

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Play and Socialize with People Interested in eLearning


Our first game has just launched, Survivor Football '09.


Here's a video that explains a bit more about the game:






Nancy White said...

Oh, Tony, I'm going to disappoint you because you used two memes that don't resonate for me. Not only do they NOT resonate, but they are turn offs: "fight" and "sports." (My dear husband works for a University athletic department and I even turn down all the free event tickets. I'm a total stick in the mud.)

I know, I know... there is a gender thing here that complicates the idea about games, socializing, collaborating and learning. I have followed the work of Amy Jo Kim around games and collaboration and you don't have to convince me. It's just that your sample is such a "boy" think from my perspective.

Does this go to some essential nature about how we have been socialized by gender stereotypes as to how we socialize?

Does this relate to the thread that came out of the Vancouver BC Open Ed Conference about the boys club atmosphere experienced by some?

Now, to be totally a bore, what about a chocolate tasting game. Or a travel game (where in the world?) Or a bird identification game, plant ID, weird facts, TV trivia, language trivia?


Nanc y

(P.S. I'm not saying women don't like sports or fights. I'm just saying I don't but I also recognize there are gender stereotypes at play!)

Tony Karrer said...

Nancy - first - that's a bit scary. I didn't even include a link to you and yet you found this! Impressive. Or possibly a bit scary.

I agree that this will only appeal to some people - those who like football mostly. And I believe there's something about differences in how males communicate - preferring to talk while the do something else (play pool, watch a game, BBQ food). So, I'm not sure if this will also be more male because of it.

That said, I think there's this interesting opportunity to socialize outside the normal setting and way, even in a virtual setting.

How about if we organize a virtual chocolate tasting party? I've actually talked to someone at length about doing other kinds of virtual tasting parties. (I hate to say, but I'm not a huge chocolate fan.)

Still the idea that we can get together when the explicit purpose is something other than the core reason that we originally gathered is interesting. It's not something I normally think about, but it's something I would welcome.

I put your name in because I'm assuming this is being done in lots of ways out there and likely has been done in lots of ways without technology. For example, we all go out to dinner or to a performance while at a conference. So, was wondering what is known about these kinds of things.

Blogger In Middle-earth said...

Tēnā korua Tony & Nancy!

I have to come clean here. In part I agree with Nancy.

But . . .

For a number of decades, the affirmative action taken by education authorities in New Zealand to encourage girls, especially in Science and Mathematics, has now come home to roost.

It is no longer a myth that girls are excelling with the current system so much so that in Science, they collect nearly all the scholarships and top study awards. This was not the case in the 70s when the affirmative action began.

It is now seen as an educational crisis, close to the concern over Māori students falling behind others in New Zealand in educational achievement.

From the personal aspect of all this, my sons both preferred computer games that were less oriented towards sport, cars or fighting. It was refreshing to see how my younger daughters all linked with their older brothers' preferences as they too were not heavily into sport, cars or fighting. But my youngest daughter, being the only real sports person in the family, does in fact have some sporty ones in her cohort of computer games - most of which are educational.

There is a middle-ground here though, and many games I've looked at offer choices even within the games themselves. I can site Sid Meier's Civilization which is equally popular among my sons and daughters alike. Though the emphasis placed on their approaches to the game are identifiable as gender choices, the game's universal appeal in my family speaks for itself.

Catchya later