The Family That Games Together Helps Dad Develop Digital Literacy Skills

Elizabeth King

Thu., June 11, 3:30–4:30, Inn Wisconsin (2nd floor, East/Southeast)

Due to the recent General Motors (GM) plant closing, Rock County, a rural county located on the state line between Wisconsin and Illinois has the highest unemployment rate in Wisconsin, hovering around 11.4% as of December 2008 (Wolf, 2009). Workers who once enjoyed the perception of job security and a comfortable standard of living are changing occupations (often to lower paying jobs), which frequently involves retraining, or at the very minimum, basic skills training in order to reenter the workforce (Streitfeld, 2009). The average GM line worker has spent 24 years on the job (United Auto Workers, 2003) and during that time, thanks to the ubiquity of computers, the skills needed to search for, secure, and function on the job have changed dramatically. Although educators and other stakeholders talk about the need to ensure all children are equipped with digital literacy skills, never before has it been more necessary for adults to have these important skills centered on digital literacy (Hayes, 2007). As unemployed workers flock to community colleges seeking retraining, remedial computer skills training tops the list of necessary courses for the newly (or nearly) unemployed mid–life career changers (Brisbon, 2008).

Stemming from research seeded in the Pop.Cosmo Online Gaming Lab (Steinkuehler & King, 2009), and using case study methodology (Stake, 1995) this study features two 40-something fathers, one unemployed, the other at risk of unemployment but both reported a long career history in auto industry–related professions. Details highlight the types of digital literacy skills each developed while gaming as a part of a father–son duo, one a console gamer, the other focused on computer–based gaming. One father–son pair preferred console gaming and played through several role–playing games during the duration of this study (6 months). The other partnership played World of Warcraft because the son was already heavily engaged in that game space. Upon starting to game, both men had very limited computer exposure and rarely used the computer at work. Neither attempted to use the computer at home instead preferring to either “have the wife do the heavy lifting in that department,” delegating it to the kids, or opting out all together. Prior to gaming, neither had a compelling reason for using the home computer, but that began to slowly change as each father–son duo started playing videogames together.

This presentation will share the reflections of these men as they began developing digital literacy skills, skills they did not recognize as important at the onset of this study. The findings suggest that as the fathers became more engaged in gaming and had access to a physically present mentor, their abilities gradually evolved, and each became interested in learning how to use the computer for their own objectives beyond gaming. A growing body of research suggests ways in which gaming can be productive for kids but the findings of this study suggest that families gaming together can also help parents upgrade (or develop) their digital literacy skills as well.

References

Ansberry, C. (2003, July 21). Laid-off factory workers find jobs are drying up for good: Not just the slowdown, structural changes are stranding many with basic job skills. Wall Street Journal Online. Retrieved January 24, 2009, from http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB105874846888793500,00.html

Brisbon, M. (2008, June 26). With displaced workers, it’s more than just retraining many need computer skills retraining. Community College Times. Retrieved January 24, 2009, from http://www.communitycollegetimes.com/article.cfm?TopicId=5&ArticleId=1053

Hayes, E. (2007). Reconceptualizing adult basic education and the digital divide. In A. Belzer & H. Beder (Eds.), Defining and improving quality in adult basic education: Issues and challenges. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

Steinkuehler, C. & King, E. (2009). Digital literacies for the disengaged: Creating after school contexts to support boys’ game–based literacy skills. On The Horizon, 17(1), 47–59.

Streitfeld, R. (2009, February 14). Unemployed workers heading back to school. CNN Online. Retrieved February 26, 2009, from http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/02/14/unemployment.education/?eref=rss_topstories

United Auto Workers. (2003). Auto industry negotiations 2003: Bargaining. United Auto Workers Association. Retrieved January 24, 2009, from http://www.uaw.org/barg/03/barg05.cfm

Wolf, C. (2009, January 30). Beloit leads Wisconsin in jobless rate. Beloit Daily News. Retrieved February 26, 2009, from http://www.beloitdailynews.com/articles/2009/01/30/news/local_news/news03.txt