Alternative Approaches to Educational Experience Introduction and History Motivation: The Problem Development of Gaming Environments for STEM education Educational Game Development Current Status of Game Systems for Education Forthcoming Design and Development Research on Effectiveness of Game Environments Recap and Next Steps

1. Alternative Approaches to Educational
Experience
Brian Moriarty
zCon East 2013
October 21, 2013

2. Overview
Introduction and History
Motivation: The Problem
Development of Gaming Environments for STEM education
Educational Game Development
Current Status of Game Systems for Education
Forthcoming Design and Development
Research on Effectiveness of Game Environments
Recap and Next Steps

4. Oregon Trail

5. Apple II

6. TRS-80

7. The LOGO Turtle

8. Introduction and History
Games in education are not new
Johan Huizinga: Homo Ludens
Jean Piaget: Theories of Play
A.M. Mood and R.D. Specht: (War)Gaming as a Technique of
Analysis
Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger: Oregon
Trail

9. Assassin’s Creed: Educational
Tool?

10. Motivation
• In USA only ~15% of students who begin undergraduate Science,
Engineering, Mathematics, or Technology (STEM) programs
complete them.
• In USA ~30-35% of students who begin undergraduate STEM
programs switch to non-STEM ones.
• But enrollment in undergraduate engineering programs is rising (as
it tends to follows economic cycles that indicate uncertainty).
• Enrollment demographics -> also broadening (in USA).
• We need to afford better opportunities for all entering students
to complete their undergraduate STEM degree programs.

11. Business Higher Education
Forum

12. High School Survey of Student
Engagement

13. State of Game Play in
Education
State-of-the-art Educational Games
Moonbase Alpha
Radix Endeavor (MMOG)
Budget of $3 million
Total Genius Game
Initiatives
Girls GAMES (MMORPG)
Goal: Produce a commercial quality STEM game by 2017
STEM Video Game Challenge
SERC Experience Accelerator

14. Moonbase Alpha

15. State-of-the-Art (educational):
Radix Endeavor

16. Total Genius Game

17. Jane McGonigal: World
Without Oil

18. But does educational gaming
work?
Perhaps, but there are questions
Educator questions
Does the game augment other delivery methods?
Will the game interfere with my lesson plan?
Student questions
Is game play directly applicable to the subject being learned?
Is this just another way for my teacher to manipulate me?
Is the game fun?
Research questions
How does narrative structure speak to effectiveness?
Do MMO’s have potential for measurable success?
What is the role/value of the interface?

19. And when does educational
gaming fail?
When the challenge is not suitable to the audience
When metrics of success are not relevant
When the challenge is deemed to hard
Essentially, when the aforementioned questions are not
considered.

20. Project CONST∆NT

21. Development of Calculus I game environment
Current System
• Game narrative developed by student teams
• Original art and scoring
• Leveraging natural gestural interfaces
• Game designed to reinforce Calculus I concepts
• Derivatives
• Integrals
• Gestures functional for solving both small and middle level puzzles in game
• This summer completed one level of the game including:
• 3D environment
• Responses to gesture
• Narrative Structure
• Game aesthetics and music
• Quality assurance testing

22. Current Game Development

23. Strategy for Investigating the Effectiveness
of Gesture-Based Gaming Environments
1.
Compare use of gaming environments to traditional
teaching on a specified problem-solving task, outside the
classroom
2.
Compare use of gaming environments to traditional
teaching approach in a single class session.
3.
Run comparison with a mixed control group over the
course of a full semester.
Input is very welcome.

24. Key Technologies
Easy to use motion capture systems
Advanced gesture technologies
Haptics
3D environments
Virtual holographic computing
Glasses free 3D viewing environments
Immersive Environments

25. Recap and Next Steps
Game development is continuing this semester, led by a
Computer Science senior design group
We are in the process of developing related educational
delivery systems
Reviewing game environments for various educational and
training content
Technology continues to inform the development process

26. Acknowledgements
Undergraduate summer research team
Project Manager Michelle Little
Programming Team
Zach Klapwald, Jack Farzan, Natalie Barillaro, Tyler Romeo
Graphics Team
Frank DiCola, Julian Chaves
Music Team
Andy Wiggins, Alex Thieke, Victor Ianarella, Michelle Zanone
Colleagues in CREATe: Drs. Elizabeth Lennon, Art Ritter,
Prof. Robert Harari

27. CREATe Opening: You’re
Invited!

28. References
Socrates image courtesy of http://oopsjohn.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/socratic-wisdom/
Oregon Trail image courtesy of http://www.mobygames.com/game/oregon-trail
Apple II image courtesy of http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~sedwards/apple2fpga/
TRS-80 image courtesy of http://www.trs-80.com/wordpress/trs-80-computer-line/model-ii/
Logo Turtle image courtesy of http://howimetyourmotherboard.com/?p=3
Assassin’s Creed image courtesy of http://arcanepower.com/game-reviews/672/creed-or-crud-the-assassins-creed-iii-review/
Business Higher Education image courtesy of http://www.bhef.com/
High School Survey on Student Engagement courtesy of Moonbase Alpha image courtesy of
http://ceep.indiana.edu/hssse/index.html
Radix Endeavor video courtesy of http://education.mit.edu/projects/radix-endeavor
Total Genious Game image courtesy of http://www.usa.total.com/
World Without Oil image courtesy of http://www.designandenvironment.co.uk/2010/10/a-serious-game-%E2%80%93-worldwithout-oil/

29. Question and Answer