Learning from games : Dr Joanne O'Mara

Learning from GamesDr. Joanne O’Mara, Deakin University

Computer games and Me

• Playing “Sim City” in Vanuatu in 2001 on the Visor

• “The Sims” - dollhouse games

• ipod- ipad

Part of Gregor’s eurogame collection...

Boardgaming Resources• Games in libraries

with Scott Nicholson podcasts

• Everyone Plays at the Library-N025.5/57 (Available Mon!!!)

• The Geek

Drama/Virtual Worlds

• Drama teaching and research background

• Process Drama/Virtual worlds/Architect/Character/”as if” in world learning

Research Projects

• Literacy in the Digital world of the 21st Century: Learning from Computer Games Catherine Beavis, Clare Bradford, Joanne O’Mara and Chris Walsh --ARC with DEECD (Vic), VATE and ACMI

• Public Institution - ACMI- as a partner

New Project• July 2011- 2014 Serious Play: Using digital

games in school to promote literacy and learning in the twenty first century

LP110200309 Prof Catherine A Beavis, Dr Michael L Dezuanni, Dr Joanne A O'Mara, Dr Sarah Prestridge, Dr Leonie Rowan, Prof Claire M Wyatt-Smith, Dr Jason A Zagami, Prof Yam San Chee Partners:Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victoria and Queensland Schools (Lutheran  Church  of  Australia  QLD  District  -­‐  Pacific  Lutheran  College,  Marymount  Primary  School  ,Merrimac  State  School  ,  St  Aidan's  School  Council  Limited  ,  St  Catherine's  Catholic  Primary  School,  St  Joseph's  Nudgee  College  ,  St  Laurence's  College  

“Both the making of text and the reading of text require greater attention to all possible means of

meaning making” Kress (2005)

Kress, G. (2005). Communication now and in the future. Discussion paper for the English 21 project. United Kingdom Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Retrieved March 21, 2010, from http://www.qca.org.uk/

12292.html

Kress (2005)new textual dispositions

• Traditional disposition to text

Text is monomodal/linguistic

Mode of approach: linguistic

Text is stable

Text is composed by producer

Text is interpreted by reader

Text has sequential, linear order

Authority/Authorship underpins

Text is site of knowledge

New disposition to text

Text is multimodal/semiotic

Mode of approach: semiotic

Text is radically unstable

Text is designed by producer

Text is designed by reader

Text has spatial ordering

Potential usefulness underpins

Text is site of informationEnglish 21 project. United Kingdom Qualifications and Curriculum Aut

Game Making with Year 8

• Game Maker: yoyogames.com

• Every boy (last 4 years) has made a playable game

• Game mechanics and narrative

John Richards from yoyogames.com

GameMaking Outcomes

• “Blank slate of potential”: Creative, engaging, technical, narratives

• Kids as Producers: Their games have currency

• Designers

• Critique and “Borrow” from Commercial games

Joanne   O’Mara   and   John   Richards   “A  Blank   Slate:   Using   Game   Maker   to  Create  Computer  Games”  in  Beavis,  C.,  O’Mara,   J.,   and   McNeice,   L.   (Eds)  (2012)   Digital   Games:   Literacy   in  Action   Adelaide:   AATE/   WakeOield  Press

Game Making in Public Spaces

• Range of Programs: Cahoots, GameMaker.

• ACMI Games Lab Workshops, developing your game idea-online resources

• Your Library: Workshop then a group???

Game Plan: Engage the Disengaged

Getting them to write anything down was a real challenge. So I really had nothing to lose in trying to engage them. It was time to bite the bullet, and as there were so many boys in my group it was time to capitalise on their interest in computer games.

Paul Byrne

A repertoire of literacy practices

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Students were enthusiastic and involved. Writing for them became less of a chore because it involved writing about something they didn’t see as work but as play.

Byrne,  Paul    “Game  Plan:  Using  Computer  Games  in  English  to  Engage  the  Disengaged”    in   Beavis,   C.,   O’Mara,   J.,   and   McNeice,   L.   (Eds)  (2012)  Digital  Games:  Literacy  in  Action  Adelaide:  AATE/  WakeOield  Press

Console Games as Texts

• Year Nine Boys

• analyse tape of seven year old playing console game

• review and discuss game-deconstruct game actions

• deconstruction of Simpsons Hit and Run

Mark Cuddon

Mark  Cuddon  “‘Gamer  Hands’  –  Console  Games  as  Texts”  in  Beavis,  C.,  O’Mara,  J.,  and  McNeice,  L.  (Eds)  (2012)  Digital  Games:  Literacy  in  Action  Adelaide:  AATE/  WakeOield  Press

The beauty of whole-class and small-group discussions on gaming is the enthusiasm and excitement it engenders in the class. In turn, students are willing to document, write and reflect on their experiences in an individual writing folio piece based on a ‘text’ they had an interest in and an experience they were willing to share.

Mark Cuddon

Archetypes & Quests• Examine critically how games designers

transgress, replicate or challenge the quest narrative, archetypes and stereotypes

• Playing games alongside reading novels, watching films- texts on multiple platforms

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Stages  in  the  quest  narrative,  adapted  from  Joseph  Campbell  by  Christopher  Vogler,  a  Hollywood  script  consultant

Lisa McNeice, Andrea Smith & Toby Robison

Lisa  McNeice,  Andrea  Smith  and  Toby  Rob i son     “Computer   Games ,  Archetypes  and  the  Narrative  Quest”in  Beavis,   C.,   O’Mara,   J.,   and   McNeice,   L.  (Eds)   (2012)   Digital   Games:   Literacy  in   Action   Adelaide:   AATE/   WakeOield  Press

Pitching a Game Idea• Presented a “Pitch”

of a new game to a panel of judges to secure funding

• narrative, plot, mechanics game characters. Emphasis on multiple narrative possibilities

Serious Games

• Prof. Yam San Chee, Nanyung

University, Singapore (Legends of Alkhemia: Fostering Authentic Learning of Chemistry Within fictionalised Game Contexts; Statecraft: Trans-contextual Learning: Student Learning with Mobile Devices in a Persistent world game to construct meanings and identities

• School Projects in Victoria and Queensland: Making and using games in curriculum.

• Victorian Ultranet game making software: Cahoots, GameMaker

virtual/real worlds• narrative writing/

construction from “virtual worlds” experiences

• Drama research- experience in dramatic world improves narrative writing

Have Fun!

joanne.omara@deakin.edu.au