1. Computer games, learning and literacy: Reflections on students' learning and literacy experiences when engaging with computer games in a middle years English classroom
- Author
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Kitson, Lisbeth, Lennon, Sherilyn, Toomey, Margaret, Kitson, Lisbeth, Lennon, Sherilyn, and Toomey, Margaret
- Abstract
Full Text, Thesis (PhD Doctorate), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), School Educ & Professional St, Arts, Education and Law, This thesis presents reflections and insights arising from a qualitative research study exploring the learning experiences and literacy practices of students when engaging with computer games as texts for learning in a middle years English classroom. The research responds to an exponential growth in the presence of digital texts in the lives of many students and seeks to explore possible connections between these texts and literacy learning in school. Commercially available computer games were chosen as digital texts for inclusion in this study for three reasons. In the first instance, many students express a passionate interest in these games and engage extensively with them in their out-of-school lives. Yet, despite studies confirming positive effects of drawing on the potential of these games for learning, there remains a deficit discourse surrounding the impact of computer games on players and the use of computer games in school. A second reason is the potential of computer games to provide validation and recognition of the learning experiences and literacy practices that students bring to the classroom from their home and out-of-school lives. The third reason for including computer games in classroom learning, particularly in English classrooms, is the growing recognition of this digital medium as a new narrative form. Theoretical approaches informing this research study draw from sociocultural and multimodal social semiotic understandings of the concept of literacy. In addition, this study draws on recent theories of literacy exploring meaning-making as sensory, embodied practices, particularly in an age of digital texts. In particular, this study acknowledges the “visionary project of multiliteracies begun by the New London Group” (Mills, 2011, p. 24) and proposes a model for adapting this framework to elements of meaning-making with computer games. Although there is a great deal of research exploring digital texts for literacy learning underpinned by sociocu
- Published
- 2019