LS8 Digital games today – what do they deliver?

April 2015Digital Media Program, University of Lower Silesia

Dr. Krystina MadejSchool of Literature, Media, and CommunicationGeorgia Institute of Technology

Games and Play

• Interactivity

• Child Development

• Mirror Neurons and Embodied Simulation

Neural basis of social cognition

We make sense of actions, emotions, and sensations of others because of

•Mirror Neurons The same neurons discharge when an

action is observed as when it is executed

• Mirror Neurons Provide for feelings of empathetic

involvement with movements in images or

• Embodied Simulation The implicit model of other’s behaviors

and experiences

• Embodied Simulation The implicit model of other’s behaviors

and experiences What human’s see activates their own

internal representation of the body state seen

Humans’ recognize emotions displayed by others, their facial muscles respond in kind.

A wonderful thing is a Tigger;A Tigger's a wonderful thing.

Their tops are made out of rubber,their bottoms are made out of spring

They're bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy,fun, fun, fun, fun, fun,

The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is:I'm the only one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCIwSk-1r3s (16 sec)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt0q6G415TY

Tigger is a copyright figure of Disney and used here for educational purposes only

• Embodied simulation: our response to engaging rhythm and rhyme

Overstimulation and stress•Types and intensity of visual and auditory stimuli can greatly affect very young children’s neural connections and have lasting impacts on brain development (some connection to ADHD, a hyperactivity disorder)•Compared to real life, many television programs aimed at young children have rapid image and sound changes that, although they are extremely interesting for children, can over-stimulate their senses and brain •Educational programs tend to be slower paced (and don’t seem to be connected to later attention problems)

• Our Morning Circle• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsgoz9_c21w

• Mr. Rogers vs To the Music• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5Mz0p0kgc4• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A46WzdJA-sk

Minnesota Reading Corps Early Literacy Program•Learning is imbedded in games, songs and rhyming. •Uses “calming lotion”

• “Lotion is provided to children during transition periods where they are shown how to massage their little hands and fingers allowing them to self-relax and to focus on the task at hand. That would be learning.”

Creating an engaging environment is not merely a matter of decorative aesthetics•Materials should invite engagement by making-meaning•Meaning is encouraged by context

•To the Music - Old MacDonald Had a Farm vs Nursery Rhyme Singing Time - Children's Songs with Mother Goose Club

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGymN-Lc87M&index=3&list=RDD_m9C6akSdg

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_OO11QYrPg&index=11&list=RDD_m9C6akSdg

•Jumpido• http://www.jumpido.com/en

• Jumpido• http://www.jumpido.com/en