Fix 7-8

Neuroplasticity is the term given to the brain's ability to form new connections that replace old or damaged cells. http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=40362. I believe that we all need to be challenged every day in order to keep our brains healthy. Gaming helps to provide the stimulus need to accomplish that. Recently gaming has been used to increase neuroplacity for people who have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI). http://www.traumaticbraininjury.net/video-game-based-therapy-may-help-treat-tbi/. Now I remember where I heard the name Jane McGonigal before. Last year I heard an interview with her in NPR about the exact brain injury described in the book (P. 133-142). That interview is what prompted me to look at the research of gaming and TBI. I believe it works; there are many examples of it now, especially for veterans of Iraq and Afg.

I like the idea of alternate reality Games (ARGs) and "leveling up in real life" (P 146-165). I am going to try Chore Wars with my family. My family and I could use it with my busy schedule these days and my son loves games. I also think that using Quest to Learn would be a great way to organize a course and would like to try that approach as well. Jetset sounds like fun, but I haven't flown in a long time, so I would need a game that serves the same purpose but is different. I can see a use for an app idea like that for teaching kindergarteners about what to do to get ready for school. they have to get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, comb hair, no silliness, no play shoes or holey socks, wear a coat, have your homework, no fighting with your sister... Not sure how to reward the user without the GPS part of it, maybe a parent can interact with the app as a facilitator in order to give rewards.

As for leveling up in life, we actually do play a type of Foursquare in my neighborhood, but I never really thought about it. It's kind of funny really. Most all of us on the street walk our dogs every day and see each other often because we live on a caldesack. Whoever is outdoors the most and talks to the most people every day is called "the Mayor" as a joke, and to acknowledge them also I guess. We are teasing each other, of course, but in reality, that person is the one who knows what is going on at all times. If someone in our neighborhood gets sick or is hurt, we all find out pretty quickly and can help out with pet care, cutting grass, laundry, driving or shopping. Some people might call it nosey, but we don't see it that way at all. We are supporting each other and maintaining connections.

I have an interest to play Settlers because I would like to clear my island of bandits and also be able to help other new players who are learning the game. That is what Dr. Lambert and my guild have done for me. I like the comradary and the feeling of being needed. They help me out so I can try to level up. Otherwise I would not be able to do so. I also like to goof around once in a while, and the game offers the opportunity to joke and be silly as long as we are all respectful. To me that is the best kind of humor, and laughing is very good for us because it produces hormones that positively affect our health.

Since I felt like I needed to be more engaged for this course, I decided to communicate more with my guild, for research purposes initially, but also to build relationships. As it turns out, I was told some personal information about the players. I get the impression that many of the folks in my guild are older. They think first before entering comments, and they are on the game a lot of the daytime during the week. I leave the game on as I work on assignments and projects doing the day, and as a result I am able to monitor what is going on in my guild. It occurs to me that game playing and communication is very beneficial for people who are homebound. This could be true because of the weather, or the users could be disabled. I think online communication and game playing also contributes to maintain neuroplasticity, a problem that older people deal with and effects brain health.

I did get a couple of comments the other night from guild members about making friends online. They are very opposed to the opinion some people have about online relationships. One person said she met her husband online and commented that “he was the only person I knew that I didn’t catch in a lie”. Another person told me that he has been warned that he shouldn’t befriend the people he meets online, but he has visited his online friends f2f and has built real relationships with them. I find it interesting that these people have built relationships online over time and trust those people enough to take it to the next REAL level. To me, online communication is a great innovation opportunity. In the right context, it gives people who might be shy or withdrawn (for whatever reasons) the opportunity to gain trust in others without the judgments that they face in real life. They can try a new thing, learn while they do it, make friends as they go, and feel a sense of accomplishment. This could be a stepping stone to gaining the confidence needed for building real relationships; essentially, to level up in reality.

I see great potential for this finding with regard to my future research. I would like to develop DL social networking/communication and even gaming solutions for DL that will help learners who are at risk and/or have exceptionalities so they can overcome some of their obstacles. My hope is that they can feel confident and do better scholastically and personally in real life. Seriously, I would not have arrived at a great deal of these conclusions without the DL courses I have taken at UT in the least 2 years. I find it exciting, and to me this is also wholehearted participation. It does work!