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Full-Text Articles in Education
Navigating Life As An Avatar: The Shifting Identities-In-Practice Of A Girl Player In A Tween Virtual World, Deborah A. Fields, Yasmin B. Kafai
Navigating Life As An Avatar: The Shifting Identities-In-Practice Of A Girl Player In A Tween Virtual World, Deborah A. Fields, Yasmin B. Kafai
Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications
In this chapter we study how one girl learned to participate in what was for her a new setting of play – a virtual world called Whyville.net with an emphasis on science education, populated by over a million young people ages eight to sixteen. Girls in particular have become prominent players in virtual worlds, a trend counter to many early observations that documented the absence of girls and women in gaming and technology at large (e.g., Cassell & Jenkins, 1998). The study of virtual worlds as play spaces then allows us to continue a conversation about gender and gaming to …
Your Second Selves: Avatar Designs And Identity Play, Y. B. Kafai, Deborah A. Fields, M. S. Cook
Your Second Selves: Avatar Designs And Identity Play, Y. B. Kafai, Deborah A. Fields, M. S. Cook
Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications
Avatars in online games and worlds are seen as players’ key representations in interactions with each other. In this article, we investigate the avatar design and identity play within a large-scale tween virtual world called Whyville.net, with more than 1.5 million registered players of ages 816. One unique feature of Whyville is the players’ ability to customize their avatars with various face parts and accessories, all designed and sold by other players in Whyville. Our findings report on the expressive resources available for avatar construction, individual tween players’ choices and rationales in creating their avatars, and online postings about avatar …