Video games are a new medium that is highly engaging, immersive and participatory for users. Many video games are extensions of a narrative story or film. Video games expand the possibilities and move users from spectators to participates. Moreover, video games are fun, engaging, immersive and interactive. (Tyner, 2009) The question becomes how do we use video games effectively to integrate instruction into the classroom?
Video games are narratives, but much different than a linear text story. I hadn’t considered it before, but video games are stories that can be in part authored by the player and their gameplay. The player has agency in the game, a sense of control and valued participation. According to Tikka, Kankaanranta, Nousiainen & Hankala (2009) reading a computer game is similar to reading traditional text, the skillsets overlap – interpreting images, animations, understanding the rules and decoding the narrative story.
Creating games takes participation in games one step further. Providing students with the opportunity to create a video game supports literacy instruction. Students will develop character, illustrate the setting and describe the plot to the players. The medium of the video game is an engagement piece that supports students’ understanding and immersion into narrative writing.
Today’s games allow the user to use kinesthetic movements to interact with a game or device. Augmented reality provides users with experiences that are literally out of this world, but yet still realistic. For example, using technology to allow children to engage with wildlife. Applications are moving standard two-dimensional images to interactive, three-dimensional videos and information that expands beyond images. According to Tyner (2009), the media literacy curriculum is outdated and does not meet the interest of students.
References
Telling Stories with Digital Board Games: Tikka, S., Kankaanranta, M., Nousiainen, T., & Hankala, M. (2009).
The Fun Theory Case http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTqOn9zng_M
Tyner, K. (2009). Media Literacy: New agendas in communication. Chapter 8 Media Literacy 2.0 http://CSUAU.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=465586