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Sprint Into Your Library! Developing an Online Orientation Game for Students
Katherine Hanz | Liaison Librarian, McGill UniversityJessica Lange | Scholarly Communications Librarian, McGill University
Describe the potential for gaming in libraries.
Summarize basic strategies for designing and implementing a successful game.
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
They’re fun!
Motivation (Pagowsky, n.d.)
Improved retention of learning materials (Tewell & Angell, 2015)
Why games?
Dartmouth College – scavenger hunt
California State University – Fresno – online orientation game
UC Merced – scavenger hunt
University of Waterloo – scavenger hunt/race
Lots more…
Orientation events + gaming
North Carolina State University Course-integrated library orientation Mobile scavenger hunt (50 min.) Used free tools rather than an app
“One ENG 101 faculty member wrote that the “activity engaged students… on a level that led to increased understanding, deeper learning, and almost complete recall of important library functions.” (Burke, 2012)
Our inspiration
Overview of library orientation:
Committee plans events, coordinates activities etc.
Traditionally a mix of workshops and tours offered
Attendance numbers vary greatly depending on the branch Hard to schedule
Is there a better way to reach students?
Our context – McGill
Learning objectives: Recognize the main areas of their branch library Recall the main services available to them at the library
Intended audience: Undergraduates, primarily in their first year
Included challenges: Locating reserves, group study rooms, photocopying, finding a book etc.
McGill Library Sprint Overview
SCVNGR
Scavify
Goosechase
Edventure builder (Green Door Labs)
Game platform options
Game structure
Social media
McGill Library webpage
Orientation events
Bookmarks at service points
During library workshops
Promotion & Branding
In Fall 2015, used in the following courses: EDEC-203: Communication in Education CEGL-423: Intensive English (for ESL students)
Replaced introduction to the library/basic catalogue searching exercises used in previous semesters
Students worked in small groups rather than individually
Race took place part-way through the workshop to maximize participation
Using the Sprint in course workshops
Provided a short pre/post test:
Evaluation from EDEC-203
How familiar are you with the Humanities & Social Sciences Library? 1 2 3 4 5Not familiar Very familiar Do you feel comfortable finding your way around the library? 1 2 3 4 5Not comfortable Very comfortable I know how to find a book in the catalogue YES / NO I know how to check out a book YES / NO
28 responses Comfort Question:
Pre-test, the mean level of comfort was 1.3. Post-test, the mean level of comfort was 3.46.
Survey Results
“This is very fun. I like it- different way to discover the library :)”
“It was very useful! We know where to look for specific things now.”
“It was fun but sometimes it was hard. Even though we didn't find everything it actually helped me to find many things and made me understand a bit more how the library works.”
Class Comments
Get instructor buy-in ahead of time
Make sure that the learning objectives are appropriate
Carefully budget class time
Be prepared to adjust your expectations
Lessons learned from “sprinting” with a class
400 unique users started the game 90 completed the entire activity (included ~15 in-class attempts)
45% of game attempts occurred in the first week of September
Range of disciplines and years represented
Evaluation – overall
Rebrand game (confusion over what playing “online” means)
Provide more guidance for challenging tasks (i.e. locating a book)
Make the game path linear
Better integration into introductory library sessions
Redesign questions so there’s no ‘cheating’
Recommendations
Test test test!
Questions to ask: Is this aspect of library experience suitable for gamification? Is this game experience something the target group would enjoy? What is the ultimate goal of gamifying this aspect of library experience? What are the logistical needs that should be met to ensure the success of the
gamification project? (Kim, n.d.)
Successful game design & best practices
Questions?Katherine Hanz | [email protected] Lange | [email protected]
Burke, A. (2012). Demystifying the library with game-based mobile learning. Retrieved from http://acrl.ala.org/techconnect/post/demystifying-the-library-with-game-based-mobile-learning
Kim, B. (n.d.). Keeping up with gamification. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/keeping_up_with/gamification
Pagowsky, N. (n.d.). Literature review: Motivation in gamified learning Scenarios. Retrieved from http://nicolepagowsky.info/documents/pagowsky_etcv524_litreview.pdf
Tewell, E., & Angell, K. (2015). Far from a Trivial Pursuit: Assessing the effectiveness of games in information literacy instruction. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 10(1), 20-33. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.18438/B8B60X
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