This RT presentation will discuss the use of RPGs as teaching devices. In Videogames and Literacies courses, students play 30+ hours of a game over the course of the semester. Many students play RPGs. The students are asked to give a presentation on an element of literacy present in their game - they often use screen shots and demos of the RPGs to discuss Gee’s breakdown of literacies (since it’s the most approachable idea). This presentation is a smaller part of their paper. Essentially the assignment is asking students to investigate and notice how games teach and assess learning through play.
In Literacies classes students give presentations of games to extend their understanding of the theories covered. I usually start the presentations and use the introductions of games like Mass Effect where players customize their character, connecting choice and agency to learning spaces. When students bring in games as examples of the theories that week, but they also tend to draw from RPGs since the missions/quests offer so many different choices. Using these, we can discuss how learning and assessment can be really complicated.
About the presenterA Nicole Pfannenstiel
Studier of play, the internet, videogames, digital rhetoric, and mostly writing. I enjoy exploring how play helps learners connect to understanding rhetorical situations for empowered learning and learners. Associate Professor of Digital Media, English and World Languages Department at Millersville University.