Program Title: Gaming: Distraction or New Way of Learning? - Monk
Description: The popularity of online games has never been greater than today. For some, games mean community and a new way of learning and being in the world while others fear some people may be leaving the real world behind and losing themselves in the virtual worlds of online role playing.



Our speakers will address the psychological and sociological effects of online gaming and the pros and cons of interacting in a virtual world. Come and discuss whether virtual personalities are
healthy or unhealthy, if gaming encourages isolation and addiction or greater sociability and creativity, and the phenomena of online
communities like FaceBook and MySpace.

Host(s):
Featured Speakers/Guests: Katherine Monk
National Film Critic, CanWest News Service
Ms. Monk is a national film critic for CanWest news Service, which operates 11 major english-language daily newspapers across Canada, including The Vancouver Sun and The Province, Global Television and many smaller publications and broadcast outlets. Prior to becoming a national reporter, Ms. Monk worked at The Vancouver Sun as a film and pop music critic, news reporter and editor. In 2001, Raincoast Books published Ms. Monk’s first book, Weird Sex and Snowshoes: And Other Canadian Film Phenomena, which hit the Canadian bestseller list and was adapted to the screen by Omni Film in 2004. Ms. Monk is heard regularly on CBC Radio One’s definitely not the Opera and her weekly appearance on Global TV is available as a podcast.

Credits: Recorded and edited for CJSF by Charlotte Bourne

Comments: All references to CJSF have been removed.