Games Can Make the World Better

• Can play and learning be combined?
  Yes, play and learning can certainly be combined. Gamers are willing to work hard all the time, if they are given the right work. Through game play people can be the best versions of themselves. They are also challenged and guess what it is OK to fail. This is a hard-life skill but is crucial to learn because you cannot always win. We want to have a combination of collaboration and problem solving in the environment. 
  
• What role does acknowledging progress play in successful gaming and is their transfer to education?
  Acknowledging progress is important in successful gaming because you are provided with positive feedback. There is transfer to education in that though we don't "level up" or earn things like strength and intelligence from the prospective of a virtual character we as educators can provide learners with positive feedback. We want to provide them with constant positive feedback, support them when they fail and help them be the best versions of themselves that they can be.
  
• What do you think about McGonigal's thought about parallel tracks of education (school/games)?
  I agree that if learners are learning as much about gaming as they are everything else by the time that they are adults they will be virtuoso gamers. They will be good at anything that they do and very successful in the world. Learners are becoming experts at something.
  
• Reflect on Jane's 4 things that games do to make us "virtuosos": Urgent Optimism, Social Fabric, Blissful Productivity, Epic Meaning.
  To be a virtuoso at gaming which is easily transferable to a learner in a classroom the person must be self-motivated. You must be willing to try and keep trying when you fail. Games also teach us trust with others when we play with someone we expect that they play to the end, play by the rules, and in general spend time with us. I see a teacher learner set up in that learners should be able to trust their teachers; we have rules that should be followed to provide all with a safe and effective learning environment as well as they are with you to help you progress as the school year goes on. Gamers are willing to work hard when they are given the right kind of work. This too applies to learners when they are given the right kind of tasks and opportunities they will work until they can't work anymore. They even ask to come before school or after school. As with games such as World of Warcraft learners are attached to missions and wanting to fulfill a story.