Children’s Sense of Self: Learning and Meaning in the Digital Age

Dodge, Tyler; Barab, Sasha; Stuckey, Bronwyn; Warren, Scott; Heiselt, Conan; Stein, Richard

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Children’s Sense of Self: Learning and Meaning in the Digital Age

Dodge, T., Barab, S., Stuckey, B., Warren, S., Heiselt, C. & Stein, R. (2008). Children’s Sense of Self: Learning and Meaning in the Digital Age. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 19(2), 225-249. Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/22982.

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Journal Information

Journal of Interactive Learning Research
ISSN 1093-023X
Volume 19, Issue 2, April 2008
Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) Chesapeake, VA

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Table of Contents

Authors

Tyler Dodge, Sasha Barab, Bronwyn Stuckey, Indiana University, United States; Scott Warren, University of North Texas, United States; Conan Heiselt, Richard Stein, Indiana University, United States

Abstract

This research began with the premise that video game play, especially as it relates to participation in persistent virtual worlds, provides fictional spaces where players engage in cognitive and communicative practices that can be personally transformative in prosocial ways. Players' experiences with these worlds are as much defined by the technical design and construction of these spaces as they are influenced by the socio-cultural arrangements that develop. In support of this belief, we collected data on children's experiences with a range of technologies germane to the Digital Age, including their participation in the Quest Atlantis environment, an immersive space for learning that is intended to engage children ages 9-12 in a form of dramatic play comprising both online and real-world learning activities. By enlisting this innovation to nonintrusively collect data about children's participation as well as their engagement with media more generally, the research team was able to move beyond an ethnographic study of what already exists in the world and develop a grounded appreciation for what an innovative technology-rich context might make possible in the future.

Keywords

References

Barab, S. A., Arici, A., & Jackson, C. (2005). Eat your vegetables and do your homework: A design-based investigation of enjoyment and meaning in learning. Educational Technology, 65(1), 15-21.
Barab, S., Thomas, M., Dodge, T., Carteaux, R., & Tuzun, H. (2005). Making learning fun: Quest Atlantis, a game without guns. Educational Technology, Research, and Development, 53(1), 86-107.
Barab, S., Thomas, M., Dodge, T., Squire, K., & Newell, M. (2004). Critical design ethnography: Designing for change. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 35(2), 254-268.
Bruckman, A. (1998). Community support for constructionist learning. Computer Supported Cooperative Work: The Journal of Collaborative Computing, 7(1-2), 47-86.
Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Calvert, S. L. (2002a). Identity construction on the internet. In S. L. Calvert, A. B. Jordan, & R. R. Cocking (Eds.), Children in the digital age: Influences of electronic media on development (pp. 57-70). Westport, CT: Praeger.
Calvert, S. L. (2002b). The social impact of virtual reality. In K. M. Stanney (Ed.), Handbook of virtual environment technology (ch. 38). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Clifford, J. (1986). Introduction: Partial truths. In J. Clifford & G. Marcus (Eds.), Writing culture: The poetics and politics of ethnography (pp. 1-26). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Creswell, J. W. (1988). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Duffy, T. M., & Cunningham, D. J. (1996). Constructivism: Implications for the design and delivery of instruction. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research for educational communications and technology (pp. 170-198). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Eisenhart, M. (2001). Educational ethnography past, present, and future: Ideas to think with. Educational Researcher, 30(8), 16-27.
Erikson, E. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.
Gee, J. P. (1996). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses. London: Routledge. Gee, J. P. (2003). What videogames have to teach us about learning and literacy (1st ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gerbner, G. (1994). Reclaiming our cultural mythology: Television’s global marketing strategy creates a damaging and alienated window on the world. In Context, 38, 40. Retrieved February 26, 2008, from http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC38/Gerbner.htm
Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., Signorelli, N., & Shanahan, J. (2002). Growing up with television: The cultivation perspective. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 43-68). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine Publication Company.
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press.
John-Steiner, V. (2000). Creative collaboration. New York: Oxford University Press.
Jones, S. (2003, July). Let the games begin: Gaming technology and entertainment among co l lege students. Retr ieved from the Pew Internet & Amer ican L ife Pro ject: http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_College_Gaming_Reporta.pdf
Lather, P. (1986). Research as praxis. Harvard Educational Review, 56(3), 257-277. Laurel, B. (2001). Utopian entrepreneur. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Lepper, M. R., Sethi, S., Dialdin, D., & Drake, M. (1996). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: A developmental perspective. In S. Luthar, J. Burack, D. Cicchetti, & J. Weisz, (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Perspectives on adjustment, risk, and disorder (pp. 23-50). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Long, B., & Baecker, R. (1997, October/November). A taxonomy of internet communications tools. Proceedings of WebNet ’97, Toronto, Canada. Charlottesville, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. Retrieved February 26, 2008, from The Department
Murray, J. (1997). Hamlet on the holodeck: The future of narrative in cyberspace. New York: The Free Press.
Oldenburg, R. (1991). The great good place: Cafes, coffee shops, bookstores, bars, hair salons, and other hangouts at the heart of a community. New York: Paragon House.
Ragin, C. C. (1992). Introduction: Cases of “what is a case?” In C. C. Ragin & H. S. Becker (Eds.), What is a case? Exploring the foundations of social inquiry (pp. 1-17). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Roberts, D. F., Foehr, U. G., & Rideout, V. (2005). Generation M: Media in the lives of 8–18 yearolds. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.
Smith, B. H. (1968). Poetic closure: A study of how poems end. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Squire, K. D., & Jan, M. (2007). Mad city mystery: Developing scientific argumentation skills with a place-based augmented reality game on handheld computers. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 16(1), 5-29.
Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Steuer, J. (1995). Defining virtual reality: Dimensions determining presence. In F. Biocca & M. R. Levy (Eds.), Communication in the age of virtual reality (pp. 33-56). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Szulborski, D. (2005). This is not a game: A guide to alternate reality gaming. Macungie, PA: New Fiction Publishing.
Turkle, S. (1994). Constructions and reconstructions of self in virtual reality: Playing in the MUDS. Mind, Culture, and Activity 1(3), 158-167.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1933)
Walton, J. (1992). Making the theoretical case. In C. C. Ragin & H. S. Becker (Eds.), What is a case: Exploring the foundations of social inquiry (pp. 121-137). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Zillmann, D. (1999). Exemplification theory: Judging the whole by the sum of its parts. Media Psychology, 1(1), 69-94.
National Science Foundation, REC 9980081 and by the National Science Foundation Grant #0092831.

These references have been extracted automatically and may have some errors. If you see a mistake in the references above, please contact info@editlib.org.

[1] Barab, S. A., Arici, A., & Jackson, C. (2005). Eat your vegetables and do your homework: A design-based investigation of enjoyment and meaning in learning. Educational Technology, 65(1), 15-21.

[2] Barab, S., Thomas, M., Dodge, T., Carteaux, R., & Tuzun, H. (2005). Making learning fun: Quest Atlantis, a game without guns. Educational Technology, Research, and Development, 53(1), 86-107.

[3] Barab, S., Thomas, M., Dodge, T., Squire, K., & Newell, M. (2004). Critical design ethnography: Designing for change. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 35(2), 254-268.

[4] Bruckman, A. (1998). Community support for constructionist learning. Computer Supported Cooperative Work: The Journal of Collaborative Computing, 7(1-2), 47-86.

[5] Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

[6] Calvert, S. L. (2002a). Identity construction on the internet. In S. L. Calvert, A. B. Jordan, & R. R. Cocking (Eds.), Children in the digital age: Influences of electronic media on development (pp. 57-70). Westport, CT: Praeger.

[7] Calvert, S. L. (2002b). The social impact of virtual reality. In K. M. Stanney (Ed.), Handbook of virtual environment technology (ch. 38). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

[8] Clifford, J. (1986). Introduction: Partial truths. In J. Clifford & G. Marcus (Eds.), Writing culture: The poetics and politics of ethnography (pp. 1-26). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

[9] Creswell, J. W. (1988). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

[10] Duffy, T. M., & Cunningham, D. J. (1996). Constructivism: Implications for the design and delivery of instruction. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research for educational communications and technology (pp. 170-198). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

[11] Eisenhart, M. (2001). Educational ethnography past, present, and future: Ideas to think with. Educational Researcher, 30(8), 16-27.

[12] Erikson, E. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.

[13] Gee, J. P. (1996). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses. London: Routledge. Gee, J. P. (2003). What videogames have to teach us about learning and literacy (1st ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

[14] Gerbner, G. (1994). Reclaiming our cultural mythology: Television’s global marketing strategy creates a damaging and alienated window on the world. In Context, 38, 40. Retrieved February 26, 2008, from http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC38/Gerbner.htm

[15] Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., Signorelli, N., & Shanahan, J. (2002). Growing up with television: The cultivation perspective. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 43-68). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine Publication Company.

[16] Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press.

[17] John-Steiner, V. (2000). Creative collaboration. New York: Oxford University Press.

[18] Jones, S. (2003, July). Let the games begin: Gaming technology and entertainment among co l lege students. Retr ieved from the Pew Internet & Amer ican L ife Pro ject: http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_College_Gaming_Reporta.pdf

[19] Lather, P. (1986). Research as praxis. Harvard Educational Review, 56(3), 257-277. Laurel, B. (2001). Utopian entrepreneur. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

[20] Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

[21] Lepper, M. R., Sethi, S., Dialdin, D., & Drake, M. (1996). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: A developmental perspective. In S. Luthar, J. Burack, D. Cicchetti, & J. Weisz, (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Perspectives on adjustment, risk, and disorder (pp. 23-50). New York: Cambridge University Press.

[22] Long, B., & Baecker, R. (1997, October/November). A taxonomy of internet communications tools. Proceedings of WebNet ’97, Toronto, Canada. Charlottesville, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. Retrieved February 26, 2008, from The Department

[23] Murray, J. (1997). Hamlet on the holodeck: The future of narrative in cyberspace. New York: The Free Press.

[24] Oldenburg, R. (1991). The great good place: Cafes, coffee shops, bookstores, bars, hair salons, and other hangouts at the heart of a community. New York: Paragon House.

[25] Ragin, C. C. (1992). Introduction: Cases of “what is a case?” In C. C. Ragin & H. S. Becker (Eds.), What is a case? Exploring the foundations of social inquiry (pp. 1-17). New York: Cambridge University Press.

[26] Roberts, D. F., Foehr, U. G., & Rideout, V. (2005). Generation M: Media in the lives of 8–18 yearolds. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.

[27] Smith, B. H. (1968). Poetic closure: A study of how poems end. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

[28] Squire, K. D., & Jan, M. (2007). Mad city mystery: Developing scientific argumentation skills with a place-based augmented reality game on handheld computers. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 16(1), 5-29.

[29] Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

[30] Steuer, J. (1995). Defining virtual reality: Dimensions determining presence. In F. Biocca & M. R. Levy (Eds.), Communication in the age of virtual reality (pp. 33-56). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

[31] Szulborski, D. (2005). This is not a game: A guide to alternate reality gaming. Macungie, PA: New Fiction Publishing.

[32] Turkle, S. (1994). Constructions and reconstructions of self in virtual reality: Playing in the MUDS. Mind, Culture, and Activity 1(3), 158-167.

[33] Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1933)

[34] Walton, J. (1992). Making the theoretical case. In C. C. Ragin & H. S. Becker (Eds.), What is a case: Exploring the foundations of social inquiry (pp. 121-137). New York: Cambridge University Press.

[35] Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. New York: Cambridge University Press.

[36] Zillmann, D. (1999). Exemplification theory: Judging the whole by the sum of its parts. Media Psychology, 1(1), 69-94.

[37] National Science Foundation, REC 9980081 and by the National Science Foundation Grant #0092831.

Children’s Sense of Self: Learning and Meaning in the Digital Age

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