Whats out there?

Consoles: Xbox Playstation, Nintendo

PC Games: Runescape, World of Warcraft

Handhelds: Palm Pilot, Play Station Portable, Nintendo DS Card Games

Genres
platformer adventure role-playing game (RPG) (MMORPG) (MMOSG) first person shooter (FPS) third person shooter sports racing shooting fighting novel or manga action puzzle Sim turn-based strategy game (TBS) Real Time Strategy (RTS) Stealth-based game Tactical shooter Action adventure

Related Material
Electronic Gaming Monthly Tips & Tricks Strategy Guides: strategy guide for Grand Theft Auto III is 53,000 words long

Whats the Appeal?

You control the game environment You pretend to be someone else through your game character You can interact with people from anywhere around the world You get instant gratification and feedback You have fun from the adrenaline rush

What do games do for you?

You comprehend complex story lines and track inter-personal interactions with other players You learn social norms and rules beyond those of your physical community Your self-esteem builds as your skill level increases

Developmental Assets
Gaming helps to develop these Internal Assets

Commitment to Learning Social Competencies Positive Identity

Value of Games to Educators

Encourage collaborative problem solving Require development of literacy skills across multimedia platforms Teach the player to coordinate characters, manage time and virtual tools, and communicate clearly and quickly Help the player build empirical models and develop abstract thinking

Games in Libraries
Provides a bridge to communicate with kids Gets them in the door Promotes tech literacy, visual literacy and recreational reading. Many games have complex narrative

Practical Tips
Make time to play If its too loud, text! Ask kids for help.

Whats possible for HCL?

DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) nights Runescape tournaments Purchase a console with Friends money Create space for gamers

Host someone to speak about the value of gaming.

Carvers Bay Library

Bloomington Public Library

6/19/2003 Paducah Sun covers opening of Young Adult

Media Bar @ McCracken County Public Library

Brookdale Game Zone

Brookdale Gamezone

Questions???
Powerpoint will be available on the staff web.

Common Gaming Terms

About.com Role Playing Games Digital Native vs. Digital Immigrant

Resources
Books
Beck, John C. and Mitchell Wade. Got Game : How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business Forever. Harvard Business School Press, 2004. Cassell, Justine and Henry Jenkins. From Barbie to Mortal Kombat : Gender and Computer Games. MIT Press, 1998. Gee, James Paul. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Palgrave McMillan, 2003. Johnson, Steven. Everything Bad is Good for You : How Todays Pop Culture is Making Us Smarter . Riverhead, 2005. Prensky, Marc. Dont Bother Me MomIm Learning. Paragon House, 2006.

Web
Education Arcade Partnership between MIT and University of Wisconsin Madison investigating educational games Entertainment Software Association (ESA) Organization responsible for video game ratings, regulation and more Game Professor Good collection of resources related to video game research, conferences, academic papers, etc. Escapist Magazine Weekly online magazine covers industry issues and news with a personal spin 40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents