Constance Steinkuehler
Biographic Data
| ID | 660108 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Constance Steinkuehler |
| GIVEN NAMES | Constance |
| FAMILY NAME | Steinkuehler |
| SIGNATURE | STEINKUEHLER C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6895-305X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 97 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 7 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Right-Wing Extremism in Mainstream Games: A Review of the Literature
Hate speech, harassment, and an increasing prevalence of right-wing extremism in online game spaces are of growing concern in the United States. Understanding trends in how and to what extent extremist groups utilize online gaming spaces is vital in taking action to protect players. To synthesize the current state of extant research and suggest future directions, we conduct a systematic review of the literature on right-wing extremism in videogam…
Esports Research: A Literature Review
Accompanying esports’ explosion in popularity, the amount of academic research focused on organized, competitive gaming has grown rapidly. From 2002 through March 2018, esports research has developed from nonexistent into a field of study spread across seven academic disciplines. We review work in business, sports science, cognitive science, informatics, law, media studies, and sociology to understand the current state of academic research of esp…
Esports Research: Critical, Empirical, and Historical Studies of Competitive Videogame Play
Despite the rise of esports over the last decade, to date there is little effort to coordinate research related to the subject. This special issue attempts to address this gap by presenting a diversity of research exemplars from scholars both within and outside the United States The articles included herein were culled from the top peer-reviewed papers presented at the first annual Esports Research Conference ( https://uciesc.org ) held October 2…
Parenting and Video Games
There is a terrific disconnect between parenting advice related to media and the realities of contemporary parenting. We condone enrichment parenting and condemn the use of “digital babysitters,” admonishing parents who exceed the two‐hour screen time limitation even when, all the while, no one is listening. Parents are not merely blasé about their children's development and well‐being. Rather, for many parents, games and other media are a best‐f…
Videogames as a serious medium
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to inform designers and researchers about the current state of play in videogames in education and its broader context. Design/methodology/approach This synthetic piece reflects the author’s past decade of work and observation in the domain. It is not a research piece but a reflective essay. Findings Structural issues inflect the development of games for learning. Here, the author argues for the incubation of …
Video Games and Digital Literacies
Today's youth are situated in a complex information ecology that includes video games and print texts. At the basic level, video game play itself is a form of digital literacy practice. If we widen our focus from the “individual player + technology” to the online communities that play them, we find that video games also lie at the nexus of a complex constellation of literacy practice. Because video games are an area of passionate interest for man…
Digital literacies for the disengaged: Creating after school contexts to support boys' game‐based literacy skills
Purpose This paper aims to reviews the structure and format of an after school incubator program that leverages online games for literacy learning, particularly for adolescent males. It also aims to describe its dual function as both quasi‐natural context and design experiment laboratory and to discuss some early findings that illustrate the kinds of literacy practices the authors are beginning to see within their homegrown community to date. Des…
Virtual worlds and learning
Purpose – This brief introductory paper aims to outline seven key principles for educators thinking about life in a continuously partial virtual world
Not just a dollhouse: What The Sims2 can teach us about women's IT learning
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe how a popular computer game, The Sims2, engages players in computing practices that are foundational to information technology (IT) fluency, and to draw implications for engaging young people, particularly girls and women, in computer‐related learning. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is framed within a conceptual perspective on learning as a process of acquiring situated understandings thr…
Mobile media learning: Multiplicities of place
Purpose This paper seeks to build a theory of mobile media learning by studying indigenous use of these media and theorizing what impact they might have on learning and education. Design/methodology/approach Using a critical approach, the paper reviews contemporary developments in mobile media learning particularly those happening outside of schools. It includes reviews of games and/or media, literature (particularly firsthand accounts published …
Scalable learning: From simple to complex in World of Warcraft
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine how a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), World of Warcraft, serves as complex and, most importantly, scalable learning environment
Breaking the virtuous cycle
Purpose This paper aims to outline the challenges that the current forces of technology change pose for the traditional K‐16 education system and to assess whether the rise of the social networking web 2.0 internet provides the opportunity and sufficient power to influence the change. Design/methodology/approach The paper is discusive and explores the key issues. Findings The paper finds that technological change is in motion throughout education…
Virtual worlds, conceptual understanding, and me: Designing for consequential engagement
Purpose This paper aims to advance the idea of consequential engagement, positioning it as a necessary complement to the more common practices of supporting procedural or conceptual engagement. More than a theoretical argument, this notion is grounded in examples from the authors' work in enlisting game‐based methodologies and technologies for supporting such engagement. Design/methodology/approach Through the presentation of two example designs,…
Introduction to the Games Learning & Society (GLS) Conference Special Issue
Critical Ethical Reasoning and Role-Play
Role-playing games provide a particularly fruitful environment for the development of critical, ethical reasoning skills, a core component in developing a citizenry capable of fully participating in a cosmopolitan, democratic society. In this study, ethnographic interview participants recount particularly engaging ethical situations in their own game play. Through their responses, thematic trends develop that help us identify key elements in game…
Massively Multiplayer Online Video Gaming as Participation in a Discourse
This article has two primary goals: (a) to illustrate how a closer analysis of language can lead to fruitful insights into the activities that it helps constitute, and (b) to demonstrate the complexity of the practices that make up Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming (MMOGaming) through just such an analysis. The first goal is in response to the way we sometimes treat language in studies of activity, despite calls for more nuanced analyses (e.g.,…
Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: "Online Games as "Third Places
Go to a section in the article: This article examines the form and function of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) in terms of social engagement. Combining conclusions from media effects research informed by the communication effects literature with those from ethnographic research informed by a sociocultural perspective on cognition and learning, we present a shared theoretical framework for understanding (a) the extent to which such virtu…
The Mangle of Play
In this essay, I discuss the ways in which, in the context of Lineage, the game that's actually played by participants is not the game that designers originally had in mind, but rather one that is the outcome of an interactively stabilized (Pickering, 1995) "mangle of practice" of designers, players, in-game currency farmers, and broader social norms
Why Game (Culture) Studies Now
Games are an extremely valuable context for the study of cognition as inter(action) in the social and material world. They provide a representational trace of both individual and collective activity and how it changes over time, enabling the researcher to unpack the bidirectional influence of self and society. As both designed object and emergent culture, g/Games (a) consist of overlapping well-defined problems enveloped in ill-defined problems t…
Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: "Online Games as "Third Places
Go to a section in the article: This article examines the form and function of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) in terms of social engagement. Combining conclusions from media effects research informed by the communication effects literature with those from ethnographic research informed by a sociocultural perspective on cognition and learning, we present a shared theoretical framework for understanding (a) the extent to which such virtu…
The Mangle of Play
In this essay, I discuss the ways in which, in the context of Lineage, the game that's actually played by participants is not the game that designers originally had in mind, but rather one that is the outcome of an interactively stabilized (Pickering, 1995) "mangle of practice" of designers, players, in-game currency farmers, and broader social norms
Critical Ethical Reasoning and Role-Play
Role-playing games provide a particularly fruitful environment for the development of critical, ethical reasoning skills, a core component in developing a citizenry capable of fully participating in a cosmopolitan, democratic society. In this study, ethnographic interview participants recount particularly engaging ethical situations in their own game play. Through their responses, thematic trends develop that help us identify key elements in game…
Mobile media learning: Multiplicities of place
Purpose This paper seeks to build a theory of mobile media learning by studying indigenous use of these media and theorizing what impact they might have on learning and education. Design/methodology/approach Using a critical approach, the paper reviews contemporary developments in mobile media learning particularly those happening outside of schools. It includes reviews of games and/or media, literature (particularly firsthand accounts published …
Why Game (Culture) Studies Now
Games are an extremely valuable context for the study of cognition as inter(action) in the social and material world. They provide a representational trace of both individual and collective activity and how it changes over time, enabling the researcher to unpack the bidirectional influence of self and society. As both designed object and emergent culture, g/Games (a) consist of overlapping well-defined problems enveloped in ill-defined problems t…
Esports Research: Critical, Empirical, and Historical Studies of Competitive Videogame Play
Despite the rise of esports over the last decade, to date there is little effort to coordinate research related to the subject. This special issue attempts to address this gap by presenting a diversity of research exemplars from scholars both within and outside the United States The articles included herein were culled from the top peer-reviewed papers presented at the first annual Esports Research Conference ( https://uciesc.org ) held October 2…
Digital literacies for the disengaged: Creating after school contexts to support boys' game‐based literacy skills
Purpose This paper aims to reviews the structure and format of an after school incubator program that leverages online games for literacy learning, particularly for adolescent males. It also aims to describe its dual function as both quasi‐natural context and design experiment laboratory and to discuss some early findings that illustrate the kinds of literacy practices the authors are beginning to see within their homegrown community to date. Des…
Not just a dollhouse: What The Sims2 can teach us about women's IT learning
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe how a popular computer game, The Sims2, engages players in computing practices that are foundational to information technology (IT) fluency, and to draw implications for engaging young people, particularly girls and women, in computer‐related learning. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is framed within a conceptual perspective on learning as a process of acquiring situated understandings thr…
Virtual worlds, conceptual understanding, and me: Designing for consequential engagement
Purpose This paper aims to advance the idea of consequential engagement, positioning it as a necessary complement to the more common practices of supporting procedural or conceptual engagement. More than a theoretical argument, this notion is grounded in examples from the authors' work in enlisting game‐based methodologies and technologies for supporting such engagement. Design/methodology/approach Through the presentation of two example designs,…
Massively Multiplayer Online Video Gaming as Participation in a Discourse
This article has two primary goals: (a) to illustrate how a closer analysis of language can lead to fruitful insights into the activities that it helps constitute, and (b) to demonstrate the complexity of the practices that make up Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming (MMOGaming) through just such an analysis. The first goal is in response to the way we sometimes treat language in studies of activity, despite calls for more nuanced analyses (e.g.,…
Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: "Online Games as "Third Places
Go to a section in the article: This article examines the form and function of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) in terms of social engagement. Combining conclusions from media effects research informed by the communication effects literature with those from ethnographic research informed by a sociocultural perspective on cognition and learning, we present a shared theoretical framework for understanding (a) the extent to which such virtu…
The Mangle of Play
In this essay, I discuss the ways in which, in the context of Lineage, the game that's actually played by participants is not the game that designers originally had in mind, but rather one that is the outcome of an interactively stabilized (Pickering, 1995) "mangle of practice" of designers, players, in-game currency farmers, and broader social norms
Why Game (Culture) Studies Now
Games are an extremely valuable context for the study of cognition as inter(action) in the social and material world. They provide a representational trace of both individual and collective activity and how it changes over time, enabling the researcher to unpack the bidirectional influence of self and society. As both designed object and emergent culture, g/Games (a) consist of overlapping well-defined problems enveloped in ill-defined problems t…
Introduction to the Games Learning & Society (GLS) Conference Special Issue
Critical Ethical Reasoning and Role-Play
Role-playing games provide a particularly fruitful environment for the development of critical, ethical reasoning skills, a core component in developing a citizenry capable of fully participating in a cosmopolitan, democratic society. In this study, ethnographic interview participants recount particularly engaging ethical situations in their own game play. Through their responses, thematic trends develop that help us identify key elements in game…
Digital literacies for the disengaged: Creating after school contexts to support boys' game‐based literacy skills
Purpose This paper aims to reviews the structure and format of an after school incubator program that leverages online games for literacy learning, particularly for adolescent males. It also aims to describe its dual function as both quasi‐natural context and design experiment laboratory and to discuss some early findings that illustrate the kinds of literacy practices the authors are beginning to see within their homegrown community to date. Des…
Virtual worlds and learning
Purpose – This brief introductory paper aims to outline seven key principles for educators thinking about life in a continuously partial virtual world
Not just a dollhouse: What The Sims2 can teach us about women's IT learning
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe how a popular computer game, The Sims2, engages players in computing practices that are foundational to information technology (IT) fluency, and to draw implications for engaging young people, particularly girls and women, in computer‐related learning. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is framed within a conceptual perspective on learning as a process of acquiring situated understandings thr…
Mobile media learning: Multiplicities of place
Purpose This paper seeks to build a theory of mobile media learning by studying indigenous use of these media and theorizing what impact they might have on learning and education. Design/methodology/approach Using a critical approach, the paper reviews contemporary developments in mobile media learning particularly those happening outside of schools. It includes reviews of games and/or media, literature (particularly firsthand accounts published …
Scalable learning: From simple to complex in World of Warcraft
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine how a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), World of Warcraft, serves as complex and, most importantly, scalable learning environment
Breaking the virtuous cycle
Purpose This paper aims to outline the challenges that the current forces of technology change pose for the traditional K‐16 education system and to assess whether the rise of the social networking web 2.0 internet provides the opportunity and sufficient power to influence the change. Design/methodology/approach The paper is discusive and explores the key issues. Findings The paper finds that technological change is in motion throughout education…
Virtual worlds, conceptual understanding, and me: Designing for consequential engagement
Purpose This paper aims to advance the idea of consequential engagement, positioning it as a necessary complement to the more common practices of supporting procedural or conceptual engagement. More than a theoretical argument, this notion is grounded in examples from the authors' work in enlisting game‐based methodologies and technologies for supporting such engagement. Design/methodology/approach Through the presentation of two example designs,…
Video Games and Digital Literacies
Today's youth are situated in a complex information ecology that includes video games and print texts. At the basic level, video game play itself is a form of digital literacy practice. If we widen our focus from the “individual player + technology” to the online communities that play them, we find that video games also lie at the nexus of a complex constellation of literacy practice. Because video games are an area of passionate interest for man…
Parenting and Video Games
There is a terrific disconnect between parenting advice related to media and the realities of contemporary parenting. We condone enrichment parenting and condemn the use of “digital babysitters,” admonishing parents who exceed the two‐hour screen time limitation even when, all the while, no one is listening. Parents are not merely blasé about their children's development and well‐being. Rather, for many parents, games and other media are a best‐f…
Videogames as a serious medium
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to inform designers and researchers about the current state of play in videogames in education and its broader context. Design/methodology/approach This synthetic piece reflects the author’s past decade of work and observation in the domain. It is not a research piece but a reflective essay. Findings Structural issues inflect the development of games for learning. Here, the author argues for the incubation of …
Esports Research: A Literature Review
Accompanying esports’ explosion in popularity, the amount of academic research focused on organized, competitive gaming has grown rapidly. From 2002 through March 2018, esports research has developed from nonexistent into a field of study spread across seven academic disciplines. We review work in business, sports science, cognitive science, informatics, law, media studies, and sociology to understand the current state of academic research of esp…
Esports Research: Critical, Empirical, and Historical Studies of Competitive Videogame Play
Despite the rise of esports over the last decade, to date there is little effort to coordinate research related to the subject. This special issue attempts to address this gap by presenting a diversity of research exemplars from scholars both within and outside the United States The articles included herein were culled from the top peer-reviewed papers presented at the first annual Esports Research Conference ( https://uciesc.org ) held October 2…
Right-Wing Extremism in Mainstream Games: A Review of the Literature
Hate speech, harassment, and an increasing prevalence of right-wing extremism in online game spaces are of growing concern in the United States. Understanding trends in how and to what extent extremist groups utilize online gaming spaces is vital in taking action to protect players. To synthesize the current state of extant research and suggest future directions, we conduct a systematic review of the literature on right-wing extremism in videogam…
Computer Science (17 works) · Sociology (16 works) · Digital Games and Media (14 works) · Psychology (13 works) · Educational Games and Gamification (9 works) · Impact of Technology on Adolescents (8 works) · Pedagogy (7 works) · Political science (7 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Context (archaeology (5 works)