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The paper develops an approach of playing and gaming activities through the perspective of both activities as mood activities (Karoff 2013). The point of departure is that a game – whether it is ludic or paideiac ‐ is a tool with which we, through our practices, achieve different moods. This based on an empirical study of children´s everyday lives, where the differences emerge through actual practices (Schmidt 2011, Heidegger 1996), i.e. through the creation of meaning in the specific situations. The overall argument is that it is not that important whether it is a playing or a gaming activity – it is however crucial to be aware of how moods occur and what their optimal conditions are. Following Lave and Wenger (1991), participation in particular is essential. Learning this, the community of practice becomes crucial for learning the meanings of different moods as they emerge through because it is through the shared practices it becomes possible. This perspective has two dimensions: practices and moods. Practice is the concept of all the doing in the activities. Moods are the particular concept of sense and feeling of being, which is what we are drawn to when we are playing or gaming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how making games and playing activities, trying them out and showing them to others can be used in a formal learning context. Based on student and teacher actions and responses, as well as the student´s games observed during fieldwork, this paper emphasizes the importance of understanding children´s playing activities. This paper is based on a large research project called ‘Children as Learning Designers in a Digital School (2013–2015)’, funded by Denmark’s Ministry of Education. The paper presents an analysis of how playing activities can be used within school. The study is based on a specific understanding of playing and playfulness that occurs in a learning context. The perspective on play is the mood perspective, focusing on media and practices with the aim of creating play mood. When children are creating games in a learning context, they use a great repertoire of knowledge of games. Combining knowledge from both formal and informal learning contexts supports combinations between the two. Using a broad repertoire of knowledge of games in a formal learning context caused the teachers to qualify and value the knowledge of games in informal learning contexts. From this point of view, it is possible to understand how children´s playing activities can be used within and can be supported by school as material with meaningful value to children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how student behavior and interactions change when teachers use "producing games" as a primary pedagogical strategy (Papert, 1980; Ejsing-Duun and Karoff, 2014). Based on student and teacher actions and responses, as well as on students' production-observed during fieldwork-this paper emphasizes the importance of understanding how students explore creativity and playfulness while producing in learning situations. This paper is based on a large research project called "Children as Learning Designers in a Digital School (2013-2015)," funded by Denmark's Ministry of Education. The study includes fieldwork in five Danish public schools, involving about 500 students, and it is based on six interventions in the first, second, fifth, sixth, and tenth grades. The article's empirical data consist of observations, participatory observation, and productions students created during the interventions. This paper presents an analysis of how students are creative and playful while producing learning material as games, during two interventions in the research project. The study is based on a specific understanding of the creativity (Boden, 2004) and playfulness (Karoff, 2013) that occur in learning situations. We want to approach creativity and playfulness as new ways of playing it safe when using material, through six areas of change that inform "how today's kids play and learn, and, more generally, how they see themselves, relate to others, dwell in place, and treat things" (Ackermann, 2013, p. 119). As a result, this paper contributes to the field by analyzing and discussing how educators deal with children's production processes in a school setting and how teachers can conceptualize and nurture play and creativity as drivers for learning. We further argue that playfulness is necessary for creativity to occur. From this point of view, understanding how learning activities can support creativity-an essential twenty-first century skill-becomes more accessible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper develops an approach of playing and gaming activities through the perspective of both activities as  mood activities (Karoff 2013). The point of departure is that a game – whether it is ludic or paideiac ‐ is a tool with which  we, through our practices, achieve different moods. This based on an empirical study of children´s everyday lives, where  the differences emerge through actual practices (Schmidt 2011, Heidegger 1996), i.e. through the creation of meaning in  the specific situations. The overall argument is that it is not that important whether it is a playing or a gaming activity – it is  however crucial to be aware of how moods occur and what their optimal conditions are.  Following Lave and Wenger  (1991), participation in particular is essential. Learning this, the community of practice becomes crucial for learning the  meanings of different moods as they emerge through because it is through the shared practices it becomes possible. This  perspective has two dimensions: practices and moods. Practice is the concept of all the doing in the activities. Moods are  the particular concept of sense and feeling of being, which is what we are drawn to when we are playing or gaming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper develops an approach of playing and gaming activities through the perspective of both activities as mood activities (Karoff 2013). The point of departure is that a game - whether it is ludic or paideiac - is a tool with which we, through our practices, achieve different moods. This based on an empirical study of children's everyday lives, where the differences emerge through actual practices (Schmidt 2011, Heidegger 1996), i.e. through the creation of meaning in the specific situations. The overall argument is that it is not that important whether it is a playing or a gaming activity - it is however crucial to be aware of how moods occur and what their optimal conditions are. Following Lave and Wenger (1991), participation in particular is essential. Learning this, the community of practice becomes crucial for learning the meanings of different moods as they emerge through because it is through the shared practices it becomes possible. This perspective has two dimensions: practices and moods. Practice is the concept of all the doing in the activities. Moods are the particular concept of sense and feeling of being, which is what we are drawn to when we are playing or gaming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]