Designing Instruction for the Integration of Commercial Off the Shelf Games

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Designing Instruction for the Integration of
Commercial Off the Shelf Games

• Dennis Charsky
• Ithaca College

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Computer based instruction

• 1960s - 1980s - Present
• CAI, CBI, CBT, CMI all the same
• CBI stand alone instructional units
• Role of the instructor was to find time to
  include
• Low level skill acquisition
• Learn facts, concepts, principles, application
• NOT analysis, judge, evaluate, synthesis

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Types of CBI

• Tutorial
• Drill and Practice
• Game
• Simulation

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Drill and Practice

• The learner is led through a series of practice
  exercises designed to increase fluency in a new
  skill or to refresh an existing one.
• Drill
• Drill and skill
• Drill and kill

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Telling Time
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Improving Vocabulary
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Drill and Practice Example
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Tutorials

• The CBI acts like a tutor by providing the
  learner with instructional content, practice
  activities assessments needed to master a given
  topic.
• Procedural learning
• Step by step

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Tutorial Type to Learn 3
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Simulations

• The user learns from a computerized model based
  on a real life or imaginary situation, model,
  activity or phenomena.
• Role playing activities
• Activities done continuously
• Risk free, safe environment

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Flight Gear Simulator
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Simulation Examples

• Lemonade Stand
• Virtual Frog
• Stock Market
• Business Sims

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Instructional Games

• Game are designed to teach people, typically
  children, about a certain subject or help them
  learn a skill as they play.
• Much use of games without a computer
• Game elements can include
• competition and goals,
• rules
• challenges or challenging activities
• choices
• fantasy elements entertaining aspects

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Jeopardy game
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Splat Degree
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Oregon Trail
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Edutainment

• Combination of Game elements with a tutorial or
  drill and practice
• wolf in sheeps clothing
• Disguise the learning with entertaining aspects
• Drill Practice Game
• Other types of CBI Game
• Popular or familiar characters (Elmo)
• Storyline (save the Queen, defeat the dragon)
• Exogenous fantasy
• The fun is clearly separated from the learning

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Mighty Math Multiplication Division Even
tricky math topics are nothing but fun with the
colorful, interactive lessons in the Mighty Math
workbook series. Featuring approachable,
kid-friendly characters and plenty of challenge,
every page holds the promise of a math
breakthrough!
Sports Math Fractions Made Easy Become a math
all-star and help your child get excited about
learning fractions by showing them how math
applies to their favorite sports!
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• Mind Power Science
• Experience the thrill of discovery with the
  program that brings science to life! In-depth
  lessons make the most of every educational
  moment, while interactive multimedia simulations
  and visual experiments put science concepts to
  work in the real world. The result an inspiring
  introduction to science that might just spark a
  lifetime fascination!

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Typing of the Dead
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COTS Integration

• Commercial games Instructional activities
• Purpose is entertainment, BUT learning may occur
• Integrating instructional activities IS A MUST
• Role of the instructor MUST changes from
• Must find time to incorporate to reinforce
  learning (CBI Edutainment)
• Guide or direct students in contemplating and
  relating the game to the curriculum/content

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Integrating a COTS

• Similar to integrating what Hooper and Rieber
  (1995) call an idea technology.
• Idea technology provides learners with a context,
  problem, scenario, or experience that is very
  difficult if not impossible to provide students
• Going to Mars
• Mayor of Chicago
• Experimenting with hydrochloric acid
• Barbie Princess
• Experience horror writing

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Integrating a COTS

• First to be done
• Play the game extensively
• Learn the game extensively
• Know the content that will surround the game
• Establish learning goals and objectives
• Three types of Instructional Activities

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Type I Facts, concepts, principles

• Basic activities to help students learn the game
• Write the rules of the game journal
• Write the results of their actions, how the rules
  play out
• Write down strategy, predict what they think will
  happen, analyze why it did
• Compare
• definitions of terms in the game against the
  terms in a text or given by the instructor.
• Geography
• Characters
• Time
• Dialogue
• Context or setting

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Type II Strategies and events

• Compliment the events and game play
• Activities should be relevant extension of the
  game
• Writing tasks that utilizes some events in the
  game
• Data collecting and analyzing from events in game
• Debriefing activities
• Correct the errors and misconceptions that
  students may develop
• Focus around analyzing events in the game and how
  they are similar or different from the real
  content.
• Turn the errors or oversimplifications in the
  game into teachable moments (Gikas Van Eck,
  2004).

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Type III Theories and Models

• Help students critique the entire game as theory
  or model of the content under study.
• Assist students in developing their understanding
  of the game and the content
• Concept mapping activities
• Graphic organizers
• Writing Essays or Research Papers
• Re-design of the game to make it more realistic
• Critique of the game as theoretical model

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Sim/Game SimCity 3000
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SimCity A few ideas

• Type I Collect and chart all data
• Tax rates
• Population
• Crime rate
• Write your strategy and overarching goal
• Type II Compare to Major Cities
• Compare data collected in Type I to two major
  cities
• Compare your strategies for dealing with problems
  with those cities strategies i.e. Laws and
  mandates enacted
• Write a State of the City address look at other
  real addresses

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SimCity A few ideas

• Type III Research and Critical Analysis
• Evaluate SimCity as a true to life simulation of
  city government noting both strengths and
  limitations and offer solutions for making the
  game better align with the real world.
• SimCity has many biases in the game that make
  cities flourish. Describe those biases and note
  examples from real world cities in which those
  biases are true and instances in which they are
  false.

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Sim/Game Civilization III
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Civ III A few ideas

• Type I Timeline and Events
• Create a timeline of your civilization
• Compare terms from game to history text
• Map out your Technology Tree
• Write goals for civilization and plan for
  achieving
• Write your understanding of what it means to
  know history
• Type II Comparisons and Strategies
• Compare timeline to two other civilizations
• Discussion Topic Could places to start cities?
  War, Why did you attack or someone attach you?
  Managing cities, how can you deal with your
  citizens?
• Write a State of the Civilization Address
• Write a declaration of war
• Write a peace treaty

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Civ III A few ideas

• Type III Research and Critical Analysis
• Some of your classmates had civilizations that
  eeked out a meager existence, while others
  civilization rose to supreme power. Why did some
  real civilizations rise to supreme statue while
  others did not? Use examples from real history to
  explain your answer.
• Follow up Describe how did Civ III determine
  whether or not civilizations rose or fell? Plus
  critique your description offering alternative
  models or theories that would better align with
  real history.
• Attached is your definition of what it means to
  know history that you wrote at the beginning of
  the unit. Please write a new definition that
  better encompasses your new understanding.
  Examples from both Civ III and real history
  should be included.

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Conclusions

• Last Tip
• Budget your time wisely
• Plan for sufficient amount of game play
• Plan for sufficient amount of instructional time
• "Every time I go to school I have to power down."
  
• -a high school student
• "Any teacher who can be replaced by a computer,
  should be."
• -The Aging Sage

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Final Thought

• "When I watch children playing video games at
  home or in the arcades, I am impressed with the
  energy and enthusiasm they devote to the task.
  Mind you, these are not simple games.
• They can take days or weeks to play they require
  a large amount of knowledge, exploration, and
  hypothesis testing. They require problem solving
  - saving the current state of the game and
  tentatively exploring novel states, then
  comparing the results, returning to the saved
  state when necessary. They require study and
  debate among fellow players and the reading of
  hint books. They require reflection.
• In other words, the games require just the
  behavior we wish these same children would apply
  to schoolwork."
• -Donald Norman www.jnd.org

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References

• Charsky, D. (2004). Evaluation of the
  Effectiveness of Integrating Concept Maps and
  Computer Games to Teach Historical Understanding.
  Unpublished Dissertation, University of Northern
  Colorado, Greeley, CO.
• DeKanter, N. (2005). Gaming redefines
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• Dempsey, J. V., Lucassen, B. A., Haynes, L. L.,
  Casey, M. S. (1996). Instructional applications
  of computer games. Paper presented at the
  American Education Research Association, New
  York, NY.Gikas, J., Van Eck, R. (2004).
  Integrating Video Games in the Classroom Where
  to Begin? Paper presented for the annual meeting
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