1. Gaming on Campus: Why and How Laura Christopherson, UNC-Chapel Hill Elizabeth A. Evans, UNC-Chapel Hill David Borland, RENCI Michael Conway, RENCI Eric Knisley, RENCI Diane Pozefsky, UNC-Chapel Hill November 18, 2008 UNC CAUSE

2. its.unc.edu 2 We’re from…

3. its.unc.edu Gaming on Campus: Why?

4. its.unc.edu 4 Who plays games? What do you think? How many people play games? How often do they play?

5. its.unc.edu 5 65% of American households play computer or video games (ESA) Average time spent playing games per week: 5-8 hours (Sax et al., 2001) Data Show…

6. its.unc.edu 6 70% of college students "reported playing video, computer or online games at least once in a while, and 65% of college students reported being regular or occasional game players." (PEW, 2003) "Students cited gaming as a way to spend more time with friends. One out of every five (20%) gaming students felt moderately or strongly that gaming helped them make new friends as well as improve existing friendships." (PEW, 2003) "Students integrate gaming into their day, taking time between classes to play a game, play a game while visiting with friends or instant messaging, or play games as a brief distraction from writing papers or doing other work." (PEW, 2003) College Kids Do It

7. its.unc.edu 7 "... the generation that grew up playing video games continues to play them well into adulthood." "... when adult gamers have children, they are not going to stop playing video games, rather, they will play video games with their kids." (PEW, 2007) It’s a Family Affair

8. its.unc.edu 8 Dec. 2007, Ultima Online: 75,000 subscribers. Dec. 2007, Linneage: 1,056,177 subscribers. Jan. 2007, EverQuest:175,000 subscribers. April 2008, EVE Online: 236,510 subscribers. Feb. 2008, Second Life: 91,531 subscribers. Jan. 2008, WoW had 10 millions subscribers worldwide, with ~2.5 million in North America, ~2 million in Europe, and ~5.5 million in Asia. MMOG Stats From http://www.mmogchart.com

9. its.unc.edu 9 Sources Entertainment Software Association. Facts & Research. Retrieved August 23, 2008 from http://www.theesa.com/facts. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2005). Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-Olds. Retrieved from http://www.kff.org/entmedia/7251.cfm. PEW Internet & American Life Project. (2003). Let the games begin: Gaming technology and entertainment among college students. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/93/report_display.asp. PEW Internet & American Life Project. (2007). Is video gaming becoming the next family bonding activity? Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/p/1223/pipcomments.asp. Sax, L.J., Lindholm, J. A., Astin, A.W., Korn, W.S., and Mahoney, K.M. (2001). The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2001. Los Angeles: The Higher Education Research Institute.

10. its.unc.edu 10 “We learn by example and direct experience because there are real limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction.” - Malcolm Gladwell (Blink) Situated Learning

11. its.unc.edu 11 Situated Learning Jean Lave & Etienne Wenger Legitimate peripheral participation “learning as participation in the social world” (43) Understanding and experience are “mutually constitutive” (52) “Learning itself is an improvised practice: A learning curriculum unfolds in opportunities for engagement in practice.” (93)

12. its.unc.edu 12 Experiential Verisimilitude Encourages exploration and experimentation Safe environment to take risks and fail Continuous feedback on performance Reinforces success, builds confidence Opportunities for collaborative engagement Opportunities for leadership development Games as Teaching Tools

13. its.unc.edu Gaming on Campus: How?

14. its.unc.edu 14 Educate Introduce Games4Learning initiative October 2007 Kickoff symposium (“A Conversation”) 17 co-sponsors A registration waiting list Arts and Sciences: 23 (12 different departments) Centers, Institutes, Programs: 10 (5 different centers and institutes) Professional Schools: 54 (11 different schools) Service Organizations: 12 (3 different organizations) Libraries: 8 (2 different libraries) Other: 3

15. its.unc.edu 15 Educate Ongoing events Simulation and Role-Playing in Teaching and Learning: Serious Games, Face to Face (13) Using World of Warcraft to Teach Leadership (22) Legal Issues in Virtual Worlds (10) Exploring Haptic Interfaces (41) Learning and Entertainment in World of Warcraft (8) Finding Funding (5) Does Game-Based Learning Work? (14) The Immersive Power of Created Worlds (16) Game Engine Show and Tell (35) Alternate Reality Games (25) Meet the Gamers: The Student Gaming Experience! (24) Your Thoughts are Important to Us! (19)

16. its.unc.edu 16 Educate Mailing list Just under 200 subscribers Most from UNC-Chapel Hill A few from other places around the world Event announcements, CFPs, pointers to articles and Web sites, etc.

17. its.unc.edu 17 Educate Web site Calendar of events (on- and off-campus) Event Materials Funding Resources Websites Lists Organizations Student-written game reviews Glossary Scholarly articles, etc.

18. its.unc.edu 18 Start Projects Limited Success (so far) Why Not?

19. its.unc.edu 19 Issues Just three: Time, money, resources!

20. its.unc.edu 20 Issues, more specifically “Will I get promotion and/or tenure from working in this area?” “Do we have resources on campus I can use to work in this area?” “I need to know as much about games as my students do.” “I don’t have experience writing grants. How do I get help for that?”

21. its.unc.edu 21 Issues, more specifically “Aren’t students already addicted to gaming? And is that healthy?” “Women/minorities/older students don’t play games, do they?” “Yeah, students play games, but can they really learn from them? How do we know they do?” “If a student learns something in a game, will what they learn transfer to real life?”

22. its.unc.edu 22 Issues, more specifically “What kind of people and/or skills do I need to create a game?

23. its.unc.edu 23 What’s Next? Continuing with events, discussions, information sharing, evangelism Possible partnership with game company for project Foster graduate student interest when faculty tie-in is available Possible collaboration between computer science students (programmers) and other departments

24. its.unc.edu 24 Discussion Comments? Questions? Your experiences?