Just Ask the Avatar in the Front Row

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Gaming & Virtual World Technologies

Just Ask the Avatar in the Front Row

5/1/2007

By Neal Starkman

It was a eureka moment. About 300 students showed up at the first GameFest; the most recent event drew 1,000. Allington and his crew set up about 50 PCs, 24 Macs, 10 plasma TVs, half a dozen additional TVs, 10 Xboxes, five projectors, and a few PlayStations. A variety of games were offered, but since starting out with first-person shooter and sports games, says Allington, he and his crew have added somewhat more pacific activities, like Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and RollerCoaster Tycoon. Everything at the events, including refreshments, is free, says the support pro: Sponsors such as Gateway, Apple, IBM, and Gamers (a local gaming company) defray the cost.

Contrary to the perception that the gaming craze may be injurious to college students, Allington believes the video gaming “encourages students to build relationships throughout the campus.” He adds that the university’s academic curricula also are becoming infused with the new gaming technologies. There’s even an “eFellows” program on campus, he reports; it’s training “old-school” faculty members to get up-to-speed on ways to use gaming tools to engage students.

Creighton U’s Allington believes video gaming not only encourages students to build relationships throughout the campus, but also is an ideal way to recruit students as IT support staff.

The questions now are progressive: Can gaming do more than entertain? Can it facilitate learning? Can it facilitate learning more effectively than classroom lecture and discussion?

Gaming as Pedagogy

Interestingly, there’s some evidence that the answer to all of the above questions is “Yes.” What’s more, pundits say we may only be at the genesis of gaming’s potential as a pedagogical tool in middle and higher education. At this juncture, it’s wise to look at gaming-as-teaching models, wherever they exist.

That brings us to Jerry Bush, a program manager for Cisco Systems in San Jose, CA. Bush is responsible for the Cisco Certified Network Associate program, which has certified more than half a million people around the globe. To put it simply, he develops and manages learning games that supplement training programs at Cisco. His games are used mainly at the