"Gaming narratives as frameworks to self-assess student writing for revision”

1. "Gaming narratives as frameworks to self-assess student writing for revision” A look at how video gaming constructs can be used to improve student comprehension of literary elements when self-assessing for writing revision. Robin Craft-Jones, EMU Media Ecology, Dr. C. Tracy 11/2012

2. 3 Traditional writing self-assessment models Typically: institutionalized, standardized, freeze-dried • The scale/score sheet: 60s, ease of evaluating Cooper & O’Dell prototype • The holistic guide: decades strong & still going National A.C.T. • The rubric: From state to classroom. “Writing from Knowledge and Experience” Rubric • http://rubistar.4teachers.org/, make your own subject rubric

8. What did she mean by that? • “Englishy language” • Struggles with literary reading in the classroom • How can they write to something they have a rudimentary comprehension of, using a framework assessment they have less understanding of, to self-assess the work they are supposed to create, assess, and revise?

9. In School – Out of School • Teachers often use movie and video to supplement anchor text when it is available. • Teachers use website games to extend student learning and supplement mandated curriculum • Students/Gamers often use media for enjoyment. • Visual context + Dialogue text + User tool icons + Authoring agency = deeply activated cognitive executive functioning… wrapped up in a richly literate platform.

10. Cursory attention – Full on engagement

11. – Back in School • Media Ecologists, Educational Scholars, Gamers, and Innovative Teachers say…Hey, they like it! They understand it! Can’t we use “it” to transfer learning to traditional literary forms? • “Video game play and creation is a growing phenomenon, which combines numerous complex literacy skills in one activity “(Sanford & Madill). • Many researchers (Gee, 2003 et al) recommend that video game play is a literacy practice that educators need to take more seriously and incorporate into their teaching and literacy curricula. • Video game play is about the action and interaction of values, dilemmas, and decisions (Sanford & Madill). • “Attention Economics” (Lankshear & Knobel) describes the inundation of information that constantly demands attention and leaves little time or energy for reflection. Attention is considered a scarce resource, new attention economy (Goldhaber) is based on endless originality. Engaging in video games that attain attention are learners becoming successful in leading the new economy and influencing others (Sanford & Madill). • Video games are one of the new literacies that offer powerful literacy learning, with further understanding of the potential, educators can guide students to practice more critical dimensions of literacy (Sanford & Madill).

12. Reading and Writing in Video Games • Role-playing games require players to read about the nature of their quests, assignments, or missions to know what to look out for and where to go, to learn the characteristics of items in their inventory, and to discover tips on strategy (Danforth). • Sophisticated games with literate-rich narratives contain complex and circulatory plots and sub-plots, well-developed characters, and era-correct vocabulary and dialogue. Non-linear games have plot twists that develop according to player actions (autonomy and agency = choice for student readers and writers).

14. The Correlation • The interactivity of video games, understood as part of a radical reassessment of literacy in the digital age, points to a fundamental re-conception of writing pedagogy and of the metaphors we use to understand reading and writing in ways that can dramatically reinvigorate the writing classroom (Alberti). • “Writers/creators of video games necessarily anticipate players who are simultaneously readers and writers, whose decisions are inscribed within a certain horizon of possibilities but not predictability “ (Alberti).

15. To Explore and Exploit • Video gaming engages students ina deeper comprehension of story context and purpose, character analysis, word use, and a sharper focus forself-evaluating writing. • Friendly literacy: game narratives that students are already familiar with to transfer what they easily identify onto what they struggle to identify, by looking for similarities. • (in un-Englishy terms): Does their writing grip the reader to keep reading, does one thing lead naturally to the next or is it confusing to understand, if there are characters, do they seem real, is dialogue and vocabulary accurate and time period? Does it read as a game you could play, is it missing an action step?

16. http://www.authoralden.com/2012/09/20-video-games-with-great-writing-part.htmlhttp://www.authoralden.com/2012/09/20-video-games-with-great-writing-part.html Writing, Speculative Fiction, and General Musings on the Multiverse by Author J.W. Alden

17. References * Alberti, J. The Game of Reading and Writing: How Video Games Reframe Our Understanding of Literacy, Computers and Composition (2008). * Alden, J.W. http://www.authoralden.com/2012/09/20-video-games-with-great-writing-part.html * Assassin’s Creed * Cooper, C. & L. Odell. Evaluating Writing: Describing, Measuring, Judging , National Council of Teachers of English, NCTE, (1977). * Danforth, L. Games and Literacy, Library Journal, (2009). * Goldhaber, M. The Attention Economy and the Net, www.firstmonday.dk (1997) * Gee, J. What Video Games Have to Teach us About Learning and Literacy (2004). * Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (forthcoming) Do we have your attention? New literacies, digital technologies and the education of adolescents, New literacies and digital technologies: A focus on adolescent learners. * Michigan Department of Education (MDE), Writing from Knowledge and Experience, http://www.michigan.gov/documents/WritingRubric_96376_7.pdf * Rice, J., (2007) “Assessing Higher Order Thinking in Video Games”, JI. of Technology and Teacher Education, Vol. 15 no. 1 *Sanford, K. & Madill, L. Understanding the Power of New Literacies Through Video Game Play and Design, Canadian Journal of Education, (2007). *Seybold, S., Video Gaming Consultant and Demonstrator

18. Acknowledgements * Albers, P., Harste, J. (2007) “The Arts, New Literacies, and Multimodality”, English Education, Vol. 40 no. 1 * Baek, Y. (2008) “What Hinders Teachers in Using Computer and Video Games in the Classroom? CyberPsychology & Behavior, Vol. 11 no. 6 *Bourgonjon, J., Valcke, M., Soetaert, R., Schellens, T. (2009) “Students’ Perceptions About the Use of Video Games in the Classroom”, Computers and Education, Vol. 54 *Christesen, P., Machado, D. (2010) “Video Games and Classical Antiquity”, Classical World, Vol. 104 no. 1 *De Grove, F., Bourgonjon, J., Looy, J. (2012) “Digital Games in the Classroom? A contextual approach to teachers’ adoption intention of digital games in formal education”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 28 *Laskowski, M., Ward, D., (2009) “Perspectives on Building Next Generation Video Game Collections in Academic Libraries”, Journal of Academic Librarianship, Vol. 35 no. 3 *Lupton, C., McDonald, P. (2010) “Reflexivity as Entertainment: Early novels and recent video games”, Mosaic, Vol. 43 no. 4 *Miller, S. (2007) “English Teacher Learning for New Times: Digital video composing as multimodal literacy practice”, English Education, Vol. 40 no. 1