Video Games, Power Structures and 21st Century Learning
Sandra Schamroth Abrams, The School of Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
This presentation features findings from a fourteen-month qualitative study of video gaming sessions at a suburban New Jersey public library. Observational and interview data reveal ways adolescents negotiated a merged culture of conventional and digital learning within a traditional setting; the confluence of practices reveals a learning culture steeped in a constellation of literacies and a community that supports a convergence of these practices. The examination of gaming in the library not only serves as a window into ways students’ digital activities can exist within the confines of traditional environments, but also provides insight into the dynamic culture, the collaborative nature, and the power structures that regulate and support learning inside and outside school.