Active, democratic citizenship is a broad definition, which the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) posits can take "diverse forms." This can range from individual citizens "becoming informed about issues and voting in elections" to participating in political and social movements (NCSS, 1994, p. vii). Examples of this include, but are not limited to, writing a letter to an editor, participating in a letter-writing campaign, participating in a political Weblog, and contacting an elected official. NCSS (2001) defines an effective citizen as one who has the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to assume the "’office of citizen’ in our democratic republic.". NCSS defines an effective citizen as one who:
Published in Chapter:
The Role of MMORPGS in Social Studies Education
Phillip J. VanFossen (Purdue University, USA), Adam Friedman (Wake Forest University, USA), and
Richard Hartshorne (University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-808-6.ch014
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors will report evidence for the potential of MMORPGs for social studies education by providing a detailed review of relevant literature from the fields of game studies, educational technology, and the social networking universe. This evidence will include game scholars’ efforts to develop classroom applications of MMORPGs in the social sciences and related disciplines, and also provide examples of ‘citizenship education’ already occurring with MMORPGs. The authors will also provide an overview of perceived costs and benefits associated with classroom MMORPG use, including logistical hurdles that need to be overcome. They will also share a list of recommendations to the field for classroom use of MMORPGs, as well as implications for policy changes and future study.