Gaming Trends

Games have changed a lot since the beginning of gaming.  We have left the world of monochromatic pong and entered a immersive and engaging environment.  I grew up with video games.  Although this dates me a bit, I remember when N64 came out.  My first system was a used Super Nintendo, I don't really remember how my family got it anymore, but I do remember the N64.  We got it for Christmas and I was so excited.  We were all just blown away by the graphics.  I remember the Playstation 2 and the xbox 360 made the previous ones look terrible.  Going backwards is painful.  I don't know if you have ever tried going back, but games I once adored are now unplayable because of how it looks.  I assume that this will continue to happen as technology advances.  Screens, graphics cards, processors, and all of the parts improve.  Rendering software improves, as does the ability to display it in real time.  That is what I think the true future of gaming will be - everything we have now but better.  Better resolution, better options (including 3D and who knows what after that!  Holograms?  Something else?), more in-depth, more realistic, more responsive, more lifelike, and overall better games.

My earlier blogs were less confident and more exploration about gaming in the classroom.  I have always believed in the potential of games and simulations, but I did not think that there were as many options as currently exist.  I knew about some games, but over the past few weeks, I have learned a lot and found many additional ways to incorporate games.  It has also been interesting to see the validation through research and how these fit into educational theories. 

As far as gaming in education, this is something that is still struggling to find its place.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  Unlike traditional gaming, educational games have to be tested to ensure that they are effective.  That is the hard part about academia - we always want to run tests, simulations, and evaluate our work.  It is what allows us to grow.  However, it keeps us from growing at as rapid a pace as the business world which is motivated by profits, interests, and demands.  The other reason is the lack of backing from serous gaming companies or large profit businesses.  Because of this, these games often do not have the best programers working countless hours to produce an amazing product.  Their programers and artists may be skilled and dedicated, but it can't match the scale that other companies have.  In addition, teachers may feel that games do not have a place in the classroom, that they don't know how to find games that are fitting, or may not even know that games are a learning option.

The classrooms of the future will likely have a lot more technology integrated.  The technology will be seen as something that is commonplace, no longer something radical, outside, or uncommon.  In the past, classes took place on chalkboards.  Today's classrooms are focused around computers and PowerPoint, sometimes with a small whiteboard tucked behind the computer projection screen.  A few decades ago, this would have been seen as unthinkable.  Computers and technology as a whole had not progressed to that point.  Even when it had, cost was a huge barrier.  The price of technology is falling and it is becoming more integrated into our lives.  As this happens, I expect to see it integrated into all parts of society - this includes our classrooms and learning environments.

The book that I was reading over the past few weeks by Jane McGonigal (2011) Reality is broken: why games make us better and how they can change the world details some of the benefits of details.  One of the most important points that I feel McGonigal makes in her book, aside from the viewpoint of gamers as something other than socially inept nerds, wholeheartedly participating in something that teaches you important skills, such as collaboration.

Some of our classrooms are already benefiting from games and simulations.  This isn't a new teaching tool either, it has been around for quite some time.  The number of classrooms using the early games may have been limited, but it has grown.  Many of us may remember playing some of these games in our own schooling (Hicks, 2012).  Games can help to teach students who might have trouble in a traditional classroom setting.  It can help to engage those who area already learning well through interactive materials.  Games provide "[o]pportunities for different students with different interests, abilities, and capacities to learn different topics, at different rates, and through different media” (Squire, 2005).  The classroom in the video below engages their students through educational gaming (BGS eLearning, 2009).

Games not only appeal to a variety of learning styles, but they also allow us to take risks and chances that we may not take otherwise.  This article mentions this very thing (Labyrinth).  These immersive environments are spelled out by Burns (2012) in her article detailing the various types of games that can be seen in the modern classroom.  A lot of these are just gaining ground in education. 

I expect that the classroom of the future will have considerably more games for several reasons.  The main reason is that the technology will continue to improve and costs will decrease making it more economically feasible.  The second reason works in tandem with the first.  The future teachers are currently engaged in games themselves.  My generation, and those after me even more so, grew up gaming.  As games are seen as more common, socially acceptable, and a way to learn things they will find their way into the classrooms more and more.  As this happens, businesses will see the profitability in this and start producing more games that are of high quality for educational purposes.  Games have massive potential and I expect that we have only begun to see how games, simulations, virtual realities, augmented realities and other forms of engaging technology will shape our classrooms and learnscape. 


Works Cited:

Burns, M. (2012). Immersive learning for teacher professional development. eLearn Magazine. http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=2181208

Hicks, T. (2012). A bried history of video games in education. Teach Thought. http://www.teachthought.com/video-games-2/a-brief-history-of-video-games-in-education/

McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World.

Squire, K. (2005). Changing the game: what happens when video games enter the classroom? Journal of Online Education 1:6.

Simulations

There are a variety of different simulations.  Some are education, some are not.  A simulation is something that lets you act out or imagine 'what if?'  What if I do this or this happens, what is the outcome?  According to Wikipedia, a Simulation is the "imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time". 

Perhaps the most important thing to consider when choosing an educational simulation is that it is:

1. Topic appropriate
2. Content appropriate
3. Age appropriate
4. Screened and tested to make sure there is nothing unexpected

It is important to make sure that your simulation is topic appropriate.  No matter what you are teaching, there is likely a simulation that fits your topic.  

Once you determine that the topic is appropriate, it is important to make sure that the content is appropriate.  Some simulations, although educational, may contain adult situations that could make students uncomfortable or be seen as inappropriate for your students.

Age appropriate means that the content is clear enough to be understood by your students, that the simulation is not too complex to use for their age level, or that it is not too juvenile for older students.  Choosing a simulation that is at the wrong age level could cause students to become disinterested or frustrated.  Even worse, the students miss the purpose of the assignment or are not engaged and learning.  

The last, and perhaps most important item is to ALWAYS PRE-SCREEN YOUR MATERIALS!  I can't stress this enough.  I have heard more than one horror story of a professor or lecturer using materials or a video that they assumed as appropriate.  One of my colleagues used a lecture in a Personal Health Class.  The lecture for the day was about sexuality.  Everything was going fine until she hit the slide on fetishes and found that the lecture contained sound effects - many of which were quite inappropriate.  Another colleague did not fully screen a video.  She watched the first half and assumed the rest was fine.  The video was educational about sexually transmitted infections (STI).  When the video came to the part of that she had not previously watched, there was a graphic scene about condom use and how a condom functions during intercourse.  This was a university class and everyone was an adult.  However, my colleague was very embarrassed and likely would not have shown the video, had she watched the entire thing.  She later commented that she froze and allowed the video to continue, because it was educational, but she also didn't want to appear unprepared.  

I was trying to find some simulations that I could potentially use in a class.  One is called Real Lives 2020.  This simulation allows the student to live as another person.  This could potentially be useful in a variety of fields.  I teach in Health Education, Public Health, and Geography.  This simulation could apply to all three of these disciplines, among others.  Basically, you pick where you are going to live, it could be India, Cambodia, the United States, Ukraine, China, or any other country.  You live life, and your life is shaped by your choices.  All of our lives are shaped by our choices, but normally it takes a lifetime to see the results of living in poverty or a poor diet.  This speeds it up and the choices soon show the results through diseases, lost wages, increase problems, or whatever issues. 

Here is a video of someone playing the game.  He chose someone in the United States for the video, because it is something with which many people will be more familiar.  When playing, the simulated person may be in a country that the student knows little about, making it a learning experience for how the person lives.  Information like health, happiness, and other factors are charted on the left.  The life choices and situations that the person cannot control are shown through the changing measures. 

 Here is another simulation called Babydow where the student takes care of a child.  This could be a very effective tool in multiple class levels, from teaching sex education and parenting to adolescents, to expecting mothers, or to college students in a Personal Health or Sexual Health class.  You must feed, spend time with the child, and the progress is measured through:

Wellness - which includes energy, satisfaction, fun, and cleanliness.

Growth - which includes hygiene, food, walking, curiosity, and speech.

Abilities - which includes motor skills, creativity, memory, and dexterity.  

What the student does with the child determines how that child will do.  Will they thrive?  Did the student anticipate how many factors go into caring for a child?  It is an educational opportunity to show the importance of everything, not just feeding the child and changing it's diaper.  The child can be customized by a variety of factors, including race and features to make the child seem more personal.

Other simulations do not take place on a computer, but allow the student to simulate what would happen in a real life situation - especially ones where health or even the person's life is on the line.  This allows people in the healthcare field to get used to working in trauma situations and using tools without being in an actual emergency situation.  In this video, the students are learning what to do, how to diagnose, what steps need to be taken, and how to save lives.  If the students make a mistake, their is a learning opportunity instead of a lost life.

These simulations have a potential to education, engage, and allow students to take risks that they might be cautious to take in a real life setting.  The amazing thing about simulations is that the students can dare to dream.  Dreams can get you in trouble sometimes in real life.  You reach to far and the project fails or someone gets hurt.  When it works, it is amazing, but there is always risk.  Simulations allow students to take those risks, to see 'what if?', and to learn and try again.

Virtual Worlds

This week I am checking out Second Life.  Many years ago, I had a Second Life account, around 2003 or 2004 when Second Life was quite new.  It was interesting, but something that I never really got into.  Second Life is a virtual reality game where you literally lead a second life.  People literally can open a business, work a job, and even earn real money for their goods, services, or time.

I created a Second Life account and downloaded the client.  As a player, you create an avatar which is your representation in the game or virtual world.  The options ranged from humans to vampires and robots to animals and even more.  I chose a rabbit because it looks very much like the one from Donnie Darko, and that just thrilled me. 

Donnie Darko

However, most people choose something they feel represents them or something they wish they could be.

My avatar flying around Second Life

My avatar standing inside an item I created.  I also made the large pancake looking thing in the back.

 The main challenges while exploring were just getting used to the interface.  For some reason, Second Life has a user interface that is different than the vast majority of existing interfaces.  Generally, most games and sites choose something similar because then the player is already accustomed to this and can pick up and play faster. 

 There are some benefits to VR for educational purposes.  It allows the user to enter an environment different from their own.  Users can create items, spaces, and have social interaction.  Social interaction is important and especially as distance learning grows, providing a social space would allow students to interaction together "on campus". 

Some VR, such as Second Life, are not always appropriate for the educational setting.  Much of the world is adult orientated.  I was only in Second Life briefly, and I was propositioned.  Bringing others into that environment could be dangerous, especially if you teach anyone under the age of 18.  Because of this, as educators we need to be careful and to administer warnings that there could be unplanned interactions and that we are not responsible for what happens in areas that we cannot control.  There is merit to Second Life and other VR, with lessons that fit.  If I was teaching a class on entrepreneurship and business, Second Life would be an idea place for this because we could interact and "visit" a great many businesses and establishments without having to leave the classroom.

One of the main reasons that this is possible is because the reality in Second Life is user created.  In normal games, coders place items, buildings, and characters for the player to interact with.  In Second Life, other players are creating the places (and you can create your own).  Because of this, it is a lot different than a business in say, Oblivion, where I am simply purchasing items from a pre-programed store.  In Second Life, someone made the store, made the items, and are actively selling to me.

An article by Antonacci and Modress (2008) discusses some of the ways that Second Life could be used in a classroom.  One way that they describe is through design and planning.  They give an example of creating a park.  The student designs the park, the layout, the materials, and all aspects of this park.  Other students, and the instructor, can visit to give feedback.  This makes Second Life and other VR a useful tool to try things out that normally couldn't be, because of price or time required if making in real life.

Boulos, Hetherington, and Wheeler (2007) wrote about the use of Second Life in Health Education.  What was interesting is that they are doing interventions to promote healthy eating and other lifestyles in a virtual world, to help people in the real world.  This is a public health project that has the potential to allow students to work in a lab or in the field, even remotely.  One of the problems faced through digital learning is how to engage students and give them real, meaningful learning.  Meaningful learning is often done through interaction or internships.  This allows the student to virtually participate in something that previously, could only be gotten in person.

Other benefits are that it may help some students feel at ease.  "Ethnic groups, for example, might be more comfortable studying with a tutor whose avatar represents a member of the same ethnic group, whilst younger students would be attracted to studying with a teacher who was represented digitally as being ‘cool’ or ‘hip’" (Boulos et al., 2007 p. 240).  This could potentially help to reach students and help with retention. 

VR, such as Second Life, is something that needs more study, but could potentially have a huge impact on our classrooms - both in person and distance learning.  Students are already familiar with games, VR, and other technologies.  Our jobs are now to find the right balance to create meaningful learning in a changing techscape.  


Works Cited:

Antonacci, D.M. and Modress, N. (2008). Envisioning the educational possibilities of user-created virtual worlds. AACE Journal 16:2 p. 115-126.


Boulos, M.N.K, Hetherington, L., and Wheeler, S. (2007). Second Life: an overview of the potential of 3-D virtual worlds in medical and health education. Health Information Libraries Journal 24 p. 233-245.