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Stivven's List: Trends in E-learning

  • Apr 11, 12

    www.educause.edu/...222665 gamification pedagogy

    • Perhaps education could be improved by ditching the points and adding the game; technology can help.

      • This is clearly a comment against Bogost's <i> -ification idea.</i>

    • Excellent point made in comparing the process and outputs of an education system (in particular in the context of modularisation) to a game where: Scores on assignments serve as points. Graduation is a level achieved. This highlights the core difference between gaming as a concept/approach and gaming as a marketing tool
      . The point ios well made about points as a tracking device:
      Rather than adding levels of engagement that make something fun, some of these applications simply add tracking systems, which these critics refer to as "pointsification."
      . Admittedly this is something which we also do in academia, but the point is well made that just calling something a game and allowing you to earn points for it doesn't make it a game.       - stivven on 2012-04-11
    • The view that education is/is not a game is interesting, particularly as it pertains to student motivation:
      Ask students why they're in college, and they're likely to answer that earning a degree will bring them more money after graduation. It's extremely rare for students to say that they enrolled simply for the intellectual stimulation.

      While they are not presenting specific evidence for this, I doubt that its too far from the mark. The efforts of students align towards completing the module/programme on their way to their real objective, which makes the educational process just a stepping stone for them, and which turns the educational process into a ''degree mill''. This is even more of a problem/issue in situations where the qualification is protected in some way (e.g. professional recognition) where the qualification becomes just a route of entry into a preferred profession, often selected on the basis of pragmatic realities (e.g. family friendly occupation, high salary etc).
      The last section about improving 'the game' does provide some examples for intervention, but overall they seem to be somewhat general in that all of the advice could be applied to any of a number of teaching and learning strategies.       - stivven on 2012-04-11

  • Apr 11, 12

    www.gamasutra.com/...ive_games_exploitationware.php game based learning

    • This is a very interesting critique of the concept of 'gamification' by Ian Bogost, and is really food for thought. In some ways it is a call-to-arms for the anti-gamification movement but has a more important purpose than just that. It effectively teases apart the reason for the introduction of gamification as a terminology - that is a marketing gimmick which has been used to frame the sale of 'games' to education and industry. It also presents a good discussion on the rhetoric of 'serious games' and the other attempts to make games somehow more respectable:
      When people complain that "serious games" is an oxymoron miss the point: it's supposed to be an oxymoron.
      .       - stivven on 2012-04-11
    • From the point of view of changes to professional practice etc. I was struck by the comment that HEIs are ''ossified'' institutions and can't argue that they are not. It made me wonder (and I appreciate the irony) if there is room to make trial-modules available as part of marketing for a programme/module. This is coming from the gaming side of things, where a game based module could be used to provide a window into a programme etc. Something to think about. - stivven on 2012-04-11

  • Apr 11, 12

    www.gamasutra.com/...ive_games_exploitationware.php game based learning

    • When seen in this light, "gamification" is a misnomer. A better name for this practice is exploitationware.

  • Apr 11, 12

    Paper from Academic Exchange Quarterly on gaming.

    www.gamifyingeducation.org/...Lee-Hammer-AEQ-2011.pdf games based learning pdf

    • Good paper for highlighting the current uses of gamification in lifestyle and marketing, but also nice segue into the inherent potential of games as applied to education, e.g. voluntary investment, extended practice, persistence. The importance of motivation and engagement are (in similarity with other papers on this area) highlighted. Importantly this paper also pauses for thought and asks how we can make an evidence based case for gaming.


      There is an interesting quote in the paper which I think does highlight the key issue with games in education: under what circumstances can game elements can drive learning behavior?
      This is something to think about and I think that it allows one to look at modules/programmes from the point of view of incorporating explicit games into HEI.
      The discussion of the meta-game is also very useful, and it is the first time that I have seen the concept invoked in this context. Use of the meta-game is probably a realistic and applicable way to move games from the shelf into the classroom, as its unlikely that there would be a significant appetite to make games mainstream in a programme or School at the DIT.       - stivven on 2012-04-11
    • The how-to discussion in the paper is very worthwhile and is one of the best which I have seen. In particular the discussion of the stakes in gaming and the freedom to fail concepts are very nicely elaborated: games
      involve repeated experimentation, they also involve repeated failure. In fact, for many games, the only way to
      learn how to play the game is to fail at it repeatedly, learning something each time. Games maintain this positive relationship with failure by making feedback cycles rapid and keeping the stakes low.


      . The contrast between this and the usual experience in HEI is marked and does resonate with my own experience in that some cohorts of students (in particular the 'high achievers' are - quite frankly - terrified of not getting the right answer. There would seem to be some potential in a gaming based approach to deal with some the leaving cert effect in first (and second) years.

      The discussion of the social advantages is good, and I can see how it could also help to ameliorate the effects of the leaving cert. I'd never thought of the idea of using roleplaying to develop scholarly behaviour and skills but I can see how that would be a useful thing to do:

      By
      making the development of a new identity playful, and by rewarding it appropriately, we can help students think
      differently about their potential in school and what school might mean for them.       - stivven on 2012-04-11
    • The paper is not universally positive about the aspects of gaming and does highlight that it is not a panacea. It is important to note that the paper also returns to a common theme in education and emphasises the role of good design above all:

      If we can harness the energy, motivation and sheer potential of their game-play and direct it toward learning, we can give students the tools to become high scorers and winners in real life.


      This is the aspiration which we are working towards in all education, and we could replace the words''game play'' with any of a myriad of so-called extra mural activities which students are engaged in (social networking in particular is an issue). The objective which the paper is really aiming to highlight is that of transformation of the students tool-kit, by allowing students to explore the commonalities in the different activities and apply the implict skills they have developed through gameplay to their education aand self-development.       - stivven on 2012-04-11
    • Overall I think that this paper does raise some issues that I think would be worthwhile to reflect on further. In particular the idea of using games to explore different social roles was something that I'd not explicitly thought about before but which is something I can see (potentially) great benefit from. It would obviously need to be carefully designed but I can envision a number of different games which could be designed in the scientific space to explore these sorts of issues. The second issue that I can see possibilities in is the whole freedom to fail concept as a route to deprogramming first years from the leaving cert mentality, particularly in an exploratory/experimental context. - stivven on 2012-04-11

  • Apr 10, 12

    This is Chapter 1 of Prensky's book on game based learning from 2001.

    www.marcprensky.com/...al%20game-based%20learning.pdf prensky games based learning

    • Like the contest between the experience of the trainees and the trainers! Something to keep in mind. - stivven on 2012-04-10
    • The discussion (on p4) is interesting with regards to the training and learning revolution, and the idea that there is some sort of a wall of boredom which has to come down to allow the gamers and the educators to find common ground. I am not sure that I agree with his market driven stance that the demand from learners will force a change in the approach which different institutes are using. This may have some role to play, but it is not something that the more elite instutites will really have to worry about (note here the models of education used by Ivy league and Oxbridge - its essentially a direct descentant of Bologna etc. - stivven on 2012-04-10
    • The explicit distinction between game based interactive entertainment (encompassing card and board games) and digital game based learning is worthwhile and appreciated. The idea that there are two forces in play is interesting - technological change and generational discontinuity versus stasis/inertia in education. This conflicy is perhaps something which could be explored in greater depth, perhaps with regards to consideration of some solution or other.

      Unsure who Oglevy is, and a search didn't reveal anything useful. Perhaps a spelling mistake in the online draft of Ch1, but should look up in any case.       - stivven on 2012-04-10
    • Interesting quote on p7: “technology is moving too fast right now for companies’ traditional hire-and-train methods to work”. What are the consequences of this from a teaching and learning point of view? If we replace the hire-and-train with "enroll and train" we are basically in the educational space, so similar concepts probably apply in some form or other. - stivven on 2012-04-10
    • Monkey wrench idea (in the first case study) throws up some interesting ideas which could be applied in other contexts. The game did have substantial backing and was therefore a lot more agile than the types of material which current HEIs are likely to be able to produce. The examples given in the case studies do sound fantastic, but I can see that it may be very difficult to replicate this in any meaningful way. That said, there is probably some mileage in exploring the concept of MonkeyWrench in some way.

      The concept that motivation and learning methodology are the critical parts of this is interesting.       - stivven on 2012-04-10

  • Apr 10, 12

    This is a paper from Tech Trends about the intersection of ID and GBL. Its part two of a sequence.

    www.indiana.edu/...eparingIDforGBL_TechTrends.pdf pdf game based learning instructional design

    • This paper provides a useful historical perspective on the evolution of experiential learning through the various media up to and including digital. Its very useful to be able to follow the processes from Dewey to the present day. Its interesting (and telling) that that author states that "we are finally bringing much of what Dewey and Bruner were envisioning into the instructional mix"

      The critical importance of design is stressed, and there is some discussion of the dilemma facing instructional designers - the vast array of ever-changing ways in which educators and students can interact. There is a very useful diagram (Figure 1) which makes it easy to visualise the level of ''virtuality'' of an approach(although this is not without its flaws as roleplaying, as evinced by D&D Games, is downgraded when in fact these games are actually the basis for many other activities e.g. AR, AV, video games, 'holodeck' immersion).However, this diagram while useful as a discussion point perhaps belies the challenges that throws up: "instructional designers must be
      capable of designing for these rich immersive
      environments as part of their repertory."       - stivven on 2012-04-11
    • The challenges that the article throws up are very interesting but also very daunting - the list of competencies/literacies that the 'next generation' of IDers will have to manifest is intimidating. It is evident though that these are unlikely to fade away and that those who wish to successfully use games in education will have to embrace them. From a personal point of view, this creates challenges in being able to find the time to a) enhance the new literacies and b) competently weave them together to create and effective (and non gamified) learning activity complete with engagement, attainment of Csikszentmihalyian flow, assessment etc.
      While its easy to appreciate all of these aspects, it is also very difficult to be able to enter into the process knowing that you are required to do some complex juggling. I think through that a framework could be evolved so that it gradually moves towards higher complexity - almost like a game in and of itself.       - stivven on 2012-04-11

  • Apr 10, 12

    www.learningarchitects.net/...nsition_from_Sims_to_Games.pdf pdf game based learning Simulations

    • The concept of a challenge level is very similar to that of Vygotsky and the ZPD. To a certain extent the MKO is the game itself (perhaps an avatar in the game, although that's kind of defeating the purpose of the whole thing by introducing a didactic component). - stivven on 2012-04-10
    • Its interesting to refect on the fact that evolution of MMORPGs from early SIMNET style enviroments has clearly has a lot of influence on the design philosophy which underpings the majority of modern games. The conflict whcih is at the heart of these games is not equal to the narrative conflict which we find in all world literature. This sort of narrative conflict is often used at the start of the game as the hook to create interest and facilitate immersion into the game iteself. - stivven on 2012-04-10
    • THe focus of the paper on the approach taken by the military was at first ofputting, but on closer inspection the sorts of constraints which the military are operating under (e.g. leverage existing practices . . . provide a sound economic basis) do resonate with the situation we are in at the momement in HEIs (particularly the economic bit!!). There may be some lessons in this sort of military pragmatism with regards to how to make gaming work at a 'new recruits' level (i.e. first eyar undergraduates) given the economic constraints. - stivven on 2012-04-10
    • I don't agree with the somewhat artificial division between simulation and game. From a games point of view its all down to the primary concern of the game - in a simualtion it is expressely about replicating reality, so that the game is about interacting with that virtual environment which does (as the authors flag) exist outside of real life. In the paper I think that the authors are conflating the different types of games and spinning out simulations as somehow distinct from other games, and imply that there is no emotional engagement with e.g. a simulated environment. I strongly disagree with this, and would draw the analogy that a historical (or for that matter a futurist) drama/book/playspecifically draws the emotional hook from the story+the simulation. - stivven on 2012-04-10
    • The Ahlers and Garris quote in the paper is really nice: . . . games create a self-perpetuating learning cycle, as players initiate and control game play, practice skills, solve problems, persist to the end and strive to win, or “learn,” a process which then leads to re-initiation of the cycle.


      I think that this captures what we would like to achieve with games. In a way its like a constantly moving ZPD?? Or is that not a good way to look at it?       - stivven on 2012-04-10
    • Yet another nice soundbite, and also something to think about: Games are a new medium for learning and their
      ideal implementation is still in flux.

      On first glance this looks fine, but it has to be taken in the context of digital gaming based learning (DGBL) as games for learning have existed for as long as we have had sufficient higher intelligence to conceive and play them (pups at play anyone to learn acceptable social behaviour for pups and other social rules?). The core issue that this quote does highlight is the relentless progression of the digitalism of games in response to Moore's law. In that context, I do agree (mostly) with the quote, in that it capyures the idea that no one can keep up with the progression of games.       - stivven on 2012-04-10
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