It happened quickly. In the midst of a fierce firefight, grenades and bullets raining from above, a voice buzzed in my headset. He had found me. We were the only ones. And he provoked me to speak.
I said nothing, of course. I’m not much a talker while playing online. Occasionally I’ll exchange friendly banter when my friends are online, but in this case I wasn’t eager to entertain another banal conversation.
Again, he probed. “If you have a headset, you’ve got to talk. It’s annoying when people don’t talk.”
Again, I ignored him. But he continued. “I hate you people who don’t talk. Just talk already.”
When I finished the game, I turned off my console, but the feeling of being “gamer bullied” stuck with me. It’s laughable, but it’s true.
Most of us are mature enough to recognize when bullying occurs. And with so much attention being thrust upon the issue of bullying in schools across the nation, there is more information available on bullying than ever before. But is it possible that we’re forgetting the “gamer bully?”
As an educator and gamer, I like to think that the old social stigma placed on “gamers” has disappeared and people from all walks of life can come together over a video game and find some common ground to stand on. My own students, students who wouldn’t normally speak, have found a common interest in Call of Duty.
I guess, in the end, I hope that more of the later occurs. Let’s come together and enjoy friendly competition instead of creating more conflict than what appears on the screen!
Showing posts with label call of duty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label call of duty. Show all posts
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The Thin Red Line – Call of Duty in the Classroom
Call of Duty: Black Ops has undoubtedly become one of 2010’s best selling games. Treyarch and Activision have created an exciting, albeit brief, solo campaign and a stellar online multiplayer platform that will keep gamers coming back for months. They’ve even thrown in some zombies for good measure! But with all this aside, I wonder if Black Ops should occupy a corner of my classroom?
As I’ve said before, not a day goes by that I don’t hear a conversation about Call of Duty: Black Ops in one of my classes, in the hallways, or at the lunch table. From a societal standpoint, there’s always something that people need to talk about around the water cooler. In this case, Black Ops seems to be that something. But from an educational standpoint, there is a thin red line between what should and shouldn’t be discussed in a classroom.
There is no doubt that Black Ops, along with other war games such as the new Medal of Honor and Bad Company all satisfy a niche in the video game market. They all put the player into war-like situations and force him or her to fight to the end. I remember playing Medal of Honor: Frontline on the Playstation 2 and being in awe at having to fight my way up the beach in Normandy. I actually pictured myself alongside my grandfather shooting and ducking for my life. But is this educational?
In a military history course, for sure! I can see the obvious benefits to having a group of students work their way up the beach in Normandy in a video game while they are discussing D-Day in class. I can see the obvious benefits to have students work their way through a Vietnam landing zone while discussing the Ho Chi Minh trail. In one sense, there seems to be no better way to immerse students into the history. And believe it or not, these games are mostly accurate.
Additionally, while students play games like Black Ops online in multi-player matches, they may gain certain benefits from playing socially with other people. Group communication, establishing roles, and compromise are all parts of these online experiences. And certainly in moderation, this type of online communication could help students to communicate outside of the online world.
In the end, it’s still important for educators and parents to remember that some games have a mature rating because they incorporate mature themes. While I do agree with the current rating system, educators and parents need to be cautious about using video games in the classroom or home just for the sake of using a video game that is popular and exciting. Moderation is key! Too much of anything isn’t always a good thing. And even though there are some benefits to playing games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, it ultimately becomes a choice of the teacher or parent to step behind or across that thin red line.
As I’ve said before, not a day goes by that I don’t hear a conversation about Call of Duty: Black Ops in one of my classes, in the hallways, or at the lunch table. From a societal standpoint, there’s always something that people need to talk about around the water cooler. In this case, Black Ops seems to be that something. But from an educational standpoint, there is a thin red line between what should and shouldn’t be discussed in a classroom.
There is no doubt that Black Ops, along with other war games such as the new Medal of Honor and Bad Company all satisfy a niche in the video game market. They all put the player into war-like situations and force him or her to fight to the end. I remember playing Medal of Honor: Frontline on the Playstation 2 and being in awe at having to fight my way up the beach in Normandy. I actually pictured myself alongside my grandfather shooting and ducking for my life. But is this educational?
In a military history course, for sure! I can see the obvious benefits to having a group of students work their way up the beach in Normandy in a video game while they are discussing D-Day in class. I can see the obvious benefits to have students work their way through a Vietnam landing zone while discussing the Ho Chi Minh trail. In one sense, there seems to be no better way to immerse students into the history. And believe it or not, these games are mostly accurate.
Additionally, while students play games like Black Ops online in multi-player matches, they may gain certain benefits from playing socially with other people. Group communication, establishing roles, and compromise are all parts of these online experiences. And certainly in moderation, this type of online communication could help students to communicate outside of the online world.
In the end, it’s still important for educators and parents to remember that some games have a mature rating because they incorporate mature themes. While I do agree with the current rating system, educators and parents need to be cautious about using video games in the classroom or home just for the sake of using a video game that is popular and exciting. Moderation is key! Too much of anything isn’t always a good thing. And even though there are some benefits to playing games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, it ultimately becomes a choice of the teacher or parent to step behind or across that thin red line.
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