103. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee

Education Bookcast

What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy is a book that I read early in my education research quest. At the time, I thought that it had interesting points to make, but I was unclear on quite how to react to it. After several more years of reading and research, it's clear to me that this book is deeply flawed.

First of all, the author redefines "literacy" in a very strange way. He takes any form of semiotic system to count as a "type" of literacy. So, for example, if you know how to use a smartphone, then you are "literate" in the layout, symbols, and conventions of smartphone user interface. This is obviously not the kind of literacy that most people are interested on or concerned about, and it is less valuable than "conventional" literacy, partly because of barrier to entry (learning to read is relatively hard, learning to use a phone is relatively easy) and partly because of utility.

Secondly, he coins a lot of new terminology for no apparent reason. During the recording I've had to translate some of his terms into more ordinary language, including the usual technical terms rather than his special ones. His terminology only serves to obscure his message and make it seem as if there is more content here than there really is.

Finally, and most importantly, his central point is misguided. He essentially says that learning a subject is mostly about socially getting on in that world - knowing how to get on with other artists, mathematicians, surgeons, or whatever other skill "community", depending on the domain. However, this completely overlooks the glaring difference in difficulty between getting to know social conventions and attitudes of a subculture and learning the requisite knowledge and skills in order to be useful and productive in that domain, let alone to actually understand what is being said by other practitioners. The former takes a matter of weeks or months of acculturation, and the latter years or even decades of dedication. If we focus on the social context of knowledge rather than the knowledge itself, to coin a phrase, it would be like making beautiful light fittings for a house that you haven't built - pointless in the absence of the larger task that is left undone.

Enjoy the episode.

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