Developing a Framework/Process for M.A. Project Planning

This morning I've been doing so of the more boring work for an M.A. project:  coordinating research on best practices for planning and implementing media and education products.  I recognize, that what I am working on my be beneficial to everyone else, so I am sharing my top planning resources and approach.  Actually, following this approach will largely get me to the proposal submission phase, rather than final project (I hope). 

First off, frameworks:

1)  Backwards Design

Backwards Design (Wiggin) is an educational planning practice where you start with your objectives and evaluation and then ultimately plan your learning experience.  Although not user centered, it is objective driven, and I recognize combined with user centered principles can create a meaningful structure that provides positive outcomes.

History, Resonance, and Generation

I greatly enjoyed reading the chapter about the history of educational video games. I admit, long before I became nervous about playing games (performance anxiety maybe?) I enjoyed playing The Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? I must have played both 100 times over the course of elementary school. 
 

I can still remember basic takeaways from Oregon Trail. If you started with a profession that had more money, you would likely be more successful. If you started at the wrong time of year, chances were that you would not survive or your party would not be in good condition. That, and if you shot a buffalo it would feed you forever and you couldn't always carry all the meat back. My sister and I liked to hunt in that game, what can I say.

As for Carmen I think that game was best for kids that were not like me. I enjoyed memorizing ridiculous and useless geography facts, so I would use the game to test my memory. In middle school, I could get to chasing Carmen before I had to reach for the Almanac, which I thought was cheating. At the time it had never occurred to me that this was a goal of the game. Actually, Ben Sawyer was discussing at Meaningful Play 2010 how games need to push out more. Clearly, this game was already doing just that. It is funny how easy that is to ignore. Pushing out of the game isn't new, it just isn't common. By the way, I never caught Carmen Sandiego. The bell always rang before I could catch her. Everyday I would almost have her and “riiiing” computer class was over.

On Essential Experience and Remembering How to Fly

I am excited to be approaching Schell's book, The Art of Game Design, with a class. Last year around this time, I purchased the book and read it from cover to cover. It was one of the final pieces of my decision to attend the Serious Game Design program. Much of what I found appealing was tucked throughout the book, but the first three chapters that we are discussing this week drew me in as a person with a content background in English and Linguistics, with hobbies of writing, art, and design.

First of all, the opening demonstrates the overlap of content areas with game design. One of my problems before coming into this program, was I had no vision of myself in a single content speciality area. I had two majors and for all I cared could have ten more and be extremely satisfied. I enjoy the process of learning and the act of using knowledge. After reading this chapter, I saw this once personality flaw something of great value to a game designer. This appealed to me and kept me reading. 

Design Decisions for Digital Game Based Learning

When considering pedagogy in a given delivery method, including games, there are always specific student-centered concerns. As in a regular classroom environment, one must take several factors into consideration. These factors include the learner, the desired outcomes or pedagogical objectives, the methodology, and the assessment of desired outcomes.

How Video Games Can Facilitate Learning

In education, there is much discussion about environments for learning and how a positive learning environment will foster life-long learners. From this view, digital games, as a scene based medium, in contrast to page and time based mediums, can be perceived as a learning environment. There are several theoretical concepts to support this view.

Differentiating Games to Motivate Learners as Players

Differentiation is a buzz word in the modern education world. It comes in the context of student centered instructional strategies. In the world of teaching, that means thinking about what students will do and what the teacher does to facilitate this process. Outcomes and objectives are formed in this same way: Students will be able to (SWBAT) … with the objective finished by a descriptive verb that in the best instances describes also the process(es) by which the students will demonstrate the desired outcome. With the advent of differentiated student centered instruction, there are often a list of several processes by which students will demonstrate the desired verb/outcome. I am admittedly, citing from my own experience, Teach for America's extensive curriculums, and probably a large library of teaching books that I have read in the past for years that have become a part of my “educator mindset.”

The point I am making is that differentiation is no new concept. However, how to apply to digital learning games is a relatively new challenge. Serious Games are at a young stage of development, and it is likely impossible to create a different game for every learner at this stage. Therefore, we must work as researchers and designers to, in the words of Teach for America, “have the most significant impact with the smallest amount of effort.” This is not about being lazy. This is about being strategic. There are a great many problems in education today. Tackling them, even in digital games, requires this mindset.

Reflections on Learning: There must be a better way

I am going to apologize in advance. This paper will be a far more reflective paper than I typically choose to post in regards to recent readings. In large part, this is due to the large amount of meaningful input I received this weekend between readings for this class, the coursework, and Meaningful Play 2010. As a result, I need to create a more casual, letter like format to process these ideas.

This week, I have been reading James Gee and also had the opportunity to attend his keynote and many presentations by researchers and academics influenced by his writings on games and learning.  My first take-away from Gee's work, his presentation, several other Games for Learning based presentations and interactions at the conference is there is a common theme: there must be a better way to teach and learn. This resonated with people I talked to in education or formerly in education that had been drawn to the conference.  

Digital Game Based Learning: Defining a Road Map to In Game Achievement

In a world of “Digital Natives” Digital Games Based Learning is becoming a desired instructional strategy in different educational environments. However, there is much trepidation in the community about the promising demonstrations of effectiveness, due to Shavian reversals in the “edutainment industry” where early attempts at creating learning environments from games resulting in the worst instructional practices combines with the most boring game formats (Van Eck, 2006). As confidence builds due to the growing numbers of studies demonstrating games are effective learning tools and environments, it is important to create a design framework to ensure games continue to be a successful media for instruction, rather than reverting to prior failed mergers.

So Games Can Be Effective, Now What?

Researchers agree that there is plentiful research supporting the effectiveness of games. However, most of these evaluations answer the simple “yes” “no” question of “Is Digital Game Based Learning effective?” (Van Eck, 2006). It is agreed that games are largely effective due to a combination of engagement and interactivity (Prenksy, 2001). Although the question of “why are games effective?” still needs further empirical study, there are many theories and suggestions as to why games work for instruction in skills, such as creative problem solving and creativity, that are notoriously difficult to measure (Van Eck, 2006). Games provide a meaningful learning context and allow a continue construction of cognitive disequilibrium where the learning actively participates in hypothesis making (Van Eck, 2006). Prenksy cites work by Ahlers and Garris that suggests games 1) provide chances for success, 2) curiosity, 3) simulated danger, and 4) social reinforcement. This still leaves us with the other question, how do we construct effective and engaging Digital Game Based Learning?