Vs. Mode Wrap-up: Grand Theft Auto

The launch of the new Vs. Mode was successful. Chad from Library Voice answered my questions and I think we cover a good number of topics and points with the educational and information literacy aspects of the Grand Theft Auto series.

Chad concluded:

Rather than argue about whether GTA teaches real life skills, should we be arguing that our methods of teaching should be more like GTA? Shouldn’t we encourage students to do more in-depth exploration of their research topics without imposing a self-limiting scorecard on the number of resources they have? Shouldn’t we make our interfaces more user-friendly so that they give immediate feedback when a search fails? Shouldn’t we offer students multiple opportunities for revision, so they can continue addressing a research problem/paper with trial and error? If the whole concept of lifelong learning/information literacy is to develop skills that students will have for the rest of their lives, shouldn’t we offer them multiple chances to try/fail/succeed in the application of these skills? Finally, the GTA series is often commended on the way it nearly replicates much of the real world. Should we be trying to replicate similar experiences in GTA (feedback, trial and error, exploration) and apply them to our world?

For the complete discussion...
Part 1 by Research Quest
Part 2 by Library Voice
Part 3 by Research Quest
Part 4 by Library Voice

Chad and I will return to Vs. Mode next week on a separate topic... stay tuned