Group items tagged

I thought those of you who were wondering about other cultures using SIMS would like to see this site. The YouTube video is no longer there, but the description gives somewhat of an idea of how another culture has adapted SIMS. While most of them seem to be saris and salwars (Indian Clothing), I wonder what Aishwarya's "outfit" is. My guess is western since in most Bollywood movies you see a lot of western (and rather skanky) clothes.

a video game that teachers colonization. it has been developed by the ministry of Culture in Brazil with other collaborators. It is viewed as a tool for distance learning

Here is an ethnographer's in-depth look into World of Warcraft. From this site you can read the full book online, read an interview with the author, or listen to a podcast. The author "introduces us to her research strategy and the history, structure, and culture of Warcraft; argues for applying activity theory and theories of aesthetic experience to the study of gaming and play; and educates us on issues of gender, culture, and addiction as part of the play experience."

"While educators may see students every day, they do not necessarily understand their students' habits, expectations, or learning preferences-this has resulted in a technology cultural divide."

An article advocating K-12 experiences and school culture shift that instill students with motivation, skills, confidence

An interesting article about how games like WoW increase intrinsic motivation by allowing modifications to the game (or mods). The participatory culture also promotes a sense of collaboration and service to other players, hence increasing the sense of value-addedness to the activity.

GAMES & CULTURE is a peer-reviewed journal published quarterly by Sage Publications. It includes theoretical and empirical research about games, culture and innovation using interactive media.

Okay, I'm only bookmarking this for those of you who are interested in how gaming may or may not be related to other cultures. This is an "Indian" on line magazine and to me, looks very typical of magazine articles I see when I go to Indian grocery stores or when I was in India (ten years ago). Notice the American faces showing how to care for Indian hair. My point is, pretty much anything acceptable here will be acceptable abroad. It's just not the India (or other country) that's shown on CNN or National Geographics. At least that's my opinion.

At TEDxPSU, Ali Carr-Chellman pinpoints three reasons boys are tuning out of school in droves, and lays out her bold plan to re-engage them: bringing their culture into the classroom, with new rules that let boys be boys, and video games that teach as well as entertain.

In her talk, Ali Carr-Chellman pinpoints three reasons boys are tuning out of school in droves, and lays out her bold plan to re-engage them: bringing their culture into the classroom, with new rules that let boys be boys, and video games that teach as well as entertain.

In her talk, Ali Carr-Chellman pinpoints three reasons boys are tuning out of school in droves, and lays out her bold plan to re-engage them: bringing their culture into the classroom, with new rules that let boys be boys, and video games that teach as well as entertain.

What happens when everything can be made engaging, instantly?

I read the UMass study that it references (average time to wait for a page to load is ~2 sec) when it came out and initially found it surprising, but after paying closer attention to my internet habits, I realized that I, too, am quite impatient!!

I do feel media can be viewed as a reward because of the high levels of enjoyment and engagement when one consumes media. That is why it is so 'gratifying' and we end up constantly yearning for it unless we train ourselves to observe our media consumption patterns. It is important to monitor these patterns.

This talks about the practices at some programs that are known for educating innovators:  "The culture of learning in programs that excel at educating for innovation emphasize what I call the three P's-play, passion and purpose. The play is discovery-based learning that leads young people to find and pursue a passion, which evolves, over time, into a deeper sense of purpose."

The article pointed out that the concept that the Internet would drive a singular global culture is false. In order to engage people in different countries or cultures with social networks, brands and content producers will need ever more localised strategies.

iPad could be the coming hit for schools and colleges!

"Heroes have always been the driving force behind video games, of course, with the industry producing such cultural icons as Mario and Lara Croft. However, as video game technology and storytelling have become more sophisticated, developers are embellishing their games with deeper characterisation than ever before. "

Many adults have little idea of how children use technology in their everyday lives. Out of fear that it will be used to engage with non academic content, we want to keep schools the same good old way - very different from the rest of their lives.Addressing both school culture and issues of inequity would be important in enabling students to learn with tools they are most familiar with.

I found the recaps of these seminars (and the handbook linked from this page) very interesting. Seminar 2 specifically focuses on the role of narrative--at what point it should enter the design process, how it can increase motivation and enjoyment or serve as a distraction, issues with traditional narrative in an interactive medium, etc. This quote from the Seminar 2 overview reminded me of relatedness from SDT Theory: "It was agreed that a quality necessary for engagement with narrative was that of identification with characters or a situation (an example was given from a mine disaster simulation with junior children, where the degree of engagement with the narrative content due to the identification with the victims drove the experience forward). Authenticity could also contribute to engagement. Whilst hard to pin down, it could mean authenticity for the children in cultural terms or in terms of being a 'human' story, one of a kind which resonates for them."

Draw Something was acquired by Zynga this week for $180 million!!!!

Virtual Cultural Exchange!

For those of you who follow Michael Wesch, associate professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University... he is rethinking his speeches, adding, "It doesn't matter what method you use if you do not first focus on one intangible factor: the bond between professor and student."