1. Digital literacies and 21st century
skills: the students’ game design
and development experience
Cesar C. Navarrete
Learning Technologies
Curriculum & Instruction
University of Texas at Austin
EdMedia 2014, Tampere, Finland
3. Digital Literacies
• Design literacy
• Visual & Media literacy
• Text(&ing) literacy
• Gaming literacy
• Technology literacy
• Code literacy, etc.
Hockly, (2012)
4. 21st Century skills
• Creative Thinking
• Collaboration
• Problem solving
Problem
Solving
Collaboration
Creative
Thinking
5. Research Questions
• What are students’ perceptions of game
design and programming in terms of digital
literacy skills?
• How does game design support student the
foundational 21st century skill?
6. Method
• Mixed-methods
• Data sources
Survey questionnaire--CTPSCI
Selected individual student interviews
Student produced game artifacts
Classroom observations
7. Setting
• Public Charter school in a southwestern US state
• Student population included students 6-9th grade
Hispanic
85%
African
American
12%
White, Not
Hispanic
3%
Students not in
special
populations 46%
Exited ELL
Students, 16%
ELL Students,
24%
ELL/SPED
Students, 5% SPED Students,
9%
8. Game construction
• Daily technology class for all students
• Flash based games with Action Script 2.0
• Project-based
• Online wiki design and development support
9. Creative Thinking Survey Items
Item Mean
Standard
Deviation
CT1 I am able to create new, original
games in design class 5.62 1.24
CT2 I am NEVER able to create original
games in design class 5.34 1.71
CT3 I am able to try new, original ideas
when I design games. 5.65 1.25
CT4 I am able to be MORE creative in
game design class than in my other
classes.
5.15 1.59
CT5 I can use my imagination in game
design class.
5.70 1.44
13. Survey Open Responses
• “I love my game design class because I can be creative I
can learn some stuff that I never new what to do and
I'm verry happy that I'm taking this class”
• “I really like the game design class because it is really
fun creating games. I also like to learn new things, and
here I am learning how to create my own game.
Whenever I fix a problem with the codes to make my
game work, I feel like I am able to do a lot. Game
design class is really cool and I like helping people so
they can learn how to do the things on their own.”
14. Code Talk: “Hard fun”
• I like Game Designing games and I like to draw
the pictures. But the most thing I don't like
about it is the coding.
• I don't Like this class that much because is
hard working with codes.
15. Student Interviews
• Antonio in grade 7:
“It’s pretty fun but it’s kind of complicated with all the
codes you have to put in to make a game. You have to
design it first, make a game prototype and plan it out and
add or take away from your game, the game prototype
design. And, it’s pretty fun though. You learn from your
mistakes.”
• Terri in grade 9:
“I think it helps because, just to see other people’s point of
view, about how their imagination is, what they would do
and you can get an idea of how, if you make it like theirs or
make it your own way, in a better way of being more
original.”
17. Implications
• Survey: CTPSCI (creative thinking, problem
solving, & collaboration inventory)—potential
instrument for 21st century skill
Problem Solving
Collaboration
Creative
Thinking
18. Digital literacies in Game construction
1 Language-based literacies:
linguistic codes
2 Information-based literacies:
filtering the wealth of information
3 Connection-based literacies:
networks and participatory
4 Re-design-based literacies:
design and re-purpose media
Pegrum(2011;Dudeney,Hockly,&
Pegrum2012)
20. Further research
• CTPSCI (creative thinking, problem solving, &
collaboration inventory)—use in other settings
or population
• Digital literacies—framing with empirical
study—code literacy
21. Thank you!
• Questions?
Contact information:
Cesar C. Navarrete
Learning Technologies
Curriculum & Instruction
ccnavarrete@utexas.edu
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
Editor's Notes
I am somewhat reluctant in continuing to use the term 21st century skills, but this is the consensus
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Eigenvalues = 1.48
Eigenvalues = 1.35
% of Variance = 44.40
% of Variance = 7.39
% of Variance = 6.73