Abstract
According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) report, 70% of families have a child who is actively playing video games at home. This pop culture phenomenon has challenged the way teachers think about learning and engagement. This chapter explores how the nature, culture, design, mechanics, and logistics of video games shape the way classroom gamers think. It examines how video games provide a space for strategic practice, the 21st-century skills acquired, and the tools gamers use as experts. Presenting background and context to help better understand why and how video game environments develop strategic thinking, the purpose of this chapter is to encourage educators to embrace video games to harness pop culture experiences as a means to motivate students to develop 21st-century literacy practices and skills. Through the reflections and framework of a teacher's experience who is an active researcher, it also discusses how a popular mainstream video game in the classroom changed her teaching and opened her eyes to a new type of learner.
TopBackground
The vast choices of digital learning tools can often make it difficult for teachers to best understand how to integrate new technologies in the classroom (Shively & Palilonis, 2018). Pop culture and the rise of gamification, game-based learning, and video game integration in the classroom has left teachers with questions. What can students learn through video games? How should video games be integrated? Why should teachers look to pop culture video games to teach their curriculum? The answer to these questions is simple. The use of video game integration in the classroom is yet another instructional tool that can help teachers engage students by taking an interest in what literacies they are most passionate about. Exploring new ways to implement pop culture video games in K-12 settings is about staying current and evolving the profession to meet the needs of 21st-century learners. It is important for students to see life connections reflected in their school curricula and for teachers to understand the nature of pop culture, in relation to their students, as essential to understanding to their literacy development (Petrone, 2013).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Cutscenes: A scene in a video game that provides narrative that can be either text or cinematic based.
MMORPG: Massively multiplayer online role-play video game.
MUVE: Multi-user virtual environment.
Skins: Game item that alters an avatar’s appearance.
MMO: Massively multiplayer online video game.
Modding: Customizing or modifying the artistic elements and functions of a video game.
Mainstream Game: A game designed for entertainment purposes.
Four Cs: 21 st -century future ready skills known as critical thinking and problem-solving, creativity and innovation, communication, and collaboration.
Serious Game: A game designed with the primary goal of training or educating.