Gaming addictions & others

[shootingstar]

Unless we have had real classroom teaching experience of several hrs. per day per week for several years, where our primary role was teaching children under ages 18 or age of consent, it IS very presumptous for many of us to understand styles of children's learning and behavioural patterns while in a structured classroom setting with their peers.

I have several long-term friends who are teachers at the primary and high school level. And they have had their full-time careers for over last 15 years by teaching in several different schools.

My personal thoughts are:

*Some video games are better than others for creative problem solving, interaction, etc. (Let's not overjustify videogames.) Video games do not necessarily teach one to read or write, there are some games that do having these specific learning outcomes. But there is no requirement in video game design.

Reading, criticized as non-interactive and passive vs. videos: Of course reading appears to be non-interactive. BUT please remember that reading, particular reading of any materials with acceptable grammer and stylistic logic, develops a DIFFERENT set of skills: how to spell words correctly, seeing and undertanding grammar, syntax, organization of persuasive written style, understanding how different writing styles are adjusted to a person's reading comprehension level/type of audience.

Have we lost this very basic fact what reading a book/document means in terms of improving our reading and written fluency?

We cannot compare playing video games as the same thing as reading..or writing. The benefits are quite different.


By the way, I do agree that reading does require creative thinking, but in a totally different way. It allows....uninterupted time to reflect and absorb information or solve a problem. It allows a user to be non-linear...a reader can jump around in a book,...and go to the final chapter.