1. What Video
Games Have
To Teach Us
About
Learning and
Literacy
By James
Paul Gee

2. Summary
The author of this book goes into
detail about how video games are
great tools to teach learning &
literacy.

3. He also “coins” the term
SEMIOTIC DOMAINS…..
“Collective consciousness shared by people with
similar interests, attributes, or skill sets
including: images, words, sounds/gestures.”

4. Response
This books gives me a “new”
perspective about Video Games!
oI used to play video games
up until High School

5. My
husband
still plays
video
games

6. oI used to feel like video
games were just for
“youngsters” (maybe
someone up to the early 20’s)
oNow……..I’m a little on the
fence 

7. • The author describes in detail 36
principles of learning that are
built into playing video games.

8. The 36 Learning Principles
 Active, critical learning  Intertextual
 Design  Multimodal
 Semiotic  “material intelligence”
 Semiotic domains  Intuitive knowledge
 Metalevel thinking about  Subset  Dispersed
semiotic domains  Incremental  Affinity
 “psychosocial moratorium”  Concentrated Sample group
 Committed learning  Insider
 Bottom-up basic skills
 Identity  Explicit information on-
 
Self knowledge Multiple demand & just-in-time
 Achievement routes  Discovery
 Practice  Text  Transfer
 Amplificati
 Ongoing learning of input
on  Cultural models about the
 “regime of competence” world
 Probing  Cultural models about
 Situated meaning learning
 Cultural models about

9. Semiotic Domains
Active, critical learning
principle
Design principle
Semiotic principle
Semiotic domains principle
Meta-level thinking about
semiotic domains
Those who play video games They may develop new
may learn to experience the resources for new learning &
world in a new way and gain problem solving and learn
the potential to join how to think as they are
(collaborate) with a new engaged.
group.

10. Learning & Identity
“psychosocial moratorium”
principle
Committed learning principle
Identity principle
Self knowledge principle
Amplification of Input
principle
Achievement principle
Video games provide the Video games also provide the
opportunity for players to players rewards for their
take risks with low effort. This in turn may be
consequences. very motivating for the player
(learner).

11. Learning & Identity
Practice
Ongoing learning
“regime of
competence”
Students learn when they Video games involve
have a chance to practice learners in an engaging
and interact with what way and also provides
they are “learning.” many practice sessions.

12. Situated Meaning & Learning
Probing principle
Multiple routes
principle
Situated meaning
principle
Text principle
Video games provide A student could read a
experiences for learners to passage about weathering
draw on. These experiences & erosion, but if they are
allow the learner to have a unfamiliar with these
greater understanding of terms, then there can be a
the content. The learner can disconnect & hinder new
draw from these learning. Video games help
experiences when learning to fill in some of those gaps.
new content.

13. Situated Meaning & Learning
Intertextual
Multimodal
“material
intelligence”
Intuitive knowledge
Learners can use the Those who play video Video games promote
language of a “genre” games benefit from and encourage intuitive
(fantasy, etc) of a game “material intelligence” knowledge and not just
and apply it to new because they do not book knowledge. Many
situations. Multiple have to remember all of schools and teachers fail
modalities are used in the knowledge because to realize the importance
video games to help objects within the game of this type of
communicate different can store some of this knowledge.
meanings which are knowledge which they
helpful to survival in that can tap into at a later
game. time.

14. Subset principle
Telling & Doing
Incremental principle
Concentrated Sample
principle
Bottom-up basic skills
principle
Explicit information on-
demand & just-in-time
principle
Discovery principle
Transfer principle
Video games pull from Video games provide the
prior knowledge. They opportunity for the
provide pertinent learner to experiment and
information on a need to take chances which allows
know basis as well as on- the learner to make new
demand. discoveries on their own.

15. Cultural Models
Cultural models about the
world principle
Cultural models about
learning principle
Cultural models about semiotic
domains principle
Video games allow learners to Video gamers prefer “hard” over
reflect on cultural models of the “easy.” Video games would be a
world and what these means to way to engage students and
them. Words and actions have even may excite them about
different meanings based on learning. Imagine students
ones’ cultural. Video games give asking for “harder” questions,
learners the opportunity to assignments, or projects! 
reflect on these and appreciate
other perspectives.

16. The Social Mind
Distributed principle
Dispersed principle
Affinity group
principle
Insider principle
Video games provide opportunities to learn new material
individually or collaboratively. Learning is very social and
video games allow individuals to play with each other in a
competitive and engaging environment.

17. What is the link to society, culture, and
technology?
Video Games & Learning
o Learning and Literacy mean different things to
different groups of people.
o Video games are a type of technology that
today’s learner would find engaging and fun!
o Video games are popular in our society and
used by many(young & old).
Video Games are part of our society and are valued by some
cultures within our society. They are also a type of popular
technology in our society.

18. The 36 Learning Principles
 Active, critical learning  Intertextual
 Design  Multimodal
 Semiotic  “material intelligence”
 Semiotic domains  Intuitive knowledge
 Metalevel thinking about  Subset  Dispersed
semiotic domains  Incremental  Affinity
 “psychosocial moratorium”  Concentrated Sample group
 Committed learning  Insider
 Bottom-up basic skills
 Identity  Explicit information on-
 
Self knowledge Multiple demand & just-in-time
 Achievement routes  Discovery
 Practice  Text  Transfer
 Amplificati
 Ongoing learning of input
on  Cultural models about the
 “regime of competence” world
 Probing  Cultural models about
 Situated meaning learning
 Cultural models about

19. What Video Games
Have
To Teach Us About
Learning and
Literacy
By James
Paul Gee