MMORPGs & GNs How Two Forms of Popular Media Can Work For You Diana (& Mary) Maliszewski July 24, 2006

Standing on the shoulders of giants… “Comic Books and Graphic Novels in School and Public Libraries” Gail de Vos

Standing on the shoulders of giants… Simmons College, Massachusetts Robin Brenner, Beth Gallaway

“I get by with a little help from my friends…” James Maliszewski and “the boys”

Gaming is the medium of choice for the millennial generation

Teens that play games online** 81% ** Lenhart, Amanda et al. "Teens and Technology: Youth are Leading the Transition to a Fully Wired and Mobile Nation." Family, Friends & Community. Pew Internet & American Life Project. July

E-rated games sold in 2005* 85% * ESA. Top 10 Facts.

Women over age 18 and boys age 6-17 who play games* 28% 21% * ESA. Top 10 Facts.

Games are like books, they are just another new format

The Gamer Generation TM Characteristics * Social Competitive Wired Self-aware Always On Heroic Multi-taskers Global Collaborative Risk Takers Beck, John C. & Mitchell Wade. Got Game? How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business Forever. Cambridge MA: Harvard Business School, 2004.

Learning principles in games*** Risk –tasking in a “safe” environment Rewarding of practice Use of affinity groups Probing cycles Situated meaning Self-knowledge Identity formation *** Gee, James Paul. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Palgrave McMillan, 2003

Side Effects of Video Games Hand-eye coordination Pattern Recognition Reading & Writing Physics Math History Geography/Map Reading Social Skills Mentoring & Leadership Critical Thinking Problem Solving Creativity High self-esteem Loyalty Teamwork Calculated, Strategic Risk-taking Fun

Gaming Reinforces New Literacies Exposing Knowledge Employing Information Expressing Ideas Compellingly Ethics on the Internet Warlick, David. ”The New Literacies.” Scholastic Administrator. Mar-Apr

Exposing Knowledge Find information Understand and explain found information regardless of its format Evaluate information Organize information

Runescape

World of Warcraft Example of information gathering in game

Webkinz

Employing Information Computation Measurement Analysis Application

Lemonade Stand

Set Game

Expressing Ideas Compellingly Mechanics matter Creativity & efficiency highly rated Text, images, audio, and video are used to express ideas in many digital formats

Fan Fiction

Warcraft Tutorial Warcraft Movies Red Vs. Blue Machinima

Ethics on the Internet Modding – recreating game content FanFic – writing stories about characters created/owner by someone else Machina – films/videos created through recording video game play

7 THINGS YOU CAN DO TOMORROW to make your school welcoming to gamers 1.Use games to do readers advisory 2.Be a strategy guide 3.Embrace your inner technogeek 4.Be flexible 5.Plan change 6.Immerse yourself in pop culture … especially video game culture 7.Try some games!

USE GAMES TO DO READER’S ADVISORY INSTEAD OF: What authors do you like to read? What are the last 3 books you read and enjoyed? What did you like about them? ASK: What movies do you like? What TV shows do you watch? What games do you play?

Graphic Novels Truth VS Fiction: Comics are just for kids. Graphic novels are just for adults. False: Comics or graphic novels are for all ages and incorporate many genres and topics. One even won the Pulitzer Prize for literature! F.Y.I. All GNs are comics, but not all comics are GNs.

Graphic Novels Truth VS Fiction: Reading comics encourages other reading. True:Stephen Krashen says in his book that studies & case histories show that comics can serve as a conduit to heavier reading.

Used by permission –

Benefits Promotes reading Improves vocabulary Wide appeal Meets different needs Develop cognitive skills Teach content & other skills simultaneous Introduce hard concepts Visual literacy Media literacy / new format Positive attitude “Kewl” Various reading levels can use same text Lifelong readers Takes advantage of ways students entertain themselves to teach Cross-genre applications (art, English, etc.) Plus those from MMORPGs

So who reads this stuff? Reluctant readers Boys Struggling readers ESL students Teens “Internet Generation” Gifted students Readers with “visualization” problems Students with different “Multiple Intelligences” (linguistic / spatial / interpersonal) ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE!

And what are they reading?

And many, many more!

Mary’s Favourites

How can I use graphic novels in my program / classroom?  Make some available during silent reading time  Offer as an option for a book report  Use as part of your “multi-media” approach to a topic  Create a literature circle group based on one title  Begin a “comic club” / “boys reading club”  Let students create their own comic for an assignment  Read some yourself!  Be positive and knowledgeable

More Questions? Energizer: “Snowball”