Presentation on the successes and challenges use of game design and virtual worlds by Macquarie ICT Innovations Centre in an school setting to engage students in learning.
Using Game Design & Virtual Worlds for Creation of Interesting & Engaging Learning Courses
1. A NSW Department of Education &
Communities case study
Using game design and virtual worlds for creation
of interesting and engaging learning projects.
2. Macquarie ICT Innovations Centre
collaborative
agreement
MacICT mission is ‘to develop, implement and evaluate innovative ways
of enhancing learning through the application of dynamic and
emerging information and communication technologies.'
3. 2011 Projects: Clients:
Game2Design - K – 12 teachers & students
- Public & private systems
Virtual Worlds – Trinity
We provide:
Mobile Learning
- Project-based approach
Robotics - Authentic context
- Teacher training
Learning Design workshops
- Student bootcamps
- Student showcases
- Ongoing support for
duration of project
4. Design thinking underpins all projects
A methodology that teaches people to creatively solve problems
d.school bootcamp.2008
Promotes action orientated behaviour rather than discussion based work
5. Why Game Design? The heart of 21st Century learning is not about
the tools, it is about learning how to learn.
Game design offers students and their teachers a unique platform to address
essential skills in becoming independent learners
while meeting curriculum outcomes.
6. Key Issues in Gamification:
Through video games,
players attain:
Positive Emotions
Relationships
Meaning
Accomplishment
P.E.R.M.A
Dr. Martin Seligman
7. 10 powerful positive emotions games activate:
10. Joy 5. Curiosity
9. Relief 4. Excitement
8. Love 3. Awe & Wonder
7. Surprise 2. Contentment
6. Pride 1. Creativity
Jane McGonigal
8. The Project: Invasion of the Shadow Plague
A narrative based metagame centred in a Wordpress blog
teaching students to design and build using
Microsoft Kodu Game Lab
9. Good Game Design Workshop
Students & teachers
completed these activities:
Deconstructed games
Reviewed real games
Designed a game level
Built a game level
To learn the following principles:
Clear goal
Story
World
Challenge
Player feedback
Difficulty curve Krill & Zed from Little Space Heroes
www.littlespaceheroes.com
12. Training and Resources Provided
• Good Game Design workshops for teachers & bootcamps for students
• Students design documentation
• Access to 140 video tutorials
• Fully moderated blog
• Ongoing support via Edmodo, email, school visits
13. Trial of prototype:
5 x schools
- 2 x primary
- 3 x high schools
600 students, Years 3 to 10
549 posts in 1½ weeks
2nd iteration:
4 x schools
- 2 x primary
- 2 x high school
Total students:
- 886 in project
- Additional 356
completed bootcamps
14. What worked:
• Workshops & bootcamps, particularly 2 day immersion program
• Software was free & accessible from school and home.
• Real – world links with Indie game development community
• High levels of participation (1300 students, 60 teachers)
• High levels of engagement from both male and female students.
• Curation of a large number of student reflections & games
15. “When we are designing games we are learning to solve problems in
context. We come across a problem like a crash message, we have to
recognise the problem, understand the problem, and its source and
work out a solution. I’d rather fix a crash than some abstract scenario
that I can’t relate to.” Year 6 student
16. Successful 3dedrats
Game On festival
Indie Game Designer’s showcase
Info sessions presented by students,
teachers, academics & parents.
Game Design Speed Challenge
Minecraft multiplayer world
Mobile phone QR code hunt, Mario Kart
challenge, Retro gaming, Battle Tetris,
Kinect dancing, Microsoft xbox kinect
trailer & zombie live action nerf game
ABC’s Good Game field reporter, Goose
and robot D.A.R.R.E.N. covered the day.
Game On festival was the feature story on
Good Game Spawn Point
http://3dedrats.wordpress.com/2011/11/2
1/game-on-festival-wrap-up/
17. What we learnt:
• Inconsistent student expectations and monitoring by teachers
• Instructions not always read
• Manual moderation of mission posts was time consuming
• Scalability - better hosting solution e.g. Drupal, bigger budget (web
design, graphics, support staff etc)
• Commitment of teachers to a long term project
• Teachers need to be key stakeholders in the development of the
project
18. When 2050
A virtual world is a 3D computer
environment.
Users are represented as avatars.
MacICT’s world, Trinity is The Hab
constructed using an open source MacICT’s virtual world - Trinity
software called OpenSim
19. Year 10 students designed and constructed architectural prototypes for
Australian cities for the year 2050. Designs incorporated:
- ideas such as, sustainability, function and aesthetics.
- needs such as communication, energy, food, housing, recreation &
transport.
20. “Trinity (3D Virtual Worlds) has changed the way I design … I will now
design with a very open mind. This project has pushed me to work harder
to develop my concepts and ideas.” Year 10 student
21. What we learnt:
• Powerful
collaborative,
immersive tool
• Technology
constraints
• Bandwith
• Scalability
• Exhibition at SCA &
School Spectacular
http://3dedrats.wordpress.com/201
1/12/09/virtual-worlds-collaborative-
design-challenge/
“The technology provides for the quick activation of ideas, construction
of shapes, use of textures all within a 3D space. Students are fully
engaged in the whole process of having the power to create major
structures, to move around, in and out, above and below their building
structures. This is total immersion.” Teacher comment
Over the last couple of days I have heard words such as ‘engagement’, ‘learner centric’, ‘blended learning’, ‘collaboration’ and creativity used on several occasions when referring to learners. These same or similar words are used to describe the type of learning we aim to design for our students. The huge challenge for educators today is to transform our teaching to meet the needs of our 21st century learners. Teachers are grappling with new ways of learning for themselves and their students which often involve a huge paradigm shift. Some of these new ways include:Personal learning networks (PLN) or learning communitiesCrowd collaborationCrowd sourcingPassion learningStudent voiceDifferentiated learningAuthentic/ real world problem solvingStudents as creators of digital content not simply consumers and the greatest shift in pedagogy. i.e. student led learning design.And of course the flood of digital technologies including web 2.0 tools availableTeachers are faced with teaching key skills including: creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and new literacies including information literacy, media literacy and ICT literacy.
This is where my organisation has an important role to play.The Centre’s focus:a project-based approach to working with teachers and their students. Core business includes: comprehensive teacher professional learning and support program where MacICT staff and school teachers develop projects that are curriculum-based and meet the individual needs of the teachers and their classesDual purpose:Training teachersWorking with students
What is project based learning?a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning essential knowledge and life-enhancing skills through an extended, student-influenced inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks.When working with teachers we:Decide on what learning outcomes linked to curriculum we want to achieveSkills of learnersTeacher skills and resourcesBlended learning environment: face to face, video conference, onlineWhere possible, open source or free software
design thinkingcreative process based around the “building up” of ideas.no judgments early on in design thinking.eliminates the fear of failureencourages maximum input and participation in the ideation and prototype phasesAn example of a design thinking process could have seven stages: define, research, ideate, prototype, choose, implement, and learn.Within these seven steps, problems can be framed, the right questions can be asked, more ideas can be created, and the best answers can be chosen. The steps aren’t linear; they can occur simultaneously and can be repeated.
Slide shows what we learn when we play video games.Games are everywhereDid you know -10, 000 hours spent playing games by the age of 21.Globally – 3 billion hours a week spent playing digital games Video game market (excluding hardware) is projected to grow more than 100% in 10 years.Growth outstripping movie & music industry – games part of daily lifeHardcore gamers – multiple consoles & gaming rigsCasual gamers – mess around with smartphones. Games are cheaper and fasterVideo games are increasingly being recognised as the literacy of the 21st century.
What if we immersed our students in designing games to tackle the world’s most urgent problems?
The Invasion of the Shadow Plague Kodu project is a narrative based metagame built within a WordPress Blog. It offers students learning that is situated and gamelike. The project: requires students to take on the identity and behaviour of a hero and design games to save the people from the ‘Realm of Light’.has a gamelike approach to learning that draws on the intrinsic qualities of games and their design. requires students to complete nine missions and write nine mission reports.provides feedback loops designed so that as each mission is successfully completed, the students earn a digital badge allowing them to level up and attempt the next mission.situated learning is learning that takes place in the same context in which it is applied
No more than 15 students in world at one time on remote locations.Between 20 – 30 if at MacICTGreater bandwithReliable technology
Last slide.Infrastructure including:BandwithTechnologySkills of teacher ICT coordinator