My First Raid: In Praise of Guilds

Last January I began to really begin playing World of Warcraft.  On Friday I got to participate in my first raid. My guild was short a person for a raid--so they invited me along.  I was definitely the weak-sister in the crew.  I had the lowest gear rating and least skilled.  I spent a good share of the raid dead on the floor, or for a while in a deep pit.  I much prefer the floor--you can watch the battle and learn about techniques!  I had a great hour of play and learned a lot.

I've been playing this game so that I can help find ways to use adolescents' passions for games and the skills and strategies they have learned to pull them into literacy development.  My lessons on Friday were many.

1. Work ahead of deadlines!  [I took time from my guild to help me make modifications to my armor that I could have done myself.]  I think this is a particularly valuable lesson for students.  If you are working ahead you profit more from instruction!  In other words--the prepared are better able to advantage of opportunities.
2. Guilds are wonderful!  My guild is comprised of educators.  We all have interests in how to use gaming for educational purposes.  While playing you can ask for advice or help.  Often the guild members will give you gear or actually make things for you!  
3. My guild also offered very helpful advice about strategies during the raid.  In my case it was mostly keep working on improving the "level" of my gear.  But with each other they had great suggestions for how to improve play.

How does this  connect with literacy learning?  First, I think it connects to choice and collaboration.

 I've been involved with a learning management system, 3D GamesLab for a number of years.

One of the quest lines I've been working through is related to gaming theory in education.  I chose this quest line because of personal interest--gaming is getting in the way of my son's life--and because of the number of adolescents I meet in schools whose lives pretty much revolve around gaming.

It's been a great experience for me.  I've "leveled up" one character and have been working on getting a high enough "gear" rating so that I could raid with my guild.  [For those of you who are unfamiliar with video gaming--a raid is when 10-25 players work collaboratively to defeat a particularly tough challenge in the game or in a fight against another team. Gear refers to the various pieces of armor and clothing that help build up your defenses against attack and make you stronger.] It's amazing how much socialization and teamwork is required to be successful in the MMORPGs