Offers highlights from doctoral research into games and shared leadership with the implications for use in online education. Presented at the 2013 TCC Worldwide Online Conference as simulcast from the Colorado Technical University Spring 2013 Doctoral Symposium by Dr. Linda Hamons, Dr. Andrew Stricker, Dr. Anne-Marie Armstrong and Dr. Cynthia Calongne.

1. Participation Matters
Evaluating Shared Leadership in Online Games
Linda Hamons
Andrew Stricker
Cynthia Calongne
Anne-Marie Armstrong
TCC Worldwide
Online Conference
April 18, 2013
Colorado Technical University
Doctoral Symposium Workshop

2. This session reflects on how to foster shared
leadership opportunities for group work in online
learning environments through the study of how the
leadership role was shared between virtual team
members in an online game.
Highlights from the study feature the game
environment that was designed by Air University's
Innovations and Integrations Division, the research
methods, instruments and a summary of the findings
that may assist educators in their online course
development.

4. Experimental Design

5. Games and Play Styles
Types of games Play styles
• Word , trivia or puzzle • Individual or social
• Scavenger or Treasure Hunt • Multiplayer cooperative
• Action or adventure • Multiplayer competitive
• Real Time Strategy (RTS) • Everyone is a winner!
• Roleplay game (RPG) • Last man standing – PvP
• MMORPGs • Player vs Environment
• Arcade or Video games • Roleplay
• First Person Shooter (FPS) • Capture the flag
• Simulations (Sims) • Team wins
• Board or card games • High score

6. Instructors’ Game Consoles

7. Game Master Control Console

10. Game Roles and Tactics

11. Ethnographic Study Results

12. Who is the Leader?

13. Observations

14. Protection, Guidance and Leadership

15. Conflict and Leadership Change

16. Avoiding Conflict During the
Game

17. The Reusable Game Environment

18. Shared Leadership Study Findings
• A single leadership role may be faster
– The quality of the experience was lower
• A shared leadership role
– Increases the protective actions & behaviors after
increased conflict
– Shared leadership teams take more time
• Players completed the game with fewer objectives/clues
• Voice seems to be preferred over text
– Faster for gameplay; smoother for communications

19. Implications for Online Education
• While a team leader is more direct
– May experience an increase in individual involvement
through shared leadership
• A shared leadership role
– May result in better topic exploration
– Centers on discussion and may leverage conflict
• Team members shift between protective and directing roles
• Further study is needed to analyze the behavior of
these self-organizing leaders

20. Participation Matters Questions?
Evaluating Shared Leadership in Online Games
Linda Hamons
Andrew Stricker
Cynthia Calongne
Anne-Marie Armstrong
TCC Worldwide
Online Conference
April 18, 2013
Colorado Technical University
Doctoral Symposium Workshop