ERIC Number: EJ1119847
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2155-6849
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Available Date: N/A
Virtual Games and Real-World Communities: Environments That Constrain and Enable Physical Activity in Games for Health
Stewart, Mary K.; Hagood, Danielle; Ching, Cynthia Carter
International Journal of Game-Based Learning, v7 n1 p1-19 2017
This article examines two communities of youth who play an online game that integrates physical activity into virtual game play. Participating youth from two research sites--an urban middle school and a suburban junior high school--wore FitBits that tracked their physical activity and then integrated their real-world energy into game-world resource boosts. This incorporation of daily life as a mechanic of the video game creates a tangible connection between players' physical and virtual experiences. To better understand that connection, this article presents survey, GIS, and mapping data to detail the two communities as multi-domain ecologies, and then presents interview and focus group data to illustrate the players' perceptions of the affordances and limitations of their physical environments. Ultimately, the authors argue that a multi-layered analysis of real world communities is essential for designing games for health and for effectively facilitating game-based learning within players' complex ecologies.
Descriptors: Educational Games, Simulated Environment, Video Games, Urban Schools, Middle Schools, Junior High Schools, Interviews, Surveys, Focus Groups, Geographic Information Systems, Student Attitudes, Health Promotion, Teaching Methods, Physical Activities
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
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