{"id":34,"date":"2007-03-31T14:45:39","date_gmt":"2007-03-31T14:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbl.lishost.org\/blog\/2007\/03\/31\/libraries-and-gaming\/"},"modified":"2007-03-31T14:45:39","modified_gmt":"2007-03-31T14:45:39","slug":"libraries-and-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/stevenb\/2007\/03\/31\/libraries-and-gaming\/","title":{"rendered":"Libraries and Gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"

In yesterday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s New York Times there was an article<\/a> on gaming and the elderly. \u00c2\u00a0It seems that video gaming among this particular population is trending up. \u00c2\u00a0In fact, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153older users not only play video games more often than their younger counterparts but also spend more time playing per session.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00c2\u00a0The article also found that individuals 50 and older \u00e2\u20ac\u0153accounted for more than 40 percent of total time spent\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153women spent 35 percent longer\u00e2\u20ac\u009d than men.<\/p>\n

Older gamers are getting into gaming because it is good exercise \u00e2\u20ac\u201c both intellectually and physically. \u00c2\u00a0Casual games provide them with a way of keeping their minds engaged and active. The more physical games like the WII can provide them with a way of getting physical exercise.<\/p>\n

The article mentions that research on the impact of gaming on diseases like dementia is sparse.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0However, the latest research in neurobiology is coming to the conclusion that our brains are not as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hard wired\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as we previously suspected. \u00c2\u00a0(See Marc Presnky\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s article on digital natives<\/a>) \u00c2\u00a0Until recently we were taught that external stimulation had relatively little affect on the structures of the brain. \u00c2\u00a0Researchers are now finding that this simply is incorrect. \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0In fact, gaming seems to have had a profound impact on our brains. \u00c2\u00a0Prensky suggests that we now think differently<\/em> as a result of the introduction of technology into our daily lives.<\/p>\n

What does this have to do with designing better libraries? \u00c2\u00a0Well, quite a bit!\u00c2\u00a0 All educators \u00e2\u20ac\u201c including librarians \u00e2\u20ac\u201c need to develop an understanding that technology has had a profound impact on how we act AND how we think. \u00c2\u00a0We need to develop systems that reflect how learners learn today. Libraries and library systems have traditionally taken a very linear and very text-based approach to accessing resources. \u00c2\u00a0This approach, it turns out, may actually be detrimental to the educational process.<\/p>\n

The first rule of education is engagement. \u00c2\u00a0Games are by their very nature engaging. \u00c2\u00a0As a result, our users are turning up in these environments more and more often. \u00c2\u00a0They are there and we need to be there as well. \u00c2\u00a0So, my post is a question really\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.what is the library community doing about getting into gaming in significant ways? \u00c2\u00a0Who are the leaders in this area and what are they doing to make library resources and services more accessible through game environments?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In yesterday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s New York Times there was an article on gaming and the elderly. \u00c2\u00a0It seems that video gaming among this particular population is trending up. \u00c2\u00a0In fact, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153older users not only play video games more often than their younger counterparts but also spend more time playing per session.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00c2\u00a0The article also found that individuals … Continue reading Libraries and Gaming<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/stevenb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/stevenb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/stevenb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/stevenb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/252"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/stevenb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/stevenb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/stevenb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/stevenb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/stevenb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}