In classroom with videogame playing students, discussing the proper usage of “pwnd” (there are several other spellings) in a videogame is a good way to discuss insider and outsider status based on language usage. In a videogame, when a player obliterates or decimates their opponent, quickly defeats, or in many various ways beats their opponents (the actual activity really depends on the game) the winner will taunt the loser by saying “you got pwnd,” or simply “pwnage.” In some videogames, “pwnd” is simply “owned” misspelled and popularized amongst videogame players. Misusing the term signals your status as a new player to that game. Correctly using and defeating an opponent show your advanced status. Correctly using terms in academia signal membership in similar ways. As instructors, we’ve all read the paper where a student used a thesaurus to increase the syllables of every other word in their paper. Having a thesaurus tool available through word processing programs is detrimental to the writing of some students, especially when they believe increasing the syllables is all that is necessary to increase the level of argument in their paper. Instead, as instructors, we see their usage of terms as demonstrating their novice status within the community, just like misusing “pwnd.” Discussing the proper usage of terminology, the proper use of applications within word processing programs, and the proper layout for papers and how these skills make up practices within academic digital literacy can all be bridged from discussions about “pwnage.”
No comments:
Post a Comment