Interactive fiction: Weaving together literacies of text and code

Abstract

We propose structural parallels between textual literacy and computational literacy, and explore interactive fiction as a medium at their intersection. We designed and built a web application allowing students to read and write interactive fiction and a curriculum weaving the two literacies together. A study evaluating the curriculum found modest adoption of literacy practices from each domain. Our qualitative observations suggest a mechanism for how each literacy can support the other: incorporating computation into English/Language Arts makes it possible for students to model linguistic processes which are otherwise ephemeral. In the other direction, situating Computer Science concepts in students' identities and experiences can make them personally meaningful and address inequities in STEM education. A third study, underway, will quantify the extent to which one literacy supports growth in the other.