How a popular entertainment genre on YouTube--Let's Play videos
created by Minecraft players--offers opportunities for children to learn
from their peers.
Every day millions of children around the world watch video gameplay on
YouTube in the form of a popular entertainment genre known as Let's Play
videos. These videos, which present a player's gameplay and commentary,
offer children opportunities for interaction and learning not available
in traditional television viewing or solo video gameplay. In this book,
Michael Dezuanni examines why Let's Play videos are so appealing to
children, looking in particular at videos of Minecraft gameplay. He
finds that a significant aspect of the popularity of these videos is the
opportunity for knowledge and skill exchange.
Focusing on Let's Play practices, the videos themselves, and fans'
responses, Dezuanni argues that learning takes place through what he
terms peer pedagogy--a type of nonhierarchical learning that is
grounded in the personal relationships fans and players feel toward one
another. Moreover, the Let's Play platform is part of a larger digital
ecosystem that enables children to learn from one another in unique
ways. Dezuanni explores how Let's Players enable learning opportunities,
examining digital literacies, the Let's Play genre, and peer pedagogies.
He then presents case studies of three successful family-friendly Let's
Players of Minecraft: Stampylonghead, StacyPlays, and KarinaOMG,
microcelebrities in a microindustry. Dezuanni analyzes the specific
practices and characteristics of these players, paying particular
attention to how they create opportunities for peer pedagogies to
emerge.
