The Pew Internet and American Life Project published a report yesterday about Adults and Video Games which states that over half of American adults play video games of some kind. Here are some of their key findings:

• 53% of American adults aged 18 and older play video games
• Adults prefer computers as their gaming device while young adults prefer consoles
• 4 out of 5 young adults play video games
• 81% of respondents 18-29 years old play games
• 23% of respondents 65 years old and older report playing games
• Men are slightly more likely to play digital games than women
• Urbanites are slightly more likely to play digital games than rural-dwellers
• 57% of respondents with at least some college education play games
• 51% of high school graduates play games

Pew Internet and American Life releases a new study which shows that nearly all (97%) American teens play computer, console, or cell phone games, and that they allow for significant social interaction and civic engagement. This is the first national study of this kind and included a survey of 1,102 teens aged 12-17. Key findings include:

• Fully 97% of teens ages 12-17 play computer, web, portable, or console games.
• 50% of teens played games “yesterday.”
• 86% of teens play on a console like the Xbox, PlayStation, or Wii.
• 73% play games on a desktop or a laptop computer.
• 60% use a portable gaming device like a Sony PlayStation Portable, a Nintendo DS, or a Game Boy.
• 48% use a cell phone or handheld organizer to play games.
• 65% of game-playing teens play with other people who are in the room with them.
• 27% play games with people who they connect with through the internet.
• 82% play games alone, although 71% of this group also plays with others.

“Longitudinal and quasi-experimental studies have identified a set of civic learning opportunities (such as simulations of civic or political activities, helping others, and debating ethical issues) that promote civic outcomes among youth. Many of these civic learning opportunities parallel particular elements of video game play. We call these elements of game play “civic gaming experiences,” and the survey assesses how many of these experiences teens had. Teens were categorized into three groups—those with the least civic gaming experiences, those with average civic gaming experiences, and those with the most civic gaming experiences. Teens with the most (top 25%) civic gaming experiences were more likely to report interest and engagement in civic and political activities than teens with the fewest (bottom 25%).”

Rafael C. Alvarado, Director of Academic Technology Services at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania writes for Educause Quarterly with Overcoming the Fear of Gaming: A Strategy for Incorporating Games into Teaching and Learning. Alvarado discusses opportunities for the effective use of immersive games in academia.

“Ultimately, to take full advantage of games as engines of learning, we should move from a critical approach to a creative one and encourage the innovative use and development of games (and gaming engines) within our colleges and universities as collaborative new media projects. Such projects would take advantage of our unique social arrangement of students, developers, and faculty and allow us to rely less on consumer culture to provide game content. The design of these games would be guided by the experience of managing the pedagogical outcomes of games in real-use contexts, forming a feedback loop that would identify and select for better games.”

On Tuesday, Google launched a virtual world called Lively which allows players to embed their avatars and even “rooms” from within the world into their websites and blogs. Similar to Second Life, users must download and install software in order to enter, but then can access the world from social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace. A search of Lively’s rooms reveals that several libraries may already experimenting with the service including the Alliance Virtual Library, ASU’s Noble Library, and Rutgers University Law Library.

For more coverage check out:

Google ventures into virtual reality with ‘Lively’

Google Tries To Go Lively With Its Own Virtual World Effort

Lively: Google Launches Virtual World

Bryan Alexander, Director of Research at the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education (NITLE) writes about Games for Education: 2008 in the July/August 2008 issue of Educause Review. Alexander discusses computer games as learning objects “from which both students and educational staff can learn”.

“Games can be learning objects. This assertion summons up two strands of thought concerning computer-mediated teaching and learning. First, many of the goals for the learning objects movement can be transferred to games: digital objects from which learners can learn and that can be repeated. Second, we now have two decades of practical experience in using and thinking about digital objects in teaching, even if we have not always applied learning objects as a term to describe them: CD-ROMs, podcasts, videos, assigned web pages, e-reserves, files on USB drives, GIF or Java applets. If we emphasize the replayability of learning objects, the idea of computer games as items to learn from is not a new thought at all.2″

The Association of Virtual Worlds has published The Blue Book: A Consumer Guide to Virtual Worlds. This free, downloadable book provides a guide, with links, to over 250 virtual worlds along with a glossary. Included are virtual environments for every age group ranging from Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow, Creebies, and Frenzoo, to one of my faves - Neopets, Planet Cazmo, and Scions of Fate. Coming soon: The Green Book: A Business Guide to Virtual Worlds.

I just finished reading Jenny Levine’s excellent Library Technology Report - Gaming & Libraries Update: Broadening the Intersections. It’s chock-full of interesting case studies of real library implementations of gaming programs as well as recommended resources. The report covers tabletop (board) games, big games such as LARPing (Live Action Role-Playing), as well as video games. Readers can pick up plenty of game recommendations throughout, but I will be checking further into some of the board games suggested at the end as I noticed a couple of my favorites were listed including Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride.

Sara de Freitas writes a chapter for Volume 3 of the Becta research report, Emerging Technologies for Learning, discussing educational trends, issues, and potential uses of virtual worlds. Other interesting research from this volume includes:

• Growing up with Google - what it means to education, Diana Oblinger, EDUCAUSE
• Mobile, wireless, connected - information clouds and learning, by Mark van’t Hooft, Kent State University
• Location-based and context-aware education - prospects and perils by Adam Greenfield, NYU
• ‘If it quacks like a duck…’ - developments in search technologies by Emma Tonkin, UKOLN
• Interactive displays and next generation interfaces by Michael Haller, Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences

The NYPL offers gaming sessions at 18 of their Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island branch libraries, and owns 2,500 copies of 92 different games available for loan to gamers. The New York Times covers their “Game On @ the Library!” initiative in Taking Play Seriously at the Public Library With Young Video Gamers.

“What we’re seeing is that in addition to simply helping bring kids into the library in the first place, games are having a broader effect on players, and they have the potential to be a great teaching tool,” Mr. Martin said. “If a kid takes a test and fails, that’s it. But in a game, if you fail you get to take what you’ve learned and try again.”

The MySpace social network has added a Games area of its website community which offers single and multiplayer Flash games, the ability to add games to profiles, and to chat with other gamers. These casual games can all be quickly learned and played and include such titles as Mah Jong, Jewel Quest, Backgammon, Sudoku, etc.

via TechCrunch

The video game industry experienced an exceptional growth rate in 2007, increasing revenues by over 28% and outpacing both music and movies. Console games reigned over their PC counterparts, pulling in nearly 70% of total sales with the the Nintendo Wii console the clear frontrunner.

“The video game industry set the pace over all others in 2007, with record-breaking sales, off-the-charts consumer demand, and innovation reaching from galactic exploration to guitar simulation,” said ESA CEO and president Michael D. Gallagher. “On average, an astonishing 9 games were sold every second of every day of the year.”

via Webb Alert

Matt Bolin alerted me to the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries’ Library Arcade. Graduate students from their Entertainment Technology Center have teamed up with the University Libraries to create educational games to help students develop library research skills. They have two games so far - “I’ll Get It” in which players must help fellow students find library resources, and “Within Range”, a library re-shelving game using the LC classification system. They are still in the testing phase, but have made the games available to the public.

I’m all for empowering women to learn about technology, so when Women’s Voices for Change asked me to contribute a piece about educational opportunities in Second Life, I was more than happy to write this article about Learning in a Virtual World. If you’re interested in Second Life learning, you may want to check it out.

Ohio University Campus

Second Life is a massive virtual world with many opportunities for learning and entertainment. Over 60 colleges and universities have a virtual presence there, and are joined by more than 500 librarians. If you are just starting out in this MMOG (massively multiplayer online game), this guide should get you up and running. Follow the SLURLs (Second Life URLs) by clicking or pasting them into your browser’s address bar and then clicking the “teleport now” button on the page to go to that location, (note: you will need to have established a SL account first & have the program installed).

Library Sites in Second Life

These sites are the 12 islands of the Alliance Library System which make up the Info Archipelago:

• Info Island: SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Info%20Island/91/130/34
• Info Island International: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Info%20Island%20International/128/128/0
• Cybrary City I: SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cybrary%20City/128/128/0
• Cybrary City II: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cybrary%20City%20II/128/128/0
• Health InfoIsland: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/130/138/23
• ALA Arts InfoIsland: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/ALA%20Arts%20InfoIsland/128/107/27
• EduIsland: SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland/122/127/23
• EduIsland II: SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland%20II/34/126/22
• EduIsland III: SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland%203/129/123/23
• EduIsland IV: SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland%204/128/128/25
• Imagination Island: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Imagination%20Island/112/186/25
• Renaissance Island: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Renaissance%20Island/39/72/27

Places to Learn about Second Life
(building, working with prims, etc.)

Here are some sites to visit when you’re ready to learn how to build the world around you.

• Rockcliffe University: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20I/97/10/27
• There are always lots of great classes going on here on how to build with Prims, textures, etc.
• NCI (New Citizens Incorporated): SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Fishermans%20Cove/64/186/25
  • Plenty of classes are available here on how to create clothes, hair, and other objects using prims.
• Ivory Tower of Primitives: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Natoma/208/165/27
  • If you want to learn how to build and create things in Second Life, this is the place to go for tutorials for building with Prims.
• Machinima Institute: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland%203/62/37/23
  • Learn how to make short films from within Second Life here.
• Orientation Island: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Orientation%20Island%20Public/100/171/33
  • Go here to repeat the basic tutorials for Second Life.

Sights to See

• Battlestar Pacifica: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/BSG47/128/128/0
  • A Battlestar Galactica simulation.
• Svarga: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Svarga/7/124/22
  • An island paradise built on a dormant volcano with ancient roads, waterfalls, lush foliage and beautiful views. Take a guided tour.
• Lost Gardens of Apollo: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Apollo/76/212/24
  • This land of perpetual sunset offers a waterfall in Hyacinth Valley, beautiful gardens, and secluded hidaways which make it a favorite destination for wedding receptions.
• Suffugium: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Suffugium/102/116/34
  • Futuristic cyberpunk dystopia complete with conformist propaganda and police drones.
• Anime Island of Nakama: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nakama/46/212/30
  • This island inspired by anime is divided into four districts which may be toured via train. Each district has been based on a different type of anime.
• The Blarney Stone Irish Pub: SLURL:
  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dublin/81/81/25
  • Visit an authentic Irish pub in Dublin.

SL Blogs

• New World Notes
• Second Life Herald
• InfoIsland: The Second Life Library 2.0
• The Best of Second Life

SL Educational Resources

• SIMTeach Wiki
• Listing of All Universities in Second Life
• SLED (Second Life Educators) Mailing List
• SL Discussion Forums
• SLTutorials

Videos of Second Life

• SJSU Video
• Ohio University Second Life Campus
• Science Learning Opportunities in Second Life
• Second Life Library 2.0 Tour Video

Key Terminology

• Resident
• Snow Crash
• Machinima
• SLURLs
• Griefers

The latest niche to expand in the social networking arena is online communities for gamers, and most prominently for players of MMOG’s or massively multiplayer online games, and MMORPGs or massively multiplayer online role-playing games. This is hardly surprising considering it’s recently been reported that 217 million people worldwide play online games, and that strategists are forecasting the online games market to triple its current $4 billion dollar worth over the next 5 years.

• Second Life Profiles - Social network for Second Lifers.
• GuildCafe - Slick social network for MMORPG players.
• Koinup- Social network for players of SL, WOW, The Sims, IMVU, and others.
• Rupture - Social network for MMORPG gamers, right now aimed at WOW players.
• Warcraft Social - Social network for WOW players.
• WOW on MySpace - Quite an impressive MySpace page for WOW players.
• The Sims Resource - Social network hub for The Sims players.
• GamerVision - Social network for gamers.
• Wii Tube - A YouTube for the Wii community
• MMO Faces - A MySpace-like social network for gamers.
• Sparter - A gamer-to-gamer marketplace.
• Steam - Social network hub for Valve games and more including Call of Duty 2, Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike, etc.
• WOW - Rumored to become a World of Warcraft social network in the near future, owned by AOL, see article for details.