I gues I'm what Marc Prensky would call a "Digital Native" (not a digital narrative, as my brain kept trying to fill in). I grew up with computers and so of course I used them in school. I remember the games we had at school being very simple. Often they wouldn't be "games" as such, more programmes that would attempt to make practising things like multiplication more entertaining by adding whimsical animations, etc.
But times have moved on and computers in schools are no longer dull grey boxes running Windows 3.1. Games have become larger and more complex and can therefore teach much more and in much more subtle ways. I mentioned Will Wright last time and his idea of "learning toys". The game SimCity is a good example of a game that teaches in subtle ways and doesn't just promote "twitch speed". On the surface of the game, you build a city and maintain it. A cursory glance will tell you that the game teaches things like planning and resource management. But looking deeper, you find you can learn things like statistical analysis. You learn things like multi-tasking, a skill that Prensky thinks is integral to being a "digital native".
While I'm mostly a casual gamer, I've found that I do have this multi-tasking capability. I have no trouble keeping track of multiple things in a game. I'm not just watching what's going on on the screen, I'm keeping track of what information it's giving me and what I'm doing with my controller. In my normal life I'm constantly multi-taking. Right now, I'm watching Top Gear while typing this blog. Sat in my system tray, I have multiple applications waiting for things to happen. I have a couple of instant messaging programmes, an RSS reader, a music player (on pause as I'm watching TV), e-mail, and a programme to download podcasts based off RSS feeds. While I'm not constantly interacting with these things, I'm seeing them in the corner of my eye, watching them for any change that might give me new information.
To give a gaming example of learning, I was playing Burnout 3 last night. I've said before that I'm not very good at racing games. I don't drive so I don't know much about how to manoeuvre a car at speed. I've never learnt where to brake and how hard in order to take a sharp corner. But, as I played trough various race events in the game, I found I could retry them. In order to unlock new events, I had to do well in the previous events, so I did retry the events and I found myself learning the tracks. I learnt what corners I could take at top speed and which I had to slow down for. I also learnt other tricks, like what to do in order to gain "boost" which would allow me to go faster (of course, I also learnt where was a sensible time to use this boost and where I'd end up plowing into a wall).
While I doubt I could now go out and drive a car (and definitely not what I was driving in the game), I've learnt skills that could help me in other driving games and also in other things. I've learnt things like analytical skills and the benefit of practising and retrying things. This takes us back to EduGaming and the idea that games that try to teach aren't always necessarily the best. Especially for children/people who may be somewhat resistant to traditional learning.
