Playing with design flaws
Youth transgressive play and multimodal learning in VR ecologies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22223115 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sandra Jacobo (0009-0002-8469-3272, University of California System, corresponding author), Edward Rivero (0000-0001-9827-3338, Columbia University), Kris D Gutiérrez (0000-0002-7087-434X, University of California System), Kris Gutierrez (University of California System), Kimiko Ryokai (0000-0001-7250-1953, University of California System) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 245-267 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Multimodality & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2634-9795 • E-ISSN: 2634-9809 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/26349795251331037 |
| OpenAlex | W4411250915 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 40 |
This paper builds on prior work Ryokai and colleagues from 2022, examining youths’ design processes, perspective-taking, and collaboration with VR SandScape—a mixed-reality system combining a spatial augmented reality (SAR) sandbox with a virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD). The current case study examines how youths’ transgressive play—a form of play challenging established rules, norms, and expectations through creative manipulation of multiple meaning-making modes—expands the boundaries of possibility for multimodal learning within VR. By attuning to youths’ ingenuity and agency, we present three examples of youth co-designing new VR experiences through their play activity. Researchers presented youth with design challenges using VR SandScape. Analysis of video recordings, semi-structured interviews, and youth-created design artifacts revealed that transgressive play supported the development of multimodal interactions enabling youth to (1) learn by glitching sociotechnical systems; (2) leverage their bodies as semiotic resources to create VR user experiences; and (3) coordinate their embodied actions in which new narratives and roles were imagined and enacted. The findings highlight the potential of how transgressive play can transform top-down VR designs and learning objectives by centering youths’ ingenuity, agency, and co-design processes
Cognitive science · Transgressive · Digital Storytelling and Education · Educational Games and Gamification · Psychology · Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts · Geology
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| Highly cited | No |
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