A perfect illustration of the mix of positives and negatives - mostly positives - that is the user-driven Web: the debut of Spore. There's a whole lot to Spore - entertainment, education, strategy, creativity, savagery.... And everything's represented in its media story: a gamemaker's (Will Wright's) world-class creativity; old-style mass-media marketing; social Web viral marketing; and users' … [Read more...] about The Spore metaphor
gaming
Videogames: ‘Hotbeds of scientific thinking for kids’
They may be "tuning out of science in the classroom," as a Wired News commentary puts it, but gamers are still learning and (avidly) practicing science, Prof. Constance Steinkuehler at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, found in a soon-to-be-published study, "Scientific Habits of Mind in Virtual Worlds." She and her co-author, Sean Duncan, "downloaded the content of 1,984 posts in 85 threads in … [Read more...] about Videogames: ‘Hotbeds of scientific thinking for kids’
West slow to take on Net addiction: Psychiatrist
Nine computer games are purchased every second in the US; two-thirds of Americans, or around 200 million people, play videogames; 2% of US gamers, or about 4 million people, "are heavy users" averaging around 40 hours of play a week; and 66 million (a third) play around 20 hours/week. That's data cited by Jerald Block, an Oregon-based psychiatrist, in British cultural and political magazine The … [Read more...] about West slow to take on Net addiction: Psychiatrist
Psychologists on videogame impacts
A series of studies about videogames presented at the just-ended American Psychological Association convention pointed to more positive than negatives. According to an article in the Hartford Courant, researchers suggested that "video games can be powerful learning tools - from increasing the problem solving potential of younger students to improving the suturing skills of laparoscopic surgeons. … [Read more...] about Psychologists on videogame impacts
Parents’ videogame concerns
"Parents are more concerned about their children’s exposure to video games than alcohol, violence and pornography," according to in-site polls at WhatTheyPlay.com. The site gathered responses from "nearly 3,000 respondents in two separate polls," its press release said. One of the polls asked parents "what they’d be most concerned about their 17-year-old child indulging in while at a sleepover." … [Read more...] about Parents’ videogame concerns