Gaming in Libraries: Nebraska

Ban 'Second Life' in schools and libraries, Republican congressman says

2008-05-07T14:11:00.002-05:00

This is particularily interesting because he gave his speech about the topic at a library, and it is specifically aimed at libraries and schools. What would something like this do to efforts such as Second Life Library 2.0? The Nebraska Library Commission also has a Second Life Library--what if there was a similar call to action here?

Rep. Mark Kirk, who is seeking re-election this year, staged a press conference at a library in his suburban Chicago district on Tuesday to highlight what he called the "dangers" of the virtual world to children. Flanked by local officials, he also released a letter asking Federal Trade Commission Chairman William E. Kovacic to "take action to warn parents of the similar dangers and sexually explicit content found on Second Life."

[...]

"Sites like Second Life offer no protections to keep kids from virtual "rape rooms," brothels, and drug stores," Kirk said, according to a press release. "If sites like Second Life won't protect kids from obviously inappropriate content, the Congress will."

Library Arcade Games

2007-10-15T11:40:00.000-05:00

These educational games were developed by graduate students from the Entertainment Technology Center, in collaboration with the University Libraries, and the generous support of the Buhl Foundation.

There's a shelving game and an item retrieval game so far.

What really strikes me about them is that they were developed by grad students and with grant money. Reminds me of the professor who developed the 3d educational biology game with $1million in funding and a team of people to create the game. You always have to keep in mind the resources that go into creating these things. You can't point at a random librarian and expect the same results (unless you're really lucky, in which case, you should be playing the lottery).

Chore Wars

2007-10-01T13:24:00.000-05:00

Interesting beta site that uses some of the RPG game elements to reward people for completing tasks.

It can be used by households, offices, anything you can think of. There are 'quests' and even battles (although they do not affect the outcome). Users log in to their character's account in their party, and if they complete a chore, they receive a set amount of XP points. Essentially it is a means to keep track of what got done, and weight the tasks.

How Madison Avenue is Wasting Millions on a Deserted Second Life

2007-08-22T10:49:00.000-05:00

Incredibly interesting article by Frank Rose about Second Life. At one point he talks about what the real numbers are for people in Second Life:

According to Linden Lab, the company behind Second Life, the number of avatars created by distinct individuals was closer to 4 million. Of those, only about 1 million had logged on in the previous 30 days (the standard measure of Internet traffic), and barely a third of that total had bothered to drop by in the previous week. Most of those who did were from Europe or Asia, leaving a little more than 100,000 Americans per week to be targeted by US marketers.

The article is aimed at advertisers using Second Life space, but it also applies to libraries. Are your users among the 100,000 Americans logging in per week? Is your SL Library typically an empty building?

"Library's Halo 2 contest causes a stink"

2007-07-24T12:23:00.001-05:00

Gamepolitics.com reports that a public library holding a Halo 2 competition has caused some controversy. More info if you follow the title link.

While the library is requiring parental permission slips before admitting underage players to the event, the game's M-rating is not spelled out. Some worry that parents may not realize that their kids will be playing a violent shooting game.

What I find most interesting about the article is this part:

Rose Allen (left), the Mount Prospect library's teen director, explained that the Halo 2 tournament was created on the recommendation of the library’s teen advisory board in order to attract more teenage boys.

A Teen Advisory Board! Yay!

The Escapist: Dewey Decimals and Dance Dance Revolution

2007-05-31T09:34:00.000-05:00

Issue 99 of The Escapist Magazine is all about educational games, including the above linked article about DDR in Libraries. Read through the whole issue to find out about DDR in gym class and business simulation games.

Less than a year and about $8,000 later, Neiburger and Helmrich had set up one of the first and largest gaming tournaments at any municipal library in the country. Kids came out of the woodwork to play Mario Kart: Double Dash and Super Smash Bros: Melee. Roughly a quarter of them had never been to a library before.

The French Democracy: a machinima smash raises questions about art and copyright

2007-03-13T13:31:00.000-05:00

The Escapist Magazine has an article on machinima in their newest issue. They discuss copyright and art in using video games to create movies, among other issues.

The media's acceptance of "The French Democracy," contrasted with their widespread hysteria about videogames, confirms a gaping cultural divide. Reporters treated machinima with automatic respect, because society has accepted film as a meaningful art form.

[...]

No, the main issue facing machinima is neither technical nor artistic. As any machinima maker can tell you, the main issue is copyright.

Learning in Immersive Worlds: a review of game based learning

2007-02-16T15:36:00.000-06:00

There's a nice 75 page report about game-based learning. You can read the whole thing here (pdf link) or go to the title link to find out more background about it.

The Learning in Immersive Worlds: a review of game based learning report, authored by Sara de Freitas, scopes out the current use of games for learning in UK HE and post-16 education and has been produced to inform practitioners who are considering using games and simulations in their practice.

found via http://libgaming.blogspot.com/

Escapist Magazine - Free Fall: Running with Armadillos

2007-02-06T08:36:00.000-06:00

This is a very interesting article about Armadillo Run, a game that uses the laws of physics as the basis for getting an armadillo from point a to point b. You're given materials, a target, and a budget, and then you can come up with whatever way you can to move the armadillo--strap rockets on a sled, or make a rubber net. The article touches on how schools have been using it in classes, even though it wasn't initially designed as an educational game.

Everyone, on some level, knows the laws of physics, and everyone knows what's fun and what isn't. Few, however, can take the two ideas and make a great game out of them.

It reminds me of the work we did looking into a video game that teaches library skills--it's harder than you think it is.

Libraries: Not Just for Books Anymore

2007-01-23T09:51:00.000-06:00

Interesting post on Kotaku, a gamer blog, where they just discovered that libraries embrace gaming in many ways. Or, perhaps more interesting is the post they link to, where it talks about the Wii in a library, and the best practices the library is coming up with.

The comments are also interesting, as they come from gamers: "My local library has Madden tournaments every years[sic], and a game night weekly. Sometimes people pplay [sic] D&D and sometimes they play games. I'm not into D&D myself, but you know, its still interesting."

The Gaming Generation

2006-12-16T12:12:00.000-06:00

For the first time, children growing up today are likely to not just have parent that grew up playing videogames, but have parents that still play

A great quote from the article, "Most people aren't asked how television is part of their life now, because it's assumed it is; for me, gaming is like that as well"

We're Not Listening

2006-11-15T14:30:00.000-06:00

I happened across this post when I was looking up something else, and I thought it offered an interesting look at the academic gaming world vs. the gaming industry. It's not necessarily directly related to gaming in libraries, but I think it is worth a read for the background it gives to both sides of gaming research.

"But honestly, even I walk past most of the academic presentations at industry events. Even I have trouble really getting excited about most of the games research being done out there. From the perspective of someone on the inside, the average piece of academic games research just doesn’t get the job done. It's not a question of the quality of the research or the intelligence of the researcher or the game makers; it's a question of bridging the gap between the academic and business cultures."

Massive Multiplayer Online Games as “Third Places” � Tasty Research

2006-09-20T08:57:00.000-05:00

A summary of the "MMOGs as Third Space" topic. There is also a link to a paper written by Steinkuehler & Williams about the topic.

MMOGs as Third Place

2006-08-22T09:36:00.000-05:00

Found this through the Escapist magazine ( http://www.escapistmagazine.com )

"Some online video games found to promote 'sociablity'."

The researchers, Constance Steinkuehler and Dmitri Williams, claim that MMOs function not like solitary dungeon cells, but more like virtual coffee shops or pubs where something called "social bridging" takes place. They even liken playing such games as "Asheron's Call" and "Lineage" to dropping in at "Cheers," the fictional TV bar "where everybody knows your name." "By providing places for social interaction and relationships beyond the workplace and home, MMOs have the capacity to function much like the hangouts of old," they said. And they take it one step further by suggesting that the lack of real-world hangouts "is what is driving the MMO phenomenon" in the first place. The new conceptual study was published in early August in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication under the title, "Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as 'Third Places.' "

(UNL does have access to the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, but the August issue doesn't appear to be up online through our subscription links.)

e-Branches

2006-08-17T12:30:00.000-05:00

I don't like to copy-paste articles into blogposts, but for anyone interested in the idea of e-branches, here's a good article I found. (available at UNL through OmniFile)

Kenny, Brian. "The Virtual Gets Real." Library Journal, 2003, vol 128 (15): 32-35.

"Librarians have been exploring electronic content and services for years, certainly since the card catalogs were automated in the early 1980s and users could access them through dial-up connections later in the decade. But in the past few years, with online content exploding via full-text databases and e-books, and new services, such as chat reference, suddenly available, the whole notion of the virtual library has become much more real."

Games and Instructional Design

2006-07-18T10:01:00.000-05:00

The LibrarianInBlack pointed out this blog post about learning about instructional design from video games. I can't get that link to work, but it might just be wonky this morning. good fyi for later.

Educational Gaming

2006-07-14T08:33:00.000-05:00

The LibrarianInBlack has some info on educational gaming and the Serving Digital Natives Conference. A list of games, some info on how gaming can be a plus to a library... go read and click!

Open Stacks Podcast

2006-05-17T08:22:00.000-05:00

Found via LiB.

The May 12th Open Stacks podcast talks about Second Life, the Second Life Library 2.0, and has links to the googlegroup.

Introduction to Alliance Second Life Library 2.0

2006-05-16T07:49:00.000-05:00

From the Second Life Library 2.0 blog:

Alliance Library System/OPAL will provide an introduction to the Alliance Second Life Library 2.0 in the OPAL auditorium on Wednesday, May 31, at 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. [...] No registration is necessary. If you are interested in attending, please come to the OPAL online auditorium at http://67.19.231.218/v4/login.asp?r=67955673&p=0
Type your name, click enter to go into the room. A small software applet will download to your computer as you enter the room.

That's 2pm CST. I've got it on my calendar! This is a good opportunity for librarians to learn more about this particular use of gaming in libraries.

LibrarianInBlack also mentions that the BBC has rented an island in Second Life to hold a music festival.

Libraries in Social Networking Software

2006-05-15T14:26:00.000-05:00

Have you read this blogpost yet? It's really interesting overview of blogging/social networking and libraries, including what libraries are doing to be useful in these spaces, not just there. Lots of links to what libraries are doing where, and lots of reference links.

The Crossett Library at Bennington College has asked patrons in Facebook what books and videos they’d like the library to order for them. And patrons really are requesting things there. And even better, the library is letting them know when the materials are ordered. [...] This way we are giving students a safe place to speak their mind.

Not quite gaming, but the online social interaction is an important part of gaming in education, and part of the report we turned in. Somewhat similar to how librarians can incorporate gaming in libraries through offering services in games (second life)...

Plus, it's an interesting post. Go read.

Massively multi-learner: recent advances in 3D social environments

2006-05-15T09:51:00.000-05:00

found via the GiL blog:

In this paper we review work on developing an atypical MMO for use as a learning tool in traditional college settings. The MMO under consideration is Second Life by Linden Lab in San Francisco, CA. The platform is unusual in many regards. “Residents” play by creating content for use by others, gathering in ad hoc communities and constructing fictional narratives unrelated to the typical medieval combat genre prevalent in MMOs. It is this ability to add content and lack of an inbuilt narrative which has already attracted the attention of educators worldwide. We review a range of the education work already undertaken in Second Life and comment on its prospects for use more specifically in a Computer Science curriculum.

Library of Congress wants to preserve video game culture

2006-05-03T07:39:00.000-05:00

I just saw this article this morning. It's about the LoC's National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, which is working on preserving digital culture, including video games.

A slightly more interesting conversation is going on in the forums re: formats.

Committee Report

2006-05-02T12:58:00.000-05:00

Does anyone have input for the Gaming Committee Report?

I'm working on summarizing what we've found so far this semester. We also have the general goal of "identifying successful elements of gaming, how to incorporate them into library services, and topics in gaming in libraries."

The elements we identified before are (and not necessarily "successful" ones that can be applied to libraries):
1. Online social interaction
2. Persistent virtual worlds (what happens one day is carried over to the next)
3. Real time.
4. Perpetually accessible from anywhere.
5. Loosely structured narrative that allow the user to act on their own and explore.
6. Social Realism - SIM environment not just escapist fantasy.
7. Users must coordinate with others to reach a goal.
8. Apprenticeship structures - no 1 person is the teacher; no 1 person is a learner. Everyone learns from others, new players apprentice to experienced players. 'Leveling up' - knowledge and skill gained from practice.

(I believe we have to have this in by the end of this week, in order to present it at the next exec meeting, like we did last semester.)

The educause Review article from this post has a lot of good information I'd like to incorporate into the report. Scott also suggested pointing out that gaming involves women and men. I'm working on just putting together some notes from what we've done so far and will send it out in email.

Second Life Library 2.0

2006-05-02T07:51:00.001-05:00

I wasn't sure if anyone was following this from Gaming In Libraries blog, but it's librarians who are offering services at a library in the MMOG Second Life. It's very interesting to go through and see what they're doing, and especially all the pictures.

(I like pictures.)

65% of women, 35% of men aged 25-34 play games

2006-04-18T10:09:00.000-05:00

Good thing to remember that there are many different types of "gamers".

Digital Game-Based Learning

2006-04-17T08:56:00.000-05:00

From Educause review:

With the widespread public interest in games as learning tools, DGBL proponents now need to explain why games are engaging and effective and how those principles can be leveraged to best integrate games into the learning process.

Gaming on Demand at PascoLibraries

2006-04-12T14:48:00.000-05:00

Got game? Hosting game night in an academic library

2006-04-12T12:08:00.000-05:00

I only have a print version of this article from C&RL.

Got game? Hosting game night in an academic library
by Lynn Sutton and H. David "Giz" Womack

March 2006 C&RL p. 173

Details the success of a game night at Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University. They played Halo2, Madden, and other games.

101 Free Games

2006-04-12T07:41:00.000-05:00

I often hear from libraries that they're looking for free games on the web to offer patrons beyond yahoo and pogo. Here's a nice list of some options.

Gaming - Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki

2006-03-22T13:20:00.000-06:00

Gaming - Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki

This came up in a gaming list (which happens to be on the list of sites to watch.) They've started a list of Libraries hosting gaming as well as blogs and websites to check out.

On the Job Video-Gaming

2006-03-22T08:45:00.000-06:00

Gaming in Libraries: Nebraska

2006-03-22T08:42:00.000-06:00

Gaming in Libraries: Nebraska

How gaming is all work and no play

2006-03-14T08:39:00.000-06:00

"A recent UK survey highlighted that 82% of nine to 19-year-olds have at least one games console and 70% play computer games online"

The article also goes to show some of the benefits of gaming - such as incorporating the idea of dividing time between work and play, that is often not learned until they reach university ages.

Video Game Voters Network?

2006-03-14T08:36:00.000-06:00

A collection of gamers have pulled together "launching a new grassroots political network for gamers called the Video Game Voters Network. The ESA says that "the website was created as a means for American adults who play computer and video games to organize and take action on important policy issues affecting the computer and video game industry."

Again - gamers are not just the K-12 age groups, so what we do in libraries could have a much larger impact than we think.

Sandbox Symposium

2006-03-11T15:31:00.000-06:00

ACM is holding a video game symposium July 29th and 30th in Boston. Not a lot of information at this time but there is a call for papers with a deadline of May 1, 2006.

Game teaches journalism students skills

2006-03-09T09:47:00.000-06:00

Using Neverwinter Nights to teach journalism skills, including going to the library. I just had to link for the quote, "When we initially did the game, it still had lava pits, the editor looked like an ogre — stuff like that. The librarian had breastplates."

Video games play part in training

2006-03-07T14:51:00.000-06:00

Passing the joystick to a new generation

2006-03-06T09:49:00.000-06:00

Parents as gamers, playing with their kids. Games aren't solitary expereinces anymore! They are being used as the board & card games of previous years.

Women Gamers duke it out

2006-03-06T09:37:00.000-06:00

There are two camps of thought when trying to get more female gamers. The casual (Tetris, Bejewelled)vs. team-based games (Halo, World of Warcraft)

GIRLS - Gaming in Real Life Situations

2006-02-27T09:48:00.000-06:00

Drexel is hosting a summer learning program for high school students about video game development. While there's not much information on the page linked, it is an interesting idea, reaching out to students who are into video games and want to learn more. Plus, it is a nice recruitment tool if you show the students what they can learn by coming to Drexel, though I'm not aware of an actual game development program there.

Video Games are the new drugs.

2006-02-23T12:35:00.000-06:00

A biased report against games. It creates the impression that once you play game - you are addicted. There's some interesting discussion about the piece at the bottom of the page.

Soapbox: World of Warcraft Teaches the Wrong Things

2006-02-22T22:59:00.000-06:00

Interesting article written about elements in World of Warcraft and what it teaches, good or bad.

Innovate - February/March 2006 Volume 2, Issue 3

2006-02-20T08:18:00.000-06:00

Innovate is a journal on the uses of IT in educational settings.
The latest issue has some articles on role-playing games.
Innovate - February/March 2006 Volume 2, Issue 3

Here is the schedule for the webscasts (all of which get archived in the webcasts section for later viewing. There are a lot of interesting topics in there):
February 23, 2006, 1:00 PM EST
Susana Sotillo
Using Instant Messaging for Collaborative Learning
http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=170

February 23, 2006, 2:00 PM EST
Pamela G. Taylor
Critical Thinking in and through Interactive Computer Hypertext and Art
Education
http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=41

March 7, 2006, 1:00 PM EST
P. G. Schrader, Dongping Zheng, and Michael Young
Teachers' Perceptions of Video Games:
MMOGs and the Future of Preservice Teacher Education
http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=125

March 9th 2:00 PM EST
Richard Van Eck
Using Games to Promote Girls' Positive Attitudes Toward Technology
http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=209

March 9th 3:00 PM EST
Sean Gouglas
Neverwinter Nights in Alberta: Conceptions of Narrativity through Fantasy
Role-Playing Games in a Graduate Classroom
http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=172

If you cannot attend a webcast, note that it will be archived within the
features section of the article itself shortly after the webcast.

FYI: Gaming in libraries sessions in May

2006-02-17T10:36:00.000-06:00

It looks like the Public Library Section of NLA will have Russ Harper of Omaha Public speak on gaming in libraries in May. They will have a session in Gering, Lexington, & in LaVista. What little information there is now is available in this PDF Registration Form.

Child's Play Part II from 1UP.com

2006-02-17T08:12:00.000-06:00

Some old-school gamers had some 11 year old kids try some classic games. Something like this reminds me that no matter what "state-of-the-art" things that we may come up now, if it doesn't keep with techology and other trends, it will eventually come off as "lame" and not hold their attention.

Water Cooler Games

2006-02-16T14:48:00.000-06:00

This is a site I found that's supposed to be about "games with a purpose." They have some interesting information from time to time and sometimes games to try out.

Wired News: U.N. Game Wins Hearts and Minds

2006-02-16T14:27:00.000-06:00

A Wired News article on how a new game teaches people about UN relief efforts.