Food for Thought! Jane McGonigal on Ted - 'Gamers can make a better world'

I recently viewed Jane McGonigal's video on Ted. It is well worth watching.

I have summarised the main points from her presentation below:

Gamers are a platform for change. There are four things that gamers are really good at:

1. Urgent optimism. This is the desire to act immediately to tackle an obstacle combined with the belief we have a reasonable chance of success. Gamers always believe the epic win is possible.
2. Gamers are virtuosos at weaving a tight social fabric. It takes a lot of trust to play a game with someone.
3. Blissful productivity. Gamers are willing to work hard all the time if given the right work.
4. Epic meaning. Gamers are often involved in all inspiring missions.

All four skills add up to one thing. Gamers are super empowered, hopeful individuals.

Jane says, "instead of providing gamers with better and more immersive alternatives to reality, I want all of us to become responsible for providing the world with a better and more immersive reality."

- Jane McGonigal

The discussion after the video is very interesting to read. As teachers though, wouldn't it be fantastic to tap into these skills to engage our students in the learning process at our schools.