Educational App Q Racer Helps Master Terms

Educational game makers are faced with the challenge of inserting pedagogical content that is direct and appropriate. Typically the challenge is met by either making the actions in the game require thought processes that guide the player to useful conclusions, or seek to actionize traditional worksheets.

Apple’s iPod and iPad products immediately caught the attention of educators, and parents have discovered they serve dual purposes as productivity tools and gaming platforms, even for younger children.

I’ve been corresponding with Ben Tao over at Hug a Panda about their new educational app, Q Racer. Designed for kids, the app lets user avatars race against the computer’s characters as they master answers in various categories. Lists include fun items like celebrity quizzes and NFL teams, to more serious items found on tests like state capitals or inventors and their inventions. Avatars can be customized for boys or girls, and users can play their own music during the races. Here’s the trailer video for Q Racer:

Q Racer is available in the App Store at the moment for $.99. Learn more at Hug a Panda’s site, here.

Conspiracy Code Intensive Reading Video Game

Props to Scott McLeod for publicizing Florida Virtual School’s new video game course, Conspiracy Code Intensive Reading. This follows their first offering in the genre, Conspiracy Code American History.

The game seeks to bridge one of the key problems with educational video games. Video games are engaging with kids, and they stay glued to the screen while playing. However, pedagogical content is typically text and paper based. Conspiracy Code Intensive Reading seeks to engage players by making them read as part of the game. Students take the role of a young male or female secret agent and go about spy business in an immersive, 3D environment.

Check out the video below for more details.

Making ESL More Game-like

Stephan J. Franciosi over at Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts in Kyoto, Japan, has a neat article on introducing game-like elements to ESL/EFL instruction. It appears in the Feb., 2010 issue of The Internet TESL Journal.

Here’s the key quote:

I devised the following as a simple checklist for evaluating or modifying classroom activities. The items are based on game design literature, in particular Koster’s (2005) list of features shared by historically popular games (120), and Salen and Zimmerman’s (2004) discussion on what motivates us to participate in game-like activities (337). They are also partially intended as a summary of the theory (readers interested in learning more about educational computer game applications online are referred to the blog links in the reference section). In order to illustrate the major concepts incorporated in the questions, I will show how a commonly used classroom activity, the cloze task, could and should be more like computer games by showing the computer game application of each item, elaborating on the theory behind it, and discussing the application for classroom activities.

Included in the checklist are considerations on goals integrated into the games, incremental challenges, strategic decisions, and uncertain outcomes.

This is a great article for teachers of ESL interested in adding educational games to their pedagogical arsenal, and a good resource for those involved in the designing of related educational video games. Highly recommended.

References:
Francois, S. J. (2010, February). Making ESL/EFL classroom activities more game-like. The Internet TESL Journal, For Teachers of English as a Second Language. [Online.] Available: http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Franciosi-Activities.html

Serious Game Review: Do I Have a Right?

This is a serious game guest review by Alan Reid, a doc student in instructional design and technology over at Old Dominion University. – JR

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Serious Game Review: Do I Have a Right?
by Alan Reid

Source:  http://www.ourcourts.org/play-games

Game Information

“Do I Have A Right?” is an interactive web-based game that focuses on the constitution of the United States and the rights of US citizens by having the user manage a law firm. The game does not specify a target audience, but given the content, it is most likely aimed towards elementary and middle school grade levels. The ultimate intention is to educate its user on the rights guaranteed to US citizens in the constitution by presenting him or her with real world scenarios of law cases and their courtroom verdicts.  Successfully defending a client in accordance with his/her rights results in a courtroom win and an increase in “prestige” points, with which you can afford to hire more lawyers with different expertise. The host site for the game offers a teacher guide to accompany the gameplay (http://www.ourcourts.org/our-courts-pdf-library/DIHR_Game_Guide_v2.pdf), and a corresponding lesson plan on interpreting the constitution (http://www.ourcourts.org/our-courts-pdf- library/Interpreting_The_Constitution.pdf).

Interface

The graphics for the game are effective and clean. Instructions are provided as the game is played, and movement of the characters is restricted to a point-and-click of the mouse. Below (Figure 1) is a screenshot of the main office view. This is the home screen for most of the game. Your partners in the firm are seated at their desks, and potential clients walk in through the office doors. Waiting too long to address a client will result in him or her leaving in disgust.

The interface is very well organized with pertinent information about the character, money supply, and court record readily available. Also accessible is a cheat sheet of the US Constitution.

Because multiple clients enter the office at once, you must possess time management skills. As the game progresses, the user must become more familiar with the constitutional rights and their corresponding amendment, or else the potentially valuable clients leave.

Unfortunately, you cannot save your work in this game, and exiting out of the game window loses all data accrued on your character. Although, it is a free, live streaming game that doesn’t require registration, so this is to be expected.

Gameplay

The gameplay is straightforward and easy to understand. Throughout the ‘day’ at the law office, instructions guide the user from one task to the next. As each client enters the office, the user must listen to their individual case and determine whether he or she has a constitutional right or not. Figure 2 is an example of a potential client explaining his situation. The user determines whether he can be successfully defended in court or not:

The user must identify key phrases in the client’s statement in order to pair the plaintiff with a lawyer with expertise in that field. This step is crucial in the user’s understanding and interpretation of the US Constitution. The user may also do a “Rights Review” (Figure 3) to refresh their memory on which amendment is most proper for that client.

The game, however, does not simply revolve around constitutional rights and their corresponding numbers. It also requires the user to successfully run a law firm. Expenses arise during gameplay, and the user must maintain a business while increasing his or her ‘prestige points.’ This is what makes this game extremely useful for its users: real world application.

In terms of feedback, the game produces a newspaper front page that shows how your law firm is doing.

Although it is a lot to manage at first, once the user gets a firm grasp of the constitution and his rights, the game reaches a plateau. The chances of reaching a flow state while playing the game are minimal because the emphasis is on the constitution. The game climaxes at the point where the law firm has acquired enough expert lawyers to cover all of the constitutional rights. In this sense, it then just becomes a game on maintaining a successful business.

Learner Characteristics

This game is most likely in an elementary grade setting, but knowing and understanding our individual rights is applicable to all US citizens. It is most appropriate for a class in civics.

Instructional/Learning Factors

This game exemplifies a few different levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Mainly, at face value, this game is a game of recall, remembering, and memorizing, all lower order thinking questions. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though, because in addition to recalling the constitutional amendments and their numbers, the user is also required to make an interpretation of the amendment and use judgment in each individual court case. This is evident in Figure 2 where the user decides either “You Don’t Have A Right” or “You Have A Right” after hearing the plaintiff’s scenario. Therefore, this game is productive on all levels.

It is certainly adaptable to the classroom and may be specifically beneficial to learning about citizenship and constitutional rights. Students learn what the constitution actually says in addition to applying the constitution to certain scenarios. Discussion of this game and the user’s decisions could ultimately lead to the judicial system, the Supreme Court, and the political process.

Overall Rating

This game receives an A. It is relevant, well-organized, applicable to the real world, and integral to an understanding of what being an American citizen means.

Beyond Second Life

Tony Bates refers us to an article in the Chronicle by Jeffrey Young: After Frustrations in Second Life, Colleges Look to New Virtual Worlds.

The article details the challenges universities have faced when trying to integrate SL into lessons. Consequently, they are exploring other venues for instruction that offer more controls and fewer distractions.

Sometimes this leads to additional problems. Few companies in this specialty are as established as SL’s parent, Linden Labs. Some have gone broke, taking virtual classroom space with them when the plug was pulled.

A couple of promising efforts either underway or coming this year include Open Cobalt from Duke University, funded by the NSF and the Mellon Foundation, and OpenSimulator which leases virtual space for instructional purposes.

Several initiatives are out there to offer classroom space to educators at no cost to them. Young notes Aaron E. Walsh over at Boston College hosts about 2,000 educator accounts on Education Grid, a world devoted to online instruction that Walsh set up through his project, the Immersive Education Initiative. The mix on Education Grid is about 80% university profs and 20% secondary teacher accounts. The IEI leases space from OpenSimulator.

To counter the academic exodus, SL now offers a version of its software universities can host on local servers, which effectively prevents outsider access and the ability for students to wander over to red light districts.

It’s interesting to see the idea mature from a fanciful notion, to gritty reality, to something tailored for specific educational needs. For instance, initially universities set up virtual spaces identical to real world lecture halls. This resulted in unwieldy virtual space that was hard to navigate. It’s also interesting to see the day coming when SL will be considered “old hat” by professors and students, who will be using newer, more robust environments geared specifically for virtual education from the ground up.

The Top Journals for Video Game Research

It seems like there were not many journals devoted specifically to video game studies not so long ago. Now there are several. Here is a list of journals for videogame and gaming research, with indications as to whether they are print or online, and brief descriptions from their websites. Drop me a note if I missed one or if a new one starts up.

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Computer Game Education Review

Type: Online

Note: Initial publication is set for 2010.

CGER is a peer-reviewed, annual, aca­d­e­mic pub­li­ca­tion address­ing issues that con­cern the teach­ing of game design and devel­op­ment. These include, but are not lim­ited to, cur­ricu­lum orga­ni­za­tion, teach­ing method­olo­gies (e.g., con­cep­tual vs. exem­plary), assess­ment tools and tech­niques, game gen­res and clas­si­fi­ca­tions, soci­etal impact, eco­nomic and com­mer­cial issues, legal aspects, and approaches to stu­dent eval­u­a­tion that are of inter­est to fac­ulty and insti­tu­tions involved in the edu­ca­tion and train­ing of future game developers.

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ELUDAMOS, Journal for Computer Game Culture

Type: Online

ELUDAMOS is an international, multi-disciplined, biannual e-journal that publishes peer-reviewed articles that theoretically and/or empirically deal with digital games in their manifold appearances and their sociocultural-historical contexts. ELUDAMOS positions itself as a publication that fundamentally transgresses disciplinary boundaries. The aim is to join questions about and approaches to computer games from decidedly heterogeneous scientific contexts (for example cultural studies, media studies, (art) history, sociology, (social) psychology, and semiotics) and, thus, to advance the interdisciplinary discourse on digital games. This approach does not exclude questions about the distinct features of digital games a an aesthetic and cultural form of articulation, on the contrary, the issue is to distinguish their media specific characteristics as well as their similarity to other forms of aesthetic and cultural practice. That way, the editors would like to contribute to the lasting distinction of international game studies as an academic discipline.

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Game Studies, the International Journal of Computer Game Research

Type: Online

Our Mission – To explore the rich cultural genre of games; to give scholars a peer-reviewed forum for their ideas and theories; to provide an academic channel for the ongoing discussions on games and gaming.

Game Studies is a crossdisciplinary journal dedicated to games research, web-published several times a year at www.gamestudies.org.

Our primary focus is aesthetic, cultural and communicative aspects of computer games, but any previously unpublished article focused on games and gaming is welcome. Proposed articles should be jargon-free, and should attempt to shed new light on games, rather than simply use games as metaphor or illustration of some other theory or phenomenon.

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Games and Culture, A Journal of Interactive Media

Type: Print

Games and Culture: A Journal of Interactive Media is a new, quarterly international journal that publishes innovative theoretical and empirical research about games and culture within interactive media. The journal serves as a premiere outlet for ground-breaking work in the field of game studies.

Games and Culture’s scope includes the socio-cultural, political, and economic dimensions of gaming from a wide variety of perspectives, including textual analysis, political economy, cultural studies, ethnography, critical race studies, gender studies, media studies, public policy, international relations, and communication studies. Other arenas include the following:

• Issues of gaming culture related to race, class, gender, and sexuality
• Issues of game development
• Textual and cultural analysis of games as artifacts
• Issues of political economy and public policy in both US and international arenas

Of primary importance will be bridging the gap between games studies scholarship in the United States and in Europe.

One of the primary goals of the journal is to foster dialogue among the academic, design, development, and research communities that will influence both game design and research about games within various public contexts.  A second goal is to examine how gaming and interactive media are being used outside of entertainment, including in education, for the purposes of training, for military simulation, and for political action.

Games and Culture: A Journal of Interactive Media invites academics, designers and developers, and researchers interested in the growing field of game studies to submit articles, reviews, or special issues proposals to the editor.  Games and Culture is an interdisciplinary publication, and therefore it welcomes submissions by those working in fields such as Communication, Anthropology, Computer Science, English, Sociology, Media Studies, Cinema/Television Studies, Education, Art History, and Visual Arts.

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International Journal of Computer Games Technology

Type: Print

The overall aim of the International Journal of Computer Games Technology is to bring together both the research and development aspects of games technology covering the whole range of entertainment computing and interactive digital media. The focus will be on three research and development frontiers: first, to expand the technology frontier in terms of both hardware and software for games, second, to validate innovative procedures including algorithms and architectures for games, and finally, to explore novel applications of games technology both for entertainment and serious games.

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International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations

Type: Print

The International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations (IJGCMS) is a peer-reviewed, international journal devoted to the theoretical and empirical understanding of electronic games and computer-mediated simulations. The journal is interdisciplinary in nature; it publishes research from fields and disciplines that share the goal of improving the foundational knowledge base of games and simulations. The journal publishes critical theoretical manuscripts as well as qualitative and quantitative research studies, meta-analyses, and methodologically-sound case studies. The journal also includes book reviews to keep readers on the forefront of this continuously evolving field. Occasional special issues from the journal provide deeper investigation into areas of interest within either gaming or simulations.

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Journal of Virtual Worlds Research

Type: Online

The Virtual Worlds Institute based in Austin, Texas, USA is a not-for-profit research organization dedicated to:

* The promotion and publication of leading research

* Direct research and innovation in the fields of virtual worlds, 3d internet, immersive interfaces and the singularity

* Developing a commercialization channel for researchers to take their ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace

The Virtual Worlds Institute is looking for, on an on-going basis: research, development, commercialization and funding collaborators and partnerships.

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Simulation & Gaming, An International Journal of Theory, Practice and Research

Type: Print

For more than three and a half decades, Simulation & Gaming: An International Journal of Theory, Practice and Research has served as a leading international forum for the exploration and development of simulation/gaming methodologies used in education, training, consultation, and research. It appraises academic and applied issues in the expanding fields of simulation, computer- and internet-mediated simulation, virtual reality, educational games, video games, industrial simulators, active and experiential learning, case studies, and related methodologies.

The broad scope and interdisciplinary nature of Simulation & Gaming are demonstrated by the wide variety of interests and disciplines of its readers and contributors, who practice in areas such as: business, cognition, communication, decision making, psychology, economics, education, educational technologies, engineering, entrepreneurship, environmental issues, human resources, international studies, language training, learning theory, management, marketing, medicine, multiculturalism, , negotiation, organization studies, peace and conflict studies, policy and planning, political science, project management, sociology, teamwork, technology, and research methodology.

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Finally, there are several journals that regularly touch on video game research while not devoted exclusively to the topic. A great example is the International Journal of Roleplaying. Video game research continues to be published in several venues besides the ones listed here.

Toy Spy Robots: A Practical Way to Teach Programming

Seymour Papert taught us years ago the most effective way to teach computer programming to children was to make it fun, and MIT’s Logo programming language remains popular (and free). Since then, other languages designed to teach programming concepts have been developed, including Scratch, Game Maker, and Alice. (I wrote an article on educational programming languages for TechEdge that is online here.)

From a commercial standpoint, especially with languages like Logo, the urge to combine programming with real world robotics has been highly successful, most notably with the Lego Mindstorms line of products. Now, a new company has developed a toy spy robot that will encourage the creation and posting of programs by its fans.

The Spy Video TRAKR from Wild Planet Entertainment will blend online and offline fun for budding robotics enthusiasts. Offline, the target market of eight-year-old and older boys can guide the remote controlled vehicle into other rooms and use its wireless camera for surveillance. Taking a tip from Webkinz, which ties an online product with toys in the real world, the Spy Video TRAKR will offer strong inducements to play on their site. Here’s a quote from a recent news article:

Wild Planet says the Trakr goes a step further than other Web-tied toys. It sends children online to create application and then brings them back to the toy, instead of just leaving them playing related games online.

The marketing pitch for this seems brilliant. The toy will function as a spy robot right out of the box, but for the kid who wants more, plenty of customization is offered, whether it’s an app downloaded from the site or one he makes on his own. Here’s part of the press release:

Though the Spy Video TRAKR can be used without ever being hooked up to a computer, tech-minded kids will be quick to connect their toy and start the customization process. Beginners can access an online application modulator that will allow them to modify existing apps as they familiarize themselves with writing code. All the tools they need to write their own unique programs will be available online, for free.

The toy will be available in October, in time for Christmas, and should retail for about $120. I wish the best for Wild Planet, and I hope their new product is highly successful. Also, hopefully, it will encourage many new future programmers to pursue careers in the STEM fields.

References:
Zimmerman, A. (February 10, 2010). I spy a market for kids. The Wall Street Journal, D1.

New 3D Learning Book by Karl Kapp

Karl Kapp is a longtime friend of this blog. His first comment was on a post comparing Second Life to World of Warcraft for educational purposes, way back in 2007, and his blog, Kapp Notes, has been on my blogroll ever since. Dr. Kapp is a full professor of instructional technology over at Bloomsburg University, and is a prominent thought leader and author in the field.

One of the things several researchers in educational gaming picked up on early was the facilitation immersive worlds featuring human-like avatars offered for teaching and learning. This idea has come to be generally termed “3D learning,” because the virtual gaming worlds in which it takes place are rendered in three dimensional graphics. It feels like you are in the world instead of simply playing a board game.

It seems to be a powerful learning tool, and has attracted a lot of attention from educational researchers. Perhaps, researchers suspect, there is something to the notion of transference, where players feels like they are experiencing what their avatar in the 3D virtual world is going through and go on to transfer knowledge from that virtual world to real life applications. Perhaps it is conducive to Csíkszentmihályi’s flow theory, where time becomes irrelevant in the pursuit of passionate tasks. Regardless, it’s an intriguing idea that researchers continue to investigate.

Karl Kapp’s latest book, co-authored with Tony O’Driscoll, explores the ramifications of teaching and learning within these immersive virtual environments. Aptly titled, Learning in 3D: Adding a New Dimension to Enterprise Learning and Collaboration, provides a blueprint for corporate and educational professional development personnel when embarking on efforts to include this type of training in their organizations. Recently, Dr. Kapp made a digital preview of the book available to several bloggers, and embarked on a “virtual book tour.” I was honored to be included on the list, and found the book to be impressive.

I think one of the key contributions to the field this book makes is its insistence that 3D learning is a valid and valuable tool for both corporations and universities. For instance, the whole idea of role playing within virtual 3D environments is supported and reinforced in the book. Business personnel have long known the value of role playing within training regimens. I recall a conversation with someone familiar with the training program for the sales force of a Fortune 100 company. An artificial office environment was created, complete with cameras and recording equipment. The trainee would enter the office and attempt to sell the company’s products to another employee posing as a potential client. Trainers would later review the recordings and help the trainee hone techniques. This entire process is greatly facilitated through 3D virtualization, as the book makes clear.

On an entirely selfish note, I was glad to see the acronym “VIE” included, something I introduced to the field in 2007 in an article in the Journal of Technology and Teacher Education. I called it a virtual interactive environment, while Kapp and O’Driscoll use it to mean virtual immersive environment. Regardless, it amounts to the same thing, and I’m glad to see the idea spread. Education and corporations can use a lot more VIEs.

Is Apple’s New Tablet a Game Changer?

Lately Apple has dominated any market outside of PCs the company has chosen to enter. It wasn’t always so; I still remember the Newton and the shellacking it took in public opinion. (Even the political cartoon strip “Doonesbury” made fun of it.) But those days are all behind the company, and the iPod and iPhone dominate their segments. The markets for Apple software have become just as important, with 99 cent songs and varied-priced apps.

Next up is the Tablet, a new computer that has Apple fans salivating. Plenty of programmers have been willing to devote time to developing games for the iPhone, so it’s probable that games will continue to roll out for the Tablet, especially considering Apple’s lucrative revenue sharing system.

Apple will be interested in exploiting the educational market, for the respect dominance there lends as much as the lucre. One of my favorite reporters, Yukari Iwatani Kane, co-wrote an article this week in The Wall Street Journal about the Apple Tablet, which touched on the academic aspects of the product:

In the academic arena, Apple could face hurdles wooing universities if the tablet doesn’t meet their needs or isn’t compatible with other computing devices that students are using.

Amazon had been hoping to target the market with its 9.7-inch screen Kindle DX e-book reader, for example, but schools said the device wasn’t sufficiently interactive and lacked basics such as page numbers and color graphics.

Another hurdle facing any new technology at the university level is the need for accessibility features to be built into the product. After pressure from the Dept. of Justice, several universities agreed to stop promoting the use of the Kindle DX for students, or any other e-book reader, until features making it more accessible for the visually impaired have been implemented.

As always, it would be very nice to see good educational programs and games come out for the Apple Tablet, and not merely repackaging of classic texts or some such. Stay tuned.

References:
Gonsalves, A. (2010, January 14). Universities agree not to promote Kindle DX. InformationWeek. [Online.] Available: http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/government/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222300989

Kane, Y.I., & Smith, E. (2010, January 23). Apple sees new money in old media. The Wall Street Journal, B1.

The Chasm Between Educational and Commercial Games

Elaine Alhadeff and I have been talking via e-mail to Jeremy Pesner, a recent Computer Science grad from Dickinson College who has been working on educational games that focus on the human immune system. Pesner served as co-author on a paper presented at the ACM Southeast Regional Conference last year. He presented with Patrick Clements over at U. South Carolina on “an educational game that simulates the processes of human immune systems by using a ‘Tower defense’-type game.”

Pesner next will be contributing to a new chapter book edited by Patrick Felicia over at the Waterford Institute of Technology in Ireland. The Handbook of Research on Improving Learning and Motivation through Educational Games: Multidisciplinary Approaches is scheduled to be released in 2011. Pesner’s contribution will explore the “chasm” that has formed between commercial and educational games in terms of “enticing and appealing qualities” between the two genres.

This is a particularly juicy topic ripe for social science research, since it’s so fuzzy. What are the elements in commercial games making them so appealing? Conversely, what makes educational games so dull? How would we measure the difference? What can educational game makers learn from commercial game makers? I think I can speak for Elaine when I say both of us very much are looking forward to Dr. Felicia’s book and Pesner’s contribution.

References:
Clements, P., Pesner, J., & Shepherd, J. (2009). The teaching of immunology using educational gaming paradigms. Proceedings of the 47th Annual Southeast Regional Conference. [Online.] Available: http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1566474