Category Archives: video-games

video games for girls

Not a Psychology of Gender class goes by these days were I do not read at least one journal entry from a woman who LOVES video gaming but nevertheless struggles with the fact that her favourite games were designed by and for men, and, furthermore are played predominantly by men and boys. So here is an entry for our video gamers -- both women and men. Watch the following video and ask yourself if you feel video game researcher, Brenda Laurel, is on the right track as she designs video games for girls. Here is a short description of her 2009 TED talk:


A TED archive gem. At TED in 1998, Brenda Laurel asks: Why are all the top-selling videogames aimed at little boys? She spent two years researching the world of girls (and shares amazing interviews and photos) to create a game that girls would love.





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Link: Go to TEDtalks to read related material and commentary:
The Gender Companion, copyright 2011 – Dr. Jessica Motherwell McFarlane, Ph.D. This blog is a companion site for the Psychology of Gender Online, UBC. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.)http://thegendercompanion.blogspot.com/ See also Psyc 320 course description: http://ctlt.ubc.ca/distance-learning/courses/psyc/psyc320/

Boys need more games? Gender or boring curriculum?

Here's one for you to think about. Ali Carr-Chellman speaks about the need to capture boys' attention in classrooms by adding video games. But is she describing a true gender difference or the need to capture ALL students attention by updating teaching technologies, methods, and capturing the imagination of ALL students. What do you think?

Ali Carr-Chellman: Gaming to re-engage boys in learning | Video on TED.com
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The Gender Companion, copyright 2011 – Dr. Jessica Motherwell McFarlane, Ph.D. This blog is a companion site for the Psychology of Gender Online, UBC. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.)http://thegendercompanion.blogspot.com/ See also Psyc 320 course description: http://ctlt.ubc.ca/distance-learning/courses/psyc/psyc320/