference between replacement controllers. Most of the controllers with cords for all three consoles were $20-$30 each. The games for the Wii typically ranged between $20 and $50. The games for the Play Station 3 typically ranged between $20 and $60. The games for the Xbox 360 typically ranged between $30 and $70. Before purchasing a system I’d conduct a poll at the library to see which console the patrons would prefer (I'd collect as much data as possible from the children's and teen section of the library, though parental input would be welcome as well). If the poll did not lean heavily to a certain console, I’d choose the Wii, not specifically because of the price, though the games were slightly cheaper. The reason I’d choose the Wii is because we could purchase active games at the library (such as Wii fit) where children and teens can exercise while they play.
Playing a Game
I played Reversi (Othello) on Yahoo games. To begin, I imed a friend and asked if he would like to play an online game with me. He suggested Reversi on Yahoo. I logged into the lounge Zebra Cove and met him. He has been playing online games for years, so he suggested we meet in Zebra Cove. This was my first experience playing an interactive online game at Yahoo (or anywhere else). I suppose we could have just played the game but we did a lot of chatting while we played. At first we just did silly trash talking, but after a while someone else entered our game to watch. I thought this was odd because it was only a two player game so I asked my friend about our audience member, what he had the ability to do, and why he was there. After a bit of time, our viewer left. It turns out that I stink at Reversi so we ended up discussing strategy while we played. We played four times and stopped after I finally won a match (I think he let me win). It was a fun experience, but I don't think I'll be doing it too much. It's a good alternative if you're alone, but I'd rather play games in person (and I don't like being watched by strangers). Plus, I'm sure it can get very addicting.
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