6.4.14: Online Writing Instruction – A Pedagogy of Play

6.4.14: Online Writing Instruction – A Pedagogy of Play

               In “A Pedagogy of Play: Integrating Computer Games into the Writing Classroom,” Rebekah Colby argues for an instructional model in which computer game theory informs writing pedagogy. She specifically champions World of Warcraft (WoW) as the medium, and primarily advocates its use due to its “emergent” versus “progression” learning. She argues that, in using WoW throughout the term, her students were motivated through active participation, composed rhetorically-focused writing projects that were informed by their gameplay, and that their writing was circulated throughout a diverse, multi-cultural, online audience.

               Colby presents a laudable amount of contemporary research in gaming, writing, and pedagogical theory, as well as two student examples, in support of her model. She also touches upon notions of space – classroom space vs. gamespace – and the oft-held (mis)perception that they are binary opposites. Her stance is that both gamespace and class-space are similar spaces in which learning can occur, and she highlights that they are both in fact similarly “restricted, closed, protected universes.” With a very brief socio-cultural history of workspaces versus leisure and/or play spaces, she begins to make a really interesting and novel argument here. Though, intriguing as it is, the length/topic of this particular essay was insufficient to thoroughly address this aspect of her rationale and it could indeed have been an essay in of itself.

                Using real life examples of WoW pedagogy in action, Colby shares how one of her students created a strategy guide for one of the in-game professions, while another, less experienced, student created a proposal for a Twitter-like website that could track what certain players are up to in a game guild (10). Ultimately, Colby’s pedagogy of play appears to support a model of composition in which rhetorical traditions, planning, inquiry, audience, purpose, and research methodologies are all utilized. Her students have the ability to design forums, blogs, websites, and various gamespace guides” (6), in addition to composing reflective works and creating writing that has direct engagement with a large, diverse community outside of the classroom. The collaborative and open-source nature of some of the students’ writing is yet another boon to WoW pedagogy.

               Colby’s essay was both compelling and enjoyable. I personally support gaming in education and certainly appreciate the value of this model. As mentioned above, though, I would have enjoyed hearing more on her spatial debate between work/game spaces. Additionally, there are a few other obstacles that may arise with this model, among them: students not having access to WoW, students who don’t understand the gaming environment enough in order to have an enjoyable experience, student frustrations with the medium, and of course, students who simply may not be interested in RPGs or any type of gaming (I suppose they exist!). Lastly, I would have liked to have seen the actual works that her students created and study what these compositions looked like and/or view the different stages of their work. This inclusion would have not only been interesting, but would have lent even greater credence to her argument.

Shultz Colby, Rebekah. "A Pedagogy of Play: Integrating Computer Games into the Writing Classroom." Computers and Composition 25. Reading Games: Composition, Literacy, and Video Gaming (2008): 300-312. ScienceDirect. Web. 3 June 2014.