The University of Wisconsin–Madison has partnered with Coursera to offer a video game course online for free. Coursera has been at the forefront of free online college courses that range in everything from computer science, physiology, and now video games. Can you really become a expert from this one course? Not really, but you’ll be closer than you were yesterday. The course titled “More than a High Score: Videogames and Learning” doesn’t have a set start date but will be announced soon. Its also set to run about 10 weeks long, with up to 4-6 hours a week of commitment. This is the real deal. Sounds interesting? Get enrolled before the next session begins.
University of Wisconsin–Madison
About the Course
Videogames are one of the fastest trending topics in media, education, and technology. Research across fields as disparate as science, literacy, history, visual processing, curriculum, and computer science suggests that videogames aren’t just fun – they can actually be good for your mind as well. In this course, we will discuss current research on the kinds of thinking and learning that goes into videogames and gaming culture. We’ll investigate the intellectual side of digital gameplay, covering topics that range from perception and attention in Left 4 Dead 2 to the development of historical understanding in Civilization to collaborative learning in massively multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft. Throughout the course, we examine the inherent tensions between contemporary youth culture and traditional education and new developments in games for learning that promise to help bridge that growing divide.
