Re: [xmca] Games, Toolsforthought, Critique

I found the description below, on the website Mike refers to, of one
of David Shaffer's papers on a game that teaches how to be and think
like a science journalist. This abstract gives a snapshot of what
"epistemic gaming", or knowledge-oriented games, try to do. Note how
it is more than being about technical questions, it is about social
class issues: "encoding elements of a professional practicum" of
"socially valued professions."
- Steve

from
http://epistemicgames.org/eg/?cat=28
http://epistemicgames.org/cv/papers/hatfield_shaffer_icls_2006.pdf

Press play: designing an epistemic game engine for journalism
Abstract
Epistemic games are one approach to creating educational games that
give players skills that transfer beyond the game world by helping
young people become fluent in valuable social practices. Epistemic
games are immersive, technology-enhanced, role-playing games where
players learn to become and thus to think like doctors, lawyers,
engineers, architects, and other members of important practices and
professions. In what follows we look at the design of Byline, an
epistemic game engine behind science.net, an epistemic game of
science journalism. In particular, we argue that rather than simply
recreating the technological conditions of the profession, an
epistemic game engine like Byline can encode key elements of a
professional practicum and thus help young people learn through
participation in simulations of the training practices of socially
valued professions such as science journalism.

<end>

At 05:11 PM 6/27/2007 -0700, you wrote:
>Before long we will have polls open and a new article to read. In the
>meantime, there are a lot of
>issues associated with the toolsforthought article that I think have yet to
>be explore and a variety
>of misunderstandings among people about what the "game" genre affords,
>allows, precludes, etc.
>
>Someone mentioned Ian Bogost's work in connection with Toolforthought, which
>seemed apt to me,
>but no one picked up on it. Perhaps because his work is not known. Then the
>idea that somehow
>critique and game are antithetical notions crept in here and even the idea
>that critique is unproductive
>in principle.
>
>In connection with David Shaffer's work on games, it might be useful to
>check you http://epistemicgames.org/eg/?cat=28.
>no need to like it, but it might be helpful to ground the discussion. I cold
>not figure out if any of those games were downloadable.
>
>But there ARE downloadable games that aspire to what here is apparently
>assume to be impossible. For example, check
>out the games at www.bogost.com.
>
>Notice how .com is coming up in Naeem's posting, and is implicit in the
>meantion of Ian B.
>(It also comes up for every undergrad attending the university of
>califronia, which masquerades under the
>banner of .edu!)
>
>mike
>_______________________________________________
>xmca mailing list
>xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
>http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca

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Received on Thu Jun 28 08:08 PDT 2007