PRACTICE
When introducing new media to a classroom, it is important to acknowledge their practical limitations. In this section, I will address several of the barriers that exist when it comes to the actual integration of video games in the classroom. The majority of these will be based on my personal observation and opinion as a person who is passionate about video games. Ideally in the future, this section will be further developed over time.
In the U.S., we are fortunate to have reached a point where the idea of video games in the classroom is no longer such a foreign concept. However, it seems that we are also far from an ideal situation. Application is wide and varied, lacking consistency and consideration; the line between tool and artifact becomes fuzzier, as does the definition of what a video game is in the first place. The reality of the situation is that we are a long way from seeing video games as a regular part of the school curriculum, at least on a large scale. Here are a few reasons why.
"Multimodal approaches to shapes of knowledge raise serious issues about teachers' access to materials... and technologies and how these are used in the classroom."
—Jewitt, "Multimodality and Literacy in School Classrooms," p.257
"What are the new roles for teachers?"
—Jan and Gaydos, "What is Game-Based Learning? Past, Present, and Future," p.10
Technology and accessibility
To be frank: teachers will bear the brunt of the responsibility when it comes to choosing which and what kind of games they wish to introduce to their students. And the games that are brought in will largely depend on a variety of factors that a teacher may or may not realize, such as:
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What resources are available? If the teacher is familiar with video games, do they have access to the appropriate technology (e.g., casting, cord adapters, platforms)? If the teacher is unfamiliar, do they have access to those who are (and should that include students)?
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What is the teacher's concept of a video game? How does that affect what kind of video game they wish to introduce? (See: Tool or artifact?)
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What kind of video game literacy does the teacher have, if any?
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What kind of GBL do they subscribe to, and what are their teaching philosophies?
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As it stands, it appears that the average educator would benefit from more accessible and easily learned video games, such as those available for free on itch.io.
Nanopesos is an example of one such online game available on itch.io, free and independently designed. It was made to raise awareness about the high living costs and low salaries in Chile.
Tool or artifact?
An individual's experience with and understanding of video games can either open up or severely limit the potential for meaningful and varied application of the medium. In your opinion, is a video game a tool or an artifact? As expected, video games exist upon a spectrum, a natural outcome of a medium which exists between technology and art.
In some cases, digital games are mere digital translations or transformations of existing tangible games, like board games or escape rooms (or the one and only Solitaire). Serious Games are often cited for their ability to teach technical skills, like virtual reality pilot training, and are praised for their educative potential. Narrative games are valued for their innovation in interactive storytelling, nowadays commonly celebrated as their own form of literary art. For K-12 classrooms, the emphasis similarly varies from utilitarian to transformative, from simple quiz applications like Kahoot! to more complex systems like Minecraft.
Due to Minecraft's creative sandbox mode and Microsoft's resources, there exists an education edition of the hugely popular video game. One lesson focuses on important social justice movements in history and encourages students to enact positive change.
"There's a place for a purposeful study of video games in today's English classroom because they represent some of the most important storytelling in the 21st century. This new medium is not only connected to our students' lives and interests but also represents our society's efforts to push the boundaries of storytelling in meaningful ways."
—Jonathan Ostenson, "Exploring the Boundaries of Narrative,"
p. 71
"Producing a visual or multimodal artifact might actually support students in becoming more critical consumers of such artifacts—a concept that is touted by theorists but not offered consistently by the practices that textbooks encourage."
—Aubrey Schiavone, "Consumption, Production, and Rhetorical Knowledge in Visual and Multimodal Textbooks," p.377
Consumption and/versus production
Programming. Game design. The tools to develop a video game are far more accessible than they have ever been. (These days, the mystery of technology itself is easy to dispel.) Yet there are many parts to video games that we have yet to understand due to the simple fact that the average person does not know how to make one. Theories of media literacy support the production of new digital media because doing so enhances our ability to critically consume media. Creating websites and videos from home are a great example of this in the 21st century.
So why stop at analysis and interaction when it comes to video games, or other interactive media? Why not encourage a generation of designers that can solve the world's biggest problems?
Long time video game journalist Mark Brown of Game Maker's Toolkit documented his attempt to develop his own game for the first time in 2021, running into many challenges and gaining lots of insight along the way.
No really, why video games?
It is important to me that video games be recognized as their own unique medium. Otherwise, I find that it is hard to justify their usage or introduction to a classroom, even when motivated by a desire to be multimodal. As we have explored in this section, video games can be difficult to implement or end up redundantly effective. In those situations, it is important to realize that there are more effective and easier alternatives. You don't need a video game for the sake of digital media, and you don't need digital media for the sake of multimodality.
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So what makes the video game unique? While many features overlap with storytelling, cinema, design, and architecture, there has yet to be in-depth work regarding its interactive features and the way certain games play with the concepts like choice and morality. In my own time, I have recently taken to thinking of certain narrative video games as more intimate, personally designed theme parks or museums, and I look forward to exploring these thoughts in the future.
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We are still in an age where we are discovering the true potential of video games, and I believe video games have a lot to teach us in the years to come.
In a recent paper I explored the autobiographical video game That Dragon, Cancer, the true story about Joel Evan Green and his parents. In my analysis I focused on themes of agency, interaction, and experiential knowledge.
"Rhetoric that is crafted to be image-based, image-evoking, concrete is easier to process, to relate to and to interpret emotionally.. and to elaborate than its non-imagery counterpart."
—Petra Aczél, "Rediscovering the Visual in Rhetorical Tradition," p.77