Head Hunt : An Online Library Orientation Game

1
Head Hunt An Online Library Orientation Game

• Fred Roecker
• Instruction Librarian
• roecker.1_at_osu.edu
• LOEX of the West Conference
• June 6, 2008

2
Presentation Overview

• Background of Ohio State and Libraries
• Development of game
• Demo
• Data collected
• Tips for creating a game
• Questions

3
Background - 2006

• Over 6,000 new OSU freshmen arrive on campus each
  fall
• Summer orientation offered by the Office of First
  Year Experience (FYE)
• No Library orientation
• currently included

4
Goals FYE Office

• Provide orientation to the Libraries, resources,
  and services
• Offer to all new students before first day of
  classes
• Alleviate fears and
• encourage usage
• Available for families

5
Project Design Team

• Three Instruction Office librarians design and
  content
• Graduate Student assessment / programming
• Student programming
• On- and Off-Campus
• Consultants

6
Funding

• Paul P. Fidler Research grant (Unsuccessful)
• (National Resource Center for the First-Year
  Experience and Students in Transition)
• Administrative support
• Existing personnel
• Freeware

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To-Do List

• Survey students about library use/preferences
• Explore different content/delivery methods
• Discuss issues with experts
• Conduct usability tests
• Distribute to students Summer 2007
• Assess impact on student perceptions

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Student Perceptions/Use Survey

• 500 students from all colleges
• Survey conducted four weeks into Fall 2006
• Questions
• Had intro to Libraries?
• Visited a library?
• Used resources?
• Comfort level?
• More info desired?
• Need orientation CD?

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Survey Results Library Use

• After four weeks at Ohio State
• 29 - had received a library introduction
• 60 - had visited an Ohio State University
  library
• Student Comments
• Did not know what library resources were
  available
• Had difficulty finding what they need

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Survey Results Orientation CD

• Orientation CD should include
• Locations of libraries
• Map to show which library
• is closest to their dorm
• Short movies
• Digital stories
• Interactive games and puzzles
• May not be interested in using this CD

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Design Teams First Thoughts

• Goal
• provide basic information about the OSU
• Libraries in an engaging format to inspire
  student use.
• Objectives
• users should learn
• about resources
• (catalog, databases,
• advanced Google).

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First Version The Four Quests

• Conquering the Book Swamp
• Use the Libraries Catalog to find books
• Slay the Google Dragon
• Use advanced features in
• Google and Google Scholar
• Solve the Library Maze
• Explore the OSU Libraries
• Beseech the Articles Wizard
• Use a database to find articles

13
On Second Thought

• Quests
• too much like an assignment.
• Casual Games
• more fun
• focus on a positive,
• interesting orientation

14
Production Challenges

• Format ?
• Incentives ?
• Usability ?
• User tracking ?
• Project evaluation ?

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Decision 1 - Campus Game Board
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Decision 2 - Casual Games

• ClickZone
• Close to Dorms
• Database Match
• LC Call Number Order
• Library Superstars
• Libwords
• Multiple Guess
• Way / No Way

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Decision 3 - Short Movies

• Renovation Slide Show
• Cartoon Research Library
• Libstories
• Directors Welcome
• Learning Commons

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Decision 4 - Testing / Evaluation

• Usability testing (prototype)
• Stress test (faculty and staff)
• Comment form
• (within game)
• Re-administer the
• Perceptions Survey
• Respond to problems
• during game

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Decision 5 - Incentives

• Barnes and Nobel gift certificates
• iTunes cards
• iPod
• Movie Tickets
• (for survey)

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The Game (Its about time!)

• A Demo of the game
• library.osu.edu/sites/fye/

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User Data Fall 2007
Student players 856 (937
overall) Completed game 509 Most views
(games) 1,298 (Call Number) Most views
(movies) 831 (Director, Renovation) Rate
Interest 1 Interesting 7 Not at all
interesting Games 2.91 (Jigsaw)
3.51 (Call number) Movies 2.80 (Renovation)
3.51 (Director)
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Perception Surveys Comparison
2006 2007 Visited a Library
... 64 71 Used online resource
.. 29 42 Libraries are not
conveniently located .. 49
38 Libraries too imposing 22 19 I
dont know what resources are available
... 48 41 Im not confident using
Library resources .. 26 32
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Student Comments

• I learned that you need to return your book if
  someone requested it. Otherwise you have to pay
  10.
• You learned all of the information when you
  played the
• game. The nice thing was that you had to keep
  retrying
• until you got the right answer to make sure you
  knew!
• Before the game I did not realize how useful the
  
• resources of the libraries will be and how many
  resources are
• available online without a need to go to the
  nearest location.
• Wow, good job. I admit that I probably wouldnt
  have explored all the libraries on my own. I
  wouldve just gone to the library closest to me.
  But with this game, I feel like I have a better
  idea of how to take advantage of what OSU
  libraries have to offer.

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Next Steps

• Update OSU Libraries information
• Add new games / movies
• Dorms / colleges competition
• Publicize earlier in summer

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Want to Build Your Own Game?

• Assemble small, compatible, enthusiastic design
  team
• Know your goals and budget
• Design, consult, test, refine repeat often
• Use freeware and
• in-house resources
• Have fun!

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Useful Tools

• Captivate/Flash
• Google Map API
• HotPotatoes 6
• jQuery 1.1.2
• PHP LoginSystem
• by Jpmaster77
• Thickbox 3
• Toolman DHTML
• XML/SWF Charts
• Zoho Project Manager

• Free Software

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Further Interest Other Games

• Library Skills Game Bardonia Elementary
  School
• www.ccsd.edu/bardonia/LearningGames/LibrarySk
  ills/
• Quarantined Arizona State University
• library.west.asu.edu/game/quarantined/login.c
  fm
• Library Arcade Carnegie Mellon
• www.library.cmu.edu/Libraries/etc/index.html
• The Goodhue Codex Los Angeles Public
  Library
• www.lapl.org/ya/game/
• Cirticon, Library Defender Orange County
  Pub. Library
• www.ocls.info/citricon/default.asp?bhcp1
• Defense of Hidgeon University of Michigan
• www.youtube.com/watch?vu76tW-ne-yY

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Further Interest - Books

• Everything Bad Is Good for You How Today's
  Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter
• - Stephen Johnson
• Got Game? How the Gamer Generation Is Reshaping
  Business Forever
• - John C. Beck and Mtchell Wade
• A Theory of Fun for Game Design
• - Ralph Koster
• Understanding Digital Games
• - Jason Rutter and Jo Bryce

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Further Interest Misc.

• Bibliographic Gaming Blog
• bibliogaming.blogspot.com/
• Shifted Librarian Blog
• www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/
• Gaming and Libraries Update
• ALA TechSource Library Technology Report
• www.techsource.ala.org/ltr/gaming-and-libraries-u
  pdate.html
• Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium
• (ALA TechSource Chicago, November 2-4, 2008)
• gaming.techsource.ala.org/index.php/Main_Page

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Thanks for coming! Questions?

• Fred Roecker
• The Ohio State University Libraries
• 120N Mason Hall
• 250 West Woodruff
• Columbus, OH 433210
• [phone]
• roecker.1_at_osu.edu