Theoretical Background

My research explores the role of distributed and embodied cognition, and interactive media —particularly digital games— in instruction and training, and more specifically in the acquisition of advanced skills normally required in professional or ill-structured domains. Distributed information resources inform the selection of visual elements as well as the type of interaction strategies that have to be present. In this context, interactivity can be understood in terms of a cyclic process between the cues provided by the virtual environment and the user, leading to a guided perceptual decision-making process. Games and other new media projects, by virtue of the inherent characteristics of digital environments —participatory, spatial, procedural, and encyclopedic (Murray, 1997)—, can be seen as narrative or visual spaces that are distributed representations of a knowledge domain. This domain can be explored, understood, constructed, and appropriated by the learner/gamer through participation in the virtual world.