What are key themes in a good game, presentation or story and how can they be leveraged in education?

Digital games do something very similar to what great books do for individuals who love to read. They totally engulf one in a passionate subject, whether it be through conflict, adventure, love, loss, or good vs evil. The difference is that when one takes on the persona of the hero in a game (as opposed to in a book), one has the ability to actually influence the outcome of the story while totally rewriting the entire middle adventure.

A gamer makes decisions based on experience and competency. If he fails it is not an indication that “he” is a failure, but rather that he simply took a wrong road somewhere along the path. He’s then engaged enough to find an alternative route to his goal. Maybe one of the true gifts of games is that they offer a creativity outlet for people who are not artists (interesting thought!). This interactivity of games allows a gamer to build an alter ego based on abilities, learning potential, and dedication to the goal. With the constant feedback that games give, it’s rather like Pavlov’s theory where the gamer keeps coming back for positive reinforcement that, in turn, builds his persona.

Games do exactly what education should be doing – giving positive feedback to build desirable attributes in students, expanding their learning fields and abilities, and rewarding them for jobs well done instead of accentuating failures.

Everyone probably has a handful of absolutely fabulous instructors they’ve had. What’s sad is that it truly is only a “handful.” I suspect these few instructors had all the good qualities games have in personally engaging their students. They keep the flame of learning alive by always being there for their students as well as setting a personal example by engaging in the passion of learning themselves.

How to utilize technology to better engage students in learning is a major task in education today. But I would wonder if a more appropriate task isn’t how to get instructors to better show their passion for their subject matter. Once the passion is there, technology can only accessorize it.