Lankshear,+C.++Massively+multiplayer+online+games+(MMOs)+in+the+new+media+classroom

=**Delwiche, Aaron. Massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) in the new media classroom.**= //Journal of Educational Technology & Society// v. 9 no. 3 (2006) p. 160-72

=Abstract= Recent research demonstrates that videogames enhance literacy, attention, reaction time, and higher-level thinking. Several scholars have suggested that massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) such as //Everquest// and //Second Life// have educational potential, but we have little data about what happens when such tools are introduced in the classroom. This paper reports findings from two MMO-based courses in the context of situated learning theory. The first course, focused on the ethnography of on-line games, used the game //Everquest// as a vehicle for teaching research methods to 36 students in an undergraduate communication course. The second course used the game //Second Life// to teach the fundamentals of video-game design and criticism. Synthesizing comments from student web logs with data collected from follow-up surveys, the paper highlights key findings and offers concrete suggestions for instructors contemplating the use of multiplayer games in their own courses. Recommending that potential virtual environments be selected on the basis of genre, accessibility, and extensibility, it is suggested that game-based assignments are most effective when they build bridges between the domain of the game world and an overlapping domain of professional practice.

=Argument = In this article, Aaron Delwiche argues that massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) are a vital tool for the new media classroom because of their ability to have students work within a social community. As Delwiche points out, learning is a social activity; individuals acquire knowledge more easily as members of socially constructed world. MMOs, by their very nature, possess an engaging and active community that form an ideal environment in which students can cooperate and share knowledge with one another. In addition, MMOs are highly immersive and promote roleplaying, which in turn broadens an individual's perspective and his or her ability to empathize.

=Key Passages = “The convergence of high-speed Internet connections, sophisticated graphics cards, and powerful microprocessors has paved the way for immersive virtual environments populated by thousands of users simultaneously. These environments have been referred to as persistent worlds, multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs), and massively multiplayer on-line games (MMOs). As these worlds have matured, they have developed many characteristics of physical communities such as specialized language, political structures, complex social rituals, and shared history," (160).

“Some believe that virtual environments facilitate a "psychosocial moratorium" that has profound therapeutic and educational benefits," (160).

"This article argues that MMOs are living, breathing textbooks that provide students with first-hand exposure to critical theory and professional practice," (161).

"[...] MMOs are intriguing because social interaction, cooperation, and knowledge sharing is central to their enjoyment. [...] These networked games "fully leverage technology to facilitate 'edge' activities -- the interaction that happens through and around games as players critique, rebuild, and add on to them, teaching each other in the process," " (162).

"When selecting an MMO, key issues include accessibility, genre, and extensibility. [...] For an MMO-themed class to be effective, learning objectives should be identified at the outset. Along with the macroscopic theoretical goals, students should be given a series of smaller objectives or “baby steps” that are related to game mechanics," (168).

=Selected Works Cited = Castranova, E. (2001). Virtual worlds: A first-hand account of market and society on the Cyberian frontier. //The Gruter Institute Working Papers on Law, Economics, and Evolutionary Biology//, 2 (1).

Gee, J. P. (2003). //What Video-games have to Teach us about Learning and Literacy//. New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). //Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation//, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Steinkuehler, C. A. (2004). Learning in massively multiplayer online games. In Kafai, Y. B., Sandoval, W. A., Enyedy, N., Nixon, A. S. & Herrera, F. (Eds.), //Proceedings of the 6th International Conference of the Learning Sciences//, Mahwah, NJ, USA: Erlbaum, 521-52.