Category: Press Start Series

A series of posts aimed at helping educators (and all others interested) with using video games for educational means.

Education and Video Games, Press Start Series

Press Start: Reflecting on My Teaching and Looking Ahead

In 2017, I wrote my first post in the “Press Start” series. The series highlights ways gaming can be incorporated into college-level writing classes. Since that first post, I’ve grown a lot in general and as an educator. I’ve been teaching rhetoric/composition courses for nine years and much has changed, including how I use video games and other media in the classroom. When I started … Continue reading Press Start: Reflecting on My Teaching and Looking Ahead

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Education and Video Games, Press Start Series

Press Start: Bringing AAA Games into the Classroom

One of the greatest challenges of using video games in the college classroom is one of access. Games and the technology required to play them can be expensive, but issues of access go beyond the financial. What if some of my students don’t play games? What if Student A is only familiar with PC gaming but Student B only ever touches a keyboard with reluctance? … Continue reading Press Start: Bringing AAA Games into the Classroom

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Education and Video Games, Press Start Series

Press Start: Twitch as a Discourse Community

During the fall 2015 semester, I taught four composition courses at a local university. I decided to focus on discourse communities for one major writing assignment in my two sophomore-level courses. In particular, I discussed a popular livestreaming website, Twitch (www.twitch.tv), as my primary example for this assignment.Before diving too deeply into my example and its application in class, I would like to define/describe two … Continue reading Press Start: Twitch as a Discourse Community

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Education and Video Games, Press Start Series

Press Start: Video Games and “Literary” Value

For this post I have decided to try my hand at tackling an issue that has no clear answer and that is often hotly contested. I am going to be discussing whether or not video games have “literary” value in a traditional sense. Now I have a BA in English (aka literature) and an MA in Literature and Rhetoric/Composition. So I will approach this with … Continue reading Press Start: Video Games and “Literary” Value

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Education and Video Games, Press Start Series

Press Start: Video Games in the Composition Classroom

write-593333_1920What do video games have to offer writers? This is an important question that educators should ask when considering the implementation of video games as texts in the composition classroom. While the study of classic literature is a bit passe in writing classes, a wide variety of texts are regularly studied to instruct students regarding sound composing practices. Many composition approaches and pedagogies place an emphasis on voice, self expression, process, audience, purpose, genre, and collaboration (conferencing, peer review, workshopping, etc.). Continue reading “Press Start: Video Games in the Composition Classroom”
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