University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2013 Constructing Meanings by Designing Worlds Digital Games as Participatory Platforms for Interest-Driven Learning and Creativity Vittorio Marone [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Instructional Media Design Commons Recommended Citation Marone, Vittorio, "Constructing Meanings by Designing Worlds Digital Games as Participatory Platforms for Interest-Driven Learning and Creativity. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2013. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2455 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Vittorio Marone entitled "Constructing Meanings by Designing Worlds Digital Games as Participatory Platforms for Interest-Driven Learning and Creativity." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Education. Katherine H. Greenberg, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Joel F. Diambra, Carolyn I. Staples, Marina Santi Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Constructing Meanings by Designing Worlds Digital Games as Participatory Platforms for Interest-Driven Learning and Creativity A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy Vittorio Marone August 2013 ii Copyright © 2013 by Vittorio Marone All rights reserved. iii Dedication Mojej drogiej Mamie, Która zawsze we mnie wierzyła, I dzi ęki której zawsze wierz ę. “Ucz si ę ucz, bo nauka to pot ęgi klucz!” Alla mia cara Mamma, Che ha sempre creduto in me, E che mi ha fatto sempre credere. “Studia, studia, che lo studio è la chiave del potere!” To my dear Mum, Who has always believed in me, And always made me believe. “Learn and keep learning, because knowledge is the key to power!” iv Acknowledgements This work would have not been possible without the support and guidance of many special people. First of all, I want to acknowledge the faculty at the University of Padua, and in particular professors Bianca Maria Varisco, Marina Santi, Raffaella Semeraro, Laura Messina, Donatella Lombello, Mino Conte, Luciano Galliani, and Graziano Cecchinato. I also want to thank the staff at the University of Padua, and in particular Roberta Cosimo, Maria Grazia Dainese, Laura Fiore, Donatella Martella, Katia Milan, and Giuseppe Sassano. I want to warmly acknowledge my doctoral committee members and mentors, Dr. Kathy Greenberg, Dr. Cary Staples, and Dr. Joel Diambra. Your unceasing support and care made a world of difference in my life. I will never forget it. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the faculty of The University of Tennessee, and in particular to professors Ralph Brockett, Lisa Fall, Neil Greenberg, Tricia McClam, Trena Paulus, Susan Riechert, Christopher Skinner, Barbara Thayer-Bacon, Michael Waugh, and Lisa Yamagata-Lynch. I also want to thank the Dean of the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, Dr. Bob Rider, the Head of the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, Dr. Steve McCallum, Dr. Joy DeSensi, Dr. Thomas George, Dr. Christina Goode, Dr. Carolyn Hodges, Dr. Kay Reed, Dr. Pia Wood and all the v people at The University of Tennessee for their support throughout my Ph.D. and the dual-degree process. I must acknowledge the great staff in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences at The University of Tennessee, and in particular Diane Booker, Bonnie Bull, Beverly Cate, Millie Cheatham, Joy DuVoisin, Marie Fox, April Phillips, and Christine Tidwell. Your help and smile brightened my days. You are truly special. I also want to thank and acknowledge some great researchers, professors, and friends who helped me and encouraged me in a thousand ways: at Ca’ Foscari University (Venice) Dorota Pawlak, Aleksander Naumow, Emilia Magnanini, and Francesco Leoncini; and at other universities across the world: Dr. Allison Anders (University of South Carolina), Dr. Mike Carbonaro (University of Alberta), Dr. Antoinette Errante (Ohio State University), Dr. Vera John-Steiner (University of New Mexico), Dr. Diane Ketelhut (University of Maryland), Dr. Jessica Lester (Washington State University), Dr. Jan Plass (New York University), Dr. Paolo Sorzio (University of Trieste), Dr. Jonathan Taylor (Troy University), and Dr. Mary Alice Varga (University of West Georgia). I salute and thank my “Ph.D. fellas” at UNIPD (with a big “ciao” to Elena Grassi and Monica Campion), my friends at UTK Bennett Adkinson, Emory Barnett (and everyone who helped me with the documentary), Ann Bennett, Renee Bumgarner, Kamella Carmino (and her husband Amigo Garraway), Janelle Coleman, Danielle Davis, Mark Gates, Carolyn Grimes, Taotao Long, Jennifer Lubke, Brenda vi Murphy, LaNita Norman, Sultana Shabazz, Brian Sohn, Thelma Vandergriff and all the students in the EDPY-504 class and in the LEEDS program. A big “thank you” goes to my friends in the Discourse Analysis Research Team (DART) Ginny Britt, Doug Canfield, Joshua Johnston, and Elizabeth Price. I want to sincerely thank my friends and their families in Knoxville, TN, who have welcomed me and supported me throughout my stay in Tennessee, making it a wonderful human experience: Josh Flory, Tim Jones, Lee Leadbetter, Jonathan Mintz, David Stults, Melanie, Julian, and the Reese family. A very special “thank you” goes to my dear friends Smitta Dibapile (Tsala!) and Stephen Puplampu (Maaan!). Your smile and generosity make the world a better place. I want to extend my thanks to my outstanding friends and supporters Francesca, Mahavir, Sofia and Giovanni, Anna and Tatiana Moroz, Manuela Picariello, Daniele Rossetti, Oleg Rumyantsev, and Marta Vanin. You showed me the true colors of friendship. I also want to acknowledge Sam (of Sam’s Party Store ) for his friendship (and for providing the tea that kept me running!); Fast Lane Daily and Top Gear for keeping me on track; and Deadmau5 , Knife Party , and Savant for keeping me awake, focused, and inspired. I want to wholeheartedly thank Don Alfonso, Graziano, and the Madonna della Navicella Church in Sottomarina, Italy, for taking care of someone I dearly love, and Pastor Ryan Wyatt and Fuse Church in Knoxville, TN, for their prayers and inspiration. vii To my family, Krysia, Tonino, Giuseppe, Brunello, Sari, Viola Elettra, Laura, Cristiana, Eugenio, Elisa, Pietro, Marcello, my aunts, uncles, and cousins: thank you so much for your continuing support and encouragement! Wherever I may roam, you have always been and will always be my safe home. My most bestial thanks go to Bella (my special canine assistant), La Piccola and La Grande, Zorro, and Iuno. Micetta, Raal, and Scott, you will always be in my life and forever in my heart. Last, but definitely not least, I want to thank my wonderful wife Claudia who supports me and loves me in ways beyond my imagination. Ti amo. viii Abstract (in English) This study emerges from the observation of an increasing divide between generations: a lack of a shared ground that carries profound social, cultural, and educational implications. In particular, the broadening differences between academic and “grassroots” approaches to learning and creativity are transforming formal and informal enterprises into seemingly incommunicable realms. This clash between different (and distant) practices, inside and outside of school, is inhibiting the construction of a common language between teachers and students, and, more broadly, between generations, thus hindering the development of any educational discourse. In this study I inquired into an online participatory space in order to advance our understanding on how its participants, driven by their interest in gaming and game design, discursively constructed learning and creativity. In particular, I looked into a community dedicated to designing, sharing, and critiquing digital game levels (i.e., “mini-games”) created with LittleBigPlanet (a digital game and creative tool for the PlayStation 3 game console) and discussed in the “Forum” section of the LittleBigPlanet Central website (www.lbpcentral.com). In this qualitative study I applied a hybrid intertextual methodology based on discourse analysis, studio critique, and design process analysis to analyze discursive texts (threads/posts in the discussion forum), interactive artifacts (user-generated game levels), ix and constructive practices (deigning, sharing, and critiquing game levels). The findings suggest that participants socially construct and negotiate learning and creativity by enacting specific discursive functions that entail the use of humor, specialist language, and the negotiation of effort and self-appreciation. By engaging in multimodal and intertextual practices in an attentive and competent community, users create a safe social space that fosters reciprocal trust,