Production 3

In the Paper “Revisiting the Media generation: Youth media use and computational literacy instruction”, Dr. Jen Jenson and Dr. Milena Droumeva build on Seymour Paperts constructionist learning model that proficiency in STEM subjects is related to game construction. This particular paper addresses the presumption that all students in todays classrooms are “digital natives” and aims to critically evaluate what that means, and how true the claim is. Prensky (2001) points out that it is presumptive to assume that students are digital natives because they play digital games, further digital nativity is beginning to show marked differences based on gender, race, and class. The guiding research question is to interrogate the ways in which digital competencies are enacted in the context of games based learning? And how is games-based learning linked to STEM that could “re-fuse the digital divide when it comes to computational literacy” (Jenson, Milena, 2017).

In the study design, researchers chose grade 6 and 7 classes to evaluate as studies have shown that this is the age where students are making decisions about their high schools streams, that actually effect their post graduate specializations. It is also the year where female subjects begin to lag behind their male peers in technology and computer related areas. The difference in use of technology was that girls were more likely to use communication tools, while boys engaged with gaming more so. Boys also played games more regularly than girls, and they were more likely to play online and multiplayer games than girls. Jenson and Droumeva point out that these differences may speak to cultural advertising that focuses on boys for consoles like xbox and playstation but educational and family consoles are marketed for both. The researchers also noted that girls carried less confidence in their ability to interact with computers and used self-depricating language bto describe their own abilities. In my own experience studying visual arts, my graduating class was primarily female with only 5 male students. The mal students were heavily pressured to pursue graduate careers in architecture, or design while the girls were often pushed to move into education. The purpose of bringing this up is that the visual literacies we all possessed being “artists” were such that we had all learned to manipulate digital creative softwares like adobe to create, but we were marketed different entries into the work force. As such the type of content that is created must be affected by what is validated by systems of education.

In chapter 4 “Game Design workshop” by Tracy Fullerton, she introduces the concept of “flow” coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. “Flow” can be described as the persons increasing abilities to complete a somewhat challenging task, which the increasing challenges of the task as they relate to ability to concentrate. Usually flow includes the passing of hours within minutes because the person is “lost” in the task and highly concentrated in its completion. In particular I want tp draw attention to the fact that flow “for a person who does not have any of the skills a task requires, it is frustrating and meaningless.” And this is important to game design (Fullerton, 88). If girls in grade 6 and 7 are beginning to lag behind boys in their confidence to manipulate technology/computers, then they begin to lose the flow necessary to engage in games that develop their digital nativity*.

As some one with a background in visual arts, as a painter, I developed the visual literacy skills to create content that is visually appealing and considers optics in terms of what is included and excluded ina frame, the juxtaposition of figures, the composition, how a person viewing a piece may approach it and where their eye will go first, second and last. In creating imagery as an artist in a traditional art school setting, I learned non-digitally, to make a picture and create content for an audience. However I did not learn to self market on instagram, I also did not learn any skills I can realistically use to be hired as a designer or marketer. I do know that my ability to read and create imagery is an important tool in a digital age that is increasingly based on the visual effects, we buy products based on aesthetics, a sense that artists develop through their creative practices. My question about both these articles, is that after establishing that digital nativity is in fact gendered, racialized, and classed, how are we closing those gaps? Is there a space for arts classes to engage students in other aspects of digital gaming as the labour economy requires different types of creative in every aspect? If girls are marketed gaming differently, that’s symptomatic of systemized sexism and I am curious about how education can address the gap. It isn’t realistic to think that marketing of consoles will change, but game design involves artistic sensibility. Referring back to week 2, where we looked at “how to do things with videogames”, by Ian Bogost, the first chapter approaches how art is involved in the experience and creation of video/games. Establishing quickly in the quote:

“To think that there is a single, generally agreed upon concept of art is to get it precisely backwards. Americans' attitude towards art is profoundly divided, disjointed and confused;

and my message to garners is to simply ignore the "is-it-art?" debate altogether.”

That of course games are art, so then education systems are aimed at creating critical thinkers, but also students who grow into adults that contribute to society. Those students, including the girls who have been shown to be lagging and under represented in STEM spaces, are not engaged in near the digital literacy developing spaces that boys are. For reasons like marketing, accessibility to digital nativity becomes something that is not de facto (Jenson, Dourmeva, 2017). I’m wondering if the accessibility to digital nativity can be addressed within arts education, that introduces design elements to integrate into STEM, we know that STEAM which is championed by Rhode island school of design is to integrate the arts into development and innovation. In short my critique is that game design as it engages in the STEM, is missing the consideration of how visual artistry is also engaged and an integral part of how students can be engaged in game design.

Jenson, J. & Droumeva, M. (2017). Revisiting the media generation: Youth media use and computational literacy instruction, eLearning and Digital Media.
Fullerton, T. (2014). Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovation Games, NY: Taylor & Francis (CRS Press) / Chapters 1-3 on Design (skip designer Interviewers if you wish) Use rest of book as game design resource if you wish.

Bogost, I. (2011). How to Do Things with Videogames. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. (Read Entire Book)