Community Building among Older Adults in a Digital Game
Environment
Robyn Schell and David Kaufman
Education, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Dr, Burnaby, BC, V5A1S6, Canada
Keywords: Community Building, Digital Games, Will Bowling, Older Adults, Social Connections.
Abstract: This research study describes the social connections made by a group of older adults participating in a city
wide Wii bowling tournament. Our results showed that participant’s experienced an increased level of social
connectedness with not only those who played with them weekly but others where they lived, their friends
and family members outside of the places where they lived. Overall, the participants found that playing Wii
bowling in a tournament setting contributed to the expansion of their existing network and deepened
relationships in the players’ community by extending the level of social connectedness both within the game
environment and beyond the boundaries of the game space.
1 INTRODUCTION
Improvements in public health and welfare have
resulted in people living longer and healthier lives
(Phillipson, 2013), yet certain aspects of ageing can
be very difficult especially when one is faced with
chronic illness and the loss of life-long friends and
partners. There is evidence to show that engagement
in social activities can have a positive influence on
physical activity, and maintaining cognitive function
(Rowe and Kahn, 1997). Brookfield also suggested
that learning activities can contribute to community
development through the facilitation of peer support
within learning groups that share common goals
(Brookfield, 2012). Merriam and Kee expanded
upon these ideas, arguing that as older adults gain
more knowledge and become more socially engaged,
both their personal and community wellbeing are
enhanced (Merriam and Kee, 2014).
Being part of a social community can create
positive feelings of self esteem and self worth and
having a purpose in life (Cohen, 2004). Developing
social relationships are also thought to relieve stress
by providing support in times of need either directly
or indirectly (Cohen et al., 2000). Indirectly, social
relationships provide resources whether
informational, emotional, or tangible which help to
reduce the acute or chronic stress brought on by life
events. Building social relationships may be also
associated with protective health benefits through
more direct means by influencing cognitive,
emotional, behavioural, and biological effects that
are not explicitly intended to provide help or support
(Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010).
New types of relationships within communities
are emerging within the diverse contemporary
structures of society, resulting in an availability of
connections within a broader social milieu than
before. There are opportunities for intergenerational
exchanges as generations are more likely to overlap
and interact (Marshall et al., 1993). Social ties with
friends also offer a new source of significant
relationships in one’s community.
Although the lives of older people are generally
viewed within the family context in terms of support
and care, non-kin ties are becoming more influential
in the lives of older adults (Beck, 2000). This can be
partly attributed to the growth of single person
households and the growth of numbers of people
who live alone (Klinenberg, 2012). It is now more
likely that older adults will develop a myriad of
social relationships among a variety of connections
that some have referred to as personal communities
consisting of friends, neighbours, and other
acquaintances who give and receive help at different
points in life (Phillipson, 2013). In some cases
friends are replacing family as sources of support in
old age. These relationships of choice can be critical
in enhancing mental health (Phillipson et al., 2000)
as well as informal support. The development of
new forms of relationships across age groups and
social groups and outside of kinship groupings has
Schell, R. and Kaufman, D.
Community Building among Older Adults in a Digital Game Environment.
DOI: 10.5220/0006253202330239
In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2017) - Volume 2, pages 233-239
ISBN: 978-989-758-240-0
Copyright © 2017 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
233

changed the composition and dynamics of the social
life of older people.
As social engagement has been identified as
significant component of successful ageing, it is
possible that participation in meaningful leisure
activities with others can create social environments
that foster community building among older adults.
Playing digital games has been noted as a leisure
activity that has potential to alleviate loneliness and
enhance social connectedness among older adults
(Whitcomb, 1990; Ijesselsteijn et al., 2007;
Gamberini et al., 2009; Allaire et al., 2013; de
Schutter and Abeele, 2010, Schell et al., 2015).
Digital games can also encourage and scaffold
learning among the players (Gee, 2003) and as such
could have the potential to support the concept of
lifelong learning which has been associated with
promoting and preserving community (Merriam,
2014).
This paper discusses the concept of digital
gaming as a social activity which can expand the
social network of older adults within their
community. Previous work has been primarily
focussed on younger people and when focussed on
older adults often centers on cognitive and physical
effects rather then psychosocial effects described in
this paper. The study involved personal interviews
of 17 older adults who played in a city-wide Wii
Bowling tournament drawn from a quantitative
study of 73 participants.
Next, we further explore the social and learning
aspects of digital games for older adults.
2 SOCIAL ASPECTS OF DIGITAL
GAMES
Older adults have become significant consumers of
technologies including digital games (ESA, 2011).
Games have been associated with a number of
positive attributes. For example, developing skills
and mastering a game can create a sense of
accomplishment (IJsselsteijn et al., 2007). The sense
of losing track of time and immersion, called “flow”,
that people experience when they are totally
involved in playing a game has the potential to
create feelings of enjoyment and satisfaction
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1997).
When games include social interaction, they may
also create a venue for enhancing the social lives of
older adults and provide a social activity that can be
effective in reducing loneliness and social isolation
(Cattan et al., 2005). Technology may be useful in
supporting and developing social connections
(Baecker et al., 2012) and since loneliness is
believed to be a deficit in the broader range of social
contact (Heylen, 2010), expanding the social
network through digital games may provide benefits.
An early pioneer in game research, Whitcomb
noted that social interaction was the most important
benefit for older adults playing digital games (1990)
and the feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment
associated with playing a digital game positively
affected people’s perception of themselves.
Whitcomb identified physical and cognitive benefits
such as improved hand-eye coordination, manual
dexterity, and increased speed with playing the game
as possibly enhancing the self perceptions of older
adults. More recently, Ijesselsteijn et al (2007)
suggested that gaming could enhance the lives of
older adults by providing opportunities for
relaxation and entertainment, socializing, sharpening
the mind, as well as offering a more natural way of
interacting.
Gamberini et al. (2009) examined the user
experience of older adults along seven key
dimensions including social interaction, playability,
immersion, challenge/skills, and clear goals using a
game prototype called Eldergames intended to
improve older people’s quality of life. The study
involved 107 participants who responded to a
questionnaires and a focus group over the 12 weeks
of testing. Although the emphasis of this study was
on cognitive training, these researchers found the
game also promoted interaction creating a positive
social experience for the users.
Voida and Greenberg (2012) described playing
Wii as a computational meeting place for older
people to establish social contacts with peers and to
experience intergenerational play. Both peer-to-peer
mentoring and learning in informal environments
can create the circumstances that enhance computer
literacy (Selwyn, 2005) and promote the learning of
digital games themselves and in the process reduce
the anxiety around technology and increase feelings
of self efficacy and self-confidence among older
people.
3 DIGITAL GAMES AND
LEARNING
As well as encouraging social connections, playing
games can provide an environment for learning.
Lifelong learning has been associated with improved
cognitive function, supporting social interaction in
CSEDU 2017 - 9th International Conference on Computer Supported Education
234

society (Withnall, 2012) as well as sustaining
physical and psychological wellbeing (Sloane-Seale
& Kops, 2008). Lifelong learning can also offer new
experiences that reduce stress and provide escape
from life’s problems (Dattilo et al., 2012). Research
suggests that collaborating with others can stimulate
learning and help build a community of practice
(Wenger, 1998; Kaufman et al., 2011), and that
problem solving is an activity that provides learning
opportunities (Boud and Feletti, 1998). There are
many examples of games which feature problem
solving as a mechanism for game play as well as
presenting an environment for social interaction. Wii
bowling is a strategy game that can involve
collaborating with others in a social milieu.
4 THE Wii BOWLING
TOURNAMENT
Our research focused on a digital game that many
have played or are familiar with, Wii Bowling,
published by Nintendo in 2006. Wii Bowling is one
of a suite of games called Wii Sports which is one of
the best selling games of all time (Nintendo Investor
Relations Information, 2014). The Wii remote
device contains sensors that detect natural body
movements that are mirrored within the game play
itself. Virtual bowling can allow older adults to
participate in activities they may not be able to do
because of reduced mobility or strength.
When playing Wii Bowling, the players use a
handheld controller to simulate the motions that
occur in an actual Bowling game. The format of a
Wii Bowling tournament was selected to encourage
people to join the project, create a venue
traditionally associated with bowling, and provide a
motivating team setting that offered an opportunity
for cooperative game play. Research has shown
cooperative learning offers social benefits such as
improving relationships, facilitating learning new
skills, and enhancing the ability of working with
others but these goals can only be achieved when
there is a group goal that is important to those in the
group (Slavin, 1988). Competing in the tournament
may provide that essential common group goal that
leverages these benefits.
During each Bowling session, participants played
two full games of Wii Bowling. The Research
Assistants recorded the scores and posted them on a
tournament website and announced the next game
date and time.
5 PARTICIPANTS
The participants who joined in the eight-week
tournament were recruited from 14 centers where
older adults lived or frequented in the Vancouver
Lower Mainland area including independent living
centers, senior recreation centers, and assisted living
centers. After receiving permission, our study was
advertised through posters posted by staff in each
location. Our goal was to recruit those over 60 years
of age or older. Independent living centres offer
apartment living for those over 55 years of age,
while assisted living centres offer additional services
to residents such as meals, housekeeping, laundry,
recreational opportunities, 24-hour response lines,
and personal care services. The 17 participants
recruited for our qualitative research lived in
independent living centers while five others lived in
assisted living centers. These 17 participants were a
subset of a group of 73 people who took part in a
larger quantitative study.
6 RESEARCH DESIGN
The study’s qualitative approach was designed to
answer our research question “What do the
participants perceive as the social benefits of playing
the digital game Wii Bowling in a tournament?”.
This research question was explored through
interviews with participants that elicited players’
perceptions and opinions of their game playing
experience. During these one-on-one interviews, we
asked about players’ reports of connections and
friendships they formed during the tournament, and
their interactions and conversations with others
about their involvement in the tournament.
7 DATA COLLECTION
Data was collected through recorded interviews with
seventeen participants at their center or in their
home. Each interview lasted for about 30 minutes
and addressed topics designed to elicit perceptions
of the game playing experience and the formation of
friendships or social connectedness with their team
members, their family and friends, and others in
their centers due to playing in the Wii Bowling
tournament.
Community Building among Older Adults in a Digital Game Environment
235

8 QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF
PERSONAL INTERVIEWS
These interviews were recorded, transcribed, and
analyzed using qualitative software MaxQDA
Version 11 to code statements and identify themes.
Data analysis involved preparing and organizing text
transcriptions of interviews, and collecting the codes
into themes, then illustrating each theme by actual
quotes made by the participants (Creswell, 2007).
The specific steps taken were writing codes and
memos, noting patterns and themes, counting
frequency of codes, developing evidence, and
making comparisons (Miles et al., 2014).
9 CODING PROCESS
Coding methods are divided into two categories: the
first cycle and second cycle of coding. The first
cycle includes Elemental Methods that encompasses
three types of coding used for this research:
structural, descriptive, and process coding (Saldana,
2009). This selection of two or more types can serve
the goals of the analysis since coding methods are
not discrete but overlap in applicability (Saldana,
2009).
The first cycle of coding provided a method for
summarizing segments of the data. Pattern coding
grouped these codes into smaller number of
categories or themes (Miles et al., 2014) compiled
into a table that shows the codes, number of times
the codes was applied, and the number of
participants who had this code applied to their
comments. This table is shown below. To determine
predominant themes, we highlighted those
statements where 50% of the total number of
participants (n= 17), had made comments that
received that specific code. This number was
considered the cut off for codes that would be
reviewed and discussed in detail in the findings.
We also noted those instances where participants
had commented on a theme multiple times during
the interview process. For example, there were 10
participants whose statements were coded with the
same code 50 times. Where themes were generated
according to number of people but where there were
a similar number of people, the number of times the
code came up was used to break the tie. To
triangulate the qualitative results, peer review of
methodology was requested and completed, as well
as a member check of the findings by participants
representing each centre.
10 FINDINGS
Of the seventeen participants interviewed after the
tournament, three were males and 14 were female.
Five participants lived in assisted living
accommodation and twelve lived independently.
Five participants were between 65 and 74 years old;
eight were 75 to 84 years old and four were 85 years
old and older. One person was 90 years old. Social
connectedness was a major theme in the participant
interviews. Table 1 shows these results in terms of
each code and the number of people making
comments with this code, and how many times this
code was applied in the text. Through this analysis,
one could consider the level of consensus among
these participants and how predominant that theme
appears to be.
Table 1: Theme of Social Connectedness.
Code # of people
# times code
applied
Team Experience 17 37
Interaction with Others 16 84
Better Social Connections 13 70
Conversations about game
with family and friends
13 49
11 DISCUSSION
The majority of participants interviewed found that
playing in the Wii Bowling tournament brought
about new or closer friendships with other players,
as well initiated interactions with other members in
their community beyond the scope of the actual
tournament itself. Playing Wii Bowling also led to
interactions outside the game environment and
expanded social connections for participants beyond
the weekly Wii Bowling sessions. These interactions
included conversations with fellow players after
game sessions, participating in outside activities
such as going to dinner, or going to church together,
as well as playing other games with people they met
in and outside of the tournament.
Our study seems to indicate that playing Wii
Bowling was an enjoyable way for older adults to
interact, and deepen bonds with those they already
knew casually or were acquainted with in the
community where they lived.
We also found that playing Wii brought about
intergenerational play among friends and relatives
which was an unexpected finding as the focus of our
study was on the social impact of playing with peers.
CSEDU 2017 - 9th International Conference on Computer Supported Education
236

This older group of players independently selected
to play Wii Bowling with younger family members
including their grown children and grandchildren or
had conversations with them about their experience
in the tournament. Our participants noted that
playing with adult children or grandchildren added a
welcome dynamic to family relationships which
substantiates earlier findings that intergenerational
interaction offers the opportunity to extend the
diversity of people in one’s personal network.
Diversity is a factor that has been identified as
strengthening social interconnectedness in one’s
greater social network (Voida & Greenberg, 2012).
Non-family members such as neighbours and friends
who become part of the social network of older
adults also provides a source of social support
especially when relatives are not readily available
(McPherson, 2004) so from this point of view,
playing digital games with team members and others
in their community could provide social benefits that
can be important to older adults as families become
more distributed and more dependent on non-kin
relationships.
The following table shows samples of a type of
community contact made during the Wii Bowling
tournament and example of the coded text related to
this contact.
Table 2: Social Connections Made in Wii Bowling.
Community
contact
Sample Interview Code
People
outside where
I live
Well, a lot of my friends thought it was
really funny. You know, “[Oh wait] (?)
You’re Bowling on”; “Yes, I am. I bowl—
I’m doing Wii Bowling.” “Oh, [wow] (?)”
um, most of my friends are pretty active
people. They swim or they go to the gym.
They play golf. They play tennis, some of
them. So, it was—it was interesting for
them to think that I would do this.
Family
Oh, it’s kind of fun because my—I took
my son down and his wife down Bowling
there. And he used to be pretty good and
so, you know, I’d just lean on here and
pssshhht. Boom. Boom. Getting 200 plus.
So he was curving all around the place and
there. So, anyhow, he got a little bit
frustrated.
Audience
members
Because we had people come to watch.
Because they showed interest, they thought
"what are they up to now."
Other people
where I live
Which is something we might not have
done, but because we--there’s four of us
and we brought another member who
doesn’t bowl, but belongs in our little
group, we went out together and had a
meal together. So in that respect it was fun.
Other players
Getting to know your teammates, right.
Then, you know, when you see them, you
sort of –well, you feel part of them Right?
So it brings the camaraderie between you,
you know.
Figure 1 illustrates the social connections referred to
by the Wii Bowling tournament participants
showing that their involvement had extended these
connections beyond the scope of the game sessions
themselves and into the wider community.
Figure 1: Model of Social Connections.
As Voida and Greenberg (2009) described, the
digital game space is a computational meeting place.
In the tournament context, playing digital games acts
not only as a place to gather and play, but also an
activity that fosters connections and builds
community beyond the game and so brought more
Community Building among Older Adults in a Digital Game Environment
237

people into the orbit of this social event through
conversations, or as spectators, regardless of
whether they actually played or were physically
present. Of course, the dynamics of games like Wii
Bowling change as people play them. As such the
social connections made during the tournament
depend on how the game unfolds as well as the
people who are playing at that time (De Schutter and
Abeele, 2010).
12 CONCLUSIONS
In our research, we saw evidence that those who
participated in the Wii bowling tournament
perceived playing in the Wii tournament as an
opportunity to meet others in a team environment
and well as extend their social connections into their
community. They also acquired the technical ability
to play this game with their peers. In a sense, they
formed a community of practice in which players
learned the game and improved their ability to play.
Through their participation, these players shared an
activity and common interest that provided the
environment for social learning and deeper
understanding of other players (Wenger, 1998) that
we saw reflected in interviews with our participants.
Squire (2011) refers to video games as shared spaces
where people develop expertise, social experiences,
and make social connections. This assessment seems
to be in line with the experiences of the older adults
who played in our Wii Bowling tournament.
We are not claiming that playing Wii Bowling
provided more social opportunities than other
traditional recreational activities for older adults;
however, our results suggest that playing Wii
Bowling extended relationships beyond the time and
place where the game occurred, even in centres
where people already knew their fellow players and
audience members. We believe our study added to
the literature in terms of participants, goals, and
parameters. The majority of our players included
older individuals over 75 years of age. This study
focussed on a readily available commercial game
and social impact rather than unique games and
other factors. For example, Gaberini et al’s (2009)
Eldergames that studied cognitive training and Age
Invaders by Khoo et al. (2009) which investigated
intergenerational play.
This study provides a deeper understanding of
the social effects of playing digital games for older
adults and offers information that might lend itself to
further investigation of digital games as a
mechanism that facilitates community building
especially among the oldest of the old or those who
suffer from mobility issues. Other studies could
focus on the potential of digital games to provide a
situated learning environment for increasing
technical skills among older adults that focuses on
game players as a community of practice.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish to thank the AGE-WELL National Centre
of Excellence for their financial support of this
paper.
REFERENCES
Allender, S., Cowburn, G. and Foster, C., 2006.
Understanding participation in sport and physical
activity among children and adults: A Review of
Qualitative Studies. Health Education Research, 21,
pp. 826-835.
Allaire, J., McLaughlin, A., Trujillo, A., Whitlock, L.,
LaPorte, L., & Gandy, M. (2013). Successful aging
through digital games: Socioemotional differences
between older adult gamers and non-gamers.
Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 1302-1306.
Astell, A. J. (2013). Technology and fun for a happy old
age. In A. Sixsmith, & G. Gutman (Eds.),
Technologies for active ageing (pp. 169-187). New
York: Springer.
Baecker, R., Moffatt, K., & Massimi, M. (2012).
Technologies for aging gracefully. Interations, 19(3),
32-36. doi:10.1145/2168931.2168940Brookfield, S.
(2012). The impact of lifelong learning on
communities. In D. Aspin, J. Chapman, K. Evans & R.
Bagnall (Eds.), Second international handbook of
lifelong learning (pp. 875-886). New York, NY:
Springer.
Beck, U. (2000). Living your own life in a runaway world:
Individualization, globalization, and politics. In W.
Hutton, & A. Giddens (Eds.), On the edge: Living
with global capitalism (pp. 164-174). London:
Jonathan Cape.
Boud, D. & Feletti, G. (1998). The challenge of problem
based learning. New York, NY: Routledge.
Brookfield, S. (2012). The impact of lifelong learning on
communities. In D. Aspin, J. Chapman, K. Evans & R.
Bagnall (Eds.), Second international handbook of
lifelong learning (pp. 875-886). New York, NY:
Springer.
Cattan, M., White, M., Bond, J., & Learmouth, A. (2005).
Preventing social isolation and loneliness among older
people: A systematic review of health promotion
interventions. Ageing & Society, 25(01), 41-67.
doi:10.1017/S0144686X04002594.
Cohen, S., Gottlieb, H. H., & Underwood, L. G. (2000.
CSEDU 2017 - 9th International Conference on Computer Supported Education
238

Social relationships and health. In S. Cohen, B. H.
Gottlieb & L. G. Underwood (Eds). Measuring and
intervening ni social support: A guide for health and
social scientists (pp. 3-25). New York: Oxford
University Press.
Cohen, S. (2004). Social relationships and health.
American Psychology, 59, 676-684.
Creswell, J. W.. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research
design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.).
Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Flow and education.
NAMTA Journal, 22(2), 2-35.
Dattilo, A., Ewart, A., & Datillo, J. (2012). Learning as
leisure: Motivation and outcome in adult free time
learning.Journal of Parks and Recreation
Administration, 34 (1), 1-18.
De Schutter, R., & Abeele, V. (2010). Designing
meaningful play within the psycho-social context of
older adults. Fun & Games, (September), 13-15.
Entertainment Software Industry. (2011). Essential facts of
computer and video game industry. Retrieved from
http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2011.pdf.
Gamberini, L., Martion, T., Seaglia, B., Spagnolli, A.,
Fabregat, M., Ibanez, F., . . . Andres, J. (2009).
Eldergames project: An innovative mixed reality table-
top solution to preserve cognitive functions in elderly.
HSI '09 2nd Conference on Human System
Interactions, Catania, Italy. 164-169.
Gee, J.P. (2003). What Video Games Have to Teach Us
About Learning and Literacy. New York, NY, St
Martin's Press.
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B. (2010).
Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-
analytic review. PLoS med 7(7): e1000316.
doi:10.1371/ journal.pmed.1000316. PLoS Med, 7(7),
e1000316-e1000316. doi:10.1371/
Heylen, L. (2010). The older, the lonelier? Risk factors for
social loneliness in old age. Ageing & Society, 30,
1177-1196.
IJsselsteijn, W. A., Nap, H., de Kort, Y., & Poels, K.
(2007). Digital game design for elderly users.
Proceedings of 2007 Conference on Future Play, The
Game Developers Conference, Toronto, Canada. 17-
22.
Kaufman, D., Sauve, L., & Renaud, L. (2011). Enhancing
learning through an online secondary school
educational game. Journal of Educational Computing
Research, 44(4), 409-428.
Khoo, E., Merritt, T., & Cheok, A. (2009). Designing
physical and social intergenerational family
entertainment. Interacting with Computers, 21, 76-87.
doi:10.1016/j.intcom.2008.10.009.
Klinenberg, E. (2012). The extraordinary rise and
surprising appeal of living alone. New York: Penguin.
Marshall, V., Matthews, S., & Rosenthal, C. (1993).
Elusiveness of family life: The challenge of the
sociology of aging. In G. Maddox, & L. Powell (Eds.),
Annual review of gerontology and geriatrics (pp. 39-
72). NY: Springer.
McPherson, B. D. (2004). Aging as a social process:
Canadian perspectives (4th ed.). Don Mills, Ont.:
Oxford University Press.
Merriam, S. B., & Kee, Y. (2014). Promoting community
well-being: The case for lifelong learning for older
adults. Adult Education Quarterly, 64(2), 128-144.
doi:10.1177/0741713613513633.
Miles, M., Huberman, M., & Saldana, J. (2014).
Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd
ed.). London: Sage Publications.
Nintendo Investor Relations Information. (2014). Top
selling software sales units: Wii. Retrieved from
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/sales/software/wii.htm
l.
Phillipson, C. (2013). Ageing. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
Phillipson, C., Bernard, M., Phillips, J., & Ogg, J. (2000).
The family and community life. London: Routledge.
Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1997). Successful aging.
Gerontologist, 37(4), 433-440.
Saldana, J. (2009). The coding manual for qualitative
researchers. London: Sage Publications.
Savery, J. R. & Duffy, T. M. (1995). Problem-based
learning: An instructional model and its constructivist
framework. Educational Technology, 35(5), 135-150.
Schell, R. M., Hausknecht, S., Zhang, F., & Kaufman, D.
M. (2015). Social benefits of playing wii bowling for
older adults. Games and Culture, 11(1-2), 81-103.
Selwyn, N. (2005). The social processes of learning to use
computers. Social Science Computer Review, 23(1),
122-135.
Slavin, D. (1988). Cooperative learning and student
achievement. Educational Leadership, 46(2), 31-34.
Sloane-Seale, A., & Kops, B. (2008). Older Adults in
Lifelong Learning: Participation and Successful
Aging. Canadian Journal of University Continuing
Education, 34(1), 37–62.
Squire, K., Jenkins, H. (2011). Video games and learning:
teaching and participatory culture in the digital age.
New York: Teacher's College Press.
Voida, A., & Greenberg, S. (2012). Console gaming
across generations: Exploring intergenerational
interactions in collocated console gaming. Universal
Access in the Information Society, 11, 45-56.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: learning,
meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Whitcomb, R. (1990). Computer games for the elderly.
Proceedings of the Conference on Computers and the
Quality of Life (CQL '90), ACM, New York, NY,
USA. , 20(3) 112-115. doi:10.1145/97344.97401.
Withnall, A. (2012). Lifelong or longlife? Learning in the
later years. In D. N. Aspin, J. Chapman, K. Evans, R.
Bagnell (Eds.), The handbook of adult and continuing
education, 2010 edition (pp649-664). New York, NY:
Springer.
Community Building among Older Adults in a Digital Game Environment
239