So, my previous post is about how swamped I am with schoolwork, and it’s true. I really am swamped. I’m taking two classes, writing conference proposals, designing a pilot study for research, playing World of Warcraft, planning a conference, writing a grant proposal, and….
Did I mention I’m playing World of Warcraft? Yeah, well, no one is more surprised than I am…
Believe it or not, it’s one of my assignments for my eLearning Environments class. Instead of a textbook, we were instructed to buy a copy of WoW. In addition to our course readings and traditional assignments, we are to play WoW until we reach level 20 and keep a journal on our thoughts about virtual environments as learning platforms.
Now, what you have to understand is that I have spent years, years, railing against online games and the power they have to suck the life and drive out of otherwise normal people. In so many ways, healthy, normal human ambition and desire for accomplishment gets channeled into these games and, rather than finishing degrees or curing cancer or even walking the dog, people will spend countless hours leveling and farming a character. And when I say that I have railed against them, you can be assured that I don’t mean a little hesitant disapproval. If you need proof, you can ask my dear sweet Tony…..a consummate gamer from way-back-in-the-day (as my students like to say).
When Tony heard about my assignment, he laughed out loud. Yes, right in my face! And then he ran to log into his game, and proceeded to tell all his buddies over the Ventrilo server that his wife was now required to play WoW.
But here’s the kicker: The larger part of my brain is screaming in frustration: “We don’t have time to play a game! Can’t we just read an article about game playing? There’s too much to do! Online games are just a brain-sink….”
But in the back of my brain, there’s the tiniest little voice that says, “Hey, if I finish this literature review, maybe I’ll have time to do a quest or two and bring my level up before bed…”
Big Voice: “No, I don’t have time to cook dinner tonight! Can’t you see I’m up to my eyeballs in journal articles to get through?”
little voice: “Okay, I’ve read so many journal articles they don’t make sense anymore. Guess I should play some WoW…”
Big Voice: “Tony, you’ll never understand how hard I’m working! Please don’t ask me to do one more thing!”
little voice: “Tony, would you come on this quest with me? I’m just a squishy little mage, and I sure could use a big strong paladin to be my tank on the Mulock Bounty Hunting quest…pleeeeze Sweetie?
Hello, my name is LarcMertel, and I’m a Murloc hunter…..
I love WoW…
I make sure to schedule myself so I only spend about three hours a day on … early in the morning for an hour and a half and late at night for an hour and a half…
It seems to be working LOL.
Hope you enjoy yourself 😀
Shhhhh, don’t tell anyone, but I -am- enjoying myself. But especially, please don’t tell my husband….I’ll never hear the end of it!
oh the IRONY !!!!!!!!
my co-workers are going to call the medics if I don’t get up off the floor soon.
heheheheheheheeeeeeeee*gasp* heeeeeeeeeheeheheheheheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I know! I don’t know which is more ironic: that family-values politician soliciting sex in the airport bathroom, or ME PLAYING WOW!! I’m so conflicted about it too – how can I ever live down the shame? and how can I get up to level 15 by the end of the weekend?
She’s gone to the dark side….
Postcards from the dark side: Dear Clupieform, please send armor, manna, and 8 murloc eyes for Westfall Stew….Wish you were here..and then we could really do some damage…
and more to the point….will you stop at 20 when the assignment technically ends?
or will you “do more research into this fascinating subject” ?????
Did George Washington Carver stop at just one useful invention for the use of peanuts…? No, he came up with well over 300! SERIOUS scholars like myself never quit at the minimum! and besides, the armor gets so much -cooler- as you level up!
Trish…Triiiiiiiisssshhhh! Where’s Trish?
I love WoW, i`ve been playing this great game for almost 3 years now in May. Can I write on my blog about this interesting assignment you got? Is it for university, for some class? I would love to get such assignments at my Master degree.
[…] Ea trebuie sa joace WoW pana la level 20 si sa scrie impressile despre ce invataminte informale poate trage din lumea virtuala. Foarte interesant. Aici se gaseste subiectul studiului. Mi`a placut raspunsul ei cand un comentator a intrbat`o daca va continua sa joace World of Warcraft si dupa ce ajunge la nivelul cerut de tema, lvl 20. […]
James and William both play WOW. They play on the Echo Isle server. They are Siah (James) and Earthmover and Elex (william)
I don’t play, but I am knitting a lot. Oh, the Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl Mcfee is going to be speaking in Atlanta in April, at Knitch. You should go hear her speak, she is very funny.
Rats! I’m on the Gerona server! I bet playing with Bill is a real hoot! It’s the quiet, smiling ones you have to look out for! ;- ) Thanks for the headsup on the thing at Knitch! Sounds like fun. I still have half a sock on my needles….
[…] for emergencies! I mean, what if I don’t make it to level 20 by the assignment due date! I wouldn’t want to give my professor the impression that I didn’t take the assignment se…, now would […]