World of Warcraft In School? Well Met.
An interview with Peggy Sheehy “TEACHER ON A MISSION!”
Ever since I began playing World of Warcraft, I couldn’t help but think of how incredible it would be to join a group of students in world as they perform their daily quests. I envisioned ways in which I could tie in game play to the learning that was occurring in my classroom. WoW in School beat me to it. Rather than explain their quest myself, I’ll let co-founder Peggy Sheehy explain that for you.
Educator Studio: Give me a quick, brief overview of what WoW in School is.
Peggy Sheehy: WoW in School started as a collaborative after school program with my colleague Lucas Gillispie of Pender County Schools, NC, using World of Warcraft to engage at-risk youth. After the first year, Lucas and his lead teacher, Craig Lawson, expanded the project by designing an English Language Arts curriculum aligned to national core standards. We then brought the course as an elective into the regular academic program: The Hero’s Journey.
ES: Why World of Warcraft?
PS: The primary reason for using WoW was that the game lore and back story is as rich an epic tale as any, and we already had an established community base within the game; The Cognitive Dissonance Guild of Educators. In short, we started with a game we understood, a game we had explored deeply and had realized the learning potential.
ES: Speaking of learning, what should education look like?
PS:Education should be as diverse as the learners. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. But it certainly shouldn’t look like the industrial age model that currently exists.
ES:Your work initially started out with at-risk students, some of which were categorized as LD. Would you venture to say that they were simply misdiagnosed by those aforementioned antiquated systems?
PS: In my club and class, many of these kids have very real and challenging spectrum related issues. Some medical, some psychological, and some behavioral. There are also some students in the programs who simply have not been able to cope with traditional learning paradigms.
ES: Your site outlines steps that educators can and should take to begin the quest to use WoW in their schools. Which, to you, is the most important?
PS: In my opinion, start by playing the game. Until one has experienced the learning that happens in game, any efforts will be unsubstantiated and shallow. As one journeys through the learning process- scaffolded constructivist learning, I might add- the teacher lens will kick in, and the rationale will gain substance and meaning.
ES: That’s exactly the process that I went through when I played the first time. I’ve often thought of incorporating WoW into my own classroom but have run into some pitfalls, primarily parent concerns. How did you combat the hard-sell of using a game that incorporates killing enemies in its learning curve?
PS: Eight Myths about Video Games Debunked- great article by Dr. Henry Jenkins. It addresses the issues of violence, demographics, etc. Kids also know the difference between real violence and game play. Zimmerman and Salen’s work illustrates this. We have football and lacrosse in school; we read scores of fiction containing violence. We teach history- last time I checked there was some violence in there. It’s just absurd to look at a video game that involves slaying monsters and fighting evil forces to be considered a contributing factor to any degradation of morals.
ES: You make some pretty valid points. Also, thanks for those links, I’m sure that our readers will find that a helpful means of support. One last question. Have you had any contact with Blizzard, the company that owns WoW?
PS: Just heard from Blizzard’s PR Department this week. We’re playing phone tag right now.
We wish Peggy the best of luck with her continued quest to create positive change in education. Make sure to visit the main WoW in School site and take a look at their Hero’s Journey curriculum guide.