August 2009 Archives

Straight to the Source: A Teen Perspective on Video Games and Learning

This summer, I had the opportunity to attend the Games for Change Festival, an annual convening of academics, game developers, non-profits, and educators who are interested in using games to create social change. Over three days, I attended a game-making workshop, an expo of new social issue games, and panel discussions on topics ranging from funding to using games in schools.

The highlight of the festival for me though, was a short talk given by high schooler Kaelan Doyle Myerscough, who is an advisor for NYU's new Games for Learning Institute. In five minutes, she thoroughly impressed a packed room of adults and reminded us all how important it is to speak directly with young people about their thoughts and experiences with new media.

In her talk, Kaelan explains the importance of creating a sense of immersion when developing games. She also gives examples of games that are both fun to play and great learning experiences. (Here's a link to her talk.)

I asked Kaelan if she could expand on some of the ideas she brought up in her talk over email.

Here's what she had to say:

Can you explain how you became involved with the Games for Learning Institute?

Well, I am friends with Ken Perlin, who is heading up the Institute, and whenever he would come to Toronto for whatever reason we'd spend hours talking about pretty much everything. When I first met him I was working on a game with my friends, and we talked about that a lot. Eventually when it came time to put together the advisory board he asked if I wanted to be on it. At the time I was in grade 8, which was right in the demographic that they were looking at, and he thought it'd be good to have someone from that age group who was also knowledgeable about games and gaming. Of course I was thrilled, and I guess the rest is history.

Do you consider yourself a "gamer"?  What games do you like to play?

Yeah, I'd say I'm a gamer. Some of my friends play games more than me, and there are times when I hardly play games at all. But for the most part I tend to keep my Nintendo DS with me wherever I go, and I play games a lot just as part of my daily routine.  As for my favorite games, I nearly always have a Pokemon game (or two) in my aforementioned DS, and I've played through most of my Pokemon games about 5-10 times. Right now I'm playing Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. I'm a huge fan of the NES as well, and I'm addicted to Tetris and Crystalis. Lastly, the Legend of Zelda games are really awesome, especially Ocarina of Time. Of course, that's just video games, but I won't get into analog games much because the list would be too long.

Dear Mr. Vernon (a tribute to John Hughes)

Dear Mr. Vernon,
We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did was wrong.  But we think you're crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care?  You see us as you want to see us... In the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions.   You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct?  That's the way we saw each other at 7 o'clock in the morning.  We were brainwashed.

As the opening lines of John Hughes' classic 1980s movie The Breakfast Club illustrates, generation after generation, we've been able to stereotype each other as we come of age, but today, with the emergence of social media and participatory practices, teens have more opportunities to play with their identity and avoid being typecast.

At school, a teen might, like Ally Sheedy's character, be labeled the "basket case" but online, she can reinvent herself and practice the new media literacy, performance-- the ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of improvisation and discovery. Social media allows this new door to open for the girl who sees herself as a dull caterpillar but hungers to be a beautiful butterfly.  With assurance from her new group of friends who welcome her not on looks but on what she has to offer to the community, this girl gains confidence that then informs her other identities she partakes in throughout her daily activity.

Not only will John Hughes be remembered for his ability to connect to teens but my cousin who huddled with me on the couch through all hours of the night watching 16 Candles and Ferris Buehler's Day Off sent me today this blog post that really shows a touching side of someone we all might consider untouchable because of his fame.  

Sincerely, John Hughes reflects on Alison's personal pen pal experience for two years with John.  This post is filled with stories of what it's like to receive positive encouragement from someone that cares. Taking time to be a mentor is not just about giving to someone else, it's about improving and learning something new about yourself in the process. What's so interesting about this post is it's the personal connection we see of John Hughes, the Hollywood director and how meaningful relationships with fans like Alison was the highlight of what pushed him to be so good at what he did.