Games in Education

Doug Adams

ALTEC/4Teachers.org

Resources

http://www.slideshare.net/dadams.altec

Food Force

http://www.food-force.com

Why Games?

21st Century Skills

The Millennial Generation

“Millennials”“Generation Y”“N-Gen”, “Generation Next”Oyayubizoku ( 親指族 ) = “Thumb Tribe”“Digital Natives”

The Millennial Generation

“Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach”Mark Prensky

Characteristics of Digital Natives

ActiveMulti-taskingNon-linear thinkingUbiquityTechnical FluencyFeedbackIndividualizationRisk-takingCollaborative

Tapping into 21st Century Learners!

Henry Jenkins James Gee

2:30-3:30

What is a Game?

A competitive activity in which players follow a set of rulesCompetitive: Single player (player versus self), multi-player, computer controlled player

Active: player actions affect outcomesRules:Define victory conditionsDescribe legal playDifferentiate games from one another

Simulations

Simulation: a reproduction or representation of reality

Some simulations are gamesSim CityZoo Tycoon“serious games”

Some simulations may not be gamesEconomic modelsCinematic re-enactmentsAnatomical or geographical exploration

Incidental Learning – Food Force (if ready)

Gaming in Education

Do not, my friend, keep children to their studies by compulsion, but by play -- Plato, Republic.

Games have been widely used in education throughout historyAthleticsDebatesSpelling beesClassroom Jeopardy

Most common uses are assessment and practiceIncidental learning minimized

Gaming in Education

The 1970s saw a dramatic increase in the use of games for educational purposes

“As the true character of gaming as a unique communication form becomes clear, its use… will become pervasive” Richard Duke (1974), The Future’s Language

In the 1980s there was a focus on basic skill development – Reader Rabbit & Math Blaster

Why Games?

Brain Research

The brain developed to solve problems related to surviving in an unstable outdoor environment that occur in near constant motion. John Medina, Brain Rules

If you wanted to create an educational environment that is directly opposed to what the brain is good at doing, you would probably design something like the modern classroom.John Medina, Brain Rules

Why Games?

Brain Research

Patterns

The human brain loves patterns. We see patterns all around, in everyday life, in nature, in man-made objects.

We see patterns even when they don’t exist

Emotion

Our brains work best when there are emotions involvedExcitementEngagementEnthusiasmExploration

Frustration

Collaboration

Our brains want to work with others

Games…

…provide structured patterns

…create emotional connections

…encourage collaboration

“Better theories of learning are embedded in the video games many children play than in the schools they attend.”

James Paul GeeWhat Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy

What kinds of theories?

Student-centered learningPeer teachingScaffoldingFeedbackProblem-solvingEmpathy, role-playCollaborationPracticeDevelopment of expertise

Simple machines

Umm, what?

Flow and Frustration

5:35-7:25

Flow: the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. (Mihály Csíkszentmihályi)

It's good for a player when they learn that their failure will never depend on luck, it's all because they strived, learned and finally succeeded.  And at the end, all the fun from this type of game comes down to the joy of learning

How Games Teach

1. Activity – a game depends on learner not being passive

2. Engagement – longer time on task, greater involvement, rewards

3. X2: Exploration and Experimentation – support creativity, scientific thinking, opportunity for (relatively consequence free) failure

How Games Teach

4. Frequent achievement – smaller tasks with individual rewards, motivating

5. Expanding competence – scaffolding and breadcrumbs

6. No right answer7. Working within a set of rules8. Language – signs, symbols, slang all

promote language skills. Game literacy = world literacy

How Games Teach

9. Social nature

10. Identity and empathy – students identify with characters and situations

11. Simulation – students can explore situations that are otherwise impossible

12. Practice – drill and repetition

How Games Teach

13. Application – learn and apply new knowledge

14. Context – relationship between objectives and game content

15. Feedback cycle – analysis > decision > feedback > analysis

How Games Teach

16. Multimodal – text, images, sounds, symbols, actions

17. Reflection – emphasis on thinking, problem solving rather than “twitch”

18. Mastery – Experienced players teach new players, experts become mentors

19. Challenge – game players seek out difficult or challenging tasks

Limitations of Games

ContentAlignment with standardsInaccurate information (most games aren’t designed to be “educational” at all!)

Fidelity of simulation

Transfer of skillsContent skillsThinking skillsPedagogical skills

3:30-5:30

Challenges for Teachers

TimeAlignment with StandardsCostSoftwareHardware

AssessmentRubrics, participation, presentations

Management Strategies

Set Expectations & ParametersInternet Safety & GuidelinesParent Note HomeStudent ContractRotate for FreshnessKeep Links OrganizedClass blog, Delicious, Diigo

Kids suggestion box

Concerns about Games

They cause violenceThey are just for boysThey are just for kids

“Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked” by Henry Jenkins

Scientific American

A pernicious excitement to learn and play _____ has spread all over the country, and numerous clubs for playing this game have been formed in cities and villages. Why should we regret this? It may be asked. We answer, _____ is a mere amusement of very inferior character, which robs the mind of valuable time that might be devoted to nobler acquirements, while it affords no benefit whatever to the body. _____ has acquired a high reputation as being a means to discipline the mind, but persons engaged in sedentary occupations should never practice this cheerless game; they require out-door exercises—not this sort of mental gladiatorship.

Scientific American, July, 1859

A pernicious excitement to learn and play chess has spread all over the country, and numerous clubs for playing this game have been formed in cities and villages. Why should we regret this? It may be asked. We answer, chess is a mere amusement of very inferior character, which robs the mind of valuable time that might be devoted to nobler acquirements, while it affords no benefit whatever to the body. Chess has acquired a high reputation as being a means to discipline the mind, but persons engaged in sedentary occupations should never practice this cheerless game; they require out-door exercises—not this sort of mental gladiatorship.

Targeted Games

Focused goalsEase of learningRapid and frequent respondingMultiplayer competitive playVarious achievement levels for individuals and teamsChoice and autonomyIncreasingly challenging tasks

(aka) “Skill & Drill”

Mr. Nussbaum http://www.mrnussbaum.com/Explore for a whileCompare “true games” to “simulations” or “activities”

Why are most games “drill and practice”?Is this sort of activity outdated?Is there a place for it?Can it still be standards based?

1X1=12X2=43X3=94X4=16

ALTEC Games

http://arcademics.com/Math and Language Arts

http://www.4kids.org/Angles and Coordinates

Jerry Chaffin Theory

Rate vs. Percent CorrectCertain Types of KnowledgeBuild Fluency (accuracy and speed)Build speed, disregard accuracyOnce response rate is high, focus on accuracyImmediate drop in speed, but quick to recoverSensible useKids need foundation

Arcademic Skill Builders are research-based and standards-aligned multi player and single player educational video games that engage students in drill and practice school subjects.

The user response has been overwhelmingly positive, we have quickly grown in popularity and now have 400,000 games played a day on our site www.arcademics.com

We Help Make Learning Fun!

Arcademics.com

Of the 53 million K–12 students in the U.S., 51 million of them (or 93%) play video games. Arcademic Skill Builders tap into the excitement of video games to engage today’s students and help develop their 21st Century Skills. Our games help improve student performance through:

• Increased time on task • Increased student motivation and engagement • Increased corrective feedback

The Arcademic games incorporate principles of practice, cooperative learning, corrective feedback, and reinforcement to improve student fluency in school subjects.

Play Grand Prix Multiplication

Student Engagement

Arcademics.com

Arcademics is the forefront of educational gaming for elementary students. We now have:

• 500,000 games played a day

• 1,200,000 visitors a month, increasing 10-15% every month for the last 2 years

• Users from 159 countries play the games

Site Stats

Feedback from teachers and students has been overwhelmingly positive. Teachers and students send us success stories of how they’re using the games in class. Check out these success stories at http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/

Feedback

Arcademics.com

Pilot Study

Olathe KS School District

- 2 schools, 4 classrooms

- School computer labs

- Pre-test, play games for 1 week, post-test

- Control group: Pre-test, flashcards, post-test

Results

26%: improvement in rate (how quickly a student correctly answers the problem) compared to flash cards

1.8%: increase in percent correct compared to flashcards

80%: of students improved their rate scores

9%: improvement of percent correct in students who scored below 80% in the pre-test

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/nsf/pilot_study.shtml

Backend Development Status

Our backend product currently in development will feature:

- Student Score Tracking

- Customized Game Content

- Differentiated Assignments

Arcademic Backend Demo lms.arcademicskillbuilders.com

- Adaptive questioning

- Item calibration

- Predictive Items

- Algorithm integration into games

IRT Algorithm

Arcademics.com

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/ideas/reports_student.htm

Goal: Use emerging technology games and digital tools in after-school programs to improve middle school mathematics achievement of students in urban and rural schools not making AYP.Ratio & ProportionLinear EquationsData & Statistics

http://matrixgames.altec.org

http://matrixgames.altec.org

Plotter PenguinPlotter Penguin

Linear equations•Coordinates•Adding to X and Y•Rise and run•Slope•Enemy boss

Laser Sonic Spy

Using a protractor

Reading a protractor

Estimation

Angle of reflection/angle of approach

http://matrixgames.altec.org/

Vocabulary RankerVocabulary Ranker Multiplayer

Understanding vocabulary

Finding examples

Peer review

What makes a game… Standards-Based? Worthy? Valid?

“Big Al” Biologyhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dinosaurs/bigalgame/index.html

“Design a Planet” Planet Characteristicshttp://astroventure.arc.nasa.gov/

“Bedtime Bandits” Timehttp://www.mrnussbaumgames.com/bedtime_bandits/index.html

“Banana Hut” Angleshttp://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/bananahunt/bhunt.html

More Game Examples

Food Force

Stop Disasters

Magic Pen

You Are the Historian

Team Treks

Third World Farmer

Minyanland

ElectroCity

Nanoquest

Real Lives

Traveler IQ

The Forbidden City

Discover Babylon

Dimension Math

Lunar Quest

Web Rangers

Peacemaker

Budget Hero

Redistricting Game

•Massively multiplayer online games are the fastest growing segment of the industry•Most popular are modeled after heroic fantasy, but other themes are prevalent •80% of players are over 19 years old, 60% are male•Many worlds will support 500,00-1,000,000 players from around the world online at any time

Virtual worlds

Therapeutic Applications of Virtual Environments

PsychologicalPhobias (Spider World, flying,

speaking)Sports psychology Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

PhysiologicalDistraction (exercise, games,

ChocolateWorld)Pain relief (Snow World)

Club Penguin

Historical visits

Explore Colonial Williamsburg and see what life was like at the time of the American Revolution

8:30-10:30

Economics in Virtual Worlds

Planning and goal setting (Club Penguin)

Auctioning and bidding systems

Virtual stock exchanges

MarketWatch

Hollywood Stock Exchange

Economics in Virtual Worlds

Thousands of buy and sell transactions occur daily, as players trade items within the gameEconomic transactions impact on real worldReal economic and social models can be explored

City of HeroesSurvey of Discussion Topics 7/15/10

Speculative marketsVariants on auction strategiesMarket functions and mechanicsArbitrage“Trading transparency”

Guide to Market Participation

“The instant resolution nature of the consignment house has an interesting effect on steady-state properties of the market. Let’s suppose for a moment that the system is seeded with a large number of random entries for both bids and postings:

(b1 b2 … bN) and(p1 p2 … pN)

The subscripts here denote increasing denominations of currency, i.e. both the bids and postings are sorted within their own pools.

As long as any bids are higher than any postings, the system will resolve transactions and remove those bids and postings from play. If there are any bids and postings left, which we would expect in many instances, there are by definition two domains in the market afterwards:

(b1 b2 … bM) ... (pM+1 pM+2 … pN)

That is, the highest remaining bid is lower than the lowest remaining posting. In other words, these two domains – known as the bid pool and the sell pool - are disjoint. They have in a very tangible sense become two separate markets.”

Sources

Don't Bother Me Mom--I'm Learning! by Marc Prensky – Paragon House Publishers (2006)What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee – Palgrave Macmillan; 2nd edition (2007)How Computer Games Help Children Learn by David Williamson Shaffer – Palgrave Macmillan (2008)Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives by John Palfrey – Basic Books (2008)Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do by Lawrence Kutner – Simon & Schuster (2008)Brain Rules by John Medina – Pear Press (2008) http://www.brainrules.net/

“Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked” by Henry Jenkins http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.htmlFederation of American Scientists - Summit on Educational Games (2006)http://www.fas.org/gamesummit/“Games, Motivation, and Learning” - White Paper (PDF)http://caspianlearning.co.uk/Whtp_Games_Motivation_Learning.pdf“You Play World of Warcraft? You're Hired! Why multiplayer games may be the best kind of job training” by John Seely Brown and Douglas Thomas (Wired Magazine, April, 2006)http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.04/learn.html

Games in Education video by Mark Wagner and Michael Guerena of the Orange County (CA) Department of Education's Educational Technology group -- http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6117726917684965691

Web Sites

This Presentation – http://www.slideshare.net/dadams.altec

4Kids – http://4kids.org Arcademic Skill Builders – http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.comMatrix Games -- http://matrixgames.altec.org/

Dimension Math (fee-based, demos online) -- http://www.dimensionm.com/Mr. Nussbaum -- http://www.mrnussbaum.com/mathcode.htm Oswego County School District -- http://resources.oswego.org/games/ National Library of Virtual Manipulatives – http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.htmlClub Penguin – http://clubpenguin.comVirtual Stock Exchange – http://vse.marketwatch.com/Game/Homepage.aspx Hollywood Stock Exchange – http://hsx.com/

Marc Prensky’s Web site – http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Henry Jenkins’ blog – http://henryjenkins.org

Doug Adams

dadams@altec.org

http://altec.org