I am a bit late in posting this blog entry, but wanted to share my experience at the eLearning Conference at the University of Alberta in June of this year. I was invited to be the keynote speaker for the event and was happy to participate as education and games is a "hot button" for me. Here is the presentation I gave (click on the title page below to download):

This is an important topic to me personally for many reasons, the least of which is that so many people, and politicians especially, don't really understand the medium and paint it in the worst possible light. Call it modern politics or ratings grabber, but it stinks all the same. What many people who are on the "outside" of the video game culture don't understand is that video games can be an expressive and important medium that rates right up there with the best that other mediums have to offer. And, like every type of expressive medium before it, video games have had to go through a trial by fire of those who are afraid, uninformed and prejudiced against the medium.

It was a great experience to speak to educators and explain why, for me personally, computers and video games were important in my life, and why I believe that we have an extraordinary opportunity to educate, not just our kids but the population at large, through video games. Video games give us the ability to model events, environments and positions in a manner that is just not possible through any other medium. Consider games like PeaceMaker which focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. You are able to assume the leadership role of either side and deal with the task of bringing peace to the region. All of the news in the game is actual news from the Associated Press. What other medium allows you to deal with the various aspects of this conflict as deeply? Newspaper articles? 5 min news clips? YouTube videos? Nothing comes close except for actually being on the ground in the conflict.

More and more games are coming to market with a message. Companies like PersuasiveGames are bringing games that deal with serious topics to the marketplace with titles like FatWorld(a game about the fast food industry), Points of Entry (dealing with immigration) and Oil God (explores everything from social unrest to natural disasters that impact the global oil industry). These games manage to be fun while educating, not "teaching", those who play them. I believe that we will see more and more of these kinds of games emerge that help to bring a better understanding of our world. as well, there is an enormous opportunity to make games that focus on everything from primary eduction to fixing your car that can better society.

And just so I don't miss the point of discussion here, I know that many people still look at the games industry as the place where you run over "hookers" in Grand Theft Auto games and the industry is dumping our youth into the morality wastebasket and making them anti-social. Many people who lob that title at me as an example of why video games have no value, are typically surprised when I tell them that you can complete the game without ever doing that particular act. In fact, the game PUNISHES you for that kind of behavior where, the more despicable your actions, the more police come to take you down. Cause and effect at work. GTA aside, critics of the video games industry COMPLETELY miss the social, community, competitive and entertainment aspects of the video game culture overall. And this is a discussion for a separate blog post

Ok, so off the soap box and back on track. The conference was fantastic and the reception from the University was exceptional. I think the people at UofA are doing some amazing work up there and am looking forward to a follow-up visit. Special thanks to Angela Kouritzin for setting up our participation and getting me where I needed to be for meetings and such