I came into this course expecting it to be about gaming, gaming ethics, and thinking I would learn a thing or two about one of my favourite activities. That was four months ago. I leave this class with some knowledge about video games but with a lot of knowledge about some things I did not expect to learn from an English class on games and gaming.
One of the things I learned is how to critique. How to look at something and ask why or what. The course helped me learned how to evaluate things better. How to look at something and see both sides of the picture. Before I came into this class I didn't even know how to properly critique. I know feel like I have a better understanding of how to do so. Even looking back at some of my earlier journal entries I see where I could have added to my thoughts and trailed off in an infinite amount of directions with what I was saying. Its kind of interesting to see where the though pattern goes when someone writes whatever they're thinking at the time. Its interesting to see how the topics change in the writing which correspond to how the writer is thinking. This is what journalling is all about, and its another thing I learned how to do better in this class.
Before this class I didn't journal because I never had to. From now on I think I may keep a journal of my thoughts from time to time. I find it helps me think better. To just let the thought process flow as you're writing, typing out whatever comes to mind, its relaxing and soothing. It makes for an interesting read for your future self. Months down the road when you return to your journal entry to read you find yourself somewhat changed from when you wrote the entry. Either your opinions have changed, or your thoughts, perhaps you have become wiser and can answer some of your own past self's questions. Like I was saying before, I've read some of my entries from this course and am finding myself in the situation I just described. A person wouldn't think they've changed in the matter of months, but I notice it in myself. What I mean by this is that before I was almost critical toward my writing. It had to be professional, it had to have a certain format, it had to impress others. I was trying to make my journal entries appear like those critiques found on gaming review sites like IGN. I don't know why I was doing this. I think its because I like that style of writing. But that writing style is made for the public, not for myself. I may be critiquing a game or a genre, but I wasn't digging deep into myself. I wasn't questioning what I do. I wasn't self critiquing. I now feel my writing style for journaling (this word keeps being marked as incorrect in my spell checker and its driving me nuts! Is it is word? Who cares if it is, it makes sense to me! Journaling - the art of writing a journal. There I made up a word and have now added to my spell check dictionary) anyway... I now feel as if my writing style in my journaling better reflects myself and how I feel. It is more about me as opposed to something else.
The course also allowed me to meet some different types of people. Some people who seem to play every game released, some people who stick to only one or to games, and some people who don't even play video games. One thing that I noticed about a month in (there I go not being direct about dates again errr) is that it seemed like the avid gamers, who you think would totally be into this class, were the ones having a hard time grasping the concept of the class. Those who weren't as much into games were the ones exploring new ideas on gaming and seemed to be taking to the course rather well. I don't know if this is true or not but it did seem this way from those that I talked to. Perhaps those avid gamers expected a class where we discussed video games and even played video game most of the time. They weren't expecting some unguided course on ethics and game theory and board games and critique. Maybe they were mad about this. Maybe they didn't know what to do. You think that their interest in games would lead them to exploring new things about a hobby that they love so much? And like I said, those people who aren't into games very much (as in they don't play games everyday, or even every week) were the ones who seemed to do well. Perhaps because they didn't know too much about games that they took on the interest of video games and were able to guide themselves through the course?
I think the self directed and inquiry based learning style of the course had a lot of people confused as well. Like Aruna was saying, and another thing that I learned in the course and now look at differently, is people are addicted to a system and guideline. I never quite looked at addiction in terms of not attaching something negative to the word. But its true, people are addicted to agendas, schedules, itineraries, and outlines. When the structure is removed people panic, which is the symptom. The withdrawal consequence. I was lucky to have been introduced to inquiry based learning in a few of my other classes in which I kind of knew what was expected of this course. Granted I also had a strong interested in a lot of the components covered in this class, which is a huge determining factor of success in the learning style. But I kind of knew what to expect in some ways when I found out about that this was going to be an inquiry based class. I've also been in university for six years now which also helped in a way. I think that because I've been in university so long I've grown accustom to working by myself and finding my own topics of research. I think that some of the student in earlier years of university are still very much addicted to the structure imposed by public schooling, where everything is handed to you. (By this I mean everything you learn and all the assignments and homework you do is provided and scheduled. very rarely is work done in high school that is not assigned.) Even most first and second year classes at university is done by a very precise and scheduled outline. So it would be reasonable to assume that these students may have a harder time understanding the goal and objective of the course, which is to branch out and work independently on whatever interests you.
Some of these people were upset about taking the class and felt poorly of it. I would always tell them I wish I would have taken it earlier in my university career. I would have liked to have known most of the things this course taught me in some of my other classes. Then again had I taken it some years ago I may not have understood it either.
That being said I think I did well in this course. I had a good time with my learning log and journal entries. (Which is another thing. I really enjoyed my learning log! I think its a great idea. I think I may start keeping one for other things too. Its great for keeping track of thoughts, which often times I'll think of something say 'Hey! That's a great idea' then later forget it when I need to use the idea. I found with the learning log, which was linked to my phone, I could jot down my thoughts and retrieve them easily later on. Even relevant links I could just copy and paste for later use. it was very helpful and fun to keep maintained.) I think I was a little lacking in my work sometimes, as in I could have done some more entries in my Journal, especially in terms of the weekly reflective journals and some LOIs. Its tough though because a decision has to be made, especially when the work is not required and there is no deadline. I found myself putting the work of my other classes ahead of the work in this class. Even social activities ahead of the work in this class. Why? Because I could. It was tough not to procrastinate in this class. I do admit though that not everything that was brought up interested me, which is why I may have not done some things, but for the most part I may have just ended up skipping some things due to circumstance. A week would go by and I would want to write my weekly reflection but something else would come up so I'd put it off then next thing I know the next week has gone by and I'm now two journal entries behind.
This being said though I do think I did a fair amount of work in this class in term of Journal and Portfolio. I did try and write a few significant blog entries every month and analyze some things that interest me. I know there were some people in the class who left everything up until the last week of school or even worse, took a deferral and planned to do the work over the holidays, so in that case I don't feel so bad as I know I was consistently doing work in the class over the term and even though I had to take an extension, I think I could have got everything done by the dead line I just would have been very stressed to get it all done with all the work I had going on in other classes too. I sure didn't leave everything until the last moment (Would this be another idiom used in society 'until the last moment'. I think it has connotations referring to leaving all work until the last possible moment when you think you can get it all done. Such as if you have a 2 hour assignment due at 4PM you would wait until 2 PM to start it. To me the phrase also infers stress and panic.) so this I feel good about. I stayed on top (another idiom meaning completed the tasks assigned, or the tasks that I wanted, in a timely fashion such that I was not put into a state of panic) of the class work and was able to finish. I am happy with the results I've obtained from the course.
Its funny how ideas change. When I walked into the class at the start of the semester I wanted to learn more about game theory - and which I did I am now able to make better decisions every day because of the material I learned in game theory. I often apply the methods of gaming theory to decisions I make and actions I make. - such that my final project was going to be about game theory. I found that once I learned more about game theory that I found some of it really confusing so I decided to change my final project (portfolio) goal to achievement systems in gaming. This quickly changed to a topic of much interest to me - video game addiction - to which I did some research and journaling about in the term. I was focused on this for a month until one day I was sitting in the library with nothing to do when I thought of an idea about a game. I don't know where it came from, it just popped into my head. So I started writing down my ideas, and this is where the learning log helped as I started writing down ALL my ideas for the game, no matter if they were going to be used or not. I just started thinking of of ideas and writing those down too. over the next couple weeks I continued to do this. These ideas I wrote down enabled me to think better about the game I was going to make and helped me choose what would work best. Its a good thing I wrote all my ideas down as I pulled ideas from several different 'thinking sessions' to create the final project. If I hadn't wrote out my thoughts like this I may have forgotten ideas. I just thought it would be a good idea to look at how thought processes change.
The only thing I'm disappointed about for this class is the group work. I feel there was total chaos within our group and I should have asserted myself as more of a leader to straighten things out. Thought it is not purely my fault for the blatant train wreck of a project, I think a strong group leader would have helped. But like I said I had never asserted myself as a leader before this and I am happy that I was able to do so, if even just a little. But I mentioned all this in a previous journal entry.
So in close I really enjoyed this class this term. I find myself a better thinker and more in tuned with myself and my surroundings. I think I got a little more out of this class than I anticipated.
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