Online and Internet-based Technologies: Gaming

Abstract

There are high expectations for the educational value of online games and immersive, virtual worlds. Research focusing on these areas, however, is fragmented and provides a much more mixed picture of their use. This chapter identifies various traditions of work that contribute to research in this area, including humanities and social science approaches within game studies; explorations of literacy and media production from media and cultural studies; and technical and educational accounts from fields such as e-learning. Discussion of these focuses on the different ways in which the object of study is conceptualized, and the implications that this has for conducting and judging research. A specific example is provided that looks at educational uses of Second Life. It concludes with a discussion of ongoing tensions between research traditions, as well as opportunities for new areas of work to develop.