Comments on: Tech Tools: Interactive Fiction

By: Emily Starr

Emily Starr — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:42:37 +0000

I love this idea like the old "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. Stories could be written incorporating a variety of curriculum subjects.

This activity would be wonderful to get elementary students applying comprehension skills such as cause and effect, sequencing, and predicting.

By: Gerald Aungst

Gerald Aungst — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:48:23 +0000

@Kelly, one of the things I like about it is how describing an object in the code makes it act like a literal, physical thing. The author has to think through how the player/reader is likely to interact with the object, so descriptions have to be rich and actions have to be planned.

It’s great for learning characterization, too, since you have to plan out multiple conversation paths depending on what the player/reader decides to talk about. The author has to think deeply about the character and understand far more than ever gets seen in the final product.

Descriptions of places must be clear and evocative, since they must not only build a picture in the reader’s mind, but they must actually work as described. Writers can learn a lot about the craft of writing by working on small portions of IF code.

By: Kelly Tenkely

Kelly Tenkely — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:12:45 +0000

IF is a great way to get students thinking about problem/solution in writing and thinking critically. Writing this way would have students going through the entire writing process. I love the ideas!

By: Thomas Boito

Thomas Boito — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:59:45 +0000

This was interesting. I’d forgotten about those things. Nothing ever completely goes away, does it? They just get repurposed.

By: Best Tech Tools for Gifted Students | Quisitivity

Best Tech Tools for Gifted Students | Quisitivity — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:40:00 +0000

[…] Interactive Fiction […]