Gabe Zichermann: How games make kids smarter

Gabe Zichermann, who lives in NYC, is the creator and on the chair for the Gamification Summit. He is also the author of books that are acclaimed for analysis on Gamification and Game-based marketing.

Gabe states in his presentation that gamesin school actually help children learn not only faster but teach valuable teamwork or “multiplayer” skills.

Gabe captures the audience with some humor and relatable story about his childhood fascination with games. He references a

particular video game “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?” and stated it was the last game that parents, teachers, and children

enjoyed together

Gabe keeps the audience engaged with examples of how children are not negatively effected by games – rather they are learning more multitasking skills by play them.

He continues to also reference a study where a teacher’s students jumped a grade and a half of learning a language by using a Nintendo DS for 18 weeks.

Gabe’s dynamism is 4/5.He gives relatable information to the kids and parents of the gaming community. He also is animated and his humor keeps the audience engaged.

Overall, I think the presentation was effective and make the audience think and consider his points. At times he seemed unrehearsed – stumbling a little bit. Sometimes too it seemed a little information heavy; there are times where short and sweet are better.

Gabe masterfully shows us the real him. He speaks of his true passion and what he loves in this world - gaming. Gabe also connects with the audience with emotion. The audience laughs numerous times throughout the presentation.

Listening to Gabe talk it proves that it is important to be extremely passionate about the topic that you are talking about. Also, making it relatable to all age groups and people is important as well. I felt a sense of understanding from parents and children/teenagers.

compare

Both Sir Ken Robinson and Gabe Zichermann are passionate about the topics they are talking about. They also use humor as a mechanism to capture their audiences interest and to make things more personal for everyone.

Sir Ken Robinson’s major difference is that he seems to speak a bit clearer and get his points across with more emphasis. He also uses the humor mechanism better than what Gabe does.

Gabe Zichermann doesn’t use humor as effectively, but seems to be more vulnerable than what Sir Ken Robinson is. This makes his presentation a bit more personal because he relates his likes and dislikes with the viewer. He doesn’t seem as well versed though in comparison to Sir Ken Robinson.

My biggest tips from the Gabe Zichermann TED talk is to be passionate and vulnerable. Gabe seems 100% raw in his presentation and obviously enjoys what he does. He brings his passion to your level and is convincing because of that. Along with the passion, use humor if possible. It makes the presentation more interesting and again more real.

Gabe Zichermann