Games for Learning

COM 427 October 15, 2013

1. According to de Castell and Jenson, what do studies of games – and in particular, studies of the educational potential of games – often overlook?

A) the financial cost of gamesB) cultural contexts in which games are played, talked about, modded, etc.C) the representation of gender in gamesD) Canadians

2. de Castell and Jenson argue that in most educational games, “_____ is an enticement; it induces reluctant participants to perform learning tasks that are structurally posited in the game itself as unpleasant.”

A) learningB) character customizationC) playD) bacon

3. Reiber distinguishes between 3 major views of education: essentialism, experimentalism and existentialism. Describing “essentialism”, Rieber writes: “in this ________ model of education the ‘all knowing’ teacher is expected to deliver or transmit the knowledge”

A) essentialB) transmissionC) stupidD) primitive

4. Reiber: “Csikszentmihalyi (1990, p. 4) defines _______ as ‘. .. the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.’”

A) learningB) readingC) videogamesD) flow

BONUS

Reiber writes “the benefits of play are long-term”, and therefore games are not useful or relevant to “performance tests of narrow objectives”, such as ______________.

A) quizzesB) twerkingC) standardized achievement testsD) essays

MidTermsAverage score of 8.4/10

Procedural rhetoricBeyond explaining the game’s rules; what argument is this game making? Race / gender / ethnicityi) what kinds of stereotypes? ii) how else besides characters?

AssemblagesWhat other contexts? What about the game’s length, user inputs, interface, platform?

ResearchNot only concepts & readings from class, but use of outside sources

Freedom Bridge• The meaning & ‘effects’ of its simplicity & minimalism

• Why is this called a ‘non-game?’

• Assemblage: what is the significance of the length, controls, and low-tech / browser-based aspects of the game, in terms of where/how it can be played?

Street Fighter IIWhat kind of experience is the game trying to create? What would you compare this to?

Assemblage: roots in the arcade; continued presence in pro fighting game community

Guitar Hero• The process is about ‘playing as’ a

rock n roll hero; it’s not the remediation of guitar playing – it’s the remediation of AIR GUITAR.

• The game represents race & gender through song selection as well as characters.

• How does the controller construct a ‘target audience?’

EDUCATIONAL GAMESHow can we best HARNESS the power of games to TEACH?

education games educational games

CHOCOLATE-COVERED BROCCOLI

The Diabetic Dog Game

http://nobelprize.org/educational/

Commercial games Educational games

Agency Exploration Prescription

Feedback Trial and error Right vs wrong

Narrative “Endogenous” “Exogenous”

Blame Designer Learner/player

GROUPWORK• Groups of 3-4

• What is the ‘educational outcome?’

• What kinds of agency do you have?

• How much reading did you do; what did you have to read?

• What happens when you lose/fail?

• Is the narrative endogenous or exogenous to the game’s learning outcome?

Commercial games Educational games

Agency Exploration Prescription

Feedback Trial and error Right vs wrong

Narrative “Endogenous” “Exogenous”

Blame Designer Learner/player

THE GAMES:Z-Type http://phoboslab.org/ztype/Spent http://playspent.org/Ayiti: Cost of Life http://www.brainpop.com/games/ayitithecostoflife/Oregon Trail (iPad)Family of Heroes http://www.kognito.com/demos/ (will need to sign up)http://demos.kognito.com/?k=1064a83db1beddf673208d8147c20957

What kinds of things are games best at teaching?

What are they not so good at teaching?