2021
Aurava, Riikka; Meriläinen, Mikko
Expectations and Realities: Examining Adolescent Students' Game Jam Experiences
In: Education and Information Technologies, vol. Pre-print, 2021, ISBN: 1360-2357.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Adolescents, Co-creation, Creativity, Game jam, Gender inclusivity, STEAM learning
@article{Aurava2021,
title = {Expectations and Realities: Examining Adolescent Students' Game Jam Experiences},
author = {Riikka Aurava and Mikko Meriläinen},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202110277858
},
doi = {10.1007/s10639-021-10782-y},
isbn = {1360-2357},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-10-25},
journal = {Education and Information Technologies},
volume = {Pre-print},
abstract = {This article describes the expectations and experiences of young (16 to 19 year old) digital game jam participants (N=34) who attend Finnish general upper secondary schools. Game jams are a form of game creation: events where games are made in co-operation. They are widely used in game design education and in addition, when participated voluntarily, learning has been reported as an important motivation.
The existing literature mostly concentrates on game jams for adults, and informal or non-formal learning. This article is adding to the literature by examining learning in formal education for adolescents. As part of our research, we have organised game jams in formal general education, and this article is based on the pre-event and post-event surveys of three game jam events. The article maps 1) the motivations to attend a school related game jam, 2) the expectations and apprehensions the would-be participants have, 3) what kind of learning game jams promote, and 4) how does attending a game jam afect participants’ attitudes and apprehensions regarding learning, STEAM and information technology, and their own skills. Our results indicate the creative side of digital game making, desire to learn new skills and make new friends to be the main motivations for participation, and the lack of confidence in technical skills to cause most anxiety before the jam event. The efects of attending a game jam are mostly positive, with the participants reporting learning experiences in several soft and technical skills and increased motivation to
take part in creative and co-creative projects. A gendered result can be seen in the participants’ altered stance on technology and programming: girls and non-binary students report technology and programming being easier and more fun than they had thought before attending a game jam event, which is well in line with previous research on STEM/STEAM education and gender.
},
keywords = {Adolescents, Co-creation, Creativity, Game jam, Gender inclusivity, STEAM learning},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article describes the expectations and experiences of young (16 to 19 year old) digital game jam participants (N=34) who attend Finnish general upper secondary schools. Game jams are a form of game creation: events where games are made in co-operation. They are widely used in game design education and in addition, when participated voluntarily, learning has been reported as an important motivation.
The existing literature mostly concentrates on game jams for adults, and informal or non-formal learning. This article is adding to the literature by examining learning in formal education for adolescents. As part of our research, we have organised game jams in formal general education, and this article is based on the pre-event and post-event surveys of three game jam events. The article maps 1) the motivations to attend a school related game jam, 2) the expectations and apprehensions the would-be participants have, 3) what kind of learning game jams promote, and 4) how does attending a game jam afect participants’ attitudes and apprehensions regarding learning, STEAM and information technology, and their own skills. Our results indicate the creative side of digital game making, desire to learn new skills and make new friends to be the main motivations for participation, and the lack of confidence in technical skills to cause most anxiety before the jam event. The efects of attending a game jam are mostly positive, with the participants reporting learning experiences in several soft and technical skills and increased motivation to
take part in creative and co-creative projects. A gendered result can be seen in the participants’ altered stance on technology and programming: girls and non-binary students report technology and programming being easier and more fun than they had thought before attending a game jam event, which is well in line with previous research on STEM/STEAM education and gender.
The existing literature mostly concentrates on game jams for adults, and informal or non-formal learning. This article is adding to the literature by examining learning in formal education for adolescents. As part of our research, we have organised game jams in formal general education, and this article is based on the pre-event and post-event surveys of three game jam events. The article maps 1) the motivations to attend a school related game jam, 2) the expectations and apprehensions the would-be participants have, 3) what kind of learning game jams promote, and 4) how does attending a game jam afect participants’ attitudes and apprehensions regarding learning, STEAM and information technology, and their own skills. Our results indicate the creative side of digital game making, desire to learn new skills and make new friends to be the main motivations for participation, and the lack of confidence in technical skills to cause most anxiety before the jam event. The efects of attending a game jam are mostly positive, with the participants reporting learning experiences in several soft and technical skills and increased motivation to
take part in creative and co-creative projects. A gendered result can be seen in the participants’ altered stance on technology and programming: girls and non-binary students report technology and programming being easier and more fun than they had thought before attending a game jam event, which is well in line with previous research on STEM/STEAM education and gender.
2019
Heljakka, Katriina; Harviainen, J. Tuomas
From Displays and Dioramas to Doll Dramas
In: American Journal of Play, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 351–379, 2019, ISSN: 1938-0399.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Adult play, Adult toy play, Creativity, Object play, Object relations, Photoplay, Social media, Social play, Toys, World play, Worldbuilding
@article{Heljakka2019,
title = {From Displays and Dioramas to Doll Dramas},
author = {Katriina Heljakka and J. Tuomas Harviainen},
url = {https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/116158},
issn = {1938-0399},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
urldate = {2019-01-01},
journal = {American Journal of Play},
volume = {11},
number = {3},
pages = {351–379},
publisher = {The Strong},
address = {Rochester},
abstract = {Toys both guide and foster the play—and stimulate the imaginations—of players of all ages. The authors investigate adult use of toys as a point of entry to the world play of both transmedia-connected and stand alone toy characters—dolls, action figures, and soft toys. They point to how adult toy players engage actively in world building in their world play and suggest that play better describes the object relations of adults with toys than such notions as collecting or pursuing a hobby. They discuss how adults use world playing with toys to develop toy industry back stories and replay—and sometimes revolutionize—original story lines familiar from popular fiction. And they highlight how mature audiences for character toys employ these physical objects to explore their capacity for imaginative, spatial, and hybrid world play.},
keywords = {Adult play, Adult toy play, Creativity, Object play, Object relations, Photoplay, Social media, Social play, Toys, World play, Worldbuilding},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Toys both guide and foster the play—and stimulate the imaginations—of players of all ages. The authors investigate adult use of toys as a point of entry to the world play of both transmedia-connected and stand alone toy characters—dolls, action figures, and soft toys. They point to how adult toy players engage actively in world building in their world play and suggest that play better describes the object relations of adults with toys than such notions as collecting or pursuing a hobby. They discuss how adults use world playing with toys to develop toy industry back stories and replay—and sometimes revolutionize—original story lines familiar from popular fiction. And they highlight how mature audiences for character toys employ these physical objects to explore their capacity for imaginative, spatial, and hybrid world play.