This document discusses using PowerPoint to create educational games. It provides examples of games created with PowerPoint and advice from research on creating effective PowerPoint games. Key points include using hyperlinks to create game rules and goals, constructing prototypes, and providing instruction on question writing to integrate narratives into games. The overall message is that homemade PowerPoint games can be engaging learning tools when designed following research-backed principles.

1. It’s better because it is homemade!
Michael K. Barbour
Assistant Professor – Instructional Technology
Wayne State University (Detroit, MI)

2. Video Games & Digital Media
• Today’s student has:
– spent fewer than 5,000
hours of their lives
reading
– more than 10,000 hours
playing video games
– another 10,000 on their
cell phones
– more than 20,000
watching television
Prensky (2006)
Prensky, M. (2006). Don’t bother me mom – I’m learning! St. Paul, MN: Paragon House.

3. What Does School Have To Offer?
Thursday - January 18, 2007
http://wiscassetnewspaper.maine.com/2007-01-18/media_marketing.html

4. The K-12 Classroom
Peoria Christian School Middle School in Maine
(circa 1950) (circa 2005)
Images from http://www.peoriachristian.org/index.php?section=26 and http://www.mamleonline.org/thumb-classroom.jpg

5. Why?
• a team of researchers arrive in a school
• greeted enthusiastically
• wonderful things happen for weeks or months
• the researchers leave
• the school reverts to teaching as they did before
the researchers arrived

6. An Exception
• WebQuests - http://www.webquest.org
• a creative instructional strategy that
guides students through a set of
specific tasks, using pre-selected
resources, to complete an
assignment
• based on what teachers already do
– design instruction for students
– use Internet resources
– make good use of student time
• teachers feel good about integrating
technology into their classroom

7. Play and Games
Think back to when you
were a kid…
• How much time did you
spend playing games?
• What were your
favorite games?
• What characteristics
made them your
favorite?

8. Another Exception
• schools typically have
access to PowerPoint
• teachers already have some
facility with the tool
• students are also familiar
with the tool
• everyone would like to be It's better because it's homemade!
able to use it for more than
just another PowerPoint
presentation

9. Story The Traveling Georgia
Game Directions Artist
Game Preparation
Game Pieces
Play the game
Objectives
A Homemade PowerPoint Game
Credits By
Lloyd Rieber
Copyright Notice
The University of Georgia

10. The Story of the Traveling Georgia Artist
Chris is a young but very talented artist. Chris is 18 years old and lives in
a very small Georgia town. Chris loves Georgia, but has never traveled
more than 50 miles away from home. Although the family admires Chris’s
creative work, they really don’t understand it. Chris wants to go to college
and become a great artist, but Chris’s family is very poor. No one in Chris’s
family has ever gone to college. Instead, everyone in the family went to
work in the family business right after high school. Although Chris has
earned the HOPE scholarship, this only pays for tuition and Chris’s family
has no money for room and board. Chris’s family is supportive of Chris
going to college if Chris can find the money.
Chris decides to borrow a friend’s old van and travel all through the State
of Georgia selling the works of art Chris has made. If Chris can earn
enough money, Chris will attend the University of Georgia in the Fall
semester. But, if unsuccessful, Chris will have to return home to help out in
the family business.
This is Chris’s big chance to see Georgia, earn a reputation as a real
artist, and get the opportunity to go to College.
Home Page

11. Story The Traveling Georgia
Game Directions Artist
Game Preparation
Game Pieces
Play the game
Objectives
A Homemade PowerPoint Game
Credits By
Lloyd Rieber
Copyright Notice
The University of Georgia

12. Game Directions
• The goal of the game is to make as much money as you can for college selling
your art as you travel the State of Georgia.
• You start off with $500 and must earn enough money to pay all of your bills
along the way. Keep your bank account up-to-date along the way.
• Each player puts a game piece of their choice (fun graphics are provided on a
separate slide, but a button, paper clip, etc. will also do just fine) anywhere in the
State at the start of the game. Each player takes turns rolling the die, moving
that many spaces. If you travel on the Interstates, you can move between blue
dots or cities in one step. You have to move that many spaces and you cannot
move to the same square twice during the same roll of the die.
• If you land on a Quiz square and answer the question correctly, you earn double
of your last sale, up to $300.
• If you land on another player, that player must pay you $100 for an “art lesson”.
• If your account drops below $0, you must drop out of the game.
• You select a “Sell Art” card when you reach one of the Georgia cities (red
squares). You cannot select a card if you visit the same city twice in a row.
• At the end of every turn you have to select a “Pay Expenses” card.
• You win if you are the first person whose checking account reaches $2000, or if
you are the last player remaining in the game, or the one with the most money
when the teacher says that time is up.
Return

13. Story The Traveling Georgia
Game Directions Artist
Game Preparation
Game Pieces
Play the game
Objectives
A Homemade PowerPoint Game
Credits By
Lloyd Rieber
Copyright Notice
The University of Georgia

14. Game Preparation
• Gameboard: Print out slides 9-12, cut off the edges, then tape together
• “Sell Art” Cards: Print out slides 13-14 (preferably on heavy stock with
a distinct color), then cut into individual question cards
• “Pay Expenses” Cards: Print out slides 15-16 (preferably on heavy
stock with a distinct color), then cut into individual question cards
• Georgia fun questions: Print out slide 18 to keep track of which
questions have been answered.
• Checkbook: Print out slide 17, and make enough copies for all game
players to have 3-4 sheets.
Home Page

15. Story The Traveling Georgia
Game Directions Artist
Game Preparation
Game Pieces
Play the game
Objectives
A Homemade PowerPoint Game
Credits By
Lloyd Rieber
Copyright Notice
The University of Georgia

16. Time to play “The Traveling Georgia Artist”!
• Print out this slide before starting a new game.
• Players can choose any question not yet answered correctly (reuse
when all questions answered).
• Cross out questions on this slide when they are answered correctly.
Georgia Quiz Questions
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Home Page Game Directions

17. Who is the current Governor of Georgia?
• Roy Barnes
• Zell Miller
• Sonny Perdue
• Jimmy Carter
Home Page

18. That’s Correct!
You’ve earned double of your last
sale!
Click here to continue.

19. Time to play “The Traveling Georgia Artist”!
• Print out this slide before starting a new game.
• Players can choose any question not yet answered correctly (reuse
when all questions answered).
• Cross out questions on this slide when they are answered correctly.
Georgia Quiz Questions
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Home Page Game Directions

20. What is the current capital of Georgia?
• Atlanta
• Savannah
• Augusta
• Macon
Home Page

21. Sorry, that’s not correct!
Click here to continue.

22. But First…
Image from http://www.kidscape.com/

23. Story Game Directions
Discovering
Newfoundland
Play the game
A Homemade PowerPoint Game
Objectives
by
Credits
Michael Barbour
Wayne State University Copyright Notice

24. The Story of the “Discovering
Newfoundland”
The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador has been
the focus of history for two millennia. The first place in America is
to discovered. The first place in North America to be re-
discovered. The location of the first trans-Atlantic communication.
The location of the first trans-Atlantic wireless communication. The
location of military bases for three different countries during World
War I and World War II.
Britain’s oldest colony and Canada’s youngest province has seen
more “firsts” than any other geographic region of North America.
This game is designed to explore both the geography and history
of the island nation that is Newfoundland and Labrador.
Home Page

25. Game Directions
The goal of the game is to travel around the province of Newfoundland and
Labrador from the Marine Atlantic ferry in Argentia to the Marine Atlantic
ferry in Port-aux-Basques.
To play the game you have to travel across the province correctly
answering questions about the geography and history of Newfoundland.
To win the game you have to complete the trip by boarding the Marine
Atlantic ferry at the Port-aux-Basques terminal.
Return

26. Time to play “Discovering
Newfoundland”!
Begin
Home Page Game Directions

27. Traveling to Newfoundland
To get to Newfoundland you have to travel for six hours to Port-aux-
Basques or eleven hours to Argentia from North Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Our journey begins in Argentia.
Next

28. Question
As you are traveling to this island, do you know who is the first person
credited with visiting Newfoundland?
A. John Cabot
B. St. Brendan
C. The Vikings
D. Jacques Cartier

29. Sorry, that is incorrect! Try
again…
Please try again…
Return

30. Question
As you are traveling to this island, do you know who is the first person
credited with visiting Newfoundland?
A. John Cabot
B. St. Brendan
C. The Vikings
D. Jacques Cartier

31. That is correct!
Continue

32. Question
As you are traveling to this island, do you know who is the first person
credited with visiting Newfoundland?
A. John Cabot
B. St. Brendan
C. The Vikings
D. Jacques Cartier

33. Sorry, that is incorrect!
That is incorrect!
The answer was St. Brendan. To read
more about St. Brendan, review the
article “Irish Monks and the Voyage of St.
Brendan”.
Continue

34. Moving on…
Continuing south to St. Mary’s, you will come across the Cape St. Mary’s
Ecological Reserve, home to the province’s largest bird colony. When
you see them, you'll swear someone missed a few hundred thousand.
About 530,000 Leach's Storm Petrels nest of Gull Island, with another
250,000 on Great Island. Green Island has 74,000 Murres. And there are
tens of thousands of Atlantic Puffins, the provincial bird (shown above).
An unpaved road from Portugal Cove South takes you to two very
different attractions. Unique fossils at Mistaken Point Ecological
Reserve date to 620 million years ago. Radio operators at Cape Race
were the first to pick up the distress signal from RMS Titanic, which struck
an iceberg 400 km to the south and sank with a huge loss of life in 1912.
Continue

35. PowerPoint Games
• make use of hyperlink feature in PPT
• have three consistent features:
1. game story or context
2. game goal
3. game rules
• can be constructed by teacher for their
students to play or by the students
themselves

36. Creating a PPT Game
1. Introduce PPT games*
2. Sharing game ideas and stories
3. Different levels of questioning
4. Create prototype of the game*
5. Peer review*
6. Share games with the class*

37. Advice from the Research
• the project must last throughout the entire
unit and not only as a review tool
• if it can be done outside of the computer
lab, do it outside of the computer lab
• provide time for instruction on question
writing skills
• allow time for revision, editing, and
teacher feedback on narratives and
questions

38. Advice from the Research
• create conditions to encourage the
integration the narrative into the game as
much as possible (i.e., avoid “save the
princess” and drill-and-practice games)
• give students the objectives as early as
possible

39. It's better because it's homemade!
http://it.coe.uga.edu/wwild/pptgames/index.html
Georgia Regents University Class
http://garegents.wikispaces.com

40. Your
Questions
and
Comments

41. Assistant Professor
Wayne State University, USA
mkbarbour@gmail.com
http://www.michaelbarbour.com
http://www.slideshare.net/mkb Job Talk: Teaching (2013): Georgia Regents University