Women and Gaming: The Sims and 21st Century Learning

Today, virtual worlds abound, avatars are every day occurrences, and video games are yesterday’s news. But today’s games are not just a pastime for millions – they are also a technological focal point for new forms of learning.

James Paul Gee and Elisabeth Hayes are leading researchers in the field of gaming, and here they argue that women gamers—a group too often marginalized—are at the forefront of today’s online learning world. By utilizing the tools of gaming in ways never before imagined - actively engaging in game design, writing fan fiction, and organizing themselves into collaborative learning communities - women of all ages acquire the tools to successfully navigate the complex social, cultural , and economic problems of the 21st century.

Women are leading the way to a new understanding of online learning techniques, from cultural production to learning communities to technical proficiency in the latest software. This book draws on case studies about women who “play” the Sims, the best selling game in history, to argue for a new general theory of learning for the 21st Century.

James Paul Gee is the Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University and a member of the National Academy of Education. He is the author Sociolinguistics and Literacies, one of the founding works of the “New Literacies Studies”, as well as the author of What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, Situated Language and Learning, and Good Games and Good Learning: Collected Essays.

Elisabeth R. Hayes is a professor in the Division of Learning, Technology and Psychology in Education at Arizona State University’s Graduate School of Education. She is the author and editor of numerous articles, chapters, and books, including Women as Learners and The Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education. Hayes was a lead investigator on two MacArthur-funded projects: GameDesigner and the TechSavvy Girls project.