4 critical ingredients to engage the gen-gamer

In preparation for a first Games Based Learning day at Macquarie University (24/10/2010), I’ve started to flush out some of the ingredients that are built into World or Warcraft, that make it an almost ideal learning environment.

Firstly, let me say that I don’t believe Blooms taxonomy works in 2010, as well as it might in the latter part of the last century. Mt view is that game designers build for understanding, not knowledge – which creates the advantage that the learning process is not locked to content, but independent. To me, this is partly why kids can jump from one game to another so easily.

So back up a step and look at these four ingredients that you find inside World of Warcraft (and other games).

As you read though, mentally swap out the terms for more schooly ones like student, lesson, activity.

When I think about ‘teaching and learning’ in the context of ‘game based learning’ – I am not thinking of Halo, Warcraft, Nintendogs – but what taxonomy and strategies are being used in order to keep players engaged and working harder on their understanding. I argue that you can use this in non-game lessons more effectively that using Blooms (big call) – in developing understanding though engagement. If for example I was teaching elementary (primary), I’d be looking hard at Moshi Monsters to teach maths, english, civics etc – because I also believe in ‘blended learning’.

Critical elements in Game Based Learning Design

1. Authentic tasks
Instruction designed around authentic tasks help players become fully engaged in learning and developing an understanding of content. A quest is an authentic task – it allows you to learn about the game, the factions, the lore and the skills needed to complete the next. No tasks in the game are pointless.

2. Opportunities to build cognitive strategies
Basic skills such as organising, finding to higher level skills like breaking down a problem into its element  through explicit instruction or by modeling and encouraging use of these strategies within instance, arena or battleground.

3. Learning that is socially mediated

• learning and understanding are enhanced when players interact constructively with each another in building, integrating and testing new knowledge. Social games ensure shared ownership of the learning activity (quest is assigned to a player shared to a group)
• players make their thinking visible to each other through visual representations or dramatization (emotes, low-intimacy chat, gestures); and
• players solve problems that allow for a range of talents, skills and abilities (things that Paladins are good at, things that Warlocks are good at). Social-signals are developed. For example “r?” means – “we are ready to play, as means of leadership communication” – the response “r” is agreement with that, where as “kk” means, yes - just get on with it.

4. Engagement in constructive conversation
Players engage in constructive conversation. They are able to express their own ideas and questions and listen to and integrate the perspectives of others into their own thinking. Constructive conversation by maintaining a focus on a theme, allowing time for significant discussion, and responding thoughtfully to other players. An example of this is in group play. A new player will declare they are ‘learning to tank‘ and will receive advice from other players on their performance and improving it.

These four elements, when wired into a ‘leveling‘ taxonomy and sequence of activities, I argue will work better for a generation growing up online. It’s facile to argue otherwise. Mr Blooms might just have had his day – regardless of how teachers might feel about it.

Mockingjays

A few years back, Will Richardson punched up a screen shot of Fan Fiction as an illustration of how passionate people are creating and sharing stories based on the works of published writers. He was saying that everyone (with a computer or mobile phone) has immediate, low cost and simple access to create content in ways that a decade earlier didn’t exist.
I’d like to show you a site that I think illustrates where we are at today – though the work of three awesome young people.

It’s called Mockingjay a fansite based around Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I experienced the anticipation from hundreds of fans, waiting in the line for the final installment – Tweeting and updating their Facebook status’ “Got It!” - as it book went on sale.

It is a site that should be pushed in front of every ‘yeah but’ HSC English teacher in my view.

The community is run by Kimmy (17) @kimmymary, JD (19) @jdhopper and Becka (19) @beckag. It’s been around for a while, and I seriously doubt it was ever a prescribed class text or a class assignment.

“The bird, the pin, the song, the berries, the watch, the cracker, the dress that burst into flames. I am the mockingjay. The one that survived despite the Capitol’s plans. The symbol of the rebellion.”

It expertly demonstrates how young people can create a critical community, converging several streams of media around a shared passion (Mockingjay has a Facebook audience of over 8000). Their podcasts are expertly produced, the site design, beautifully executed. They even consider accessibility (something edu-podcasters often don’t) with each podcast being transcribed. There is always something new to read, something to do, and their passion promotes new creativity and ideas in the gambet of media that Will was talking about just a few years ago.

Mockingjay demonstrates how the multi-tasking generation understands social media convergence. I would love to see what they would do with a virtual world — maybe I’ll ask them.

http://www.youtube.com/mockingjaynet

http://www.twitter.com/mockingjaynet

http://www.mockingjay.net/

Turn on the tv

Mr9 brought home his weekly photocopied sheet. This week, the low order questions are about counting the ads on commercial tv in the morning and in the afternoon, and suggesting why they are what they are. I assume he’s learning about media buying, discounts and regional placement strategy. I asked him why — he had no idea.

The problem is that he needs to watch 2 hours of commercial tv.

He has never done that before; and at best watched Merlin for an hour once a week.

I doubt he even noticed the ads as they are not important to kids like him — and as far as I know, my kids watch ABC3, never commercial TV. I dont want them to; any more than surfing titty sites online — it is lowest common denominator social conditioning. I know this, I worked in adland for many many years.

I wonder how it would be if he spent two hours online, which is far more relevant?

Experience that which kids practice

Our identity evolves through a series of ‘performances’ shaped by the environment, the audience and the impression we want to make. Yet, in the disembodied world of digital space, the cues to identity that we have in the real world are absent. Human identity is a bit more complex than just one representation. Effective teachers need to be able to represent themselves in multiple things at once – as soon as a computer arrives in the classroom, if they can.

Furthermore, a teacher must experience what a child practices, to begin to even hope of assessing the child, not just measuring their height against crude markings on a wall.

Where information technologies are framed as the solution to the problems of unmanageable people – social networks, open communication, virtual worlds, massive multiplayer games, the in-effective teacher is forced to disconnect – they can do nothing else. For every nomadic web-user who freely moves in digital space, or seamlessly creates and distributes content on the fly, there exists another user struggling with the dystopian aspects.

These has little to do with hardware and software, but because the internet is now a space where social and cultural liberation is achieved, where the erosion of hierarchy frees individuals, groups and societies from the confinements and rigidity of traditional social and political order.

21st Century Enlightenment

This is a very clever, but factual review of the new Age of Enlightenment from The RSA. This isn’t computer related, but supports a general view, that feedback is very important to how we feel about the quality of our lives – and how feeling good about life is absolutely critical to personal satisfaction and growth.

In particular he talks out the resistance problem, how we tend to make the familiar ‘true’ and the unfamiliar ‘false’. He argues that Enlightenment in the 21st Century means that we have greater opportunity to grow human empathy. He is interesting in what grows and what demolishes this empathy. He argues that empathy is at least as important as ‘knowledge’ in education in growth of society. He suggests that logic and markets, science and technology and bureaucracy – that defined the 20th Century, limits the potential of the 21st, and that the way we order our lives ‘rationally’.

The problem of course with philosophy of course is that the ‘we must’ is so easily fired at the viewer; and cleverly argued that interpretation is personal. He ends by saying, never doubt that a small group of three or four can change the world – indeed it is the only thing that ever has. I guess this is why, when I think about how to see PBL in schools, to take schools virtual, optional and online – and to change the pattern of learning – things like this remind me of the potential, but also the complex social-constructs that see any change the education (apart from moving the chairs) as false, but that view at some point, will change, as this video explains.

In terms of school [now] have a look at Global School – isn’t this where education futures lie?

Ignite NSW #2

I’m really pleased to post a link to Macquarie University’s Ignite NSW Technologies in Education Conference on 22nd September 2010.

Like most Universities, we have a ‘learning and teaching week’. Last year the centre I work in did something different, by putting together a day which was all about connecting and sharing ideas, of what people are achieving with educational technology. A year is a very long time it seems – and I’m pleased to say that last year’s success, is providing a bigger and better symposium this year.

This year’s theme pays attention to social inclusion and diversity in a time of transition. All sectors are engaged in increasingly involved educational technology. Dealing with technology is not then just a matter of understanding it, analyzing it from its technical outside in: we must understand it from its human inside out (Gorayska and Mey, 1995).

We live in a time of great transition and opportunity, and we are often so busy in our various sectors, that we don’t fully understand the work of others, and the capabilities of students immersed in technological-learning and life.

I invite all teachers, pre-teachers and those interested in all aspects of learning technology to set the day aside and join us for a celebration of what is being done, and what is working well in learning and teaching. This is a vendor free event, and registration is free. We recognise the significant cost often associated with conferences, and hope that by hosting this event we will attract a wide range of people from all sectors of education.

Ignite Sydney – edtech confernece 2010

To borrow a phrase from and idea from Chris Lehmann. Sydney, despite its size often seems to struggle to gather educational technology innovators in a bus shelter, let alone a cross sector event – that costs nothing.

I am pleased to announce that Macquarie University will host a free, cross sector event on 22nd September 2010 in the new Arts faculty (old film and television school) in several theatres and workshop rooms.

The theme and aim is about transition, sharing ideas and stories of how educational technology is changing the way we learn and teach, often faster than we think.

There are four strands to the day and I hope something for everyone to enjoy and share. For those who can’t attend in person, presentations with be streamed in a webinar and several sessions held in Second Life.

Best of all, the aim is to get students to share some of the amazing work they are doing to a wide audience. Aside from the scheduled sessions, there is an unconference, where anyone is free to present and share ideas.

There will also be workshops on using technologies, including virtual worlds and games care of our friends Jo Kay and Debbie Evans at Macquarie ICT innovations.

Speakers include Ben Jones, Steve Collis, Lucy Barrow, Roger Pryor, Matt Bower, Pip Cleaves, Sue Gregory, Judy O’Connell and student showcases from all sectors are in the line-up.

More info will be out next week on the event website, with free registrations. We hope to seeleaders, teachers, student, academics and anyone interested in educational technology.

Space is limted to 250, so I hope you’ll make a date in your diary now. We particularly invite student teachers to come, and find out the very real innovation in school, tafe and higher education for yourself. There is no doubt that technology has changed education – this day is all about showing that and giving a roadmap on what works. We are past the why? And into the how … I hope you’ll pass the message on to others and hassle the boss-leader for a big day out.

Open futures, closed practice?

An interesting post on crumbling ivory towers by Steve Wheeler, where he discusses ideas recently explored in Educause – under open faculties and open futures. Interestingly, this points to continued divergence, and separation of knowledge.

“The bottom line is this: If students find that an important text is protected, or even closed off, due to copyright restrictions (or even, perish the thought, pay walls), they will simply go elsewhere. It will be a fitting epitaph for the ivory tower brigade, that they are increasingly irrelevant in a modern, web enabled academic world, whilst the stars of the show will be those scholars who openly share their work, and who will listen to feedback. IP is not threatened. Academics will still own their ideas. What is threatened is the protectionist, exclusionist ideology that has prevailed for so long in the learned society. What is threatened is the idea that knowledge should ever have been made into a commodity. We may yet see the ivory towers come crashing down.”

Full the entire post here: http://bit.ly/bEynrS

Learning about the metaverse: free PD for teachers

Imagine your in a week long professional development programme. Lets see if I can sell you a seat in mine.

“Building a PLN with Web2.0″

The session runs Sunday to Sunday, and were expecting you’ll be working from 6am to 11pm, but you can choose what hours you keep entirely. In that time you need to find around 200 people in social networks that have a common interest in education, and introduce yourself. There is no room allocation, campus or learning system required to attend the course.

The assessment task-

You have analyse and decode anything they say or share in the context of your classroom – finding evidence that any of it is valid now, and prioritise that which will be needed in 5 years.

By the end of the week you must have had at least one new idea, and helped ten other people to realise theres. You must create, maintain and share a cyber-bibliography of at least 100 things, justifying why they are related to your idea, and find 100 more from everyone elses, that relates to yours, but not duplicate it.

The test-

The final test is a 300 word blog post demonstrsting media literacy and deep research over the week to answer the following question “what will online communities look like in the future”. Grades are not issued, so you can select your own (if you think they are an indicator).

There is no class list, or prescribed reading or software for the course, and class will be held entirely online, in any space you choose.

Before you take teachers into virtual worlds, think carefully about the task, so when you attempt to explain the metaverse, they have a realistic task to work on, lets not pretend otherwise.

Kid’s skill and knowledge transfer in MMOs

Today, I gave in. Mr9 took command of Starcraft 2. He had no idea what it was, but has been playing World of Warcraft for a couple of years now – running Level 80 characters; and being as familiar with Azeroth as he is with the local park, his school or favourite surf-beach breaks.

I wondered what he’d make of it – given that is is nothing like Warcraft, and he’s never played Age of Empires etc., or other strategy game like it. I expected a rage-quit within about 30 minutes – as he headed back to Warcraft to beat up more non-playing characters to disrupt civil life in Booty Bay (his current favourite activity). Nothing. Silence from his lair as I sneeked around to spy on him.

An hour later, I braved the conversation; which I have to say was one sided, as he tried to explain the basic situation and his strategy. He’d already decided it was best to hook up with other players, watch some YouTube and take early risks to see what patterns and formations worked at his new n00bish level. He was focused on levelling; getting his reputation up etc., and had obviously transferred the socio-cultural tactics and strategies in Warcraft to a completely new genre of game.

Did he like it – yes. He found it more puzzling; more of a riddle to solve, and said he didn’t rage quit, as he knew that working harder would pay off. Then he took the dog for a walk, and spent some time bouncing off a matress he and his sister had put against the wall for fun.

I wonder just how his teachers, now or in the future can begin to understand how kids like him – and there are millions just like him – are learning to learn unless they first learn to play – and give away this stupid idea that being able to remember facts, and not seek them from literature and others when they need them (Socrates vs Plato, Does Google make you stupid etc) as being something worth looking into. Maybe he can take the computer skills test – oh no wait, they canned it as teachers cant do it. Snarky – you bet, worried – no way.