Gumulak and Webber. 2011. Playing Video Games: Learning and Information Literacy

Gumulak and Webber determine the link between gaming and types of literacy. The following is my annotation of their paper.



This article gives a study and analysis of the link between gaming and types of literacy, mainly information literacy. Information literacy is defined as "knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner" which is essentially the efficient collection and use of knowledge. By interviewing several school age students, researchers determined that young people like to be challenged and entertained in the games that they play. A majority of interviewees agreed that they learn from games and that young gamers are able to read and interpret textual information to make sense of games. Finally, the study was able to find evidence that the students were able to identify gaps in their knowledge, imagine how they might bridge that gap, and actively search out the necessary information.

An interview invitation was sent to students by the head teacher of 5 different schools. 26 children from these schools and 2 other children from the same town, that were known by the interviewer, volunteered. The study followed university procedures, went through a full ethics approval, and had informed consent from the participants. The study consisted of 24 males and 4 females from ages 11 to 17. They were asked questions related to themes of literacy and gaming. The transcriptions were then read, and analyzed to look at themes in the data. From the students' answers, it was found that they played games for challenge and entertainment and that most had learned where they may obtain information about the games they play.

This study focuses on the connection between gaming and information literacy. It demonstrates that children who play games enjoy challenges, which connects closely with the finding that determination is expected to be an important trait of informationally literate students shown by the investigation into information literacy of undergraduate students by Dokphrom. It also connects to the themes of inspired motivation and seeking challenge in games such as in Meet the gamers by Squire and Steinkuehler.

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