EDU TECH: Games for Bridging the Gap

CS 4660 Spring 2010

Phase III Collaborative Report

Mae Tidman, Andrea Benavides, Brian Barnard, Matt Lovett

ABSTRACT

Our proposition is that video games are a

multimedia that, complementary with traditional

teaching, can help bridge the gap between high-

ability and low-ability learners. In the scope of

this report, we cover an explanation of the

achievement gap and how video games can help

decrease the divide. We begin by arguing that

media can make great learning tools, followed by

an examination of video games as multimedia.

We then discuss the benefits of using video

games as a learning tool. Finally we look at

existing examples of educational games.

Keywords

Achievement gap; education technology; video

games; education games; media education

debate; Whyville.

1. INTRODUCTION

Teachers struggle to motivate all students

simultaneously, this is nothing new; however,

technology can assist teachers in tackling this

challenge. The students that get “left behind” are

at a disadvantage because the education system’s

traditions and standards do not mold to their

unique needs. Students describe their favorite

classes as the ones that engaged them or catch

their attention in a way that seems to apply to

them particularly – but not necessarily all the

students in any specific course benefit from the

environment, teacher, subject, content, and

everything else that goes into someone’s

education. If we want to help all students

simultaneously, an environment that

encompasses the needs of the majority of all

students would be necessary. Media in education

has been researched and argued to have an impact

on creating motivation and interesting contexts

for students, which is especially important for

students having a difficult time adapting to the

varying classroom materials and expectations.

Given this prior investigation, we think that video

games as multimedia teaching artifacts would

succeed in aiding low- and medium-ability

students to the point of decreasing the

achievement gap that is a huge problem faced by

the educational institutions of America.

1.1 The Achievement Gap

The achievement gap is explained as a disparity

between performances by groups defined by

ability. Despite the existing research involving

the achievement gap and media as a learning tool,

there has been little research about media being

used to directly affect the achievement gap. In his

topic essay, Hunter Gehlbach of Stanford

University states that, “The question of why

particular groups of students achieve or fail to

achieve is one that motivation researchers have

only minimally addressed” [5].

To better understand this discrepancy among

students we must first explain the differences

between high- and low-ability children. Students

with different levels of ability face challenges

and advantages that vary from student to student.

Low-ability students have individual reasons for

his or her lack of success, but in general they are

grouped together by lack of motivation,

concentration, prior skill and knowledge.

Through Gehlbach and other researchers of the

topic of ability learning, we have summed up

what can typically be expected to impact the

achievement of different students the most.

1.2 High- and Low-Ability Students

High-ability students are most impacted by their

prior skill and knowledge relating to the school

subject. These students are observed to be the

most likely group to apply themselves and make

an effort to learn the material even when they are

not interested in it; this probably has to do with a

student’s will to achieve simply because they are

more likely or inclined to naturally. On the other

hand, low-ability students’ achievement is more

likely to be determined by motivation than by

level of prior knowledge. Their performances

have been observed to vary depending upon

whether they actually engage in the task or not,

and these students are also more likely to

perceive the environment quite differently from

their peers. Achievement for medium-ability

learners depends upon a combination of prior

skill, motivation, and potentially their perception

of the learning environment, and Gehlbach’s

research shows that interest and self-efficacy

were significantly related to the outcome of exam

scores [5].

1.3 Helping ALL Students Learn

To enable every student to reach his or her full

potential, an environment must be capable of

catering to the various needs and motivations of

each student while meeting the standards for

education. This environment would ideally be a

responsive environment capable of adjusting

itself to meet the needs of the student choosing to

use it. Offering students choices about what and

how they learn bolsters their feelings of self-

determination and autonomy, which is then likely

to increase their motivation [5]. An environment

that encourages students to pursue mastery goals

(i.e. goals to understand material and improve

that understanding over time) is likely to increase

the effort and amount of time students expend on

tasks. Interest in content and course should also

be supported or – more beneficially –

strengthened by this educational environment.

We believe video games as a multimedia directed

to address educational subjects in engaging and

motivating ways can achieve the goal of

decreasing the achievement gap and giving all

students more advantages in learning.

2. DEFENDING OUR PROPOSITION

2.1 Media for Learning

An assortment of media is an educator’s best

toolbox for successfully teaching a variety of

class materials to a wide range of student

abilities. While all people are capable of

establishing mental models about the world, not

everyone can create their own mental

representations of information as conveyed by

just any device. Media can fill the holes in

cognition that prevent students from learning, and

different media are able to fill in different holes.

For example, Jennifer Rusted and Veronika

Coltheart did a study in 1979 showing that

image-supplemented text does a much better job

of conveying information in a passage than just

plain text. Poor readers were able to retain only

pictured information, while good readers were

able to retain information presented both

textually and with images combined with text [6].

Age, learning ability, and intention all affect how

a student treats a source of information, which in

turn effects what they take away from the

experience. Charles Bazerman from Baruch

College University did a study that evaluated

how professionals in a domain treated text

documents in their subject of study [2]. They read

slowly and deliberately, skipping through the

document for interesting or relevant pieces of

information, and while they did not read the

entire document, they did retain the information

that they concentrated on. For poor readers

however, who read each word one by one, often

slowing down or repeating lines when they come

across unfamiliar words or word combinations,

reading is a very different experience that does

not always end in comprehension; especially

since most of their effort is dedicating to getting

through a passage rather than retaining

information [7]. When used to supplement

learning, media can provide different types of

help depending on the needs of the learner.

The various forms of media are also predisposed

to being particularly well suited to conveying

certain types of information. Each medium

conveys information in a unique way that makes

it better suited to serving certain learning styles

and ability levels. Television, as an example,

changes as a medium for different age groups.

Small children lend the TV very short snippets of

their attention, devote a more rapt attention

during the early elementary school years, and

then commit to smaller increments of viewing

again during adulthood [1]. TV is not good at

displaying certain kinds of information to anyone

regardless of their age because of the affordances

of television: information is displayed

temporarily and quickly replaced with other

output, so new knowledge is hard to instill

because there is very limited time to create brand-

new representations in a learner’s mind. Rather,

television is best as supplementing existing

knowledge since the core representations already

exist in the student’s mind. This is an example of

how media treat information and students

discriminatorily.

2.2 Digital Games as Multimedia

Video games, on the other hand, incorporate

many forms of media into one experience.

Orthographic symbols, images, and video are all

combined into one interactive experience in

which students immerse themselves in a world

where complex problems are overcome by the

motivation to thrive in that world. No matter

what domain is presented in the game world, the

needs of any learner can be met because of the

multitude of ways information is presented. Help

is also provided at every level because of the

social interaction aspect of many video games,

and non-playing characters become models and

sources of knowledge about how to succeed in

the world. If used correctly, video games are a

multimedia that can successfully teach complex

information to students with a range of learning

aptitudes because of the ability of the medium to

offer structure and motivation to anyone playing

the game.

2.3 Video Games for Learning

Games have the ability to offer great learning

opportunities in for a diversity of people. First

we will explore the assortment of ways games

have the ability to impart knowledge on their

players, and then we will look at how these video

game abilities can reach all types of learners.

Game strengths in regard to learning can be

categorized as a handful of main attributes.

These are Immersion, Complex Problems,

Knowledge instead of Facts, Professionalism,

Designed Experiences, Learning as performance,

and Discovery-Based Learning. By looking at

these aspects of video games, it will become clear

that they are a great medium for teaching students

with a wide range of abilities.

2.3.1 Immersion

Immersion is a key part of gaming and important

for educational as well as non-educational games

uses. Games allow the user to become

completely surrounded by an alternate world.

Whether the player is in space, an alternate

universe, or just a different time, he or she

becomes a part of the game world. The game

environment becomes the naturally accepted

reality for the player. Users absorb the rules of

the world almost subconsciously. Important

information about how the environment works,

such as physics, gravity, or other natural laws, are

assimilated into their world model. Players accept

new information about the language, customs,

and technology. Being immersed in this

environment means the player is totally

consumed by it and believes in it. A player

becomes who they are in the game and learns

about his or her limitations, abilities, and how to

think in a way that solves that world’s problems.

2.3.2 Complex Problems

Games also offer complex problems, and usually

succeed in getting the users to solve them.

Motivation can be hard for people, especially

when presented with complicated topics they

have little experience with; yet games for years

have been pulling users in and getting them to

complete and even master extremely complicated

and long problems, all the while entertaining the

user. If this works so well for non-educational

games, pulling it in to an educational game would

be incredibly powerful. By using the joy of

playing a game and the immersion that is natural

in most games, video games have the ability to

piece by piece with perfect guidance get users to

spend the time and attention necessary to master

complex problems.

2.3.3 Knowledge Rather Than Facts

The type of learning that can occur in games is

also important. Instead of attempting to

memorize a list of facts, reading a book and

understand descriptions, or listening to a lecturer

explain, the student experiences it and gains

knowledge through interaction and performance.

When one learns something in a game, he or she

is not just being fed facts; instead, the student is

expected to interact with the environment and

non-playable characters to learn the facts and

then understanding is fostered through the

expectation of students to use the facts in the

game world for the purposes of succeeding at the

challenge. “A large body of facts that resist out-

of-context memorization and rote learning

becomes easier to assimilate if learners are

immersed in activities and experiences that use

these facts for plans, goals, and purposes within a

coherent knowledge domain" [8]. The

understanding that users have of information

learned in the game goes much deeper than other

types of learning. Terms learned in a game will

go beyond just a definition: the users will

understand in what cases the word is used, what

concepts are connected with the term, and

understanding will therefore be fostered.

2.3.4 Learning as Performance

Another reason the education provided by games

can be so great is the way the knowledge is

learned: through performance. Instead of being

passive by reading, watching, or listening, the

users are actively engaging and participating in

the learning. Instead of learning how to do a task

by being told and memorizing, games can guide

the student through it. Having the user do the

tasks and be a part of the hands on actions creates

a deeper and more efficient learning structure.

People learn better by doing, and games are the

perfect way to exploit this fact. With the users

immersed in the game, the tasks being completed

can be more successfully realistic and applicable,

and they can have learning impacts much higher

than other – especially traditional – methods of

teaching.

2.3.5 Teacher- and Student- Designed

Experiences

Game designers are in unique positions involving

the creation of a game that users will go through.

These designers and developers control who and

what the users will interact with, what problems

they must solve, and the overall experience they

will have. They control when the game will help,

and when the game will let the user struggle.

"Game designers ‘write’ the parameters for

player's experience, and the game experience as

such is best described as an interaction between

the game designer and the player" [9]. This is an

ideal form of technology for teaching because of

its personalization and customization

possibilities. The game designers can control and

even change difficulty of tasks, amount of

information, and every other aspect of the game

depending on how the user is doing, or other

information about the user. For our high-ability

learners, a challenge may motivate the students to

try harder and reach their full potential of

learning, while low-ability learners may be

discouraged by that challenge so another format

can be preset to cater to their needs. This aspect

of gaming allows for an experience that is

completely molded to the user, and game

designer guide the user through whatever they

would like. In this model, the game can become a

teacher, personalized just for the user, and the

teacher or student can become the designer,

creating worlds better suited for the needs of their

students or peers.

2.3.6 Discovery Based Learning

Discovery based learning is a highly debated

topic in the educational world. Advocates rave

for the learning and depth of knowledge that can

come from letting users come across answers on

their own without complete direction. Opponents

argue that learners get lost in the chaos, and

spend too much time exploring wrong avenues.

They also argue that it requires too much

motivation and prior ability to thrive in the

standard and traditional environment. Games

offer the perfect compromise and make this

system amazing using boundaries. As game

developer improve at the rate that technology

grows, the game worlds and possibilities are

getting larger and more open, but there are

always boundaries with technology. These

boundaries can keep users from wandering too

far, but leave it open enough for the user to learn

on their own when they are on the right path.

This way, the users can get all the benefit from

the self-exploration of discovery based learning,

without the risks – taking another path can lead

you back to the intended path or can lead you

down a new path of discovery. This ability to use

discovery based learning so effectively is

impressive, giving tons of opportunities for the

gain of real in depth knowledge.

As mentioned earlier, high ability and low ability

learners face very different challenges, and need

different environments to thrive in acquiring

knowledge. Games offer a great way to bridge

this gap by offering more personalized and

interactive teaching than other methods of

instruction. One of the major issues these

students face is motivation. Games have the

capability to be highly motivating, pulling the

students in. The game can become easier through

more hints and more direction for users that are

struggling, all the while leaving more openness

for the high-ability and already motivated users.

This way all students can learn at their full

potential, without any one type of student being

neglected. Research has also shown that learners

need varying levels of response from their

learning environment. This can be hard in

traditional learning methods, but games offer the

one on one personal variable response that can fit

the level of response necessary to keep everyone

learning. All of the benefits of games abilities to

learn can be molded around each student without

knowing the student or having to spend resources

making additions for specific users. The game

can be made in a way to increase or decrease

amounts of feedback, guidance, and other

situations so that each user can learn in his or her

own way. This gives games the rare ability to

help various types of learners learn deep and

meaningful knowledge in an immersive and

captivating environment.

3. EDUCATION GAMES

Video games have been used in the classroom for

years. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find

a college-aged student that has not been exposed

Math Blaster. Whereas Math Blaster was

originally designed for educational purposes,

there have been many commercial games used in

the classroom. The latter of these range from

business simulation games like DinoPark and

Roller Coaster Tycoon to city and civilization

simulation games such as the aptly titled

Civilization and Age of Empires. These games

have a lot to offer in the way of bridging the gap

between high- and low-ability learners. With

many of these simulation games, the skills

required to start are very simple and require little

knowledge beyond being able to use a computer

thanks to the tutorials and other introduction

resources created by the developers. Each of

these games – as well as others unmentioned –

has a great deal to teach children, while still

being fun and engaging for the variety of learners

in a classroom.

One issue that has come up throughout our

readings and discussions in class about using

software in the classroom is the level of

familiarity that the teachers need with the

software they are using. However, with video

games as the multimedia platform for learning,

students are at an advantage because of their

familiarity with the format and expectations of a

game. A teacher should be able to figure out the

rules and interface of the games relatively

quickly. The expertise of the children can be

extremely helpful in the classroom and allow a

more rewarding experience through getting the

children excited about the subject. One such case

where more experienced children are currently

helping to guide their peers is Whyville.

3.1 Case: Whyville

Whyville is an educational massively multiplayer

online game that is targeted towards preteens and

children. Since it’s launch in 1999, Whyville has

grown to a count of over two-million visitors per

month, and over 60,000 new citizens each month

[10]. One of its primary goals is to get the

citizens to interact with each other while learning

about and participating in subjects including

Science, Math, Art, Civics, and

Economics. Research states that the middle

school years are a time when children, especially

girls, lose their interest in math and science.

Whyville is turning this trend around by making

each of these subjects and their corresponding

activities fun. As a result of these factors,

Whyville has gained the support from many

sponsors including NASA, Adobe, Scion, Sun

Microsystems, the Center for Disease Control,

and WHOI. Because of the vast support Whyville

has it is almost completely supported through its

sponsors, and they are able to continue to add

new and exciting content.

Image 1 Whyville Screenshot

The map of Whyville consists of an island

covered in buildings and locations that the users

can navigate to (see Image 1). One of these

locations, the Whyville Oceanographic Institution,

is only now available through the generous

sponsorship of the Woods Hole Oceanographic

Institution (WHOI) [11]. The WHOI locations in

Whyville are currently made up of a dock, a bay

to view red plankton in, and two underwater

laboratories. The Plankton lab allows users to

collect sensors for their boats, take specimens

from the bay to view in a microscope, make a

collection of specimens, and even play a

phytoplankton card game. Each of the sponsors

contributes to many activities and places to learn

in the world of Whyville. Thanks to the

sponsorship of the Bankinter in Spain, every

Whyvillian gets a checking account, and the

students have the ability to open up a savings

account, along with purchasing CDs in order to

learn about interest and the value of saving. The

other beauty of Whyville comes from it being an

MMO, this opens up great deals of collaboration

and help for those who need it such as the low

ability learners, but still keeps open the

possibility for high ability learners to go at their

own pace.

Image 2: Every Student Engaged

4. CONCLUSION

We have argued that video games can engage

every student in the class (see Image 2) in a way

that targets their individual needs as young

learners and gives them an advantage that other

students may have naturally. Games hold a

promising future as an education technology, but

unfortunately there is little research being done to

see how the multimedia can be adapted to suit a

variety of students’ assortments of needs. It is a

shame that some children and young adults miss

out on the chance to excel at school because of

the poor malleability and adaptability of

traditional schooling techniques and methods. To

find a solution to the achievement gap would

greatly benefit the future of education, and video

games can be an opportunity to bridge that gap

and raise the potential of learning for low- and

medium-ability students. Most students do not

have the natural advantage of being a self-

motivating, high-ability learner, so it would be to

the greatest benefit of the public to help every

student find the self-perpetuating, life-long

learner that we suspect exists within every

person.

5. REFERENCES

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[2] Bazerman, Charles. "Physicists Reading

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[3] Bowman, Mic, Saumya K. Debray, and Larry

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[4] Gee, James Paul. "What Would a State of the

Art Instructional Video Game Look

Like?" Innovate 1.6 (2005). Web.

[5] Gehlbach, Hunter. “Motivating Learnes of

Different Ability Levels.” Apr. 2003.

Research Report.

[6] Rusted, J., and Veronika Coltheart. "The

Effect of Pictures on the Retention of Novel

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[7] Samuels, S. J., and David LaBerge. "Toward

a Theory of Automatic Information

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[8] Shaffer, David W., Kurt R. Squire, Richard

Halverson, and James P. Gee. "Video Games

and the Future of Learning." (2004). Web.

[9] Squire, Kurt. "From Content to Context:

Videogames as Designed

Experience." Educational Researcher 35.8

(2006): 19-29. Web.

[10] Welcome to Whyville! Web. 27 Apr. 2010.

<http://www.whyville.net>.

[11] "Whyville." COSEE - New England. Web. 27

Apr. 2010. <http://www.cosee-

ne.net/resources/whyville.php>.