EDUC 6809 - Weekly Reading #7

In response to: No Selling the Genie Lamp: A game literacy practice in The Sims by Elizabeth R. Hayes and James Paul Gee.

"She is treating the game as a tool kit for building simulations, not as a simulation in its own right. She is moving the center of the game away from the software (The Sims game) to her own work of organizing other people’s play in particular ways." (Hayes & Gee, 2010)

Game literacy, according to this paper's authors, is comprised of many different practices in the same way that print literacy is. This paper's primary concern was how "Yamx", a Sims user and online forum participant, designed her own simulation/game using The Sims as a platform based on a non-fiction work. It describes the "Nickel and Dimed Challenge" in which players were bound by rules created by Yamx to closely simulate the challenges of a poor single working mother inspired by the book "Nickel and Dimed" (which I read years ago - a good recommended read).

I felt this paper could help inform my case study because it presented a way students could design challenges based on a pre-existing game (i.e. no programming necessary). The game design took place entirely in writing, and also included interaction and instant feedback/adjustments (editing) to her game rules based on individual wants/needs.

The Sims is similar to Minecraft in that it has no win-state and is what some call a "sandbox." I think my case study, Avery, might enjoy creating a game/simulation challenge in Minecraft. I know his friends and him already challenge each other to do certain things in the game (for instance, somehow they discovered that if you dig all the way to the "core" in creative mode, it is possible to die... so they've been challenging each other to dig a hole that goes all the way through the bedrock!). What the author describes in the paper - about "Yamx" adjusting the game rules based on the individual questions of the user - is already happening in my son's social life... they are constantly challenging each other and then coming back to school with questions about the challenge. My point being, a teacher might exploit this by asking Avery (and his friends) to write these challenges on paper (or on the computer), which could help Avery's writing skills.

I just googled this - and - WHOA! - this is already happening on a mass scale with Minecraft! Way cool!

Second Source:Build engagement and knowledge one block at a time with Minecraft (need to log-in via Fairmont's online library)

This article is about one teacher's positive experience with using Minecraft in the classroom. He taught a small class and created an afterschool club. His students were involved in every aspect of creating the class -including setting the rules and determining what to build. I can see this helping give ownership of the class back to the students. the first project was building a pyramid, followed by building castles:

"Our next set of projects involved students interviewing their seventh grade social studies teachers to find out what historical buildings the teachers would like created in the 3D world. This led to the students researching and constructing medieval castles." (Tromba, 2013)

I liked that the students interviewed their social studies teachers to discover what buildings they could recreate. Although the focus of my case study is in improving Avery's writing, I think this could help Avery engage in Social Studies (his other weak subject) in a way I hadn't thought of before.

The students in this class also aligned their projects to other subjects. After the eight graders read the book "The Outsiders," the class recreated the town the book takes place in. Avery loves to build layouts in Minecraft  and I could see this being a foundation for a story. He could build the layout and have his character move throughout it as he records his story in audio and video.

One interesting, and unexpected outcome of the class was better attendance on the part of the students:

"In fact, every student in the class recorded better attendance, Madathil said, adding:  One very unexpected positive outcome of offering a Minecraft class was the increase in consistent attendance for the students involved. Their attendance history was sporadic, and while their capabilities were great, their motivation to attend school regularly lacked--until they began participating in the Minecraft class. (Tromba, 2013).

I don't think this relates to my case study, but I think it's interesting to note that giving students classes they are interested in and enjoy makes them want to come to school.

Sources:

Hayes, E. R., & Gee, J. P. (2010). No selling the genie lamp: a game literacy practice in the sims. E-Learning and Digital Media, 7(1), 67-78. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/elea.2010.7.1.67

Tromba, P. (2013, June-July). Build engagement and knowledge one block at a time with Minecraft. Learning & Leading with Technology, 40(8), 20+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.fairmontstate.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA333842372&v=2.1&u=fairmt&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w