10 lessons learnt in the first ten years of the serious games movement. Sports, Games and Learning – a Serious Games Conference. Internationale filmschule koeln, Cologne, Germany. 17th March 2011.

1. 10 lessons learnt in the first ten years of the serious games movement. Sports, Games and Learning Conference Cologne, Germany 17th March 2011 Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen CEO Serious Games Interactive

3. PhD Games & learning

5. Playing History-series

6. +30 games for clientsCurrent Research projects: SIREN, PlayMancer & GaLa

7. The company Serious Games Interactive (SGI) was founded in 2006 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Today also offices in United Kingdom and Vietnam. We develop serious games that contain an inseparable combination of “playing”, “learning” and “story-telling”. We are a cross-disciplinary team of 25 people with strong roots in research. We work with a range of different national and international partners including Amnesty, Kaplan, Unicef, WWF, The Danish National Museum, LEGO, ECHO, and European School Net.

8. Awards BETT Award (UK) – Secondary educational products 2010. PC ZONE (UK) – Independent Game Award 2007. Danish Game Awards (DK) – Game of the Year 2009 & 2010. Nordic Game (Scandinavia) – Best Nordic Game 2007 & 2008 nominee. Children’s Technology Review (US) - Editors Choice Award 2008. IndieCade (US) - Best Indie Game Nominee 2008 & 2009.

9. Agenda Section 1: What is it? Section 2: What we know? Section 3: Why it ain’t happening

10. Game industry growing Fast EUR 15bn EUR 30bn EUR 75bn 1990 2000 2010

11. We invest 3 Billion hours every week in playing games Everyone…

12. Why consider games? Games are becoming mainstream – avg. gamer is 33 years old in US and UK. Today games have become an universal language for playing, learning & communicating. Today games are out-growing other popular media in importance. Games are already forecasting the future of learning…

13. Source: Mr. Toledano

14. Military Education & training Education & training Museums Healthcare Satirical Corporate training News Politics Schools Being used in most areas

16. Agenda Section 1: What is it? Section 2: What we know? Section 3: Why it ain’t happening

17. Lesson #1: there are different uses Games are a multi-dimensional beast Including games to enrich existing curriculum Making games about relevant curriculum Using games directly to learn curriculum

18. Lesson #2: many teachers use it Several studies indicate around 60% teachers Very few teachers are dismissing it Adaptation varies with countries Almost all use curriculum games Favourites are still training (math & spelling) Use is almost exclusively in early school years

19. Lesson #3: need to keep learning Challenge player to use knowledge actively Make learning contents explicit Make integration between learning & playing Focus on learning for both verbs & substantives Debriefing is a pre-requisite for effect

20. Lesson #4: must keep engagement Real consequences in the game Strong and constant feedback loops Visual attractive on its on turf Maintain relevance and authenticity Use both extrinsic & intrinsic motivation

21. Lesson #5: building them – keep simple Use standard technology Avoid any solution adding complexity Integrate with existing systems Focus on casual approach Build in SCORM compliance

22. Lesson #6: how to distribute – few roads Browser-based solutions is a must Channels are still missing Education is more local than global Curriculum differences major obstacle Traditional publishers are not the answer

23. Lesson #7: barriers often ict not games Computer equipment is not good enough Installation & licensing is difficult Own lacking skills are perceived as barriers

24. Lesson #8: convince people = show them Get them in front of the games Get into the teacher seminars Create good cases with other teachers Involve teachers in development

25. Lesson #9: funding is a challenge Funding haphazard and random Support schemes crucical Venture investment limited Schools don’t have the ressources Funding should be cross-border

26. Lesson #10: but it works Evidence retention is better Indications transfer is better Student more motivated to learn Students feel closer to the content Student perceive they learn more Teacher’s can reach challenged learners

27. Lessons summary Lesson #1: There are different uses Lesson #2: Many teachers use it Lesson #3: Need to keep learning Lesson #4: Must keep engagement Lesson #5: Building them – keep simple Lesson #6: How to distribute – few roads Lesson #7: Barriers often ict not games Lesson #8: Convince people = show them Lesson #9: Funding is a challenge Lesson #10: But it works

28. Agenda Section 1: What is it? Section 2: What we know? Section 3: Why it ain’t happening

29. overview: Diffusion of Innovation Five attributes can explain 49-87% of the variation in adaption of an innovation (Rogers, 2003): Relative advantage: How much is the innovation perceived as being better than what already exists. Compatibility: How well does the innovation match existing norms, values, needs, expectations and previous experiences? Complexity: How easy is the innovation to use and understand for users? Observability: How easy is it to observe the advantages achieved from adapting the innovation? Trialability: How easy is the innovation to try out and experiments with without going all in?

30. Relative advantage The most important attribute according to Rogers. Studies show motivation is high-scorer with 25% of all teachers adhering to that. Advantages very mix & diffuse. Perceived advantage low on teacher’s priority list

31. Compability Lots of challenges like lacking game skills, bad fit with educational system and limited capable of evaluating games. Values & beliefs Lots of negative discussion, seems to be wavering in some countries. Teacher role, transformation; need to change their role & habitus to harness game's potential. Previous ideas Games cover a broad spectrum of learning theory, praxis and didactics – some more in line with previous praxis. Actual needs GBL don't really solve top-priority issues like special needs and too little teacher time. Many games for non-core curriculum: demands much preparation time and put new demands on teacher.

32. Complexity Games are NOT necessarily complex but most teachers perceive them as such. Many games ARE complex: plug-ins, installation, drivers, different genres, interface etc. Seen as dangerous to engage with.

33. Observability In schools it difficult to observe each other and spread new knowledge. See consequences of the intervention.. could probably not be further away than in school.

34. Tryability Becoming easier to try out games. But still ‘costly’ with 28 students on 'challenging' machinery. You are trying out a new format, not just new contents like in books/online resources.

35. Case studies Award-winners, several years in market place, good trials and decent level of graphics. Making History (history) Global Conflict-series (citizenship) Dimension M (math) Marketing and price are not really crucial as that will hinder speed but not really final impact. All companies still struggling.

36. fit with adaptation criteria Relative Advantage: All are motivational fairing well. Dimension M is a an action game closer to students, and related to curriculum. Compatibility: Share values & beliefs but Dimension M is VERY focused on standards/curriculum. Dimension M closer to the textbook covering breadth rather than depth. Positioned as overall praxis. Complexity; Quite similar but Dimension M is much quicker to overview and then deduce from than especially Making History but also Global Conflicts. Dimension M; cover more with less time-investment. Triability: All do trials quite well through online, but Making History a bit more difficult as a download. Observability: Quite hard with Making History and Global Conflicts. Dimension M ahead with tournament features showcasing existing schools. Assessment also easer with skills-based learning..

37. Discussion Do teacher want better learning? Do teachers want more motivated students? A lot don’t..! Just teach the curriculum Use what they already know & use Not put in extensive over-time on ‘hype’ Don’t take chances on unreliable technology They simply want to fulfil their job requirements: GBL is often not solving teachers challenges = no adaptation.

38. Contactdetails Serious Games Interactive Corporate: www.seriousgames.dk Global Conflicts: www.globalconflicts.eu Playing History: www.playinghistory.eu Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen Personal: www.egenfeldt.eu Email: sen@seriousgames.dk