Jane McGonigal said in her TED talk, “gamers are a human resource that we can use to do real world work” and that “games are a powerful platform for change.” I agree that games can be a powerful platform for change through education and building habits but I think what she is recommending is too similar to traditional education-based games. In my experience kids just do not find these games nearly as interesting or entertaining as normal video games. That is why I think that rather than building educational games, Jane and her colleagues she try to make existing game styles and trends more educational. In essence, rather than turning education into a game, you are making games educational. I think in manner kids will be much less likely to reject games with educational goals and purposes.
Sam~
I think you bring up a really good point. Although shows like Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer do teach valuable information, as we get older, our styles of how we want to learn change. With video games I feel like people use it as an escape and so to be learning something would be counter intuitive for many.
However, I really do think that games like Grand Theft Auto could slip in real life missions that bring up issues that we’re facing. It would be a bit of a revolution and a paradigm shift within the game world, but if it was done in the right manner, I do believe it could be done.