I had the pleasure and joy of attending Barry Joseph's keynote at the SLEDcc 2008 Second Life educator's convention entitled:
"Why Second Life Can't Tip: The Power and Perils of Living La Vida Ludic"
Barry introduced the term he coined, "the ludic life," and discuss its implications for Second Life and learning. Elaborating Eric Zimmerman's argument that we have entered "a ludic century", meaning that we are now interacting with information in a ludic way. The ludic way, according to Zimmerman is not to say everything is becoming a game but rather game/play dynamics, aesthetics and sensibilities will increasingly define our social interactions. Barry argues that Second Life is a better example and, more importantly, the way in which Second Life allows users to combine their real life identities and practices within a ludic context not only makes it a powerful space for teaching people how to live a ludic life, but it also becomes the key defining characteristic of the Second Life experience.
It is highly recommended to go to www.rezed.org/group/ludiclife
to watch the powerpoint while listening to the presentation audio or watching the video.
my two cents:
Lessons from my research on digital games interactions among children and teenagers: Living the ludic life is very compelling and at the same time, very complex and challenging from many perspectives.
link: http://www.vrider.net/2008/07/handbook-of-research-on-effective.html
Ever wondered about who plays? how much he plays and why? interesting empirical based answers by Dmitri Williams and friends now published on terra nova blog is a must.
link: http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2008/09/who-plays-how-m.html
Click for the full text paper here, at the Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, with no access restrictions.
Game-On!
Dr. Hanan "VRider" Gazit