Gamepaddle Video Games. Education. Empowerment. Michaela Anderle & Sebastian Ring (Ed.)
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- Navigate this page:
- The first stage
- The second stage
- The third stage
- The fourth stage
- Result
- Development Opportunities
ParticipantsParticipants in the project include researchers, teachers, social workers and educators from Germany, Austria, Italy, and Sweden. The participants represent the following institutions:
The actual project activities have been implemented in stages. Each phase began with work in each participating country and ended in a meeting where the results where shared and the objectives for the next stage set. The first stageThe first stage consisted of surveys on the current situation in the participating countries. This stage ended with a meeting at JFF in Munich where participants reported current situation and devised a plan for the next stage. The conclusion from the first meeting was that the situation differed quite a lot in the different countries. Here are some examples of these differences: One positive aspect of video gaming that the Swedes had encountered was the enhanced English vocabulary that the gamers acquired. This effect was not that pronounced in Austria, Germany and Italy due to the fact that the games generally where translated in to their native language. In Germany, and to some degree even in Austria, the strict regulation of content in video games posed a challenge for the project. The institutions that work with young gamers have to follow the strict rules even if the gamers themselves do not. This can lead to undesirable effects and makes it harder to choose appropriate games to use in activities. There is also a definite risk of alienation between the adults in the institutions and the young gamers. In Italy the video games had made it into media education and research and our Italian participants had many examples and tools to present already at our first meeting. We could also see that the public opinions on video games and the view from research reports and researchers differ in all the participating countries. The public opinion, as expressed in media, like newspapers, radio or TV, or in discussions with teachers and parents are more or less totally negative towards video games. The positive aspects that are frequent in researchers’ findings are normally not mentioned in the public debate. The second stageDuring Stage two, the target was to produce a number of practical applications in the form of standardised modules. These modules should be useful for teachers and others working with young people. The modules should be used to help young persons to verify and develop skills with the help of video games and also to reflect on video games, gaming and game content. During the final meeting for this stage, in Gauting outside Munich, we produced the final template for the modules and the tools for evaluation. The third stageDuring stage three the modules were tested and evaluated in the participating countries. Difficulties and uncertainties were revealed and the modules were adjusted or rewritten accordingly. During this phase the remaining written records on the project as a whole, about video games, the potentials of video games, video games and social media, gaming and society, evaluation methods and references and suggested reading were also produced. The fourth stageThe last gathering of the project group was held in Vienna during October 2012. At the meeting the different participating groups presented the results of the test run of their modules. All the text for the final product was revised and discussed. Apart from all the work with the texts the participants also took part in Game City 2012 and 6. ViennaGamesConference "Future and Reality of Gaming 2012” (FROG 2012) Michaela Anderle from wienXtra-medienzentrum and Sebastian Ring from JFF gave a presentation of our work and participated in the panel discussion on games and learning. After the meeting in Vienna the work on texts continued together with the search for a suitable publisher for the printed and electronic version of our publication. ResultGamepaddle has already manifested itself in results in the participating countries. In addition to the activities in the tested and evaluated modules, the project has inspired and contributed to a number of minor and major events and a continuous flow of information between the participating institutions. Information and articles about video game related events and research has been communicated to all participants quickly and efficiently via facebook-group. Among the activities undertaken are for example information events for teachers and parents, lecture sessions and activities around video games and learning with students and other youth groups. Through contacts developed in the projects three young students from Sweden got the possibility to travel to Palermo, Italy, and participate in parts of the implementation and evaluation of the Italian module. Development OpportunitiesVideo gaming among youth and its positive and negative effects is reaching increased awareness around the world, as not least this project demonstrates. With information and modules that Gamepaddle has developed educators and others who work with young people can develop their own activities that give young people more opportunities to benefit from their experiences and skills from video gaming in the real world, and acquire a better ability to moderate their video gaming activities and reflect on the contents of video games. Chapter 2 - 2 Cooperation in Minecraft by Tobias Härnvi Download 396.23 Kb. Share with your friends:
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