Recognizing New Literacies: Teachers and Students Negotiating the Creation of Video Games in School

Designing and creating video games in a high school classroom is fantasy for some students, but a reality in computer classes at a large sized Western Canadian high school. Classes of Information Technology and Programming have been engaging in video games as the entry point into learning programming skills. Powerful learning and teaching practises are apparent and through observations, interviews, and video recordings coupled with students’ articulation of their process we have been carrying out the first year of a three year ethnographic research study of the educative value and potential of video games within a school setting.