Role-Playing Texts

Chapter 4 discusses how agency and authority can be manipulated  in role playing games not only by those who created the games, but those playing as well. The chapter begins by discussing the different types of role-playing games on the web and how they are put together. The chapter discusses the different types of texts (primary, secondary, and tertiary)  as well as the different types of agency and authority and how they are practiced and changed throughout the games. There was a lot of information in this chapter and many unfamiliar terms but I came to find that the main idea was that anyone can be a director in the world of role playing. With so many different elements to the game, there are many opportunities for players to mold the game to their own personal setting and make it able for them to succeed in playing. In order for players to be successful at role playing, they need to understand authority and agency and how to manipulate them to their advantage. Those who are able to do so are very tech savvy and have the ability to fix a game to their liking. Role playing enables the player/author to tell the story in their own way .... making them become a writer. Role playing is a digital form of story telling and enables authors to virtually create a fantasy story ... a new way to see technology playing a role in the world of education. 

When I read this chapter, I was very taken aback by all the vocabulary. I thought it was really great at breaking down the world of role playing and how it can relate to being the author of a story. Understanding agency and authority were very big components of understanding the chapter but the overall message was very clear and it gave a lot of insight to online role playing in the classroom. Being in elementary school, I do not know how effective these techniques would be. Some students would have the ability to design and manipulate a game to their own standards, but I am not sure how I would incorporate such a game into a lesson. I feel like the mystical time of many online games are seen more in middle and high school leveled classes where students can use these games to understand how the people of these days functioned and worked in order to maintain a role in society. I think online role playing is a great tool for the classroom but in terms of elementary education, I am not sure how I would use it to engage my students with standards that are appropriate to the curriculum.