Digital game-players devote a large amount of their time to discovering rules hidden in the code and discoverable through empirical study, experiments, and developing or rediscovering the mathematical formulae governing the code. They do this through their own independent play as they test areas, gear and abilities, through data mining using…

This article examines the language and literacy practices of middle-school children as they worked toward constructing their own computer games using "Gamestar Mechanic," a game intended to teach them key ways of thinking and communicating germane to the discourse of game designers. It examines the changes that took place in what previous work…

A reactor is an example of an immersive interactive play in which animated images are projected onto the floor. A reactor allows people to walk on images and interact with them using their feet. With reactors, people can stomp on kernels of popcorn, shoot a pool using their big toes, or wade through a shallow surf on pristine beaches. This…

If we intend to teach through educational media, we also have to teach about those media. This article explores the implications of this perspective for the use of computer games in the classroom. It seeks to explain why and how teachers might teach about computer games as a medium in their own right, just as they teach about film or television or…