Dr. Jane McGonigal Speech

Dr. Jane McGonigal claims that online gaming is the future of saving the real world, and presents a good argument to support this. In the beginning she states that over 3 billion hours are spent a week on gaming, and that this builds not only teamwork, but motivation. In games, one is forced to collaborate with other gamers in order to accomplish a small or world-saving goal. McGonigal argued that if this same work ethic and willingness to win is applied to real world situations that it would make for a better future. Throughout her speech, Dr. McGonigal references respected resources such as Carnegie University, Malcom Gladwell, and Edward Kastonova to re-emphasize her motion that gaming hours should increase.She argues that most children have logged 10,000 hours of gameplay by the time they're 21, the same amount of time one spends in school from 5-12th grade. However, McGonigal believes that the positive reinforcement and teamwork that are applied in virtual gaming are not present in reality, and that needs to change. Perhaps her most influential example was the famime that was taking place in a past civilization that was avoided (or unnoticed) for 18 years by the inhabitants playing a dice game every over day, forgetting their hunger. Not only has McGonigal earned her PhD, being a reliable source herself, but she is currently working for the Institute for the Future. Based on examples set by the old civilization and modern online gamers, McGonigal helped develop three games that presented real-life situations such as oil running out or reorganizing one's country or city to users, forcing them to adjust to not only what was happening on their electronic screens, but also to what could occur in reality. The result showed that users who played the game continued to express habits in real life that they had experienced virtualy. Thus, Mcgonigal is proving her own hypothesis; the once bad habits of gaming can now be seen as positive traits to the world.This is perhaps the reason that Dr. McGonigal's argument is so strong; she can support it personally and logically.