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Discussion Friday #11

posted Nov 14, 2010 10:46 AM by J. Tirrell

In preparation for Discussion Friday #11 (which happens on Nov. 19), you should read chapters 6, 7, and 8 from James Paul Gee's What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy. Then, post a comment of approximately 500 words using the form below. Remember that what is called for here is critique, not summary. Do not simply collect your reactions; organize your response into a complete statement with a beginning, middle, and end. The following prompts may help you focus your thoughts, but feel free to take your discussion in any applicable direction you wish. Make certain to cite specific portions of the text to support your ideas.

  • How does Gee's material in chapters 6, 7, and 8 develop and conclude his argument?
  • How does Gee's book inform educational practice in this course? How does it impact education in other courses?
  • What other readings connect with Gee's book and how?
  • How might some of the games you have played connect with Gee's book?


Online Portfolio

posted Nov 9, 2010 8:37 PM by J. Tirrell   [ updated Dec 7, 2010 10:51 AM ]

The Online Portfolio demonstrates your growth as a writer through statements and textual artifacts. Each student will create an Online Portfolio using Google Sites. The Online Portfolio consists of three sections:

  1. Introduction- This section is a brief statement (a few paragraphs) describing the contents of your Online Portfolio and how it showcases your ability and expertise as a writer.

  2. Assignments- This section contains three assignments drawn from your career at UNCW with short descriptions. One of the assignments will be your Critical Analysis Essay in .pdf format. Another assignment should incorporate multimedia (such as our Review Project). The final assignment may be anything that you believe demonstrates your expertise as a producer of texts.

  3. Reflective Statement- This section is a brief reflection (a few paragraphs) describing your experience at UNCW and your development as a producer of texts. Please identify specific courses, instructors, projects, or activities if possible.

We will go through the process of creating an Online Portfolio in class. The Online Portfolio is scored as an Engagement Assignment as is not part of any course project. As such, it is evaluated upon each student's good faith effort at meeting the parameters above.

Online Portfolios are used within the department to assess the effectiveness of courses and assignments, and as a means to demonstrate student learning for accreditation purposes. The outcomes applied to Online Portfolios for assessment purposes are appended below.

  1. Learning Outcome #1:  Students will be able to adapt information to the needs of specific audiences.
    1. The portfolio includes at least one text that specifies a target audience.
    2. That text uses appropriate strategies to meet the information and usability needs of the target audience. 

  2. Learning Outcome #2:  Students will be able to find, evaluate, and appropriately cite information sources.
    1. The portfolio includes at least one text that uses primary and/or secondary sources.
    2. The student presents appropriate and reliable information sources. 
    3. The student correctly cites the information sources according to scholarly or professional conventions. 

  3. Learning Outcome #3: Students will be able to construct and present evidence to support a clear and logical argument.
    1. The portfolio includes at least one text with a persuasive purpose.
    2. That text makes a clear claim early in the text.
    3. That text presents an organized and logical argument. 
    4. The student presents appropriate evidence in support of the primary claim.

  4. Learning Outcome #4:  Students will be able to create usable texts in a variety of genres and forms and employing multiple media. 
    1. The portfolio includes at least one text that can be presented electronically.
    2. The portfolio includes at least one text that incorporates multiple media.
    3. The portfolio includes texts in at least two other forms or genres. 
    4. The texts in the portfolio adhere to scholarly or professional conventions. 

  5. Learning Outcome #5: Students will be able to describe and assess their own development as producers and consumers of texts. 
    1. The portfolio contains a reflective statement.
    2. The reflective statement demonstrates thoughtful analysis of the student’s experience in the program. 
    3. The reflective statement includes a critical assessment of the student’s role and development as a writer and designer of texts. 

Discussion Friday #10

posted Nov 5, 2010 8:07 AM by J. Tirrell   [ updated Nov 9, 2010 8:13 PM ]

In preparation for Discussion Friday #10 (which happens on Nov. 12), each student will play no fewer than two games I am labeling "provocative." These are games that are particularly adept at rewarding critical engagement or eliciting emotional response. Students should spend at least four hours total with these games.

After getting experience with provocative games, each student must post a critical comment of approximately 500 words. Students must select games from the list below (some of which are available at Sharky's or available for check out from me) or independently find games that they can effectively defend as being provocative.

  • Braid
  • Limbo
  • World of Goo
  • Passage
  • Shadow of the Colossus (check out)
  • Ico
  • Planescape: Torment
  • The Baron
  • BioShock (check out)
  • Portal (in The Orange Box at Sharky's)
  • Eternal Darkness (check out)
  • Metal Gear Solid series (check out)
  • Silent Hill 2
  • No More Heroes (check out)
  • Digital: A Love Story

Submit your comment below after critically considering issues surrounding your game experiences, such as:

  • How one or more of our readings inform your experiences
  • What makes particular games provocative (or unprovocative)
  • How these games are different than others you have played
  • What critical issues are at stake in these games

The preceding prompts may help you focus your thoughts, but feel free to take your discussion in any productive direction you wish. I look forward to reading your work and discussing it in class.



Discussion Friday #9

posted Oct 25, 2010 8:49 AM by J. Tirrell   [ updated Oct 25, 2010 8:55 AM ]

In preparation for Discussion Friday #9 (which happens on Oct. 29), you should read chapters 3, 4, and 5 from James Paul Gee's What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy. Then, post a comment of approximately 500 words using the form below. Remember that what is called for here is critique, not summary. Do not simply collect your reactions; organize your response into a complete statement with a beginning, middle, and end. The following prompts may help you focus your thoughts, but feel free to take your discussion in any applicable direction you wish. Make certain to cite specific portions of the text to support your ideas.

  • How does Gee's material in chapters 3, 4, and 5 develop from chapters 1 and 2?
  • How does Gee's discussion of literacy impact this class (which is a writing class)?
  • What other readings connect with Gee's book and how?
  • What games demonstrate or refute Gee's contentions and how?


Discussion Friday #8

posted Oct 15, 2010 8:20 AM by J. Tirrell   [ updated Oct 15, 2010 9:21 AM ]

In preparation for Discussion Friday #8 (which happens on Oct. 22), each student will play no fewer than two sandbox games. Because sandbox games develop as they are played, students should spend at least two hours with each game (not all of that time has to be spent in one session).

After getting experience with sandbox games, each student must post a critical comment of approximately 500 words. Students must select games from the list below (some of which are available at Sharky's or available for check out from me) or independently find sandbox games.

  • Animal Crossing: City Folk
  • Grand Theft Auto IV (Sharky's)
  • Crackdown (Sharky's on reserve)
  • Fallout 3 (check out)
  • The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
  • Red Dead Redemption
  • InFamous
  • Prototype
  • Scribblenauts
  • Phun
  • Dwarf Fortress
  • Minecraft

Submit your comment below after critically considering issues surrounding your sandbox game experiences, such as:

  • How one or more of our readings inform your experiences
  • The differences among different games
  • What differentiates sandbox games from other games you have played for this class or independently
  • How the protagonists of different sandbox games are depicted, and how this connects with cultural issues
  • The affordances and limitations of sandbox games

The preceding prompts may help you focus your thoughts, but feel free to take your discussion in any productive direction you wish. I look forward to reading your work and discussing it in class.


Discussion Friday #7

posted Oct 11, 2010 8:21 AM by J. Tirrell   [ updated Oct 11, 2010 8:45 AM ]

In preparation for Discussion Friday #7 (which happens on Oct. 15), you should read chapters 1 and 2 from James Paul Gee's What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy. Then, post a comment of approximately 500 words using the form below. Remember that what is called for here is critique, not summary. Do not simply collect your reactions; organize your response into a complete statement with a beginning, middle, and end. The following prompts may help you focus your thoughts, but feel free to take your discussion in any applicable direction you wish. Make certain to cite specific portions of the text to support your ideas.

  • How does this reading inform the experiences you have had with games during this semester or in your life outside of class?
  • How does Gee's discussion of literacy impact this class (which is a writing class)?
  • How does Gee's discussion of a "core identity" interact with learning, gaming, and aspects of identity formation in networked digital spaces (4)?
  • Gee establishes video games as potentially potent learning methods; however, this potency implies that video games thereby also have the ability to cause destructive effects. How does Gee handle this contention, and what do you make of his defense?
  • Bissell seems to claim that video games may be viewed as artistic works, as he encourages asking questions of games such as "What aesthetic tradition does this game fall into? How does it make me feel while I'm playing it? What emotions does it engage with, and are they appropriate to the game's theme and mechanics?" (xii). To what degree does Gee align with Bissell's perspective, and where do they differ? How does Gee see games as art, and how does he see them as something else?

I look forward to reading your work and discussing it in class.


Discussion Friday #6

posted Oct 1, 2010 7:59 AM by J. Tirrell   [ updated Oct 1, 2010 8:13 AM ]

In preparation for Discussion Friday #6 (which happens on Oct. 8), each student will participate in three sessions of network multiplayer gaming with one or more other people. This means that students must play with other people online in different physical locations. Students may play the same game during each session or different games. Students may play with the same people each session or different people (although I encourage students to play at least one session with strangers). Play may be cooperative or competitive.

After the three play sessions, each student must post a critical comment of approximately 500 words. Students must select games from the list below (most of which are available at Sharky's or available for check out from me) or independently find games with a network multiplayer component.

  • Halo 3 (Sharky's)
  • Halo ODST (Sharky's)
  • Gears of War
  • Gears of War 2
  • Left 4 Dead 2 (Sharky's)
  • Boom Blox Bash Party (check out from me)
  • Monster Hunter Tri (check out from me)
  • World of Warcraft
  • EVE Online
  • Conquer Club
  • Friends for Sale (Facebook)
  • YoVille (Facebook)
  • FarmVille (Facebook)
  • Mafia Wars (Facebook)

Submit your comment below after critically considering issues surrounding your network multiplayer experiences, such as:

  • How one or more of our readings inform your experiences
  • The differences among your various play sessions
  • How cooperative play and competitive play affect the social dynamic
  • How playing with strangers differs from playing with acquaintances
  • How network multiplayer play differs from local multiplayer play or individual play
  • The applicable issues of race, class, or gender in the games

The preceding prompts may help you focus your thoughts, but feel free to take your discussion in any productive direction you wish. I look forward to reading your work and discussing it in class.


Discussion Friday #5

posted Sep 22, 2010 3:02 PM by J. Tirrell   [ updated Oct 1, 2010 8:00 AM ]

In preparation for Discussion Friday #5 (which happens on Oct. 1), you should read Tom Bissell's Extra Lives. Then, post a comment of approximately 500 words using the form below. Remember that what is called for here is critique, not summary. Do not simply collect your reactions; organize your response into a complete statement with a beginning, middle, and end. The following prompts may help you focus your thoughts, but feel free to take your discussion in any applicable direction you wish. Make certain to cite specific portions of the text to support your ideas.

  • How does this reading inform the experiences you have had with games during this semester or in your life outside of class?
  • What, if anything, can you relate to in the book? What does this connection suggest about games and human behavior?
  • Recall Steven Johnson's statement in Everything Bad is Good for You about the biological reward system of video games being similar to that of narcotics. How do Bissell's experiences support and refute Johnson's claims?
  • The book's "Author's Note" states that video game reviews "tend to focus on providing consumers with a sense of whether their money will be well spent. Game magazine reviewers rarely ask: 'What aesthetic tradition does this game fall into? How does it make me feel while I'm playing it? What emotions does it engage with, and are they appropriate to the game's theme and mechanics?'" (xii). How does this book inform the possible distinction between review and critique that we encountered during the Review Project? How does it connect with situations such as the controversy over Abbie Heppe's review of Metroid: Other M?

I look forward to reading your work and discussing it in class.

Discussion Friday #4

posted Sep 9, 2010 4:56 PM by J. Tirrell   [ updated Sep 10, 2010 9:11 AM ]

In preparation for Discussion Friday #4 (which happens on Sept. 17), each student will participate in three sessions of local multiplayer gaming with one or more other people. This means that students must play with other people in the same physical location (not through the internet). Students may play the same game during each session or different games. Students may play with the same people each session or different people. Play may be cooperative or competitive. Class members may wish to form groups to play together.

After the three play sessions, each student must post a critical comment of approximately 500 words. Students must select games from the list below (most of which are available at Sharky's) or independently find games with a local multiplayer component.

  • Madden XX
  • Forza 2
  • Mario Kart Wii
  • Wii Sports
  • Wii Sports Resort
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl
  • Street Fighter IV
  • Mario Party 8
  • Wii Play
  • Rock Band (any version)
  • Flight Control HD
  • Touchgrind

Submit your comment below after critically considering issues surrounding your local multiplayer experiences, such as:

  • How Johnson's and/or Juul's readings inform your experiences
  • The differences among your various play sessions
  • How cooperative play and competitive play affect the social dynamic
  • How local multiplayer play differs from individual play or networked play
  • The applicable issues of race, class, or gender in the games

The preceding prompts may help you focus your thoughts, but feel free to take your discussion in any productive direction you wish. I look forward to reading your work and discussing it in class.


Discussion Friday #3

posted Sep 3, 2010 10:00 AM by J. Tirrell

In preparation for Discussion Friday #3 (which happens on Sept. 10), students should read chapters 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Jesper Juul's A Casual Revolution. Then, post a comment of approximately 500 words using the form below. Remember that what is called for here is critique, not summary. Do not simply collect your reactions; organize your response into a complete statement with a beginning, middle, and end. The following prompts may help you focus your thoughts, but feel free to take your discussion in any applicable direction you wish. Make certain to cite specific portions of the text to support your ideas.

  • How does this reading inform your experiences with casual games?
  • How might you use chapter 5's discussion of mimetic interfaces in other contexts? (Consider, for example, debates about the possibilities of mimetic interfaces for training and education versus their potential to simulate violent behaviors.)
  • How has this reading changed or shaped your definition of casual games?
  • What might the book say about the ramifications of the recent large influx of non-traditional gamers? What are your thoughts on this?

I look forward to reading your work and discussing it in class.



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Course Information

Writing and Video Games
ENG 496-001
MO 204
MWF 12:00-12:50

Jeremy Tirrell
MO 150
MWF 2:00-4:00 (and by appointment)

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