Entertainment Software Association; Video Game Popularity Spurs Increased Demand For Game Degree Programs

Title: Entertainment Software Association; Video Game Popularity Spurs Increased Demand For Game Degree Programs

Author: Anonymous

We've all seen the commercials on tv advertising for the seemingly sketchy alternative colleges. Well you don't have to go to some off the grid college to get a degree in video games! according to this article more and more colleges are introducing programs with video games as the major study. Between design development and every space in between you can find it in 45/50 states and the District of Columbia. 

"California remains at the forefront of this educational field, with 54 institutions of higher learning offering game-related programs, followed by Texas (24), Illinois (20), Florida (18), New York (15), Minnesota (14), Massachusetts (13), Arizona (10), Michigan (10), and Pennsylvania (10)."-(paragraph 4)


This is incredible, video games went from turning your brain to mush to turning that mush into a degree earning tool. Personally I love video games and would possibly consider going to college for this if it wasn't quite as new and stable as some of the other programs. Don't get me wrong it's not like there's plenty of jobs new video games come out every other week. Call of Duty releasing a new title every 3 months definitely helps. I am very excited to see that more colleges are accepting the fact that video games are here to stay and is very much a growing industry as it branches into others. (ie: military)


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Non-Print Resource Blog...

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world

In this talk, Jane McGonigal says we need to increase our gaming hours per week to 21 billion hours per week. We need to do this because she says that in games we become the best version of us, getting up after failures, sticking to a problem for as long as it takes, and helping at a moments notice. She also says brings up the point that to become a master at something you must spend 10,000 hours doing something intensely. From 5th grade to high school graduation, we spend 10,080 hours in class if you have perfect attendance. On average we spend 10,000 hours playing video games from birth to the age of 21. So this generation is learning as much about games as we are everything else. The four things Jane says that we are becoming masters of are as follows: 1 urgent optimism: we are ready to save the world and believe we can at a moments notice. 2 Tight social fabric: we develop relationships a lot better after playing a game. 3 Blissful productivity: we are much happier working hard in game then we are relaxing, because we feel optimized. 4 Epic meaning: we believe that we can save the world and will. I really enjoy this discussion, because instead of hating on gamers like a lot of people do saying that all gamers are lazy etc. Jane believes gamers can save the real world just as we do so many times in virtual worlds. She talks about games that her team developed that really solidify her point. Gamers made better economies, learned how to live without oil and, many other problems were solved through games. This is a great discussion in support of video games and I love it.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

Liking is for Cowards...

Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts.
By JONATHAN FRANZEN
This article was kind of weird.... To say the least, the author jumps from how vane we have become to his weird fascination with birds. But the main points are there, we call our gadgets sexy and give cars for presents just to fit in. We are in love with our technology, as a culture, community, society, whatever you want to label us as is this good? I would say in moderation, yes. If we become more fascinated with technology then competition between companies will increase as technology does. And with competition, anyone with any experience in economics knows, prices decrease. I am all for cheaper Iphones, in this economy that might just be what we need. He also talks about that we should get out of our rooms and experience life. Isn't that what we came to college for, an experience? I am all for unplugging from the network for a while it needs to be done with some people. You know the ones, who tweet how big of a number 2 they just dropped in the men's bathroom at the mall. Too much information, in my opinion, is being shared online daily. Yes it brings the world closer, but i don't want to be that close to the guy in my last example, do you?

Games

Title: Games
Author: Stephen Johnson
The Author brings up a great point about if video games had been around before books then everyone would be against books. But now a lot of people are very anti-video games, which amazes me because pretty much everyone plays them. Angry Birds, Farmville, anything like that is a video whether people know it or not. You can compare books and video games even though they are very different they both offer some of the same qualities. They both encourage imagination, provide entertainment, and of course kills time. Video games in my opinion can be very beneficial. Stress relief, education, and also brings people together. Books are more a solo event, they can be very stress relieving and of course educational. It is very easy to compare the two activities even though they are still so polar opposite to some people. I don't see why I love to read and i love to game. I don't get why for some people, it has to be one or the other. 

Is Google Making us Stupid?

Article title: "Is Google Making Us Stupid"
Author: Nicholas Carr
published in the Atlantic Monthly, July/August 2008 Vol. 302 Issue 1, p 56-63

Is Google Making us Stupid?

Throughout the article the author discussed his inability to stay focused on longer pieces of writing because of his excessive use of the internet. I started to know how he felt around the third paragraph. He also thinks that the more we use the internet to satisfy our short term needs for information, the more our retention of information goes down. We obtain information a lot differently now then we did 20 years ago, which has changed us. But whether it's good or bad i'm on the fence. Yes people aren't specializing in something specific quite as much, but instead getting a very broad understanding of a little of everything. Which brings the question is it better to have a narrow deep understanding of one thing, or a broad shallow understanding of a little of everything? I don't quite know the answer yet, but I don't think Google is making us stupid. Google is making us efficient, in the workplace most bosses I've worked for don't care if you know everything. As long as you know where to get the information. That is what Google does for us, it brings every piece of information available to it to answer your question. And as for the argument that internet information is unreliable: you have to know where to go. Just like in a library you wouldn't go to the scifi section for information on the specifics of Aleutian home living. You wouldn't go to facebook for information on information on the future progress of plasma cutters. Know where to go and don't stray from the marked path, the internet can be treachorous.

How Technology Works for or Against me....

Technology can be a great asset, or hindrance depending on how I use it. The kinda of technology I use on a regular basis vary from my Ipod I never leave home without to the super expensive equipment i have to use for work. At home I have a 40" tv, speaker system, dvd player, dvr, and ps3 just in my living room. I also carry my cellphone and my Ipod where ever i go. At work I use sound systems built in to the Dena'ina, Egan, and various hotels through Anchorage. I use projectors, screens, lighting, microphones and more on a very regular basis. My life is definitely partially dependent on technology, but I am not dependent on technology. But where technology hurts is, when i am trying to do work and unplug from the network and my girlfriend won't stop blowing up my phone. I also get easily distracted by shiny new toys while trying to do some homework. Also a lot of my peers and their younger siblings are losing the ability to communicate. It worries me that people are losing their communication skills and are actually afraid to talk to people.