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Families at play

Video games have a bad reputation in the mainstream media. They are blamed for encouraging social isolation, promoting violence, and creating tensions between parents and children. In this book, Sinem Siyahhan and Elisabeth Gee offer another view. They show that video games can be a tool for connection, not isolation, creating opportunities for families to communicate and learn together. Siyahhan and Gee offer examples of how video games, like smartphones, Skype, and social media, help families stay connected. Further, they describe how families express their feelings and share their experiences and understanding of the world through playing video games like Sims, Civilization, and Minecraft. When designed intentionally to support families, video games can also create conversations around such real-world issues and sensitive topics as bullying and peer pressure. Siyahhan and Gee draw on a decade of research to look at how learning and teaching take place when families play video games together. With video games, they argue, the parents are not necessarily the teachers and experts; all family members can be both teachers and learners. They suggest video games can help families form, develop, and sustain their learning culture as well as develop skills that are valued in the twenty-first century workplace. Finally, Siyahhan and Gee share recommendations for educators and game designers who are interested in supporting intergenerational play around video games.