Well this week was another fun one, as I love to play. My family has accessed online games for a while now. We have played online crosswords, Soduko etc.; the kids play games on treehouse.ca and discoverykids.ca and my husband, being an avid poker player, has played online poker. His comment about the online poker is that it certainly doesn't take the place of the real thing (don't get the same interaction with the players) it is great for testing and improving your skills.
I tried various of the free online arcade style games (I love frogger- does that show my age?? lol). I attended the gaming session that Kelly gave, which was great! Seeing WoW in action showed me that I could really get into playing the game (I used to play dungeons and dragons in University) just to find the time... Being such a wall flower (yeah right) I was the first one to jump up and have a go on DDR. I had danced on the mat at a party in the past and found it quite hilarious and lots of fun!!
I am a part of Second Life as one of the participants in the virtual reference pilot over the summer. I am really enjoying SL and having fun exploring all the different aspects of the world. The kids are always asking me to go onto Second Life and play. They of course find it amusing when my avatar crashes from flying or bumps into walls (but I'm getting better). My avatar is Isobella Sands. If you are in world, look for me, we can do coffee!
I believe that gaming and virtual worlds have a part in learning and the library. Looking at Second Life, obviously the library is there for virtual reference. There are possibly some other benefits as well that can be explored- meetings, library sessions in world, classes, etc. We just have to open our minds and explore all possibilities. Some games require a lot of strategy in order to play the game, not unlike the strategy needed for research and study. Could these skills be improved by playing games? Something to ponder!
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