Games-Based Affinity Spaces: Connecting Youth to 21st Century Writing Practices

Constance Steinkuehler, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Alecia Marie Magnifico, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jayne C. Lammers, Arizona State University
Elizabeth King, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Abstract

While writing has long been a staple of the schooling in the United States, there is a mismatch between the writing skills of high school graduates and the demands of the modern workplace (Casner-Lotto & Barrington, 2006). Work (and life) in the era of "new capitalism" (Gee, Hull, & Lankshear, 1996) are characterized by ubiquitous technologies and complex workflow processes requiring applied writing as well as broader 21st century skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.

Within most school settings, writing is often reduced to essay-driven methods of evaluating students' individual knowledge about school content (Applebee, 1996; Boscolo & Hidi, 2007; Nystrand, Gamoran, Kachur, & Prendergast, 1997). This emphasis on writing-as-evaluation runs counter to ways in which the world at large leverages a "constellation of literacy skills" (Steinkuehler, 2007), including writing, for collaboration in an environment of multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996). While schools scramble to develop pedagogies for teaching digital skills and collaborative writing practices, models of effective practice are emerging within affinity spaces (Gee, 2004) around video gaming.

In this session, we show how these situated, collaborative practices are fostered in interest-driven affinity spaces, and we argue that they provide an important model of writing and participation (Jenkins, 2006). Presentations highlight three gaming-related affinity spaces involving a variety of writing genres surrounding several popular games: Neopets, The Sims, and World of Warcraft. We provide a glimpse into the everyday multiliterate lives of game-loving youth and show how these practices can serve as a bridge toward building more robust models of writing pedagogy for classrooms.

Session Overview:
Moderated by Dr. Constance Steinkuehler, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, this session will incorporate the following presentations:

Publishing as Gaming: Writing for the Neopian Times (Alecia Marie Magnifico of UW-Madison): In this presentation, I discuss the ideas of audience, genre, and writing as communication by examining the experiences of adolescent authors who write as part of their game play on Neopets, an online virtual pet site. Through their fanfiction writing, I show how experienced Neopian Times writers develop a sophisticated view of genre and the process of publication.

Sims Fan Fiction as a Collaborative Gaming/Literacy Practice (Jayne C. Lammers of Arizona State University): This presentation highlights a particular set of online literacy practices with which gamers create and share Sims fan fiction. I offer data illustrating how participation in The Sims Writers' Hangout affords members opportunities to engage in collaborative literacy practices as they author multimodal, digital stories using The Sims video games as a tool.

MMO Role Playing: Catalyst for 21st Century Writing (Elizabeth King of UW-Madison): This presentation explores the MMO-based literacy practices of teenage boys who self-report a strong dislike of literacy activities. Their naturally occurring role playing activities in World of Warcraft involved complex literacy practices crossing multiple media platforms, initiated through individual writing activities, subsequently shared with the group, collaboratively developed, and implemented within the gamespace.