World of Warcraft going offline triggers a “Professor Sheep” career crisis: (Couldn’t find the original author — if you know who it is, please speak up) Click the images below to view them full size
A few days ago I came across an article, “American Education Expert Suggests Using World of Warcraft to Teach,” which mentioned that Lucas Gillespie of EduRealms founded “WoWinSchool,” a site dedicated to teaching teachers how to use World of Warcraft in the classroom.
Founder Lucas Gillespie says students who are at risk of dropping out aren’t failing because they lack the ability to learn, but because they find the coursework boring and irrelevant. “Math is boring and reading articles is just as tedious for them, because they feel these things have nothing to do with them. They don’t write at school because they feel their own feelings can’t go into an essay. Usually, these students just need a catalyst, a source of inspiration, so they can focus on reading, writing, and doing arithmetic. Most kids today play virtual social networks and online games. So using online games like World of Warcraft can serve as a great jumping-off point for all kinds of coursework.”
And then look at “Professor Sheep,” who’s now the target of everyone’s outrage online — what a stark, ironic contrast. Shouldn’t Professor Sheep grab Lucas Gillespie and give him a few zaps?
While I’m at it, a big thumbs-down to certain bad actors.
One parent said: “The music in the game makes me feel like I’ve walked into a demon’s maze. My heart kept pounding, and I had no choice but to take some heart medication just to get through it.” Why is it only your heart that pounds? Why do so many people in China feel calm and happy when they hear this powerful music? Is there something wrong with your ears? I’ve heard WoW’s background music in plenty of CCTV programs. Let’s set aside for now the fact that CCTV used someone else’s composition without permission — but when CCTV played that track back then, how come it never realized it would make people feel like they’d walked into a demon’s maze? — Reflections on CCTV’s 《战网魔》
Some shameless organization — I’ve heard illegally pirated music in plenty of programs too, including game music and TV show music: World of Warcraft, Red Alert 3, The X-Files, and so on. So that author’s words really struck a chord with me.
“Professor Sheep” made his name off World of Warcraft, and now mainland WoW’s servers are down. Go do whatever you’re supposed to be doing, or it’ll really turn out like the cartoon describes.