As God as my witness this blog is not going to become single-mindedly dedicated to the exploration and advocacy of World of Warcraft. However given my interest in thoroughly tracking activities I’m engaged in and devoting ample time to reflecting on my experiences I wanted to document where I’m at in this whole interesting process.

One thing I’d like to reiterate at this point, as I mentioned on Twitter the other day, when I talk about “learning” I don’t just mean “school.” It’s a very important distinction to make, and I’m not the least bit interested in establishing artificial boundaries that delineate what does or doesn’t constitute “real” or “productive” learning.  If a scenario or situation is safe and inspires people to think, discuss, or explore an idea or concept I think it’s a valuable one that should not be dismissed or discounted.  Certainly there are implications for how and whether different technologies might be incorporated into formal classroom use or within articulated curricula, but in my view that is an entirely different, very specific discussion to the wider conversation about learning.

Furthermore, as I discussed previously, the conversation on the educational uses of virtual worlds and MMORPGs that has been debated since long before I ever began the WoW trial, so I think it’s worth incorporating my experiences into that discussion.

MMORPGs as tangents to discussion

In that vein, a very interesting discussion has emerged on Facebook on the note that syndicated my initial post about WoW. Unfortunately you’ll need a FB account to view the comments (don’t get me started about that), but it’s definitely been an inspiring conversation.

The context of the thread has extended to a variety of topics, including the demographic implications that entertainment and RPGs have – especially in terms of what gender different forms of entertainment may or may not appeal to, and why that could be the case.

It’s also expanded to the notion of space and what the implications are for individuals and our relationships to society. As I commented:

“…the notion of space and privacy is definitely in a state of flux I think. I was thinking about this just the other day in fact. We use tools and services that blur the lines between private and professional, me and we, us and them – so really everything is up for re-negotiation.

Our mobiles are now powerful mini-computers that link us to email and the web as much as they do telephone. So despite the fact I’m on leave from work for the next 10 days, when my phone goes “Ding! You’ve got email” more of then than not it’s coming from work. I’m not there physically, but that no longer matters as much.

The notion of what constitutes “being there” is no longer the same as it once was.”

Where does WoW fit in here?

So how does this relate to WoW?  Well for one thing, WoW represents part of the shift that is ocurring through innovations in technology.  WoW and SecondLife, and to differing degrees other social media tools, have introduced a medium through which people can come together to interact and hang-out “together” despite not being physically present in the same locale.

Yes there are some fundamental differences; however there are also common themes. Ethics, morality, humanity’s place and role relative to its surroundings, disease, famine, sociology, conflict and war – they’re all subjects that I’ve run across in the short time I’ve been playing.

I wasn’t actively searching for learning outcomes while playing – I was just enjoying myself.  Nonetheless the lessons were there.

WoW through the eyes of a 4-year old

For example, my 4 year old daughter poked her head around the corner yesterday and asked what I was doing.  After a long discussion and equal amount of contemplation about whether it was a good idea or not, we decided to have a go together. Having done this the outcomes were very interesting.

She found the process of creating a character very interesting, and was clearly formulating a set of criteria while she did.  She didn’t want to be a “baddie” and she selected a gender and skin colour that most closely resembled herself.  She didn’t want to play a Rogue, because they stole and stealing isn’t right.

Then having created her character she quickly disagreed with the quests she was being asked to go on.  She refused to kill any animals because “she likes nature” and “hurting animals is wrong.”  I pointed out this is just a game and it’s pretend and that no animals are really getting hurt and she said it doesn’t matter.  I asked her if there was any difference between hurting animals in real life and hurting them in pretend and she said a definitive “No!”

We then talked about how the race I was playing at the time, the Taureans, were an indigenous people who actually revere nature and animals and only use what they need to survive; that they need animal meat for food and their pelts for clothing and shelter.  I said it was a very complicated situation – they weren’t “baddies” but they did need to kill animals to survive.

At this point she was clearly processing the implications of the discussion, and the conversation hasn’t progressed any further since then, but I can absolutely say that WoW facilitated the emergence of the topic.

Interestingly, she ultimately announced that she didn’t like the game and didn’t want to play it, that it was “inappropriate” and not only that, but that I shouldn’t be playing it either!

Lots to think about…

I’ve by no means come to any final conclusions about this train of thought, but I can absolutely say that my perspectives on where MMORPGs and virtual worlds sit in the learning landscape has been fundamentally challenged and altered in the last 6 days.

What’s really important to bear in mind I think, is the fact I didn’t set out to broach any of the topics I’ve found myself discussing in the wake of WoW.  The thread on Facebook, the conversation with Maddie; they both emerged naturally and yet inspired some deep and meaningful dialogue about some very complex topics.  To me that is a very important outcome.