What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Second Edition: Revised and Updated Edition

This book should be loved by anyone with a strong interest in videogame theory or educational theory, as it impressively doesn't simplify either area to fit the demands of the other.

I also applaud the organization of the book, as each section centers around a few key concepts of educational theory which are repeated in the appendix giving everyone who has read the book an easy way to recall the '36 learning principles'.


Teachers and Administrators should read this book.   November 9, 2003
M. Chmiel (Arlington, VA)
32 out of 33 found this review helpful

As a science teacher, I have asked myself (as Gee points out...many teachers and parents do) why it is that the same students who sit listlessly in my classroom will go home and spend upwards of 8 hours engaged in frusterating video-game play.
Gee effectively answers this question and makes a strong case in favor of video games being more akin to agents of learning (like recreational reading) as opposed to mindless entertainment (like really dumb movies).
Videogames are an interesting window through which we can study issues such as learning theory, motivation, and development of expertise. Fellow game players will recognize themselves in Gee's descriptions of what makes games so compelling, and nonplayers will be surprised by how far games have come since PacMan. I recomend this book to parents, administrators, and anyone else interested in education.



Presenting thirty-six learning principles   June 10, 2003
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
17 out of 21 found this review helpful

What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy by James Paul Gee (Tashia Morgridge Professor of Reading, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is a controversial yet thought-provoking look at interactive games and what can be learned from them. Persuasively presenting thirty-six learning principles that are built into good interactive video games, and contemplatively studying everything from issues of forming identity, to the acquisition of problem-solving skills, to learning non-verbal cues, What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy sheds considerable light in a most extraordinary way on this rapidly evolving and increasingly pervasive aspect of American popular culture in the twenty-first century.


Also recommended   February 5, 2005
Neil Hinrichsen (Knysna South Africa)
1 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is an excellent book; I learnt a great deal from it.

If this interests you, look at Raph Koster's "Theory of Fun for Game Design" as well...


A Must   April 2, 2006
Rogerio J. C. Tavares (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I think this is the best book till now in this specific game culture subjetc. There is no recipe in here, but there are lots of ingredients for game designers and educators can understand about this specific top.
The author have gaming experience, what is very important in writing about this, and a good theorical approach.
If you are a game designer, educator or researcher, this book is a must.