1. yvonnef asked Aleks Krotoski: "Has any research been carried out to look at any links between increased shortfalls in literacy and numeracy and the computer game 'abilities' of primary school age children?"
2. Aleks Krotoski answer: "I'm sure there are, but none that i can pull out of my hat at the moment. there are several British researchers who are examining the effects of gaming on learning - both games developed specifically ..." Show more»" I'm sure there are, but none that i can pull out of my hat at the moment. there are several British researchers who are examining the effects of gaming on learning - both games developed specifically for education and those that come from game emporium shelves. Angela Macfarlane at Futurelab is one of the key people in this area as is John Kirriemuir. They both do a lot of research in this area. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 1:18:11 PM

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1. yvonnef asked Aleks Krotoski: "Computer games appear to be encouraging solitary, silent and emotionless environments for children. Is this likely to have an impact as these children mature and is 'the way to go' consuls like the wii..." Show more »"Computer games appear to be encouraging solitary, silent and emotionless environments for children. Is this likely to have an impact as these children mature and is 'the way to go' consuls like the wii that encourage interaction and communication?" Show less »
2. Aleks Krotoski answer: "Ii'm actually just writing an article about this for New Statesman. Perfect timing!Games have traditionally been perceived to be"solitary" probably by the nature of games that have come before, but increasingly,..." Show more»" Ii'm actually just writing an article about this for New Statesman. Perfect timing!Games have traditionally been perceived to be"solitary" probably by the nature of games that have come before, but increasingly, as a response to the needs of an ever-diversifying audience, game developers recognise the need to make them more social.The best example of this has been multiplayer options in front of a console but now, if you take a look at the PS3 games and Xbox360 games, all of the releases have an online component to assure that there's some opportunity to interact with - gasp - real human beings! Does this have other risks for children though? As far as risks for kids, most schools in the UK are actively promoting digital literacy as part of their curriculum learning objectives, so if kids can learn to interact with one another in an environment which they enjoy in which they're being social, then it fulfills what the UK government hopes for kids' education and development kids develop an understanding of the norms of interacting online through multiplayer games they develop an understanding for potential threats and they learn how to deal with them in situ, which is a much better way to learn - according to most of the education research - than by learning the theory behind X, Y and Z. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 1:16:27 PM

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1. yvonnef asked Anne Collier: "Is there any evidence to show that the more realistic a character, the more likely the behaviours are to be mimicked?36253"
2. Anne Collier answer: "Interesting you should ask that. I've seen only one study (at Iowa State University) that looked at animated vs. highly representational videogame characters, and it found that playing "cartoonish" violent..." Show more»" Interesting you should ask that. I've seen only one study (at Iowa State University) that looked at animated vs. highly representational videogame characters, and it found that playing "cartoonish" violent videogames that display no blood "had the same short-term effect [on 9-to-12-year-olds and college students] of increasing aggressive behavior as the more graphic teen (T-rated) violent games." Here's the URL of my blog post talking about it. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 1:04:00 PM

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1. yvonnef asked Anne Collier: "With only brief information about a game you are buying, how can a parent monitor the content when they can't preview the whole game. With movies you can watch the whole thing whereas with these games..." Show more »"With only brief information about a game you are buying, how can a parent monitor the content when they can't preview the whole game. With movies you can watch the whole thing whereas with these games we have to rely on censors?" Show less »
2. Anne Collier answer: "Right, movies are different. But a lot of parents - even really good ones - just check a film's rating before deciding if their children can view it. There are videogame ratings too - and, because they're..." Show more»" Right, movies are different. But a lot of parents - even really good ones - just check a film's rating before deciding if their children can view it. There are videogame ratings too - and, because they're on the Web, they're accessible to any parent anywhere who has a Net connection (and speaks the language of the Web site). Those ratings help a lot. There are also magazines and searchable magazine-like Web sites targeting the gamer market with descriptions and reviews of popular games. More fodder for parental research. You're right that there's a huge amount of material in a videogame that no one, not even the rating board, has enough time to view. And there's a whole lot of unpredictable, player-generated material in multiplayer online games. But what anyone can find about a game in the above resources or with a Web search engine can give a parent a pretty good feel for what a child player would encounter. Parents should also know that there is content - in the US called "mods" for "modifications" - that's not in off-the-shelf games that kids can download from the Internet. Sometimes it's x-rated. Some game manufacturers encourage gamers to create and circulate mods, whether or not x-rated, and some don't. It's another thing for parents of highly Net-literate children to be aware of. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 1:00:10 PM

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1. yvonnef asked Aleks Krotoski: "Do you think games are scapegoated for societies ills?"
2. Aleks Krotoski answer: "I think they're one platform that is problematised in the press, yes. Just like the internet - people don't understand it, therefore they put it into a box which they feel encapsulates everything about..." Show more»" I think they're one platform that is problematised in the press, yes. Just like the internet - people don't understand it, therefore they put it into a box which they feel encapsulates everything about it so they feel safer about what it means! Games are currently an unsolved quotient they are more interactive than traditional media yet they have less depth than traditional media - they are in their infancy. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 12:29:04 PM

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1. yvonnef asked Dennis McCauley: "Is it responsible to reward the creators of ( in some cases) mindless violence? Should accolades not be reserved for those that produce games that are innovative and excellent in other ways?"
2. Dennis McCauley answer: "Accolades are in the eye of the beholder. Everyone thought Private Ryan was a great movie. It was awfully violent, though."
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Arts and entertainment   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 21 2007 12:26:41 PM

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