ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

Very good at promoting her own business and selling more games. I absolutely disagree. It's ridiculously additive. When my grandson is in his gaming coma, he isn't doing his homework, nor riding his bike, or being civil to anyone. I will comment more on this with more descriptive detail later.

I feel that she has a very valid point. One thing she said closer to the end, boosting the count meant asking people to play 1 hour a day. When she broke it down like that it didn't seem like a bad idea. Gaming is part of our future, fighting it is ridiculous. Embracing it and thinking out of the box sounds like a better idea. Jane definitely has given a lot of food for thought!

I watched the video about gaming. Very interesting idea. I think I can see her point. My questions would be - how to balance gaming and outside time for children? I still believe that kids are inside too much and need the time outside. How to keep a child self-esteem positive and with value? Good video. Thank you.

As early childhood advocates, it is so important that we raise awareness that children are still in the process of biological formation for six years after they leave the womb. In other words, children must engage in activities that support maturation of their limbic, proproceptive, vestibular, nervous, respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular and other systems during critical periods of development. This requires movement and physical interaction with textures, dimensions (height, length, depth), weight, angles, and other sensory information that builds our perceptive apparatus, body/mind integration, and the cognitive architecture that will be used as foundation for the rest of the person's life. Human development also requires communication and high social embeddedness (to experience the "serve and return" required for trusting relationships and positive self image) --and as Patricia Kuhl showed in her research, this did not happen with screens (language is socially gated and happens through person to person interactions).

Video games after the child is formed -- are fine. Screen time, if combined with face to face interaction, like sweets or other treats, can be tolerated on occasion.

But what we should really take from Ms McGonigal's presentation is that we could do a better job of providing those things which human beings seem to crave: a chance for the person to experience epic meaning, blissful productivity, and urgent optimism within a nurturing and supportive social fabric ...in the real world.

What a fascinating perspective. I found myself agreeing with descriptions of what happens with an "epic win" and could easily also relate that to non-gaming experiences for very young children. What an interesting way to present world problems - not appropriate for the early childhood full range of ages but we do have to think about the value of online experiences. I appreciate it as another learning tool for us to use that expands our range as teachers and provides learning opportunities that are different from face to face ones. I do think the qualities she describes in gamers are ones we see in young children when they are engaged (in games or not) and adults too for that matter. Really interesting.