Some Elements Relating to Children’s Play and Adult Simulaton/Gaming

Abstract

Children’s play and adult gaming, each of which are present in the world of education and training, too often refer to different explanatory paradigms. Is this distinction a legitimate one? In what way? This special issue of S&G and this introduction endeavor to provide some answers to these questions, based both on theoretical reflections and on examples given by the authors. The author attempts to demonstrate that these two fields of reflection have everything to gain through mutual enrichment.

Video Games in Education: Why They Should Be Used and How They Are Being Used

“…Childhood is a time for constructing the relationship between the world through play. The decision, the initiative of the player who organizes the activity, the rule, whatever its origin, the absence of consequences (gratuity or futility), and the uncertainty of the results scaffolds learning (Brougere, 1999). Childhood is a period during which people learn to play and when they progress in mastering the structure of the surrounding world.…”

Students Perceptions of the Incorporation of Games into Classroom Instruction for Basic and Clinical Pharmacokinetics

“…Characteristics of games include involvement of the whole person (eg, feelings, senses, intellect), use of the learner's experience, and reflection. 2 Games can be competitive and adding competitive environments can provide positive affects on learning. 1 Competition between groups can increase the focus on the group goal (ie, learning) and thus increase personal involvement and positive attitudes.…”

OP‐ED Serious play

“…Such work is often psychoanalytical in orientation, and is typically restricted in scope to elementary and, mostly, early childhood education (Axeline 1947, Winnicott 1971, Brougère 1999, Corbeil 1999); ᭹ studies of gaming genres, which focus on making distinctions between games and subtypes of games, including articulating the commonalities and distinctions between simulations and games (Keys and Wolfe 1990, Friedman 1995, Kirriemuir 2002); ᭹ game-development, systems, and content points of view, focusing on graphics, artificial intelligence, game-paths, rule-systems, and game playability (Malone 1981, Malone and Lepper 1987, Laurel 1990, Saltzman 1999, Brozik and Zapalska 2000, Klabbers 2000; ᭹ narrative and gaming-often based in literary theory, this literature is concerned with analyzing narrative elements, including gaming plot-structures, characterization, setting, dialogue, and so on (Buse 1996, Sherman 1997, Frasca 1998, Rockwell 1999, Mallon and Webb 2000; ᭹ psychological, behavioural, and cognitive effects of gaming, especially violence-this literature typically includes diagnostic analyses of plots, characters, gaming elements, and representations of violence for a 'violence quotient', and then attempts to build causal connections between game-play and violent behaviour in children (Greenfield 1984, 1994, Silvern and Williamson 1987, Schutte et al 1988, Kinder 1991, Shapiro and McDonald 1992, Calvert and Tan 1994, Funk and Buchman 1996, Pillay et al 1999, Van Horn 1999, Anderson and Dill 2000, Blumberg 2000; SERIOUS PLAY 651 ᭹ gaming and gender-analysis includes the attribution of gendered play styles and game preferences …”