Title: Designing Instruction for the Integration of Commercial Off the Shelf Games
1Designing Instruction for the Integration of
Commercial Off the Shelf Games
- Dennis Charsky
- Ithaca College
2Computer 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
3Types of CBI
- Tutorial
- Drill and Practice
- Game
- Simulation
4Drill 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
5Telling Time
6Improving Vocabulary
7Drill and Practice Example
8Tutorials
- 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
9Tutorial Type to Learn 3
10Simulations
- 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
11Flight Gear Simulator
12Simulation Examples
- Lemonade Stand
- Virtual Frog
- Stock Market
- Business Sims
13Instructional 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
14Jeopardy game
15Splat Degree
16Oregon Trail
17Edutainment
- 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
18Mighty 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!
19- 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!
20Typing of the Dead
21COTS 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
22Integrating 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
23Integrating 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
24Type 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
25Type 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).
26Type 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
27Sim/Game SimCity 3000
28SimCity 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
29SimCity 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.
30Sim/Game Civilization III
31Civ 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
32Civ 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.
33Conclusions
- 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
34Final 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
35References
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Effectiveness of Integrating Concept Maps and
Computer Games to Teach Historical Understanding.
Unpublished Dissertation, University of Northern
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of computer games. Paper presented at the
American Education Research Association, New
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Integrating Video Games in the Classroom Where
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