!Holiday post! (via), Constance Steinkuehler has published her phd dissertation entitled Cognition & Learning in Massively Multiplayer Online Games: A Critical Approach. I just skimmed through the document bu I am looking forward to read it more carefully. Here is how she describes her research:
My research investigates the forms of learning, thinking, and socially interacting that MMOGs recruit from those who play. My dissertation (currently in progress) is an online cognitive ethnography of MMOGs that characterizes the emergent culture of MMOGaming and how participation is constituted through language and practice both within the game (e.g., virtual social interaction & joint activity) and beyond (e.g., the creation of fan fiction & websites). What does it mean to be literate in this social space? How does one become a member of this community? And what import does participation have for the (on- and off-screen) identities of its members?
Why do I blog this? I an really interested in hearing more about research in MMORPG and how it relates to socio-cognitive issues.