Here is a link for Prisoner's Dilemma

This one looks a little different from what we played during our poster session but the basic concept is still there. 

Video Game Stigmas

By Kristin Weidick
Keweidic@syr.edu

Video Games:

·         Are a waste of time

o   Video games are works of art. They are feats of visual imagery, film, and logic. (Daley, 2011)

·         Cause violence

o   In their book Grand Theft Childhood, Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl K. Olson found that video games help children and teenagers learn “collaboration, problem-solving, teamwork, and coping with negative emotion. (Levine, 2009)

o   A study performed by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention found that between the years 1994 and 2000 when videos became popular that violent crimes in juveniles ages 15-17 dropped 44% and in young adults ages 18-24 dropped 24%. (Theirer, 2003)

·         Don’t promote learning

o   Typically about half of gaming in school libraries is recreational, while the other half is designed to support the curriculum. (Nicholson, 2012)

o   Video games promote ”meaningful learning – including critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, and intertextuality” (Hommel, 2010).

·         Cause antisocial behavior

o   “Many libraries are now using video games as an infrastructure to provide transformational experiences for traditional nonusers in order to connect with them on a personal level. When this happens, these connections become just as powerful as the ones today's adults experienced in their youth, and they give these teens that same sense of engagement with their libraries.” (Levine, 2009)

o   “A key way in which games differ from other forms of media is that they are participatory, and this participatory nature creates the opportunity for the library to create connections between users through facilitating shared experiences.” (Nicholson, 2012)

Resources:

Daley, M. (2011). Using Video Games to Embrace Inquiry: Learning for Life Through Fun. Knowledge Quest, 40(1), 66-69

Hommel, M. (2010). Video Games and Learning. School Library Monthly, 26(10), 37-40.

Levine, J. (2009). Gaming, All Grown Up. American Libraries, 40(8/9), 34-35.

Nicholson, S. (2012). Time to Play: Recreational Gaming at Libraries. ILA Reporter, 30(4), 12-15.

Thierer, A. (2003). Regulating Video Games: Must Government Change Mind Our Children?. Cato Institute:Tech Knowlegde. http://www.cato.org/publications/techknowledge/regulating-video-games-must-government-mind-our-children

X's and O's. Scissors cut Paper.

By Lana Kang

lkang01@syr.edu

Do you have 10 seconds? Even a quick game can teach you something new or improve your social skills, memory, and mood.

Take some easy games from your childhood like Tic-Tac-Toe and Rock Paper Scissors. These can have surprising educational value and significantly contribute to skill and strategic development. 

Tic-Tac-Toe 

So how does one play Tic-Tac-Toe? It is often played on a 3x3 grid with two players using x’s and o’s as respectively. The players take turns putting (or drawing in) their icon in the grid. The object of the game is to get 3 in a row before your opponent. It is also possible for the game to end in a tie (no winner).

If you analyze the game, it becomes a game of reactions. Player 1 initiates, Player 2 reacts, Player 1 reacts, etc. But if you break it down further, how does Player 1 choose where to place their chip? Oftentimes, they analyze the board and which location would give them the best chance for winning.

  (from “The Educational Value of Tic-Tac-Toe for Four-to Six-Year-Olds” by Constance Kamii and Mariko Nagahiro)

 

When Player 2 reacts, do they react by initiating their own attack or choose to take a more defensive stance (blocking your opponent) right off the bat?

This cost/gain analysis on whether to take a more risky and aggressive stance or a more defensive position can be applied to fields such as business, economics and the stock market, or even to war strategies. For example (if we take a storytelling view of it), say the grid represents a country and the goal of the players (generals) is to make it across the country with their armies before the other. Each X and O represents a supply train and the supply train must stretch across the board for the armies to cross successfully. 

Is gaming in the library worth the time and resources?

By: Amy Lafleur
aelafleu@syr.edu

When many people think of gaming, they think of a person sitting alone in his room absorbed in a computer or console screen. So why would anyone promote gaming in a library? In truth, gaming can be a highly social and educational experience. Gamers can interact with others through many types of games – from video games, to traditional board games, to games that don’t require many props.

Many librarians across the world have already introduced gaming programs and resource in their libraries. The American Library Association has sponsored International Gaming Day since. 1,281 libraries participated in International Gaming Day 2012 (ALA, 2013). This included “26 libraries on all 6 inhabited continents [who] participated in the Global Gossip Game” (ALA, 2013). Gaming has the power to connect people across connect people on an international level. The New York Public Library also found that games connect people across languages, as players did not need to know English to participate. (Kelley, 2008). As the world becomes more international and the United States becomes more diverse, something is needed to bridge the gap across languages and cultures. Games could be an important tool to achieve this goal.

Not only can gaming connect people across oceans and cultures, but it can also foster new, positive community interactions on the local scale. There is evidence across the board that playing games connects people across the generations. Everyone from children and teens to senior citizens can participate in games. In particular, teens often teach the older adults how to play the more technological games. This can facilitate positive interactions across generations. According to Lipschultz (2009, Jan/Feb), “teens were surprised by the older adults' curiosity and the older adults were impressed by the teens' teaching skills”. He even found that that teens and senior citizens enjoyed themselves so much that they had rematches on later game days (Lipschultz, 2009, Jan/Feb). ALA (2013) participants found the same was true. There was an increase in interaction between different age groups, as well as interaction between staff and patrons in new contexts.

Discovery about Gaming By Gabrielle Montaño 7/18/2013

Contact Info: ggmontan@syr.edu 

You may think that games are only a pleasurable way to pass the time with no deeper value.  Sure, you can have great family fun or get bragging rights but other than that games do not add anything to your life.  I used to think this way too.  I was wrong and let me explain to you why.

My brother is a hardcore gamer.  He is so hardcore and good at games, video games in particular, that he was exuberantly happy when he killed 1,000,000 zombies on Mob of the Dead Black Ops 2.  Yes, that is right, ONE MILLION zombies.  At the time I stuck my nose up at my brother.  I thought to myself, “Wow what a waste of time. I just finished an entire book while he just sat in front of the TV.”  Then, I logged online to complete a module for my Storytelling course offered by Syracuse University.  The topic of the module was storytelling though gaming.  The guest lecture was Scott Nicolson who is a professor at the iSchool at Syracuse.  He explained that games have a very particular way of storytelling that involves two simultaneous stories happening at the same time.  The video game developers have to make an interesting storyline following the typical literary hero’s journey while at the same time making sure the player’s journey is equally as compelling and interesting.  The player’s journey is the experience the actual “real life” person is taking as he or she interacts throughout the game. (Marilyn Arnone, 2013)[1]  I had never seen video games in this light.  I had never considered the creative storytelling aspect needed for a successful game before.  I had always thought that my brother was wasting his time because he was not really doing anything.  In reality he is so much more involved with the story in his game than I am with the story in my book.  He is critically thinking about how to successfully beat a level and he is socializing with people online.  He is following a storyline just as I do when I read a book but he is taking it one step further and going on his own personal journey. 

The EUREKA moments involving games do not stop there.  My father is so heavily involved with Fantasy Football that he has his own league.  I personally love fantasy football because I love the NFL and I love the Dallas Cowboys.  However, I have always thought it was just a fun way to have a personal experience with my favorite football players.  Again, I was wrong.  Doing a little digging on gaming in libraries I found that some academic libraries use fantasy football as a way to get young people into their libraries.  The genius of this idea amazes me.  The Association of College and Research Libraries has a set of standards that determine if someone is competent in information literacy.  This is just a fancy way of saying they set up a way to determine if someone understands the information they need, how to find it, how to evaluate it, and how to apply it properly. (ACRL Website. 2013)[2]  According to Paul Waelchli, Fantasy Football meets four out of the five requirements set up by the ACRL.  He points out that to have a good fantasy football team a person needs to apply information literacy skills every week.  For example, he says that a fantasy football player needs to apply the information they evaluated to pick a good player for their line up for the upcoming game. This necessary step in Fantasy Football meets the requirement of using the information they have found for an effective purpose (Paul Waelchli , 2009)[3].  Librarians are using Fantasy football as a tool to teach and bring in young people, especially on college campuses.

                              PLAY TWO GAMES AND CALL ME IN THE MORNING!

                              

(meep meep meep)

Games have proven physical and mental benefits!

-- Families that game together stay together

-- Online games with distant friends strengthen social bonds  

-- Games can improve mood...even more powefully than medication

-- They hone fine motor skills

-- Games keep the mind sharp and fend off mental decay, especially in seniors

-- Create your avatar: Games help you define and become your best self

* * * Game designer Jane McGonigal even used gaming to recover from

       severe depression after suffering a concussion! * * *

                             

You can see her popular TED talks here and here.

 
McGonigal argues that playing games can increase several types of resilience: mental, physical, emotional and social. Play can make a person stronger.
It can also make a library stronger, according to Justin Hoenke, teen librarian at the Chattanooga Public Library (and 2013 Library Journal Mover & Shaker). Gaming "can bring a whole new group of people to your library," Hoenke says. "Do you think they used the library before you had games? Nope. They can get all they want on the Internet...Everybody craves human interaction. Gaming in the library can give that. I think something like Minecraft really teaches teens playing it how to think creatively about the world. I also think it teaches them about community."



 



Resources:
Hoenke, Justin (2013). Personal interview via web chat. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B94-uXN3n60aV28zUDY5MThoOGM/edit?usp=sharing

  McGonigal, Jane (2012 June). “The Game That Can Give You 10 Extra Years of Life." http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_the_game_that_can_give_you_10_extra_years_of_life.html

  McGonigal, Jane (2010 February). “Gaming Can Make A Better World." http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

     Malcon, Costa (2010)."Alphabetical Poster."     http://maiconmcn.tumblr.com/post/1669091480/alphabeticalposter 

      Toleando, Phillip (2002). “Gamers."  http://www.mrtoledano.com/gamers

Gallagher, Danny (2013, March 10). "7 Health Benefits of Playing Video Games." The Week. http://theweek.com/article/index/241121/7-health-benefits-of-playing-video-games