Game Over - You Lost; In Reality You Won

In reflecting back on what the last 5+ weeks have taught me about Gaming;


I have a new respect for what video games can teach you about learning, yourself, and technology.  Two months ago I would have easily written off video games as a waste of time, or time spent playing would be better placed elsewhere.  While the latter may be true for me in most cases, the former can now be dismissed as an knowledgeable, ignorant perspective.  While I am not a 'gamer' I can now see the benefits they have to learning and possibly people's well being.

Through reading books dedicated to the learning attributes present in offering people a technology based "game", I have learned that there are a great many benefits.  Many games give an opportunity for learning that might not have been present through other media.  Many games can offer the player learning opportunities to grow in many areas, namely planning, decision making, prioritizing goals, and problem solving.  These areas force the player (often under the guise of entertainment) to actually THINK while playing.  Novel I know... but I have taken this for granted with my disapproval of game playing.  Now I have a larger, more enlightened perspective, a more educated perspective.

It's not that I thought I knew so much (prior to a few months ago,) but more that I thought I had a solid grasp on what I thought of gaming.  Instead I swallowed what I thought I knew and instead I learned.  I learned a great many benefits that 'gaming' has; most specifically, that the benefits outweigh my otherwise close-minded perspective before.