This document provides an overview and instructions for a literacy skills game demo called Chalk House. It summarizes the game's goals of improving vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing skills. It also describes how the game immerses students in a mystery story context to motivate literacy learning and provides assessment of skills through game play.

1. Chalk HouseA demonstration of a game designed to improve literacy skills Greg Jones, PhD Scott Warren, PhD

2. GETTING THE DEMO Download Client (Mac or PC) if needed Install the DEMO Software, if needed Enter Information to create a DEMO account Write down your demo name and password

3. Logging in Launch DEMO software You will get a Screen Window – Press Okay If you don’t get screen window, the software is probably telling you to install java You will then get the Login Lobby, enter your Name Password If you don’t get the lobby – then 3D graphics drive issue most likely (need drivers)

4. Basic navigation Keyboard ASDW Keys Once you can move around…wait!

5. Chalk House Demo Welcome to the Chalk House Demonstration This is not the actual Chalk House game; instead, it is a different, related prequel story It is intended to provide you with an understanding of how the game works It is about 20 minutes long (depending on you) It places you in the role of a police officer investigating the disappearance of a local reporter

6. Literacy skill goals of Chalk House The learner will: Show measured improvement in vocabulary knowledge Show measured improvement in vocabulary use Show measured improvement reading comprehension Apply improved writing skills including correct punctuation, spelling, and grammar over time Revise writing based on expert feedback Read and take useful notes supporting play and writing tasks

7. Learning methods The mystery unit supplement immerses students in an authentic reading and writing role: The Investigative Newspaper Reporter Students interact with new vocabulary in text-based scenarios interacting in a mystery story The game gradually increase in reading comprehension difficulty throughout the game Testing occurs within the game through student interaction with characters and the environment Writing activities stem from the environment and in response to role-played characters controlled by the teacher

8. Readability and grade level The reading challenge increases throughout the approximately 20 hours of content Reading grade level starts at about 5.9 grade level and gradually increases at about .1 of a grade level per major reading quest. Game context information quests average 6.2 grade level, providing linkages and directions between major reading and writing quests to ensure clarity of expected game activity

9. Readability and grade level scores

10. Game play and research Evidence from recent research suggests that: Using a games to support learning can: Reduce teacher time doing direct instruction Increase the time a teacher has to provide increased feedback and guidance on learning tasks Increase student writing scores From Warren, Barab, and Dondlinger (2008) Other research indicates that Game contexts are more motivating for learning From Tuzun (2004, 2007); Barab et al (2007)

11. Time spent on direct instruction comparison: Game vs. classroom

12. Contextual immersion in a reading genre Narrative context stems from ghost story and mystery genre Literary elements of Poe, R.L. Stine are present The context prompts learning activity In order to succeed in the game context, completing reading and writing activities are required Provides a coherent context and authentic reading and writing roles

13. Chalk House

14. Role play Student in an authentic reading and writing role: The reporter Teacher acts as editor and guide System is a guide and direction giver Uses non-player character scaffolds and guides

15. Chalk House characters

16. Assessment and feedback Natural assessment emerges from game play Writing occurs as a natural consequence of role play; revision for an audience is contextualized and rubric-based Reading is an integrated piece of the game Reading comprehension is assessed as students correctly solve puzzles using what they read Instructor can measure student progress and intervene with either reading or writing activities

17. Chalk House student management

18. Getting started with Chalk House

19. The Newsroom Door This first quest orients students to one of the basic rules of Chalk House You have to earn your way through by completing quests Some quests are intended to teach them how to play and do not count towards the reading and writing components

20. Learning in the first quest Quest 1: Officer X Begins the Investigation Starts with Penny: The first part of the quest is intended to encourage students to explore their surroundings and discover the layout of the space Provides spatial cognitive context for game play and learning activity Provides first set of reading text to set expectations of initial difficulty level Allows students to become familiar with items, inventory system, and game world rules

21. Learning in the first quest cont’d Second half of the quest Ends with Tyrone: Starts to engender a relationship of direction-giving between student and game system as represented by non-player characters Penny and Tyrone Provides game play and learning activity directions as well as narrative context for learning activity Establishes mystery theme at onset of reading and game tasks motivated by the disappearance of Benny

22. Testing vocabulary Vocabulary use is tested in two ways: Writing tasks that ask students to properly use vocabulary words they have encountered in the game tasks Through question interactions similar to those for reading comprehension with NPCs, but targeted towards their understanding of vocabulary terms that they must understand to solve game puzzles and tasks

23. Writing practice You can upload a Word document for Tyrone’s writing quest to see what the process is like. It will automatically grade itself to allow you to continue. In CH, you are the gate keeper on news stories and they cannot continue the game until they have adequately written the news story to match the rubric and your expectations

24. Grading writing, giving feedback The system allows you to role play the editors of the newspaper and provide authentic feedback based on the student’s reporter role The system provides you with control: You decide how much improvement you expect from one story to the next You decide the level of vocabulary use, grammar excellence, spelling, and construction necessary for a student to pass a writing quest

25. Play the Chalk House Demo on your own From here, we’ll let you play through the rest of the Demo on your own Raise your hand if you have technical questions about getting it to run on your machine Please, keep content and pedagogy questions until the Q & A session the last 15 minutes

26. Questions? http://created-realities.com

27. Availability of Chalk House Research CRG is starting further research trials this summer Schools interested should visit the CRG site and submit a research query Purchase Schools interested in using Chalk House should visit us in the Games and Sims Playground Contact CRG at crg@created-realities.com

28. Visit http://created-realities.com for more details Thanks !