Digital play and the actualisation of the consumer imagination

In this article, the authors consider emerging consumer practices in digital virtual spaces. Building on constructions of consumer behavior as both a sense-making activity and a resource for the construction of daydreams, as well as anthropological readings of performance, the authors speculate that many performances during digital play are products of consumer fantasy. The authors develop an interpretation of the relationship between the real and the virtual that is better equipped to understand the movement between consumer daydreams and those practices actualized in the material and now also in digital virtual reality. The authors argue that digital virtual performances present opportunities for liminoid transformations through inversions, speculations, and playfulness acted out in aesthetic dramas. To illustrate, the authors consider specific examples of the theatrical productions available to consumers in digital spaces, highlighting the consumer imagination that feeds them, the performances they produce, and the potential for transformation in consumer-players

Using gaming paratexts in the literacy classroom

This paper illustrates how digital game paratexts may effectively be used in the high school English to meet a variety of traditional and multimodal literacy outcomes. Paratexts are texts that refer to digital gaming and game cultures, and using them in the classroom enables practitioners to focus on and valorise the considerable literacies and skills that young people develop and deploy in their engagement with digital gaming and game cultures. The effectiveness of valorizing paratexts in this manner is demonstrated through two examples of assessment by students in classes where teachers had designed curriculum and assessment activities using paratexts

Pedagogy in Commercial Video Games

Books, film, television, and indeed every other medium that came before them has been used and sometimes studied as media for the delivery of instruction. Outstanding examples of each medium have been applied to educative purposes with enduring results. Digital games are now also receiving attention in this context. A first step to gaining an understanding for just how a particular medium can be used in education is to study the outstanding examples, regardless of their original purpose. This chapter examines numerous well-known and commercially successful games through the lens of several known and accepted learning theories and styles, using the premise that “good” games already embody sound pedagogy in their designs even if the incorporation of those theories was not deliberate

Reading the Game: Exploring Narratives in Video Games as Literary Texts

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Video games are increasingly recognized as powerful tools for learning in classrooms. However, they are widely neglected in the field of English, particularly as objects worthy of literary study. This project argues the place of video games as objects of literary study and criticism, combining the theories of Espen Aarseth, Ian Bogost, Henry Jenkins, and James Paul Gee. The author of this study presents an approach to literary criticism of video games that he names “player-generated narratives.” Through player-generated narratives, players as readers of video games create loci for interpretative strategies that lead to both decoding and critical inspection of game narratives. This project includes a case-study of the video game Undertale taught in multiple college literature classrooms over the course of a year. Results of the study show that a video game introduced as a work of literature to a classroom increases participation, actives disengaged students, and connects literary concepts across media through multimodal learning. The project concludes with a chapter discussing applications of video games as texts in literature classrooms, including addressing the practical concerns of migrating video games into an educational setting

Learning through games using multimedia courseware for primary school students

This project presents a preliminary work on examining the importance of incorporating the elements of games, in particular complex games, in the design of an interactive multimedia-learningenvironment to enhance and create an engaging learning experience. A review suggests that computer games have the potential to enhance the learning environment; in part due to its interactive and engagement attributes. The result of an informal survey reveals that "Fraction", one of the mathematic topics taught at schools was identified as one of the most difficult topics to teach. Thus development of the prototype software was based on this topic. An initial examination of two current multimedia courseware CDs used for Mathematic Year 3 under this topic has revealed that most of the contents in the CDs have integrated all the multimedia elements such as text, image, audio and graphics but it lacks interactive games and activities that could stimulate enjoyment and motivation for learning. Activities found consist mainly of simpleor trivial gamesthat do not lend to sustainedengagement. The architecture and the preliminary designof the prototype software that integrate complexgames are described. To form the basis of the courseware development, a pre-survey questionnaire was conducted to find out students interest on computer games. The results of the survey showed that 100% or 60 out of 60 respondent express interest and engage on games. The result of the analysis provides motivations for the development of the learning through games courseware. The development of the courseware is based on the courseware development framework which will analyze the requirement and courseware specification, the initial storyboard, designation of multimedia, the integration of the storyboard and the design itself and also the testing on the courseware. The result of testing on the courseware shows that by integrating complex games elements and multimedia elements on courseware may help students understand and motivate them to learn. In conclusion, a courseware with additional games elements could be an interactive and more interesting usable courseware

Teacher Perceptions of Digital Gaming and 21st-century skills in the Middle School Classroom

Teacher Perceptions of digital gaming and 21st-century skills in Middle School classrooms ABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to capture teacher perceptions on the use of digital gaming in the learning environment of middle school classrooms. Additionally, to speak to perceptions on learning of 21st-century skills such as communication, collaboration and critical thinking. This study of two middle schools in the same district in suburban New Jersey was utilized for capturing the ideas of teachers who employed a variety of digital games in the classroom as part of their learning objectives. An interview protocol was utilized to direct questions around ideas with a focus on: game types, game objectives and observations of learning, as well as perceptions around the assessment of learning. Interviews were conducted with educators both individually and in a group to compile their perspectives on how games can be utilized towards a learning target, specifically to support 21st-century skills. The digital games came in the form of a variety of formats and utilized for different intents, but purposefully integrated to support constructivist learning styles and foster learning. This study contributed information to the literature regarding digital gaming and learning, inclusive and beyond that of engagement. Recommendations for educational leaders and policy makers were outlined as well as suggestions for future research relevant to these ideas were also included