Elisabeth R. Hayes

Making Computer Games and Design Thinking: A Review of Current Software And Strategies

This article provides an overview of computer software and instructional strategies intended to engage young people in making computer games, to achieve a variety of educational goals. It briefly describes the most popular of such programs and compares their key features, including the kinds of games that can be created with the software, the types of communities and resources that are associated with each program, claims made for learning outcomes resulting from use of the software, and the results of empirical research (if any) on the application and outcomes of the software in formal or informal educational settings. A key finding is that existing software and educational applications stress the goal of teaching users about computer programming and place little or no emphasis on teaching concepts related to game design. It concludes by discussing the potential value of explicit attention to “design thinking” as goal of game making in education.

A framework for health numeracy: how patients use quantitative skills in health care.

Our objective of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for the construct of health numeracy based on patient perceptions, using a cross-sectional, qualitative design. Interested participants (n = 59) meeting eligibility criteria (age 40–74, English speaking) were assigned to one of six focus groups stratified by gender and educational level (low, medium, high). Fifty-three percent were male, and 47% were female. Sixty-one percent were white non-Hispanic, and 39% were of minority race or ethnicity. Participants were randomly selected from three primary care sites associated with an academic medical center. Focus group discussions were held in May 2004 and focused on how numbers are used in the health care setting. Data were presented from clinical trials to further explore how quantitative information is used in health communication and decision making. Focus groups were audio and videotaped; verbatim transcripts were prepared and analyzed. A framework of health numeracy was developed to reflect the themes that emerged. Three broad conceptual domains for health numeracy were identified: primary numeric skills, applied health numeracy, and interpretive health numeracy. Across domains, results suggested that numeracy contains an emotional component, with both positive and negative affect reflected in patient numeracy statements. We conclude that health numeracy is a multifaceted construct that includes applied and interpretive components and is influenced by patient affect.

Gendered Identities at Play Case Studies of Two Women Playing Morrowind

This article explores issues of gender and video gaming, typically perceived as a masculine practice, through case studies of two adult women gamers. Drawing on a conception of identities in practice, the analyses show that dominant assumptions about women’s preferences and orientations toward video gaming do not reflect the diverse ways that women might make meaning of, respond to, and take pleasure in such games. To better understand women’s and men’s orientations toward gaming, the article argues for the need to take into account the complexity of people’s identities, not just gender alone but its interplay with and enactment in combination with personal histories and cultural factors that play out differently in individuals’ lives. This understanding, in turn, leads to insights into how video games may serve as spaces for the enactment of new forms of gendered identities.

A Typology of Low-Literate Adults Based on Perceptions of Deterrents to Participation in Adult Basic Education.

The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive way to view systematic differences in groups of low-literate adults through the creation of a typology based on deterrents to participation in adult basic education. Information about such deterrents, obtained from 160 low-literate adult basic education students with the Deterrents to Participation Scale - Form LL, was used as the data base for the research. Through the use of disjoint cluster analysis, six types of low literate adults were identified according to their scores on five deterrent factors. The typology provides a basis for the development of strategies and programs to meet the needs of specific subgroups of the low-literate population in adult basic education.

Games, Learning, and Society: Nurturing Affinity Spaces and Game-Based Learning

In this chapter we will argue that to understand how gaming supports learning, as well as to design games for educational purposes, educators and scholars must think beyond elements of the game software to the social practices, or metagame , that take place within and around games. Based on studies of fan sites associated with the popular computer game The Sims , we identify features of what we call nurturing affinity spaces that are particularly supportive of learning and contrast these features with how schools are typically organized. How such spaces are developed and sustained remains a central question for future research on games and learning, and we conclude by identifying key areas for further investigation. Games and Learning Those of us who have made the claim that games are good for learning have meant, of course, that well-designed games are good for learning, not poorly designed ones. While an empirical enterprise is under way to test whether and how games are good for learning, too often these studies do not first ensure that they are assessing games that are well designed.

Game content creation and it proficiency: An exploratory study

Abstract Computer and video gaming are often considered to be potential routes to the development of aptitude and interest in using other forms of information technology (IT). The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the extent to which young people who play games engage in related IT practices, such as creating and sharing content or creating fan sites. Additional goals were to identify differences in such practices according to grade level, gender, and access to IT-related resources in the home, as well as to explore relationships between engagement in game-related practices and perceived proficiency in general computer-related skills.

Women in Adult Education: An Analysis of Perspectives in Major Journals.

The purpose of this study was to clarify dominant perspectives on women in adult education publications. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze 112 articles in four major adult education journals. Five dominant perspectives were identified, along with a sixth potentially emergent perspective. Strengthsandlimitationsofeachperspectivearediscussedinrelationship to key themes in feminist scholarship.

The impact of feminism on adult education publications: an analysis of British and American journals

Feminism has potentially important implications for adult education scholarship yet the actual influence of feminism has not previously been assessed in a comprehensive manner. This study sought to determine the extent to which selected adult education publications have been receptive to feminist perspectives. Major research objectives included: (1) to analyse trends in the inclusion of women and gender differences as central topics in adult education journals; and (2) to assess, through content analysis, the treatment of women and gender differences in journal articles not primarily focused on women or gender differences. A secondary objective was to compare trends in British and American publications. Four major adult education journals were analysed for trends from 1966‐88; six journals were subject to a more detailed content analysis of publications in 1987‐88. Findings indicate that only one journal, Adult Education (British), showed an identifiable increase in articles on women and gender for the 23...

Not just a dollhouse: what The Sims2 can teach us about women's IT learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how a popular computer game, The Sims2, engages players in computing practices that are foundational to information technology (IT) fluency, and to draw implications for engaging young people, particularly girls and women, in computer‐related learning.Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is framed within a conceptual perspective on learning as a process of acquiring situated understandings through participation in meaningful activity. The paper draws on two years of work with girls developing IT fluency through playing and modding The Sims. It also draws on interviews with adult women who are highly engaged in creating Sims content.Findings – The paper identifies a set of practices inherent in Sims game play that are foundational to IT fluency: managing complex systems; cheating and glitching; tinkering with tools; and making, manipulating, and reasoning with spatial representations.Practical implications – The paper suggests how existing practices ...

Perspectives of five library and information studies students involved in service learning at a community-based literacy program

Literacy education may be a stronger issue today than ever for public libraries in serving those who lack access to print and electronic sources because of limited literacy skills. Case studies of five library and information studies (LIS) students who participated in an interdisciplinary service learning course on community service and literacy are presented in this article. The students worked closely with adult learners in a community literacy agency and attended class once a week to discuss their experiences and their reactions to the readings and lectures. Their problematic experiences and insights are examined through sources such as their journals, reflection papers, and interviews. Findings and implications about how LIS students learn about the unique learning and communication styles of adult learners who have different backgrounds from themselves, the ways they perceive the roles of the public library in the lives of adult learners, and for integrating literacy education with service learning into LIS education are presented.