IF only » The semantics of Interactive Fiction

If I were to say to a teacher:

“Hey, you should try out this great IF game with your class”, it would generate a response ranging from “Fantastic, what’s it about and how do I play it” – from a teacher familiar with the principles digital game-based learning, to “I have adult students, they don’t like games” from a teacher who doesn’t know how a video game can be applied to a learning context .
We all know the popular saying: “work and play do not mix”.  When it comes to using video games for learning, Gee (2003) disagrees:

“When we think of games, we think of fun. When we think of learning we think of work. Games show us this is wrong. They trigger deep learning that is itself part and parcel of the fun. It is what makes games deep.” —IF only » The semantics of Interactive Fiction.

Post was last modified on 11 Dec 2011 12:57 pm

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  • Thanks for the compliment, Joe. No immediate plans, but I agree there has been a lot of good stuff since the bib was first published. If anyone is interested in helping to crowdsource an updated bibliography, I would be happy to contribute my existing bibliography to use as a a starting point.

  • Hi Dennis. Thanks for the link! Your IF pages continue to be one of the best sources for IF theory! Any chance you'll ever update the annotated bibliography?

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Dennis G. Jerz

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