ENG 225 Rhetoric and Gaming

Gumulak, S., & Webber, S. (2011). Playing video games: Learning and information literacy . Aslib Proceedings, 63(2), 241-255. This article has Gumulak & Webber research the correlation between gameplay and learning. By interviewing a group of local teenagers, Gumulak & Webber could see if problem solving in a digital play space would translate to real world problem solving. They asked the teenagers about how they feel when they accomplish a hard task in-game, and how that makes them feel. By using this qualitative approach, they were able to find a direct correlation between solving problems in a play space, and being able to translate into the real world.

Ertzberger, J. (2008). An exploration of factors affecting teachers' use of video games as instructional tools (Order No. 3311370). Available from Education Database. (304838683). Retrieved from https://unco.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/304838683?accountid=12832 This study discusses implementing video games into a classroom setting, including the possible deterrents, such as cost, lack of relevance to the curriculum, and set up/maintenance time. It describes the innovations made by video games in education and in general, as well as why and how games improve student engagement with the materials being taught. This study used surveys and research synthesis to determine the data it utilized in its findings. The study dealt only with video games, not board games, and was confined to video game use by K-12 educators in North Carolina It discusses why kids find school so unappealing, as well as why video games can make learning more appealing. It a...

Koptur, Evren. Transferable Learning Skills of an MMORPG: A World of Warcraft Quest, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2016. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/pg_10?0::NO:10:P10_ACCESSION_NUM:kent1459175932 The basis of this study was focused entirely on the MMORPG World of Warcraft, and the “potential of transferable learning skills gained or improved by playing WoW to real life” (p. ii). This study was focused on “four different learning categories: experiential learning, collaborative learning, leadership, and autonomous learning respectively through playing WoW” (p. ii). Results of this study indicate that these four categories of learning do occur in the game, and participants “perceived [these skills/learning] to be transferable to real life in varying degrees” (p.ii). The author notes that further research is needed in every single aspect of this project. This study got its data from 258 online survey participants. The survey was broken into the four categories mentioned above, and...

Barr, Matthew. "Student Attitudes to Games-Based Skills Development: Learning from Video Games in Higher Education." Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 80, 2018, pp. 283-294, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563217306684, doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.11.030 The purpose of this study “was to document the attitudes of those students involved in the quantitative study and to explore how the game-based intervention was perceived.” (p. 283).  Researchers found a “broadly positive perception of the games' efficacy for skills development” (p. 283). Of the undergraduates that participated in the study, the in-game elements that participated felt contributed the most to skill development. “include the need to communicate with team mates in order to succeed, and the fluid, unpredictable nature of in-game challenges.” (p. 283). This study suggests, based on the factors that undergraduates think are the most important to developing useful skills (like communication, ...