Technology Teacher: GAMING… the future of the world?

WOW! Watch this video from TED and then think about the world and what needs changing and how it can be done.

Spring Break has arrived and…

here I am back at blogging for a bit.

As most TED Talks, this one is inspiring and makes us want to jump up and do whatever the speaker wants us to do.

I am not a gamer. I barely play “the Cow Game” or bowling on my Wii, but… I do have a Wii and I have experienced the games.

I know that this talk is about much more complicated and long term games.

As an educator, I have to think of the power of this mighty strategy.

Students from 5th grade through the end of high school have the opportunity through classes (with perfect attendance) to achieve over 10,000 hours in a setting/learning environment (or so Jane McGonigal states in her Ted Talk).

Gladwell says (or so Jane McGonigal says) that anyone who puts forth 10,000 hours in direct practice/learning about an area/subject will be a virtuoso, an expert, in that area.

Why are we not making our students virtuosos by the time they graduate from High School?

In describing her games, Jane McGonigal says gamers do have the ability to solve world problems. She is trying to develop games that will work to allow these gamers to become these future world citizens who can solve the world problems and allow our civilization to survive another century.

I like the idea of the game Jane made regarding the oil crisis.

I’m thinking about what would it take to get me involved in this gaming frenzy.

I love education. I believe in education. If there were a WORLD of EDUCATION game like there is a World of Warcraft game, would I play it? Would I come up with creative and viable solutions to the problems of education?

I’d like to think that every day I play the World of Education Game. That every day I am trying to make the world a better place through education. One minute, one student, one solution at a time.

The problem is that we need all the educators in the world involved in this game together, feeding off each other’s ideas and thoughts. There is a start to this GAME. It is the Internet, blogs, PLN, twitter, etc. We just need a little more organization.

Are you up to organizing this? Are you willing to collaborate? Are you willing to spend up to a “half-time job” working on this problem after you work at your full time job at school?

What ideas do you have?