JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY 48:5 FEBRUARY 2005 428 © 2005 INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION (pp. 428–432) doi: 10.1598/JAAL.48.5.6 Joining the video-game literacy club: A reluctant mother tries to join the “flow” Lori Norton-Meier MEDIA LITERACY Late one Thursday, after teaching an intellectually stimulating graduate course on the issues and trends in literacy education, I arrived home keyed up and wanting to talk about many thoughts in- spired by the questions and thinking of 15 prac- ticing teachers. However, my house was dark and quiet. My husband and two teenagers had already called it a night. As I stepped quietly into the house, trying to avoid backpacks, shoes, and a toolbox, I caught a glimpse of my one-eyed nemesis. Its name is Xbox. I quickly learned when this “monster” invaded my home that the neon- green power button “eye” must never be turned off. It means a game is in progress. Yes, this so- called video-game machine is my sworn enemy. How much quality family time has been lost to this black box? My husband, 14-year-old daugh- ter, and 17-year-old son play for hours. No, not hours—days! Most of our dinner conversations revolve around video-game strategy, design, and how to handle problems and situations that arise at dif- ferent levels of game play. Whatever happened to Pong, I wonder. It was a simple game that I played many years ago with my brother. Simple game, simple controller, simple mission—bounce the “ball” back and forth. Perhaps it’s the reason I re- fuse to play video games now. Something that once seemed so easy is now so complex. And yet, my family invites me regularly to join in their play, as does the monster’s flashing green eye, sig- naling that the power is on and the controller awaits. Standing outside the video- game literacy club So, I’ve turned my back on this thing called the video-game literacy club and I refuse to join. Smith (1987) introduced the concept of the “lit- eracy club” to explain his belief that we learn from other people and that joining a club of peo- ple who are like us makes it easier to engage in their activities. When I first studied Smith’s work, I pictured a large circle with a group of students standing firmly in the center (avid readers with a solid understanding of the way the club works). Then, there are those students who can read but choose not to, so I envision them stepping in the circle and stepping out. Then, of course, there are also those students (like me) who stand on the outside of the circle with their backs turned and arms firmly crossed, refusing to even consider the idea of this literacy club. Yet, can I truly dismiss every aspect of the video-gaming world? I have to admit that I am a computer solitaire fanatic and love to play backgammon on the Internet with an unknown