Core 3:Annotated Bibliography

Because computer use amongst today’s generation is increasing rapidly, researchers have started studying what kinds of effects computer games have on literacy development. The purpose and focus of this bibliography is to show the benefits of digital game-based learning. The articles I have chosen to use for my research include studies and examples of the advantages of using computer games as a teaching resource. Using computer games as a means of education should grab the attention of not only children and students, but their parents as well. The reason being, because children and students find playing games more appealing than classroom lectures, and parents because they need to be informed of the new and improved teaching methods that are being used to educate their children. I chose to include the attached sources because not only do they give helpful information as to how computer games can benefit the education process, but they also include examples and arguments that try to persuade the reader to see digital game-based learning not as an obstacle to one’s education, but rather, as an improved and more advanced method of learning.

Annotated Bibliography
Gee, James Paul. What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print. This excerpt from a book, is written
by James Paul Gee, an author and researcher at the University of Wisconsin in
Madsion. Gee states that schools, workplaces, families, and academic researchers
need to be educated about the uses of computer games. His book is relevant to my
topic because he gives specific examples of how games such as Age of
Mythology, System Shock 2, and Rise of Nations allow learning to be “on
demand.” Gee also compares education through a classroom experience against
education using computer games. He states, “Good games operate at the outer
and growing edge of a player’s competence, remaining challenging, but do-able,
while schools often operate at the lowest common denominator,” (2). This
statement is not biased because of Gee’s credibility within the category of digital
game-based learning.
Johnson, Steven. "Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is
Actually Making Us Smarter." (2005). Abstract. Digital Game-Based Learning
: It's Not Just the Digital Natives Who Are Restless…. 41.2 (2006): n. pag. Print.
Steven Johnson is a well known author and magazine columnist that believes
computer games provide learning through situated cognition. Situation cognition
takes place when learning occurs through meaningful and relevant contexts.
Situated Cognition is relevant to my research topic because it provides another
explanation as to why online gaming is effective. An example of lions learning to
hunt is used to reinforce the idea of situated cognition. Johnson states that not
only do computer games allow one to learn basic intellectual skills, but they also
allow for one to learn “well established principles and modules of learning.”
Johnson’s credibility is established with his extensive research on situated
cognition.
Prenksy, Marc. “Digital Game-Based Learning”. ACM Computers in Entertainment,
Vol. 1, No. 1. New York: Games2Train, 2003. In this scholarly article,
Marc Prensky, an internationally known speaker and author, focuses on the
effects of digital game-based learning. He argues that video and computer games
should increasingly start becoming the new method of teaching because of the
benefits that students can gain. This article is relevant to my research because it
includes information about how children learn infinitely more when playing
computer games rather than just listening to a classroom lecture. Some evidence
used to support this is that the military uses over 50 different video and computer
games to teach its troops different strategies. Prensky believes that children like
to learn, but not when it is forced upon them; therefore, using computer games
will engage children more in the learning process compared to the typical
curriculums used in schools.
Prensky, Marc. "True Believers: Digital Game-Based Learning in The Military." Digital
Game- Based Learning (2001). The ACM Portal. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. CFID =74025111&CFTOKEN=69369409&ret=1#Fulltext>. Prensky’s scholary
article focuses on one specific example to support the use of digital gaming for
educational purposes: the military. This article is of relevance to my research
topic because it gives detailed information about how online gaming has been
proven to effectively educate people. In this article, it is stated that cost and
motivation are two of the reasons the military has chosen to rely on computer
games for teaching their troops. This gives my argument two more points to list
as advantages for using online gaming as an educational resource. Prenksy’s
credibility with this information is necessary because he not only is he considered
a prominent person in the education field, but because he also conducted
extended amounts of research on the military’s use of games.
Van Eck, Richard. "Digital Game-Based Learning: It's Not Just the Digital Natives Who
Are Restless…." EDUCAUSE Review 41.2 (2006). www.seriousgamesystems.com. March & April 2006. Web. 2 Mar. 2010.. Richard Van Eck is an Associate Professor at the University of North Dakota where he not only began studying games 10 years ago, but where he also teaches a graduate course dealing with gaming and learning every year. Van Eck’s article focuses on the fact that today’s generation of children and students have lost interest in the traditional methods of teaching and because of this he supports the use of computer games for education. Van Eck lists ways in which to implement computer games into education as well as integrate them into the classroom. This is relevant to my paper because it allows me to state a problem, support the problem, and offer a way to fix the problem. Van Eck’s credibility is high because not only does he include his argument, but he includes the counter-argument as well.