Cyberbonding play used to help African Americans collegians navigate a southern HBCU.

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 2:15 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Student Access and Navigating Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

This qualitative comparative case study examined eight African American collegians’ use of cyberbonding play to navigate a southern HBCU. Participants created communal digital spaces and physical places via applied videogame knowledge. Two themes emerged: 1) Animated Academics; and 2) Communicative Leadership. Animated Academics unpacks how co-designed assessments of difficult intellectual environments contributed to collaborative entrance and exit strategies. Communicative Leadership unpacked participants’ ability to purposefully impart information during videogame and within co-curricular organizations that required leadership. Participant narratives explained how cyberbonding play facilitated collective navigations of a HBCU campus climate that expected Black excellence personified as leadership engagement. Cyberbonding play acted as a catalyst for academic brilliance, leadership participation and how social interacted when moving about the HBCU campus.

Author

• Bryan Hotchkins, Texas Tech University