Group items tagged

Covers topics we have been discussing for the class lately. Also, provides views on transfer from virtual world to physical world.

A powerful game that teaches students to understand the operation of the world! The creator John Hunter is coming to Harvard on Monday! (http://www.gse.harvard.edu/calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D104615526) 

Katy Salen's views - but what does the research say?

VR goggles used to give RC model airplane enthusiasts a view from the cockpit.

Kosslyn's definitive text on mental imagery. Shaped my views on the subject. Please "Like" this!

I have never puled a marathon viewing of this magnitude, but I have to admit that I did download season 1-3 of Lost onto my iPod a couple of years ago and watched over 6 hours of shows on the tiny screen on a flight from Boston to Rome. The show certainly is engaging and is best appreciated and understood when watched in rapid succession.

I wonder if this will encourage or discourage trips to the museum. If you can get the experience virtually, why not view it from home?

One study showing how the use of realistic avatars can influence people to exercise or eat better and can influence they way they view women.

Interesting commentary, about how this video would have been viewed by millions if the same technology was available....LISTEN

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

I found this via the IFLS (ask me in person for the full name, it contains expletives) facebook page. It is so exciting to see that the word is getting out the video games are not bad at all!

Interesting article about games and values. In the middle, the author suggests that for game designers, it is important to get people who aren't like them to play the game. This would make for a more inclusive game.

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.

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.

Article and video on Singapore's new 'one-stop centre' for teachers to collaborate on projects using infocomm technology. Another way to diffuse innovations?

This article is fairly old, but I thought its topic resonated with our discussion in class last Monday--particularly the pink box of pink Legos.

Those "friendship adventure" games for girls don't sound like much fun - and I wonder if there's any replay value? I read through the game flow and it seems like something the kid finishes in an hour and doesn't touch again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockett's_New_School However, it looks like the game (and sequels) were actually quite popular. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,63511,00.html

I was just thinking about the class discussion yesterday when we were talking about pink legos, that parents might be over-thinking the purchase of toys their kids play with. It made me think about the doll test, which many of you might know about already, which is more about race than gender. I think it shows that in terms of racial and self-identity and societal views of beauty, parents might be more thoughtful in purchasing toys. For example, African-American parents might make sure that their daughter has a collection of both the "classic" Barbie dolls and the Barbie dolls of color to make sure that she doesn't believe that she is physically less beautiful or does not fit the ideal form of beauty that the "classic" Barbie represents.

An article that talks about how to view violence in games from a new angle. Violence in videogames can help kids gain practical skills. The mystique of violent and scary themes draws children's natural curiosity, and dealing with it is a part of normal child development. It's not the violence itself that is attractive to kids. It's the opportunity to develop and master skills and have the freedom to make choices in the game universe. Also, the violent games happen to have the most emotional appeal to kids.

Detailed examination of the axis that promote/discourage collaborative play (Synchronous vs. Asynchronous player interaction, Symmetrical vs. Asymmetrical relationship formation & Strong Tie vs. Loose Tie relationship evolution). The article provides examples of each axis in practice. Interesting application of SDT's "relatedness" in a gaming context.