Video Game Narratives: A “Walk-Through” of Children’s Popular Culture And Formal Education

Authors

  • Rut Martínez Borda Psycho Pedagogical Department University of Alcala
  • Pilar Lacasa Psycho Pedagogical Department University of Alcala

Keywords:

Video games, narratives, theatre, new literacies.

Abstract

The general aim of this presentation is to explore how video games, supported by conversations and theatrical performances in the classroom, contribute to the development of narrative thought as present in written compositions. Given that one of the primary ecological influences on children is the mass media, we need to consider how media messages create an environment that can teach people about society’s rules, attitudes, values and norms (Bakhtin, 1981; Gee, 2003, 2004; Jenkins, 2004). From a methodological point of view we assumed an ethnographical and action research perspective. An inductive approach to the data was taken, in order to define analytical categories that consider participants’ activities in specific contexts. Main results show that children’s reconstruction of computer games stories is dependent on specific contexts.

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Published

2008-05-01