The applicability of social network analysis to the study of networked learning

In this study, the aim was to examine how small-group collaboration is shaped by individuals interacting in a virtual multiplayer game. The data were collected from a design experiment in which six randomly divided groups of four university students played a voice-enhanced game lasting about 1 h. The ‘eScape’ game was a social action adventure developed as a part of the study. In the analysis of the video data, students' discourse functions during the game were analysed with content analytic methods for studying the nature of their interaction. An effort was made to analyse the data on both group and individual levels, and therefore the participants' prior social ties and experience in gaming were studied as well. The results showed that the students' main discourse functions in their conversation were Question, Content Statement, Instruction or Order and Response. It was found that individual students, especially those with prior knowledge of gaming or prior social ties, can have a major impact on the social interaction and the outcome of collaboration. It can be concluded that the eScape game allowed the students to engage in true and constructive collaborative activity, and in the future multiplayer games could be used, for example, to promote group cohesion and development, when employed in a pedagogically meaningful manner.     

Video games as moral educators?

The growing interest in video gaming is matched by a corresponding increase in concerns about the harmful effects on children and adolescents. There are numerous studies on aggression and addiction which spark debates on the negative effects of video gaming. At the same time, there are also studies demonstrating prosocial effects. This paper focuses on how video games, particularly massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMOs and MMORPGs for short) that allow interaction with other players, can play a part in players' moral and character development. Although there are many games with moral content, the MMO game World of Warcraft (WoW for short) is used as an illustrative example because of its popularity, to demonstrate how players, through game content and game play, are confronted with moral dilemmas which demand decision-making, social obligations and responsibilities, perspective-taking and empathy, perseverance and delayed gratification.     

Maker culture and Minecraft: implications for the future of learning

Collaborative learning environments found with gaming communities can provide excellent structures to study the way that learners act within informal learning environments. For example, many of these gaming communities encourage gamers to create videogames and virtual world walkthroughs and commentaries. Walkthroughs and commentaries provide gamers information that helps them in game play. We refer to this process of walkthrough creation as digital maker culture. This study explored the phenomena of digital maker culture through a multiple case study design by examining five Minecraft walkthrough creators who created walkthrough repositories on YouTube. Findings suggest multiple levels of experience are needed when players are involved in digital maker communities. These multiple levels of experience are (a) to engage in creating designs for immediate prototypes, (b) to belong to cultural environments that foster collaboration and sharing, and (c) use common design standards. This has implications that could inform innovative instructional practices with digital tools in school environments, in order to foster a more collaborative, participatory classroom experience.     

The Teenage Expertise Network (TEN): an online ethnographic approach

The take-up of digital technology by young people is a well-known phenomenon and has been subject to socio-cultural analysis in areas such as youth studies and cultural studies. The Teenage Expertise Network (TEN) research project investigates how teenagers develop technological expertise in techno-cultural contexts via the use of a purposefully designed, youth-friendly, online environment – significant in this current age of Internet-mediated learning and rapid technological development. The design of TEN follows principles of ethnographic research adapted to an online environment. This article discusses the design, objectives and outworkings of this new media object, highlighting the tensions associated with conducting online research. This article considers why and how we should reengineer online methodologies and the complexities associated therein. It discusses the classification of this method considering the literature surrounding online data collection methods and virtual ethnography.     

网络游戏对人的异化--兼论游戏的本质

网络游戏作为一种新的媒介,在带来极大娱乐的同时,也产生了对人异化作用。反观游戏的本质精神,这种异化现象主要表现在个体的游戏行为、消费行为、人格心理等方面;网络游戏媒介的虚拟特性、网络游戏的商业殖民、教育的游戏缺失等是异化产生的重要因素;构建游戏与现实之间的建设性关系,呼唤传统游戏精神的回归是消除异化的理智之策。     

Online video gaming: what should educational psychologists know?

Based on a significant increase in correspondence to the author from parents, teachers and psychologists concerning “addiction” to online video games like World of Warcraft, this paper provides a brief overview of the main issues surrounding excessive video game playing among adolescents. As an aid to educational psychologists, and based on two decades of the author’s own research in this area, this paper briefly overviews: (i) online gaming addictions, (ii) the differences between online and offline video gaming, and (iii) video gaming benefits. The paper ends with some practical advice that educational psychologists can give to parents about the safe playing of video games.     

Effects of Using an Instructional Game on Motivation and Performance

Abstract

Although many educators theorize that instructional games are effective for providing students with motivating practice, research on instructional gaming is inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect on motivation and performance of using an instructional game. The effect of using a supplemental reading on motivation and performance was also examined. We randomly assigned 75 undergraduates to one of two treatments after they had attended a lecture on the information-processing model of learning. The subjects in one treatment group used an instructional board game to practice the material presented in the lecture, while those in the other group practiced using a traditional worksheet. Results indicated that using the instructional game significantly affected the four motivational components of attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. The instructional game did not influence performance. The results also suggested that the subjects who reported completion of a supplemental reading had significantly better performance and confidence than did the subjects who reported that they had not completed the reading. Implications for the design of practice are discussed.     

Gaming personality and game dynamics in online discussion instructions

Gamification is the use of game mechanics to drive game-like engagements and actions. It applies game mechanics, dynamics and frameworks to promote desired learning behaviours. Positive and effective gamification could enhance learning and engage learners in more social and context-rich decision-making for problem-solving in learning tasks. Effective gamification design should understand the game personalities of learners, social engagement styles, and intrinsic- and extrinsic-motivated user styles initially and evaluate and select appropriate game mechanics, game dynamics, to create ideal gamification instructions. The research question this study investigated is: How will four types of gaming personalities (i.e. Explorer, Socialiser, Killer and Achiever) predict the level of game dynamics in online discussion environments? This study concluded that examining how gaming personalities relate to game dynamics in a gamified online discussion instruction is not sufficient to design effective gamification. It suggests future studies in game instructions should focus on the relationships between game dynamics, gamification contexts, gaming personalities or preferences, dynamic gaming engagement styles, etc.     

What digital games and literacy have in common: a heuristic for understanding pupils' gaming literacy

This article argues that digital games and school‐based literacy practices have much more in common than is reported in the research literature. We describe the role digital game paratexts – ancillary print and multimodal texts about digital games – can play in connecting pupils’ gaming literacy practices to ‘traditional’ school‐based literacies still needed for academic success. By including the reading, writing and design of digital game paratexts in the literacy curriculum, teachers can actively and legitimately include digital games in their literacy instruction. To help teachers understand pupils’ gaming literacy practices in relation to other forms of literacy practices, we present a heuristic for understanding gaming (HUG) literacy. We argue our heuristic can be used for effective teacher professional development because it assists teachers in identifying the elements of gameplay that would be appropriate for the demands of the literacy curriculum. The heuristic traces gaming literacy across the quadrants of actions, designs, situations and systems to provide teachers and practitioners with a knowledge of gameplay and a metalanguage for talking about digital games. We argue this knowledge will assist them in capitalising on pupils’ existing gaming literacy by connecting their out‐of‐school gaming literacy practices to the literacy and English curriculum.     

Investigating Students' Perceived Discipline Relevance Subsequent to Playing Educational Computer Games: A Personal Interest and Self-Determination Theory Approach

The purpose of this study is to explain students' perceived relevance of playing an educational game as a means for development of discipline competence. Based on self-determination theory and the concept of personal interest, we propose that: Satisfying students' basic needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness when playing educational games is critical for arousal of intrinsic motivation in learning-through-gaming; Students' interest in the core subject and their intrinsic motivation in learning-through-gaming are important for their perceptions of how relevant they believe the gaming session is for the discipline they are studying. The results from an empirical study indicate that arousal of intrinsic motivation in the ongoing gaming session is more important than pre-gaming interest in the core subject for participants' post-gaming perception of how relevant such gaming is as a means for developing their discipline competence. The results also indicate that satisfying basic needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness is critical for arousal of intrinsic gaming motivation. Our findings have implications for the choice of pedagogical means when utilizing educational games as a complementary alternative to traditional learning methods. To that end, we offer directions for future research.     

网络游戏式活动课程——游戏与教育结合的平衡点探微

游戏在个体成长过程中具有重要意义,然而,网络游戏却导致了严重的社会问题。本文通过比较反思,发现教育软件中存在着游戏开发注重的激发动机的游戏性的极度缺失,是其无法与商业游戏争夺青少年的关键,并阐释了造成此缺失的原因。通过对人们探索游戏与教育结合的途径与游戏和活动课程的本质特征、组织形式和目标的分析,提出了开发寓教于乐的网络游戏式活动课程是游戏与教育结合的最佳平衡点的观点。最后讨论了网络游戏式活动课程的基本设计思想。     

网络环境下青少年思想道德教育问题探析

网络具有开放性、交互性和虚拟性等特点,对青少年的世界观、人生观和价值观的形成起着日益重要的作用,给思想道德教育工作者提出了新的挑战。在网络环境下,要利用校园网平台,加强青少年思想道德教育;开展网络道德教育,引导青少年树立正确的网络道德观念;加强网络思想道德教育队伍建设,提高思想道德教育工作者的现代信息技术素养;形成社会合力,优化青少年成长的网络社会环境。     

Role playing games for scientific citizenship

Research has shown that video games can be good for learning, particularly for STEM topics. However, in order for games to be scalable and sustainable, associated research must move beyond considerations of efficacy towards theories that account for classroom ecologies of students and teachers. This study asks how a digital game called Citizen Science, built using tropes and conventions from modern games, might help learners develop identities as citizen scientists within the domain of lake ecology. We conducted an expert-novice study, revealing that games literacy was a mediating variable for content understanding. In a follow-up classroom implementation, games literacy also operated as a variable, although students drove the activity, which mediated this concern. The teacher devised a number of novel pedagogies, such as a field trip, in response to the unit. We found evidence for the most powerful learning occurring through these activities that were reinforced via the curriculum. Students were most engaged by Citizen Science??s most ??gamelike?? features, and learners took up the core ideas of the game. Users also reported the experience was short of commercial gaming experiences, suggesting a tension between game cultures for learning and schools.     

“GodMode is his video game name”: situating learning and identity in structures of social practice

In this paper, we report on the structural nexus of one youth??s gaming practices across contexts and over time. We utilize data from an ethnography of youth science and technology learning, as well as expertise development, across settings and developmental time. We use Ole Dreier??s theory of persons to understand how this youth is able to develop considerable gaming expertise. Additionally, we explicate the learning practices embedded in the structural nexus of this youth??s gaming and we examine associated issues of learning and identity. We problematize the lack of continuity between his formal schooling experiences and the structural nexus of his gaming practices as situated in a variety of other contexts and we reflect on the implications for the design of STEM gaming experiences in formal school environments.     

Computer Innovation in Schools: a review of selected research literature

Abstract

The development of information and communication technologies has made it possible for schools to establish inter-institutional electronic networks to enhance the quality of education in small schools in sparsely populated countries like Finland. Along with this development, new kinds of virtual classrooms have emerged in symbiosis with conventional schools. A virtual classroom in a school context is a new, mostly uninvestigated, phenomenon. This article reports on the results of a Finnish project that linked two lower secondary classrooms to make one virtual classroom. The article reports on an exploratory case study of the virtual classroom and discusses justification of its establishment and practice, within the social contexts embedded in the project.     

Cultivating critical game makers in digital game-based learning: learning from the arts

Digital games have the potential of being a transformative tool for applying constructionist principles to learning within formal and informal learning settings. Unfortunately, most recent attention has focused on instructionist games. Connected gaming provides a tantalizing alternative approach by calling for the development of games that are both instructive and modifiable by learners. If game design is to be used as a pedagogical tool in this manner, emphasis should be placed on the concurrent development of critical makers. In this paper, we advance the notion of connected gaming through positing a conception of a critical maker. To accomplish this, we look to the arts as a domain where pedagogical approaches are in place from which the game-based learning community can draw insights from, along with an overview of the potential challenges and opportunities that may accompany any attempt to develop critical makers.     

Literacy‐lite in BarbieGirls ™

While the attention of researchers has focused on video games, texting and, more recently, the growth of social networking sites such as Bebo.com and Facebook, virtual worlds have emerged as a site of significant cultural and textual relevance for young people. A total of 6.2 million children aged between six and 12 years of age ventured into a virtual world in the 12 months between April 2007 and April 2008. Media and gaming industry analysts predict that by 2011 more than one‐half of all children in that age group will be visiting virtual worlds regularly, going more often and staying longer. Paying attention to the kinds of online and offline practices these worlds promote in relation to identity and text is, for educators, both interesting and important. This article examines one of the most popular current sites for young girls, Mattel’s BarbieGirls?. In particular, the paper will pick up on issues of consumption and gender as a background context to a consideration of the textual practices modeled and made available in this particular virtual world.     

The Study Activity of Students

ABSTRACT

Gamification incorporates game-elements in non-gaming situations to enhance student engagement and desired behavior. This study examined participant's willingness to take part in gamified activities where reward systems were not directly tied to course grades. Participants enrolled in a technology integration course for preservice teachers, were grouped on subject-specific interests, and designed 30-minute presentations on technology integration. Over two semesters, an optional gaming activity was included in five course sections acting as the treatment group, and four sections acted as non-blind control groups. Data was collected from pre-, mid-, and post-surveys that investigated previous gaming experience, game motivations, group project perceptions, and perceived willingness to participate in the game. The treatment group indicated their perceptions of game play during mid- and post-surveys. Participants in all sections completed meeting history worksheets to describe weekly group and individual meetings. The results indicated significant differences between mid- and post-surveys regarding individual participation, group pursuits, individual work, frequency of group meetings, group preparation, and purchased items. The findings indicated a significant difference between treatment and control groups regarding hours spent in groups. Recommendations were provided for the practice of gamification in educational settings.     

Mobile Gaming and Student Interactions in a Science Center: the Future of Gaming in Science Education

This article explores the impact of an augmented reality iPad-based mobile game, called The Great STEM Caper, on students’ interaction at a science center. An open-source, location-based game platform called ARIS (i.e. Augmented Reality and Interactive Storytelling) was used to create an iPad-based mobile game. The game used QR scan codes and a challenge-based game structure to encourage engagement in science. Participants wore head-mounted GoPro cameras to record interactions within the physical and social environment. The purpose of this research was to study the impact of a mobile game on student interactions in a science center. Gender differences in gameplay behaviors and perceptions were compared. The study included a quasi-experimental design with two groups: one group that played the iPad mobile game during their science center visit, and one group that explored the science center in a traditional free exploration manner. Video data from the GoPro cameras provided examination of the different ways students interacted with the science center. The female students outperformed the male students on every measure of the iPad game achievement. Lazzaro’s (2004) four types of fun was used to describe the gender differences in game perceptions and interactions. Females tended to enjoy hard fun and collaborative people fun, while males enjoyed easy fun and competitive people fun. The females tended to be more goal-oriented, persistent in the face of difficulty, and appreciative of hard fun. The results of this study have implications for the design of mobile-based gaming technology to encourage interaction in an informal science center setting.