21st Century Language and Literacy in Gamestar Mechanic: Middle School Students' Appropriation through Play of the Discourse of Computer Game Designers

Autor/in	Games, Ivan A.
Titel	21st Century Language and Literacy in Gamestar Mechanic: Middle School Students' Appropriation through Play of the Discourse of Computer Game Designers
Quelle	(2009), (314 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Wisconsin - Madison
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
ISBN	978-1-1094-6892-2
Schlagwörter	Hochschulschrift; Dissertation; Learning Theories; Play; Discourse Analysis; Educational Practices; Curriculum Development; Middle Schools; Computer Software; Games; Educational Research; Researchers; Teacher Educators; Interpersonal Competence; Professional Development + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Thesis; Dissertations; Academic thesis; Learning theory; Lerntheorie; Spiel; Diskursanalyse; Bildungspraxis; Curriculum; Development; Curriculumentwicklung; Lehrplan; Entwicklung; Middle school; Mittelschule; Mittelstufenschule; Game; Spiele; Bildungsforschung; Pädagogische Forschung; Researcher; Forscher; Teacher education; Education; Lehrerausbildung; Lehrerbildung; Interpersonale Kompetenz
Abstract	The research in this dissertation examined the language and literacy practices of middle school children as they played Gamestar Mechanic, a game-based learning environment constituted by a flash-based multiplayer online role-playing game designed to introduce them to the Discourse of game designers, by exposing them to key principles and activities behind the production of good computer games. The dissertation begins by presenting the historical arguments behind the idea of design as a central mindset behind thinking, language and literacy practices that are becoming central for the effective social, civic and professional participation of learners in the 21st century. It provides a comprehensive review of the way in which the design of computer games has been used by educators and researchers in learning environments intended to foster some of these skills, guiding the initial design of Gamestar Mechanic. It then goes on to present an overarching discussion of the three years of the project, and how a design research agenda has served to guide the articulation of the game, its underlying learning theory and the gradual refinement of both based on the experiences of children in real learning settings. Using the findings that emerged from these three years, it presents a theoretical framework based on three dialogic interactions between designers, material game components, and player identities, which can serve as the guide for the analysis and assessment of language and literacy practices based on game design within the game. The last three chapters concentrate on each of the three dialogs applied to the analysis of children's play activities in game design workshops, and to the insights that emerged their language and literacy practices through a multimodal form of Discourse Analysis integral to the framework. It concludes with a discussion of the implications of project findings for educational practice and research. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.] (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10