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Diane Chen said: >Shonda Brisco, MLIS US / Technology Librarian Fort Worth Country Day School Fort Worth, TX sbrisco@fwcds.org >>> Many myths are debunked, such as the idea that videogame playing makes you >anti-social. If you could see my house of 4 teenage boys playing X-box live, Gamecube and 2 computers simultaneously - all interacting with each other and friends via the internet, you'd know this is not entirely a solitary sport.>>>> While I am investigating this video gaming situation (both in real life and through observation of others' comments---I too, have a house-filled with boys and adult men (my husband and his adult, police-officer cousin--- who enjoy video games), I have also seen the other side of the video game obsession (and this IS an obsession in many ways). Just this week I watched the A&E series entitled "Intervention" http://www.aetv.com/intervention/about.jsp which involved a young adult male whose family and girlfriend went to an intervention specialist to get their son / boyfriend help with his obsession with gaming. This young man had become isolated, even with the options of playing online with others, and began to fail to communicate with his family, go to work, and live in the "real world"--he started to speak as the characters on the video games. The situation that was presented was obviously extreme, but I am still not convinced that playing games ALL THE TIME is educational and not harmful (and for most students, the summer offers an endless gaming season--at my house, I am encouraging "field trips" outside to the museums, the library, and special events like the circus, just to require social interaction and some time off from the games). On the flip side, I DO think that being aware of gaming and the impact that it has on our students is important for librarians. I also think that libraries can become a part of the video game craze through purchases of games for their collections, but I think that for many school libraries, this is an expense that can't / won't be pursued because of budgets, selection policies, etc. (And as I write, I am remembering the impact of video tapes, DVDs and other technology had as it entered the library programs....we were concerned about their effects on education, student learning, instruction. Are PS2, X-box, and Gamecube games the next thing for librarians to worry about? I think it's coming faster than we thought. I just don't know how to prepare for it without cynical thoughts.) -------------------------------------------------------------------- All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/ LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html --------------------------------------------------------------------