steve jones

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• steve jones

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• Generation Communication
• College Students, the Internet, Gaming Learning
• Steve Jones, Ph.D.
• Senior Research Fellow, Pew Internet
  American Life Project
• Professor of Communication, University of
  Illinois at Chicago
• Research Associate, Electronic Visualization
  Laboratory
• Adjunct Research Professor of Communication,
  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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GenComm

• Overview
• Background
• What we know about todays students, their
  internet use, and gaming
• What it means - implications
• Q A

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Background - Computing

• First computing experience mid-1970s Digital PDP
  8/e

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Background - Computing

• UIUC late-1970s mainframes, punch cards paper
  tape

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I was using Plato
But not this Plato...
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PLATO IV at UIUC

• And, games were a big part of my student life

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PLATO

• PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching
  Operations) invented by Prof. Don Bitzer,
  University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign,
  early 1960s
• What were some other features?
• Talkomatic Term-Talk one-to-one chat
• Notes evolved into Personal Notes (think Usenet)
  and Group Notes (think Lotus Notes)
• Multiplayer games
• A lot of talking about music
• Plus ça change, plus cest la net?

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Space War on PLATO

• Space War, Empire, Airfight, Freecell

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Background - Pew Internet American Life Project

• Dedicated to examining the Internet's role in
  everyday life in the U.S.
• Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts
• January 2000 - December 2005and beyond?
• Core research is a daily tracking survey, RDD,
  nationwide sample, asking about Internet use

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Background - GenComm

• Paper survey distributed in 2002 to students at
  27 higher ed. institutions in U.S. - 1,162
  surveys returned.
• Online survey randomly distributed in May 2004 to
  college instructors at institutions of higher
  education across the United States - 2,316
  respondents.
• Online survey randomly distributed among college
  students at 25 U.S higher ed. institutions in
  Spring 2005.
• Observations and interviews conducted at 10
  universities.

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Background - GenComm

• Our goals were largely descriptive
• Market research tends to focus on adoption and
  revenue and is largely predictive.
• Social science research tends to focus on
  potential social problem areas, such as
  addiction, social isolation, emerging violence
  and aggression primarily in children 18 years and
  younger, outcomes.
• Studies dealing with everyday use and the
  integration of internet and gaming in young
  peoples social lives are still neglected.

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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College
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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College
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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College
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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College
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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College
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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College
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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College

• The Internet is a social technology for college
  students, but it is not the only one
• Two-thirds (69) of college students said they
  are more likely to use the phone than the
  Internet to communicate socially, even though 85
  of college students consider the Internet to be
  an easy and convenient choice for communicating
  with friends
• Cell phone use while being online is prevalent
• 61 of 18 - 24 year olds own a cell phone (and
  the number is rising)

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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College

• Top Three Internet Tools

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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College
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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College

• Has plagiarism increased in your students work
  since the internets spread?
• Yes - 44
• No - 23
• Undecided - 33

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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College

• Do you use the Internet to check for plagiarism?
• Yes - 74
• No - 26

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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College

• Faculty comments
• Confusion reigns about the difference between
  academic sources and internet blog or junk
  sources. Im amazed at how little students seem
  to know about how best to research via the
  internet.
• It is a mixed blessing for student research that
  the internet provides, as both a great resource
  and an unfortunate substitute for sustained
  research and inquiry.

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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College

• Most faculty computer use is split between home
  (51) and work (49).
• Slightly more student computer use (59) takes
  place at home.
• For checking email 93 of college students,and
  92 of college faculty, reported using their home
  computers the most.
• Observations in campus computer labs showed that,
  while often crowded, students do not spend a
  great deal of time in them.

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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College

• Mobility (wi-fi, laptops) becoming more common.
• 17 of faculty reported using wi-fi, laptops
• Public spaces can quickly become public computer
  labs, for long periods of time.
• Students often sit and work together in such
  spaces.
• But as in other public areas generally segregate
  by race, ethnicity and/or gender.

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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College

• Weblogs, or blogs, increasingly common among
  faculty and students.
• Multi-tasking very common.
• Downloading and file sharing continue.
• 60 of college students said they had done it,
  compared with 28 of all Internet users in the
  U.S.

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What We Know - The Internet Goes to College

• Student and faculty library use has decreased as
  time spent in the library ...but
• Library use has increased as access to materials.

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Background - The Gaming Landscape

• Three categories of games (not mutually
  exclusive)
• Video games (e.g., those requiring consoles and
  television sets, like Nintendo, Sega, Xbox, etc.)
• Computer games (e.g., those that require a PC
  only)
• Online games (those that require an Internet
  connection, typically for multiplayer
  interaction).

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What We Know - The Gaming Landscape

• 70 of students surveyed reported playing video,
  computer or online games at least once in a
  while.
• 65 of students reported being regular or
  occasional game players.
• All of those surveyed reported to have played a
  video, computer or online game at one time or
  another.

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What We Know - The Gaming Landscape

• Of the 27 of college students who said they do
  not occasionally or regularly play video,
  computer, or Internet games at all the primary
  reasons for not playing
• 20 cited lack of interest
• 13 cited waste of time
• Only 2 cited a lack of electronic gaming
  resources
• Only .5 cited unfamiliarity with games

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What We Know - The Gaming Landscape

• More women than men reported playing computer and
  online games
• Approximately 60 women compared to 40 men
• About the same number of men and women reported
  playing video games

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What We Know - The Gaming Landscape

• Computer games hold a slight edge in popularity

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What We Know - The Gaming Landscape

• Computer games also have an edge over video games
  and online games in time used
• 27 reported playing video games at least once a
  week.
• 31 reported playing online games at least once a
  week.
• 37 reported playing computer games at least once
  a week.
• Daily, twice as many college students play an
  online (14) or a computer (13) game as play a
  video game (6).
• Nearly half (45) of college students reported
  going online just to play or download games.

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What We Know - The Gaming Landscape
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What We Know - The Gaming Landscape

• Began playing at an early age

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What We Know - The Gaming Landscape

• Where do they play?

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What We Know - The Gaming Landscape

• Does it impact their academic lives?
• 66 said gaming had no influence on their
  academic performance.
• However, on another question 48 agreed that
  gaming keeps them from studying some or a
  lot.
• 9 said their main motivation for playing games
  was to avoid studying.
• College student gamers reported hours studying
  per week match those reported by college students
  in general
• 62 study for classes no more than 7 hours per
  week, and 15 study 12 or more hours per week.

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What We Know - The Gaming Landscape

• What about their experiences using games for
  learning?
• 69 reported having no exposure to video,
  computer, or Internet gaming in the classroom for
  educational purposes.
• 32 of students surveyed admitted playing games
  that were not part of the instructional
  activities during classes.

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What We Know - The Gaming Landscape

• What do video gamers want in a game?
• 23 - realistic graphics
• 22 - excitement
• 15 - interactivity (15) third in importance
• What types of games do video gamers favor?
• 26 - racing
• 17 - role-playing/adventure
• 16 - arcade games
• Card games were the predominant interest of both
  computer and online gamers.

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Implications
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What It Means - Implications

• Students and faculty expect near-ubiquitous
  Internet access.
• Even in class, at events, concerts, dining,
  recreation and leisure areas.
• Faculty are coming to expect this as well.
• They also expect high speed access.

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What It Means - Implications

• Increasing habit of using the most convenient
  computer, the one at hand.
• Mixing of work and social activity online.
• Mirrored by blurring of boundaries between work
  and home, work and leisure.
• A pre-internet problem for academics?

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What It Means - Implications

• Issues apparent with the spread of cell phones,
  such as etiquette and distraction, are likely to
  emerge as students are able to access the
  Internet anywhere, including in classrooms.
• Students and teachers would benefit from tools
  for presence and awareness.

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What It Means - Implications

• Non-tech infrastructure needs better integration
  with faculty, student work. Professional
  development
• Increasing expectations of technology use.
• Students critical of profs who dont use tech,
  but more critical of those who use it badly.
• Collaboration and interdisciplinarity will
  continue to increase in part due to Internet use.

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What It Means - Implications

• The Web in particular has become an information
  cornerstone for students and faculty.
• Might there be consequences?

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What It Means - Implications
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Implications - The Gaming Landscape

• Perhaps the most important trend spotted is the
  integration of gaming into other activities.
• Take time between classes to play a game.
• Play a game while visiting with friends or
  instant messaging.
• Play games as a brief distraction from writing
  papers or doing other work.
• Play games when bored (regardless of setting).

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Implications for Learning - The Gaming Landscape

• Age
• of students.
• of teachers/faculty.
• Are we at a verge?
• Is there a gaming divide?
• Higher family incomes correlate to higher
  likelihood of gaming.
• But, race does not seem to be a factor in gaming.

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The Future Gaming/Learning Landscape

• VICI
• Visualization
• Interaction
• Collaboration
• Immersion
• What might it look like?

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The CAVE
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The CAVE
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Immersadesk
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GeoWall, Autostereo Beyond
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An Example of an IVE- Virtual Harlem
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Implications - The Gaming Landscape

• Global high-speed networks
• Culture and language
• Public support

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Questions?
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For More Information

• Websites
• http//info.comm.uic.edu/jones/
• http//www.evl.uic.edu
• http//www.pewinternet.org
• http//aoir.org
• E-mail
• sjones_at_uic.edu

Thank you!