News for the Week of September 9, 2007
In kid-tech news this week, a look at the not-so-great divides in online gaming...
Mind the gender gap
People say the Internet is a lot like the Wild West. And in the male-dominated world of online gaming, this is especially true. Female gamers are often the targets of "sexual insults and put-downs," writes the L.A. Times, who profiles a female renegade who's quietly starting a "feminist revolution" in online gaming: Christa Phillips, screenname TriXie, a "goodwill ambassador" for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox Live online game service.
Phillips' online group, GamerchiX, functions as a "virtual Grand Central Terminal for women and girls who tread into the testosterone-steeped world of console gaming." TriXie told the L.A. Times that some women get either trash-talked or hit on ("or both") the minute they join the Xbox Live fray, which can be a bit of a deterrent. Phillips says she wanted "to create a safe place for all women gamers... where you can go to socialize and not have to worry about being harassed."
Strength in numbers
Phillips estimates that of Xbox Live's 7 million members, 10-20% are women, a percentage she hopes to see increase. "As the ratio becomes more even, the tone within online games will become more civilized."
Female gamers have formed several all-women organizations. Those who band together say they "crave the support of a larger entity. When you're a minority, it can be daunting and frustrating," says a female gamer. "Having a unit there you can network with is an empowering experience."
For those unfamiliar with Xbox Live, the service is used to "find opponents and teammates and to chat either via voice (usually using headsets) or instant messaging." This article offers some great context on the female gaming community as a whole too.
The generational divide
There's a thoughtful piece in the Ottawa Citizen by education technology Prof. Constance Steinkuehler at the University of Wisconsin-Madison about the perception gaps between gamers and people over 35 and between gamers and politicians. Professor Steinkuehler cites Pew Internet statistics ("more than eight out of every 10 kids in America have a game console in the home and over half have two or more") indicating that we might want to bridge this divide that she straddles.
"I talk to parents, teachers, librarians and other professors about the social and intellectual value of gameplay. And I talk to game players and designers about why education is important and how research on learning might have something important to say about how games are designed and experienced."
Here are the intellectual practices gaming involves which she studies: "collaborative problem solving, reading and writing practices that use highly specialized language, scientific habits of mind such as hypothesis testing and revision, skills in information and communication technology (IT literacy), and argumentation." Steinkuehler says that "such practices are the mainstay of online gameplay. Together, they form that 21st-century skill set so crucial to democratic success."
In other news...
- Facebook more public. Soon anyone will be able to search for a Facebook user, whether or not he or she is a registered user. The social site will be preparing users for the change for the next 30 days, telling them they can set their privacy settings so their profiles can't be searched for from the public Web, Reuters reports. Then, in a month, Facebook will have a search box on its home page and search engines' Web crawlers will be allowed to crawl Facebook's population of 39 million users (up 62.5% from 24 million in late May, Reuters says). What search engine users will be able to turn up is a Facebook user's basic profile, the BBC reports: "the thumbnail picture of a Facebook member from their profile page as well as links allowing people to interact with them. But, in order to add someone as a friend or send them a message, the person will have to be registered with Facebook."
- 11 states may join ban on teen tech use in cars. California is one of 11 states considering a law banning teens' use of cellphones and other electronic devices while driving. "At least 15 states and the District of Columbia have passed bans," the Associated Press reports. California has already passed a law that will require adults to use hands-free phones and takes effect next July, but this law would apply to kids' use of any non-emergency devices, including hands-free phones, laptops, hand-held media players, etc. "Last month, police in suburban Phoenix blamed a teen's text-messaging habit for a head-on crash that killed two people," according to the AP.
- Increasingly connected online kids. The number of devices on which and access points (friends' houses, wi-fi hot spots, etc.) at which youth can social network and otherwise use the Net is growing fast. The newest iPod is yet another example of the latter. It joins Microsoft's Zune as something that young people will probably deem a very cool way to access the Net. The new iPod Touch "is a touch-screen device that lets anyone in range of a wi-fi hot spot buy music or surf the Web. The version with 8 gigabytes of storage will cost $299 and the 16-gigabyte version $399," the Los Angeles Times reports. Microsoft has cut Zune's price in response, PC World reports. Apple also cut the price of the iPhone by $200. Here are a PC World blog's "Fifteen Random Thoughts about the New iPods." Google News linked to some 1,700 stories around the world on Apple's announcement.
- CA videogame law update. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has appealed a federal court's injunction against a law banning violent videogame sales to minors, the Associated Press reports. "The law, signed by the governor in 2005, prohibits the sale or rental of violent video games to anyone under the age of 18 and requires that such games be clearly labeled. Retailers who violated the act would be fined up to $1,000 for each violation." The judge had found the law unconstitutional, saying its definition of violence was too broad and its supporters had failed to show a clear relationship between videogame play and children's behavior. "His decision echoed a string of rulings in other states where similar laws were blocked by challenges by video game industry groups," the AP added.
