Os jogos digitais de livros didáticos de língua portuguesa

Abstract

Nowadays, society has been increasingly influenced by digital technologies which modify or enlarge literacy practices. Therefore, if different technological resources are used socially with diverse purposes in a time in which their domain is a constant demand, school should offer means for the satisfactory use of those materials. In this direction, in some textbook collections of the National Program of Didactic Book, 2014, digital educational objects were included. Because of that, such materials demand close reflection on the way they approach language and reading, specifically in digital games, subject-matter of this investigation. Based upon studies on digital literacy and linguistic variation and learning supported by games, the main objective of this research was defined: to analyze the games in the textbook collections in their structural aspects and in their concepts about teaching and learning Portuguese. Aiming at achieving such a goal, an analysis of the content in the games was made and the perception of teachers and students of an Elementary School, 6th to 9th grades of public schools in Minas Gerais, on such resources captured. Results revealed that: (1) some of the games can use digital sources such as to insert an extra character, simulate an environment and integrate different modes (visual, sound and verbal) but they all configurate themselves merely as objects transferred to a digital support as (a) the mechanics of games favors a gameplay which constraints the players freedom and offers a repetitive sequence of challenges; (b) avatars are essentially figurative since they cannot be customized and share no knowledge or abilities with the players which results in the unremitting repetition of the same movements; (c) the scenarios are usually mere decoration as they simulate the physical environments superficially; and (d) the players action in most games is limited to providing answers to objective multiple choice questions; (2) language approach is mostly focused on the word, the sentence or on decontextualized text excerpts with no consideration for the implications of linguistic choices for meaning production; (3) some games arouse students interest and support the content approach disseminating knowledge and promoting cultural formation. Those findings lead one to believe that the games, in general, could have exploited more effectively the characteristics of digital media in which they are inserted. Moreover, disregarding that the functioning of language occurs in authentic texts, most of the games privileged the standard norm and the sense already given in the text, and it is up to the student-player to obtain information and recognize uses and rules of formal writing. Researcher concluded that games carefully produced and used contribute the teaching and learning of Portuguese, if, and only if, they conciliate pleasure/fun and pertinent pedagogical principles. If so, the games can both arouse students interest, generate students state of mind and develop their communicative skills, besides empowering the use of their language, in the condition of competent users and critical readers.