This document discusses how online games can facilitate the development of 21st century skills. It notes that the modern workplace requires skills like problem-solving, teamwork, communication and managing self. While schools aim to teach these skills, much learning occurs informally through social play and collaboration. Online games provide opportunities for "collateral learning" of 21st century skills when played socially. Researchers have found games can help players manage information, thrive in diverse environments and adapt to changing conditions. The document envisions online games and virtual worlds being used in schools and lifelong learning to supplement formal curricula and foster skill development through communities of practice.

2. Collateral Learning:
Online Games for
21st Century Skills
Lisa Galarneau
Ph.D. Candidate
The University of Waikato
New Zealand
lisa@socialstudygames.com

3. The face of
work is
changing…

4. The
modern
workplace
photo: Allan Hsu

5. Knowledge
workers…

7. 21st century skills?
 Soft skills, emotional
intelligence, enterprise skills
 Problem-solving, decision-
making, team-work,
communication, collaboration,
managing self, information
literacy, relating to others,
entrepreneurship, taking
initiative

8. What about
schools?

12. We most
often learn
without
meaning
to…

13. Social play is
particularly
good for
learning…

14. Collateral
learning…

15. Even single
player games
are often
played
cooperatively

16. Because
games have
always been
primarily
social…

17. Virtual
Worlds…

19. How can online games facilitate 21st
century skill development?
Dede’s critical skills:
 Manage information
 Comfort with
diversity
 Thrive on chaos

23.  The U.S. Military (Massive
Multiplayer Online Gaming: A
Research Framework for
Military Training and Education,
2005) -
http://www.strategicleader.us
Who believes? /ExperientalLearningPapers/
GameReport_Bonk_final.pdf
 Researchers: Katie Livingston
Vale, Constance Steinkuehler,
Toru Fujimoto, Nick Yee, Aaron
Delwiche, James Paul Gee,
Kurt Squire

24. Periodic
 Storypath/story-based curricula
(content)
 Team-building/cooperation/
communication (skills)
 Research (skills)
How might it  Simulation/synthetic worlds
(systems thinking)
look? Ongoing
 Communities of practice united
around play (content/skills/
sociocultural literacy)
 Lifelong learning (content/skills)

25. Principles (Bonk and Dennen)

26. Revolution

27. Industry Player

28.  Join an existing group of at least 4
members. After gaining their trust and
loyalty, persuade the group to hunt at a
different spot.
 Start a group, and then get the group to
Leadership a designated location deep within a
level-appropriate dungeon to get a drop
Training (as from a specific mob.
imagined by Nick  The leader of a guild that is about to
fracture over a long-standing issue has
Yee*) just stepped down from the position.
Keep this leaderless guild together while
keeping attrition to a minimum.
 Create a guild of at least 50 active
members with a weekly attrition of not
more than 5%.
* http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/000515.php?page=3

29. To ponder…  Will online games/virtual
worlds become mainstream
activities?
 Will we all inhabit a variety
of worlds?
 Will we sign up for lifelong
learning? Like sports, will
online games be not only
fun but good for us, too?
 Might our educational
system develop an
appreciation for informal,
collateral learning?

30. Galarneau, Lisa and Melanie Zibit.
(In Press)
The future is written in the present:
Online games for 21st century
competency.
Much, much
In Games and simulations in online
more in learning: Research and development
forthcoming frameworks.
book chapter! David Gibson, Clark Aldrich, Marc Prensky
(Eds.)
Draft available at:
http://lisa.socialstudygames.com/
Galarneau_Zibit_OnlineGames.pdf

31. QUESTIONS?
Vintage Images from Tales of Future Past: http://davidszondy.com