What is a Machinima?

Machinimas are videos filmed in virtual worlds with avatars as characters. The importance of Machinimas is their motivational factor when used as educational products. Students who belong to the digital generation are used to engaging with fictitious characters from video games. When students are presented with machinimas, they pay attention and are more likely to become engaged with the medium and follow instructions better.

Machinima, a contraction of the words machine and cinema, is a genre of filmmaking that was originally created by gamers in the 1990s.

Since February 2007, a Machinima Institute has been located in Second Life (for those 18 and older) on the American Library Association Arts Infolsland. The institute is run by librarians and educators and contains instructional resources for teaching machinima.

Source: Tabitha, T. & Kelly, C. (2008). Machinima goes mainstream. School Library Journal, 54(2), 29-31.