Staring at a flat-screen television, Nintendo 64 controller in hand, ignoring piles of schoolwork and replacing it with nine straight hours of Super Smash Bros., may not actually be a complete waste of time.

Thanks to Education 222: Videogames & Learning, a new class offered by the School of Education this winter semester, video game enthusiasts will now be able to do homework and play their favorite game at the same time.

Barry Fishman, associate professor of Educational Studies and Information Sciences, said he started the class as a way to change how people view videogames, to help them understand that they can be used for more than just late-night fun.

“The objectives (of the class) are to give people a different way to think about videogames, about learning and about schools,” Fishman said.

Fishman said videogames are built off of a rewards system, the ability to “die” and start a level again without penalization. This keeps a player committed to playing, to get to the next level and eventually beat a game.

“It’s clear that (videogames) are motivating,” Fishman said. “There’s something about a well-designed game that is compelling.”

The goal, Fishman said, is to explore why educators haven’t shaped high school algebra, or Statistics 350, in the videogame mold.

“Play is the oldest form of learning,” Fishman said. “But when we designed schools, we went away from that.”

Fishman stressed that the course is not just fun and games. It focuses on the relationship between videogame technology and social science in the field of education — something that, Fishman said, is not a new concept.

Fishman pointed out that the military has been at the forefront of using videogames as tools for learning.

Simulators and virtual experiences can present elements and situations that live training, or book theory, cannot re-create, Fishman said. The armed forces also used videogames to help with their recruitment needs.

Fishman said he often invites colleagues and professionals in the field to be guest speakers to stimulate class discussions. His list of future speakers includes game designers, educational researchers and game developers.

As part of the course curriculum, students are required to do their own at-home research by playing video games, Kinesiology junior Josh Leskar said in an e-mail. But Leskar stressed that this type of homework is not just all play.

“Sure, we get to play video games for homework throughout the semester,” Leskar said. “But we also have to do a lot of thinking about what we are playing, and why we are playing it.”

There are currently 70 students in Fishman’s course, and because of such popularity, he expects the class will be a regular offering for the winter term.

While parents might gripe about videogames' negative role in childhood development and question the necessity of a college course dedicated to the study, Fishman argues that our culture has entered a different era.

“Videogames are a huge part of popular culture,” Fishman said. As for the concerns of elder generations, he says that it is normal. “This world doesn’t look like the world they remember.”

Even games that have sparked outrage and public debate have some intrinsic value worthy of study, Fishman said.

“Grand Theft Auto is full of fascinating ethical problems,” he said. “You could shoot the guy, or you could choose not to.”

Fishman hopes that other universities take advantage of popular technology to enhance the classroom learning experience, and not to separate the classroom into technological and non-technological divisions.

“I want schools to take advantage that lots of kids have iPods, lots of kids have cell phones.