Bibliography of the role of virtual worlds in education
From: David P. Dillard <j
…@temple.edu>
EDUCATION: LEARNING: STRATEGIES METHODS AND TECHNIQUES :
RECREATION: GAMES:
It’s Not Whether You Win or Lose, but How You Play the Game:
The Role of Virtual Worlds in Education: An Annotated Bibliography
Thanks to Bernie Sloan, a frequent poster to the DIG_REF discussion group
for sharing this link and resource with me.
It’s Not Whether You Win or Lose, but How You Play the Game:
The Role of Virtual Worlds in Education: An Annotated Bibliography
Sharon Stoerger
sstoe…@indiana.edu
<http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/~sstoerge/virtualworlds.htm>
“Boring” and “dry”: these are two words that today’s students often use to
describe their experiences in school (Prensky, 2001, 2003). Oblinger
(2003) asserts that these new students - individuals “raised on the
Internet and interactive games” (p. 44) - may have expectations that are
not met by the current “skill and drill” system of learning (e.g., Gee,
2003; Steinkuehler, 2005). They, and more specifically the Net Generation
or the Millennials (Carlson, 2005; Oblinger, 2003), come into the
classroom equipped with different attitudes toward education, as well as a
diverse array of technological skills. These individuals want more than
the traditional lecture format; instead, they are seeking out authentic
and active educational experiences, like those found in video games.
According to the Entertainment Software Association (2007), the typical
game player is 33 years old and has been playing games for more than 10
years; 38% of these games players are women. But, this is not to say that
younger individuals are not playing games. They are, and as Lenhart,
Madden, and Hitlin (2005) report, the majority of teenagers are now using
the Internet; further, 81% of these teens (or approximately 17 million
individuals) play games online (p. 35). More importantly, though, the
exposure to certain technologies, like video games, may have altered the
minds of these students, or “digital natives,” in such a way that
educational theories that worked in the past may not in today’s world
(Prensky, 2001).
It is important to emphasize that these technologically savvy students are
not searching for an easier path; on the contrary, as Steinkuehler (2005)
suggests, these individuals are seeking out cognitive challenges via video
games. Gee (2003) continues this line of thought, and argues that in the
world of video games, “hard is not bad and easy is not good” (p. 165).
Therefore, some educators, like Barab and his colleagues (2005), propose a
different type of educational model. This alternative is one that blends
together games and learning, while adding one ingredient that is typically
absent in education - fun. Despite evidence to suggest that there are
benefits to the interactions that take place within these rich, complex
worlds, the fact is that the educational community has been slow to adopt
the use of new technologies in the classroom (Hitlin & Rainie, 2005).
The articles that are summarized in this bibliography examine a wide
variety of topics including immersion, creation (versus memorization), and
game innovation, as well as Csikszentmihalyi’s (e.g., 1993) concept of
flow. Many of the authors take a constructivist rather than an
instructivist approach to the topic and draw from the work of scholars,
such as Piaget and Vygotsky.
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Read more at the URL above.
Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
j…@temple.edu
Net-Gold
