Increasingly, adult mentors in informal, media-rich settings, like libraries and museums, seek to integrate both learning and civic engagement opportunities for youth into designed programming. This article illustrates how youth open and sustain opportunities for civic engagement over the course of a six-month, youth-driven program--Metro:…

Research into educational technology has evaluated new computer-based systems as tools for improving students' academic performance and engagement. Serious games should also be considered as an alternative pedagogical medium for attracting students with different needs and expectations. In this field study, we empirically examined different forms…

This study aimed to investigate digital game addiction level of the high school students according to sports participation, gender, place of accommodation and level of income. Randomly chosen 931 high school students (508, %54,6 female and 423, %45,4 male) from several villages, districts and Kutahya city center (a town in the west part of Turkey…

This study measured the effects of playing commercial video games on the development of the desirable skills and competences sometimes referred to as 'graduate attributes'. Undergraduate students in the Arts and Humanities were randomly assigned to either an intervention or a control group. Previously validated, self-report instruments to measure…

Past research on digital games and virtual worlds suggests that these platforms provide multiple benefits for language learning, including positive effects on motivation and opportunities for authentic learner interaction. Despite this, adoption of these platforms in classrooms appears largely nonexistent. We provide a review of research on the…

Teenagers inhabit a virtual universe with their own model of entertainment, learning and communication. This research work defines the consumption, creation and dissemination patterns of online audiovisual content young students of Guipuzcoa have acquired in the fields of leisure and complementary information resources for school use, attending to…

A phenomenological study was conducted to investigate the social experiences and perceptions of friendship among three adolescents with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) engaged in online videogame play in the context of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Semi-structured interviews with three participants, diagnosed with…

This article explores how learning biological concepts can be facilitated by playing a video game that depicts interactions and processes at the subcellular level. Particularly, this article reviews the effects of a real-time strategy game that requires players to control the behavior of a virus and interact with cell structures in a way that…

In this article, we describe how literacy strategies can be adapted for playing (and reading) video games--games that embed disciplinary content in multimedia texts. Using close viewing and guided playing strategies with online games and simulations, we share ideas for helping students navigate and comprehend multimedia texts in order to learn…

Storyline is one of the major motivators that lead people to play video games. However, little empirical evidence exists on the instructional effectiveness of integrating a storyline into digital learning materials. This systematic literature review presents current empirical findings on the effects of a storyline game design element for human…

Active video games require players to be physically active. Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) is an interactive dancing game that requires fast-foot movement coordinated with energetic music and visuals. The Wii and Xbox Kinect games have also become good active video games for the promotion of physical activity participation. These games are much more…

Today's youth have grown up immersed in technology and are increasingly relying on video games to solve problems, engage socially, and find entertainment. Yet research and vignettes of teachers actually using video games to advance student learning in social studies is scarce (Hutchinson 2007). This article showcases how social studies…

This study explores young children's digital game play outside of the home as a means of surviving and thriving in modern spaces that limit young children's participation by looking at four digital game-playing three-year-old children. In this ethnographic study, critical theory is used to examine how modern public spaces (e.g., a grocery market,…

This article explores the critical need to articulate computing as a creative discipline and the potential for gender and ethnic diversity that such efforts enable. By embracing a culture shift within the discipline and using games as a medium of discourse, we can engage students and faculty in a broader definition of computing. The transformative…

Digital technology offers new possibilities for children to play, express themselves, learn, and communicate. A recent development in online practice is a shift toward youth engaged in computer programming online communities. Programming is argued to be the new literacy of the millennium. In this article, I examine the use of Scratch, an online…