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Mastering Literacies
Literacy Development
The act of gaming provides practice for the mastering of in some very positive ways.
New forms of literacies are being revealed and are continuing to be developed. One example of
these is hypertext. Hypertext disputes literacy must be based on a linear system (Landow,
).
The emergence of linked text and other media are the result of changing views about literacy.
In order to understand these linked connections and master cross-literacies, critical evaluation
of multiple signs and their relationships need to take place. Gaming can do just that.
Levine () used the example of
as venue for multiliteracy involvement
in video games. The player must weigh the choices they make carefully (both
before and during the game) as each has an affect on their racing success. As they play,
audio and visual information is continuously altering the virtual space. Gamers are forced
to access numbers, text, images, and sounds that they are being bombarded with in rapid succession.
Players set precedence for each bit of information and uses a combination of this data to improve
their probability of winning. The more insight, skill and control the player has over their
circumstances, the more successful the outcome.
The Digital Divide
The term "second-level digital divide" has been used by Hargaittai
() in the context
that digital inequity concerns need to go beyond issues of accessibility. They need to
factor in the skills of an individual. While Hargaittai was originally referring
to internet usage, it certainly encompasses the literacies in gaming. A continuum
exists between those who game and those who do not. Visual, auditory, imagery and text
signals are present throughout playing the game and demand the immediate evaluation of the player.
Those who are not "literate" in these forms through the gaming medium have difficulty processing
and analyzing the information efficiently.
This is not to say individuals who do not game cannot learn to master the different literacies
provided by video game. It does imply, however, that individuals who game get substantial amounts
of practice time decoding and analyzing these types of literacies thereby becoming extremely apt at
these skills. Learning these skills may be possible outside of gaming but individuals have
limited opportunities to do so.
Critical Literacy
Why should we be concerned with mastering the various literacies? Being literate in a variety
of knowledge is more important than some realize. Today's world is bombarded with many types
of information. Without the critical understanding of this information, an individual is unable
to access this knowledge and therefore incapable to make connections to higher order thinking.
offers the learner a key to gain admittance to the messages multi-literacies
are trying to divulge.
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