Gee's study of "projective identities" in video gaming is relevant to this
discussion--one of his students (graduating soon), Rebecca Black, is also
completing a dissertation that looks at identity construction through
fanfiction sites. p
At 05:18 PM 3/6/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>As a technology instructor in an inner-city school district with over 90% of
>the student population qualifying for Title I funds, I have been fascinated
>while observing students utilizing online communities (myspace.com) as
>environments to create "alternative" identities. Students that we would
>often think of as "at-risk" in traditional education vernacular, take on new
>identities in these environments and role play with fellow-cyber travelers
>without the baggage usually associated with persons laden with generations
>of poverty. While the street language pervades the dialogue, one would be
>challenged to differentiate those participants from the various "social
>classes". A new social reality with classless identities seems to be under
>construction in this not so artificial virtual world.
>
>I think it well worth research to explore behavior in these environments. I
>further think CHAT provides an exciting perspective from which to conduct
>that exploration.
>
>Mark
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Russell, Donna L" <russelldl@umkc.edu>
>To: <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
>Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 4:10 PM
>Subject: [xmca] virtual realities
>
>
>hello linda
>
>i think that 'reality' virtual or otherwise deals with the authenticity of
>your responses (as in how your responses are validated by consequences in
>the context) i think virtual realities such as you describe will become more
>involving as the quality of the human computer interface develops
>
>language has been our gauge and response to reality and children's
>development is monitored by the development of language memes- with emerging
>technologies technology memes are created to gauge development and resultant
>authenticity to virtual realities. i believe in the future virtual realities
>will include not a rough interface between the human and digitial
>'reality' -- rather there will be a meme bot that contains your aspects of
>your understandings and knowledge that will make the engagement more 'real'
>and more authentic-
>
> in the future these virtual representations will interact as information
>assistants, virtual coaches, virtual sales clerks, virtual entertainers, and
>virtual instructors. i am part of the virtual instructors pilot research
>group which is looking at research in the development of these virtual
>humans- i am interested in the design of learning environments using these
>virtual humans and the kinds and qualities of learning that are potentially
>available in these 'realities'
>
>donna
>
>Donna L. Russell, Ph.D.
>Assistant Professor
>Instructional Technology
>Curriculum and Instructional Leadership
>Suite 309
>School of Education
>University of Missouri-Kansas City
>Kansas City, MO 64110
>(cell) 314.210.6996
>(office) 816.235.5871
>russelldl@umkc.edu
>http://r.web.umkc.edu/russelldl/
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Polin, Linda" <Linda.Polin@pepperdine.edu>
>To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
>Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 12:29 AM
>Subject: Re: [xmca] Experience: material, ideal, real, imagined in MMOGs
>
> > Hi Mike and X'ers,
> >
> > I am both playing in and writing about an MMOG at the moment, with a
> > group of doctoral students who are no doubt lurking on this list.
> >
> > I'm playing in World of Warcraft (or World of Warcrack, as it is
> > often called for good reason). I am very interested in the way in
> > which the designers have shaped interaction and play, with regard to
> > both the client interface for playing, and the sociocultural
> > structures around tasks and interactions in the game play. [I'm also
> > playing in Second Life, but that is a very different creature.]
> >
> > In WoW, I've played alongside 12 year olds and old farts like myself;
> > college kids complaining about the bandwidth in the dorms, and
> > mommies who periodically have to go AFK BRB (away from keyboard; be
> > right back) to change a diaper. So far none offers any evidence of
> > confusing what you are calling reality and fantasy, although almost
> > all have remarked on one occasion or another about the immersive
> > power of the world to 'wow' them (pun intended) and engage them
> > deeply. Everyone who plays has a story about losing track of time in
> > significant ways. That is immersion. And I think Michelle's remarks
> > with regard to "flow" come the closest to describing what is going on.
> >
> > Is it material? Because there is an economic system in play, and
> > objects of desire, there is real work happening, and I am NOT
> > referencing only the "gold farmers" in China using game characters to
> > gather game gold to be sold for real money to players who want an
> > easy way to get ahead in the game but lack the time or tenacity to do
> > the grind work. There are also in-game activities analogous to real
> > work and real world life.
> >
> > Real work: For instance, the guildmaster of my guild is a day trader
> > who spends a lot of time working the Auction House (in-game EBay kind
> > of thing) to make the game money he needs to support his character's
> > needs (e.g., trick out his ride, in this case a white tiger). There
> > are guilds that players belong to, which function as both family and
> > school in a way reminiscent of the Brazilian "Samba schools" Seymour
> > Papert described. Here though, instead of preparing for Mardi Gras
> > competitions with other Samba Schools and having fun, it's about
> > preparing for competitions with other players and having fun.
> >
> > Real play (within play): For instance, at the recent Winter Veil
> > Festival I got to drink strong ale, and after two drinks, my screen
> > was a bit blurry. After three drinks, it was significantly worse and
> > my mouse actions were less accurate. I was drunk, albeit virtually
> > so, and my game play was impaired.
> >
> > I would propose that, within the game world, these analogous elements
> > make it a KIND of real world, rather than a fantasy world. There is a
> > very real, game-specific culture that players rely upon to make their
> > way in that world. There are real relationships, real traditions and
> > ways of being in the world, real identity markers, divisions of labor
> > and opportunities for collaboration, sub-cultures, mediational
> > objects with embedded histories that support new learners, etc etc
> > etc. WoW is fascinating to me because it is NOT a blurring of
> > reality; it is an ALTERNATE (not alternative) reality, an alternate
> > real culture. By virtue of having a discernible culture, is it not real?
> >
> > There is an immense amount of material to talk about here, but this
> > is an interesting turn on XMCA and I'm hoping we'll have some 'time'
> > to discuss more. I'd point you to our blog on this, but it's not yet
> > ready for prime time consumption.
> >
> > Why must we refer to reality as if there were only one possible? =grin=
> >
> > Lindax
> > (aka Hallgrima, a level 44 Gnome Warlock)
> >
> >
> > Linda Polin, PhD
> > Davidson Professor of Education and Technology
> > Director, EdD in Educational Technology
> > 310-568-5641; Skype: profpolin
> > gsep.pepperdine.edu/~lpolin
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mar 5, 2006, at 4:07 PM, Mike Cole wrote:
> >>>
> >>> In various situations (in particular, I am thinking of various
> >>> massive
> >>> multi-user games and related cyber-interactional meeting places)
> >>> it appears that people can, perhaps cannot help at times,
> >>> confusing what
> >>> we
> >>> would normally refer to as "fantasy" and "reality."
> >>>
> >>> There is an extensive literature on the development of this
> >>> distinction in
> >>> children's development, but I am seeking research on the
> >>> distinction's presumed presence or absence among adults.
> >>>
> >>> Any and all help appreciated
> >>> mike
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> xmca mailing list
> >>> xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> >>> http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
> >>>
> >>> Andy Blunden, for Victorian Peace Network
> >>> Global Justice Tours: http://ethicalpolitics.org
> >>>
> >>>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> xmca mailing list
> >> xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> >> http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
> > _______________________________________________
> > xmca mailing list
> > xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> > http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
>
>Donna L. Russell, Ph.D.
>Assistant Professor
>Instructional Technology
>Curriculum and Instructional Leadership
>School of Education
>University of Missouri-Kansas City
>(email) russelldl@umkc.edu <mailto:russelldl@umkc.edu>
>(website) http://r.web.umkc.edu/russelldl/
><http://r.web.umkc.edu/russelldl>
>(cell) 314.210.6996
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>
>
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