Technolandy

Day 94 (of 2025/26) #literacyweek unit proposal: role playing games & video games

 Okay – todays focus was on role playing games with a ‘sample dungeon’ being run and offered for first time families to ‘check it out’ – youtube share here:

But the whole ‘game as literacy’ concept has really been intriguing me. In the case of RPGs, the group experience is real: building characters; understanding setting; dealing with conflict; different themes; a sense of story that you have to participate in; memory; problem solving; critical thinking; creative thinking; – all without needing to put much quill to parchment… but for most of Wizards on the West Coast’s existence, D&D has had an uphill fight and my experience in the 20th century of having a teacher sponsor a dungeon for an after school club was definitely not a North American norm – with more parents looking to extinguish any startups… 

But literacy methodologies evolve over time – not many parchment users despite it’s obvious advantages over the book and all those turning pages (still love this video looking at tech changes: https://youtu.be/pQHX-SjgQvQ?si=gWY-XJAk3IseK0Fi

And it has had me thinking about ‘other’ games… notably – video games. 

If RPGs make educators upset…. Video games are even more confrontational – even if they make so much sense when looking at many of the Big Ideas in our Language Arts curriculum…

Language and story can be a source of creativity and joy. Yeah – interactive storytelling can do all of that… in RPGs you don’t know true loss until a character you’ve had survive a variety of adventures dies after encountering a mimic – a creature that truly shows what D&D is all about – a creature that evolved to look like a treasure chest to capture it’s prey because there are so many treasure chests/hunters everywhere – from Brennan Lee Mulligan’s observations. In video games, nothings worse than spending way too much time on a level just to learn that every restart is right at the beginning… that’s what build rigor and perseverance!

Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world. We explore the world differently as avatars – sometimes taking on different races – exploring how an adventure works in different character classes – sometimes even exploring different alignments (good neutral evil) and even different genders. But in RPGs and Video Games, it’s a first person experience rather than seeing it through another eyes. 

People understand text differently depending on their worldviews and perspectives. It isn’t often that we do the same campaign another time, but we definitely don’t do it with the same characters… and exploring back stories allows us to really stretch some of our assumptions and stereotypes to ensure our own game play is built with realism  

Texts are socially, culturally, and historically constructed. While not all dungeon masters are created equally (I feel bad for the few celebrities that have had first D&D experiences with Brennan Lee Mulligan because I do not know (m)any others who are able to lead a campaign  in a world as deeply constructed as his are. But it also allows for discussion and debate as players try to challenge the events within a campaign based on their own social, cultural, and historical understandings… together we have opportunities to broaden our horizons and learn new things. 

Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens. Assumptions are dangerous, and campaigns let us focus on the ‘hearing’ part – though there are other ways to read and view contributions being made around us. 

Here is a sample of how a Dungeon can work and become a unit in English Language Arts! Explore character, setting, communication – critical and creative thinking… so much depth that is possible in a campaign! Just not a traditional literacy… Here’s an example:

And then we can talk about how well this fits into First Peoples Principles of Learning!

Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors. I hope some will chuckle, but role playing games allows oneself to explore how decisions they make can have a broader impact – on the adventure party, but also the land around them. It is a safe place to learn that one person can make a difference – even as an avatar in a game.

Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational. Games – both RPG and Video, allow for reflection – either because you get to respawn after an error, or learn to do something different the next time in a safe space and then do better in the real world where relations are even more important than the game world (which can feel very important!)

Learning involves recognizing the consequences of ones actions. Whether it is being selfish, or acting before thinking in a game… there are many lessons that can be learned as an avatar and put into practice IRL.

Learning involves generational roles and responsibilities. There are opportunities for players of many ages to interact… and while social media videos of some interactions can be funny – or embarrassing… there are opportunities available for your avatar to interact with other generations and explore the roles and responsibilities that were… and what will be.

Learning recognizes the role of indigenous knowledge. Something seen in the development of the Minecraft Coast Salish world, and continued expansions to share knowledge from around Turtle Island.

Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story. So much gameplay requires memory to be active… to understand some elements of history within the game and from the world, and to then build the story that you are immersed into – even if just for a short time.

Learning involves patience and time. Rigor is practiced in each adventure, and every level you take on. Rarely is a run though successful the first time. And sometimes it is helpful to learn from/with others.

Learning requires exploration of one’s identity. What safer space than through an avatar where mistakes can be corrected, apologies made, and explorations … explored. One’s identity is not set in stone, but more of a spectrum that we all move through – avatars allow for some exploration easier than in real life…

Learning involves recognizing that some knowledge is sacred and only shared with permission and/or in certain situations. Yes it is.