Kevin Bridges

A generational gap exists between those that grew up with modern technology and those that did not. This gap becomes visible when evaluating the electronic world of modern gaming and education. On one side is the idea that these games breed violence, reduce self esteem, and prevent the development of necessary skills for life. On the other side is a new technology that has the potential to enhance and accelerate educational and social skills in a totally new way. Modern technology is a fascinating step in human evolution that should be understood and embraced as an educational tool instead of feared and stifled.

The basis of this new way is that the world is a place of creation instead of consumption. To illustrate this point, imagine being exposed to the board game Monopoly for the first time. Somebody had to read the instructions to understand the rules. Once the rules were understood by one person, the information could be transferred to other players. Now imagine observing an adolescent sitting down with a new video game. The last thing that gets touched is the instructions. They immediately pick up a controller and start pressing buttons to figure out how the game environment will react. They begin a process of hypothesis, experimentation, analysis and creation that is fundamentally different from the approach taken to play Monopoly.

The interactive nature of the video game holds the interest of the participant that allows developers to implant complex concepts at a young age. As an example, today's Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG), has millions of players and can provide distinct economic lessons that are best understood with virtual currencies. Market fluctuations and a strong sense of supply and demand are the norm. In order to become successful in the games, the participant must be able to set pricing on their goods and interact with other players to transact those goods. It can be a great benefit to develop these skills before real money is involved in real life. The virtual currency allows for mistakes to be made and lessons to be learned in a flexible manner that allows creative experimentation. It is far easier to loose 2 gold in a virtual world compared to loosing $2,000 on a bad investments because the investor had no concept of economics. With virtual currency, the player is given the flexibility to try multiple times until they get it right.

The social nature of MMORPG's is a science unto itself. In many instances it takes 40 or more people to work together to achieve a specific goal or task. Many times these tasks involve a good deal of preparation and planning to achieve the goal. Players must work with each other and help each other to be successful. As a result, friends are made and teamwork skills are explored and understood between people with a common interest. Many times a player is required to sacrifice personal gain to help the group as a whole. Many times, these are not fundamental skills that many children receive at an early age.

People from all over the world may play a game, regardless of geographic or cultural borders. This can lead to a greater curiosity and understanding of the world as a whole to younger players. My nephew plays an MMORPG and met a friend that resided in Georgia. Our family decided it would be a good idea for the boys to meet, so both families were able to get together at an amusement park. Although only a state away, my nephew was exposed to the concept that people in different parts of the world live differently and that the world is not centered around his neighborhood. He now has a life long friend and an active interest in the world around him he did not possess before playing these games.

It seems there is a great fear of technology illustrating the technology is not understood by the general population. Generations of people that do not understand what video games represent view them as a toy or, a waste of time, and even a severe negative impactor of psychological development. For example, two students in one of my classes entered into a lengthy dissertation on the profile of the people that play a famous MMORPG known as World of Warcraft, or WoW. The words they used to describe these players are people with absolutely no lives, no jobs, no friends and no normality. They shared a story of an episode in which a young girl died before her time in real life. The international community of friends this young woman made as a result of playing got together to mourn her passing in the only way they had available to them. They held a mock funeral for her main character. This funeral was raided by another group of people who destroyed the ceremony and video taped the proceedings. The story they were describing is nothing short of online gaming legend. The story tellers in my class proceeded to laugh at the absurdity of people attempting something like a funeral in a virtual world. They had no concept of the friendships involved, the international community involved, and no respect for the situation that lead to the event.

The alternative video game that was socially acceptable to the students ended up being one that focused on warfare simulation.. A warfare simulation involves directly killing other humans. The enjoyment they considered positive and healthy involved playing a game with no social interaction that involves running around with weapons attempting to score “head shots” against their victims. The game they choose is socially acceptable while the one they ridicule is not.

The story told by the students was an old one that neither student had personally observed. I listened quietly as they proceeded to share intimate details of their lives with the class. They proceeded to explain to our teacher how they were both “night owls”, often sleeping until 3:00 in the afternoon. If their conversation was any indication, their ideas of socially adjusted people involved massive intoxication and recovery times that had already affected the students commitment to the school work they were participating in. Conversely, my nephew is an early adolescent in the process of completing his early education. We use the very game they were referring to as a motivational tool to keep him focused and away from the drugs, alcohol and situations the two students in my class were describing.

I made these observations as a player of the game they were describing. I'm a high school drop out that has lead a successful career as a highly paid Information Architect. I've traveled around the world and have been able to spend numerous years experiencing aspects of this planet many people will never embark on. I saved the money to remove myself from the workforce and attend school full time. I do not fall into the jobless, lifeless category the students were describing.

Our society is dealing with a new method of communication and interaction previous generations could not even imagine. As with everything else on the planet, this technology can be used for great harm or for great good. The positive impact of these games and the potential for tapping new methods of education are too valuable to pass up. Ignorance is never a good thing and refusing to recognize the potential of this new medium is a dis-credit to the human race.