Discussion 1: Personal gaming experience
When I started thinking about digital game-based learning, I had a flashback to a learning game I played in Entrepreneurship in Junior High School. It was a game that involved running a basic business (hot dog stand). Although it was lame, I remember it. It was something different from what we were normally doing in school.
For this discussion, post a flashback of your own to a personal experience you have had with digital game-based learning (not necessarily as an adult), and give a quick evaluation of the experience. Let’s activate some prior knowledge here.
Please make your post as a reply below (to keep things tidy). Feel free to respond to others’ posts as well – maybe we have some common experiences.
Posted in: Week 05: Game-Based Learning
schiong 5:34 pm on October 3, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Interesting topic. Well, my first “digital” game experience was with Atari console and Game & Watch. At that time, I never really considered those games as educational. It was more on entertainment purposes.
Karen Jones 6:50 pm on October 3, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Oh wow! I thought I would be the only gaming non-participant in this crowd, but I see from some comments that not all Gen X’ers are proponents! Being about a million years old, I have played Pong and Tetris once or twice, and have even enjoyed Rock Band once. So when we had to investigate games in ETEC 510 (Design of Learning Environments) I did approach the task of ‘immersing’ myself in the two modern-style educational games of Contagion and Lure of the Labyrinth with some trepidation.
While I totally appreciated the focus of both designs on the active critical engagement of the player, two hours was definitely not enough to scope out even an overview of the design features. I really don’t know how I would use these type of educational games in a classroom. I do like how they aim to change perspectives on global issues, but structuring a unit to include them leaves me scratching my head! I am hoping to get some ideas and change my bias against gaming, in general 😉
KJ
andrea 8:41 pm on October 3, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The first educational game I played (and probably one of the few I’ve every really spent much time with) was ‘Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego’. At the time I’d barely spent any time on the computer, so using the computer for anything was still a novelty. As a life-long mystery fan the game was perfect for me, despite my (at the time) appalling geography skills. I remember wanting to win, even though I’m not really a game-oriented person.
My memory was that the graphics were great, but I realize now that was just relative to the other computer programs I used at school! Having just spent a bit of time on Google I was laughing about the look & feel of the game. It’s basic, but the upside of that is that it’s straightforward for all of us who were at that time new to computers.
jarvise 2:40 pm on October 5, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I played that too! I used to know tons of flags, just from that game. That was a pretty cool side effect.
Emily
Doug Smith 5:26 am on October 4, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Like Karen, I had never played an educational game until ETEC 510. I must say that I found the two games Contagion and Lure of the Labyrinth to be confusing, unmotivating and I don’t recall learning anything in particular. However, these games were clearly trying to reach a particular type of constructivist pedagogy which required dedicated time. I just don’t have the time to spend on games right now, nor was my goal to reach the learning objectives o the video game. So it should not be surprising that those games did not interest me. They required a certain amount of dedication or persistence that could not be afforded in my circumstance.
Angela Novoa 11:47 am on October 4, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi everyone,
I have not had a personal experience with digital game-based learning, but I have seen a project of a teacher who integrated role video games to reduce bullying at his class (were students were extremely poor). The results were amazing. I saw how that video game promoted problem solving and collaboration.
When I see my husband playing with his friends a PS3 game (he usually plays role games) I see how they develop creativity having a good time. My husband always had attentional disorders when child. He had bad grades and always was on the edge of failing. But now he is an extraordinary professional that always seeks to launch new ideas. I think that digital game-based learning would help him to succeed on school when he was younger.
Deb Kim 2:33 pm on October 4, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Game-based learning… What an interesting topic!
I remember playing keyboard typing games when I was in middle school in Korea. Words would fall down from the top of the screen and I had to type them out before they hit the bottom of the screen. This game was for keyboarding class.
I also like simulation games such as Sim City or games which you build a city/amusement park/village and give your “citizens” jobs and duties. I have games like
RanchRush (you need to build a farm, grow plant, and sell them)
Yard Sale (you need to find hidden treasures or items and do some missions on creating furniture using what you find)
Waldo (exactly the same as Where’s Waldo?)
SmurfVillage
SmurfGrabber (you need to grab items to complete missions)
FamilyFeud (exactly the same as the TV show)
Scrabble
on my iPhone. I still love to play these simulation/role-playing games or word puzzle games in my spare time. I was interested in these kinds of games even more when I was younger because I used to want to become a 3D game/movie designer. I think these help me develop creativity and patience while enjoying what I do.
kstooshnov 8:59 pm on October 4, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Great topic, and trying to think of one personal gaming experience is quiet the challenge, as the only thing I really remember of the PET computer and Atari I spent hours playing on were the clunky cassette/cartridges and those awesome 80’s graphics. More memorable was when I moved up to the Nintendo Entertainment System. My all-time favourite game was the Legend of Zelda, and one of the feature that was so innovative at the time was map of Hyrule which was revealed one block at a time, each time the character Link visited a new area.
When I was moved to Japan (the centre of the gamer’s world!) I had the eerie flashback experience while getting used to my new home, making a mental map of the city one block at a time. When I told this to another English teacher, a cool new friend from Portland, Oregon, he understood exactly what I was talking about, being a longtime fan of old NES titles. Although neither of us had to battle strange creature or find hidden treasures, we each could build upon our gaming experience and adapt to being in a new country, just like Nintendo had programmed us to do. Thank you, Japanese games!
jarvise 2:43 pm on October 5, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
That is an interesting effect of Nintendo-playing. And when you really think about it, that is a major component to gaming. Immersing yourself in a new environment, figuring out the ropes, learning how to get around and avoid catastrophe. Something to that…
Emily
Jim 3:57 pm on October 5, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Just for fun, I am thinking back to the first computer games I ever played, educational or otherwise. I won’t count “Pong” as it was on a self-contained unit. Perhaps the first game I played was on a terminal connected to a PDP11-34 mini-computer in high school. It was a text based adventure game. I think it was called adventure and it looked something like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ADVENT_–_Will_Crowther%27s_original_version.png
My evaluation of the game is that it was utterly amazing to me at the time! You have to remember that this was 1983. This was a text based game but the best thing was that I was making the decisions. The game progress based on my will. It wasn’t like a book or a movie. I controlled the course of the story. I was even IN the story. Even though it was pure text, it was still interactive. Another cool program I just thought of is ELIZA–it was a kind of text based therapist. You typed in stuff, and the computer would respond with questions and gave the illusion it was really talking to you. It was pretty easy to fool and it would not pass the Turing Test, but it was quite cool.
kstooshnov 9:53 pm on October 8, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hmm, text-based games, did you ever play Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? I never saw it until a couple days ago, and this youtube clip gives an amusing account of all the work that goes into scoring 10/400 points. Wonder if anyone finished the game?
Jim 11:13 am on October 9, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No, I have not played it but it looks very similar to the Adventure game. I think the designers of these games had to strike a balance between fun and challenge. If players find the game to difficult to figure out, or if the way they interact with the game is too arbitrary, it will not be fun. If it is too easy, it isn’t fun either. I remember become quite frustrated with the hoops I had to jump through in these text based games.
David Vogt 4:18 pm on October 5, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As a personal experience related to game-based learning, my first learning technologies company, Brainium, was launched in 1995. We delivered all of middle-school science online as a serial progression of immersive games. I offer the date because there were people (including me) doing web-based learning games long before Mark Prensky (who is a friend and colleague) created a buzz around it. And it wasn’t until about 2003 that the academic community climbed aboard with a scholarly focus on “serious games”. So my first point is that when it comes to sourcing the newest digital ideas, universities aren’t the best place to look.
When I founded Brainium I was absolutely sure that by now (2011) every curriculum at every learning level would be available in an effective gaming context, yet to be brutally honest we’re not any further ahead than in 1995. The multiple reasons for this are worthy of a deep discussion of its own. For example, Brainium was ultimately killed because textbook publishers managed to exclude it from purchasing lists – they didn’t want their money train challenged. Most elite electronic games companies still see education as a “get rich slow” marketplace and avoid it completely. So my second point is, despite the bravado surrounding learning games expressed so far, there are deep structural issues within education (both formal and informal) that are preventing them from being adopted. Why is that, and which of you will be able to design the breakthrough games (actually, it will be a breakthrough business model) that will change this?
My third point is that there seems to be an unfortunate gulf between formal and informal learning when it comes to learning games. Meaning that learning games are almost exclusively informal. Why is that? In 1997 we started working on a new product that would teach digital literacy (and 21st century skills) that was entirely cross-curricular, so that accountable competency could be attained, maintained and certified within any, or several, curricula. It never got to market (another set of reasons), but what I was most proud of within that product (remember it was 1997) was that it was fully personalized and adaptive (meaning that the games would automatically go in a different, remedial direction if the learner made it apparent that they didn’t understand the concept being gamed. I’m shocked that we’re not seeing more of these kinds of ideas in today’s learning games. Can anybody guess why not?
As a final reflection, I’ll say that in 1998 I was approached by a Ministry of Education (unnamed) offering a contract to embed the Grade 12 Physics graduation exam entirely within a gaming context. The idea was to get away from equations as much as possible and test students on their understanding of physical concepts (which can be done beautifully within games). I responded at the time that it was a brilliant idea but not possible then. It is now – perhaps somebody else wants to take this on?
Karen Jones 7:00 pm on October 5, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
OK, at the risk of sound like I’m sucking up ;-P, I remember and used Brainium with my grade 8’s on very slow computers (dial-up??). As I recall, it was in conjunction with the Science World website or activities? Anyway, I had a complete set of very cool Brainium posters, constantly commented upon, which were subsequently turfed by an errant janitor. Regarding the website, I was shocked to find the links dead on the start of one school year. Thanks for the background, David. Sorry for rambling on 🙂
Doug Smith 5:58 am on October 7, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Very interesting David, I’m glad you shared your experience with gaming. It will be very interesting to see if schools eventually get significant quantities of computers into the classroom, and see what effect this will have on the textbook industry. I don’t see this challenging the “get rich slowly” phenomenon, but it should make some serious changes to how certain courses deliver their curriculum.
The physics gaming exam is intriguing. I have no doubt that this could be done effectively and in an interesting way. I would argue that that it would be more important to conduct the learning in this manner rather than the exam. If the students are learning physics by “plug n chug” or “problem decoding”, then a conceptual based exam would be quite the shock! I can see potential and worth in using a game or set of games during the learning, as a type of formative assessment.
cheers
verenanz 7:45 pm on October 7, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Like every great entrepreneur….I`m glad to hear that you kept going….Never give up when you hear the word NO…
You brought up lots of great points….The Publishing companies have a huge influence on our teaching….That`s why I love online courses as a blended approach to learning…you can take the `best`of textbooks and online sources…..
If the publishing companies …aren`t ready…that shouldn`t prevent teachers from trying new ideas…unfortunately I`ve learned that it costs a lot of money to `try new ideas…and that`s why the publishers maintain their influence…They have the ability to wait and see…..new companies might not have that time…
Gaming for a physics exam…good point Doug….It would be a great teaching tool, but maybe a bit of a scare in a final exam. If the whole course was taught that way, then the final exam would have to follow ?
I guess in a human sciences (social studies) class you could also take this approach especially with some of Adaptive Reality Games like “World Without Oil”. In high School we spent an entire term “becoming” a country then defending their position at the League of Nations- why couldn’t something like that be done online? Maybe it is?
All great points!
Verena:)
mcquaid 9:21 am on October 8, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I have been gaming for a long time… since, maybe… ’83 or thereabouts. We had a Coleco-vision at home. Since then, I made the trek from there to Sega Genesis, desktop computer gaming, an XBox, and now a PS3. For the most part, these home consoles haven’t delivered much in the way of scholarly learning. I have encountered some game-based learning in my time, though.
In elementary school, we used to have a couple of programs that could be played (as a reward for finishing other work, I think) in the classroom. They essentially reinforced math facts or geographical information. One was Math Blaster – running a green stick man to the answer of a math problem on the screen. Simple, but I liked it back then. Another was Cross-Country Canada. You played as a trucker delivering commodities to places in Canada. You would learn about locations and commodities, and the odd problem a trucker may face (including dangerous hitchhikers!). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCVQFzBAu14
Another I vaguely remember playing was “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?”
After that, I hit a dry spell. There was no gaming or computers in high school. Well, there were some “computers”, but they were only used for tests in typing class.
In university, computers were much more available, but not for gaming – just typing, Internet, and email. Only one of my courses (Ecology) offered a gaming experience, called EcoBeaker. It exists in a more robust form now, but even its low-graphics-quality version back then was pretty cool. You could run habitat simulations on it… say… put a population of white rabbits and black rabbits on an island and see how they reproduced and survived. Until you introduced, say… wolves. Or a tornado. Much like current sim games, causing imaginary chaos and playing a deity-ish role was a little fun… and educational, too!
Now, I’m on the other side of the desk, and only sometimes get chances to offer gaming experiences to my students. Things like freerice.com and freepoverty.com are both fun and charitable.
In my home life, some of my “adult games” do offer stealth learning. Historical fiction games like the Assassin’s Creed series or Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution offer up a mix of facts and action or simulations.
As a side note, gaming machines can have interesting, real-world, side benefits. Have a look at the Folding@home project that PS3’s all over the world are a part of:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding@home