The document discusses how games can support learning. It explains that games incorporate many elements that align with learning theories, such as engaging students and allowing them to apply new knowledge. It also provides examples of how specific popular games incorporate elements like levels, tutorials, and feedback that help teach players based on theories such as Gagne's nine events of instruction. Finally, it discusses how games are being used for serious purposes in areas like health, science, and training.

1. Learning From Games Katrin Becker University of Calgary February 2008 This session focuses on how games can support learning, why they are a natural fit for learning*, what we can learn from blockbusters, and how games are being used now. *if not for education

2. This presentation contains many links to other websites. Try passing your mouse over the pictures – if the pointer changes to a hand, it is an active link that you can follow. Usually they will lead to the webpage that was the source of the image. Most underlined text is linked to other pages. Also: (+) = link to other page in this presentation (-) = link to website or article containing further information. Note that there are many links to wikipedia entries. Although wikipedia is not considered to be a sound scholarly resource, it is often a great place to start , and it can be very useful for providing straight-forward and up-to-date explanations, especially of newer technological terms. Notes on presentation accessible online: Katamari Damacy

3. Bit of Wild Ride.... Image source: http://home.cfl.rr.com/omniluxe/mtwr.htm

4. Ready, Set, GO!! Kids today (sheesh) (+) Importance of play (what makes us human) (+) The Case for New Ways (again) (+) Gamers (and what they do) (+) Games (and learning) (+) The Masters (and learning from them) (+) Games and Pedagogy (by way of superimposition) (+) Serious Games (Games for Learning and) (+) (+) Takes you directly to that section

5. Kids Today (sheesh) "The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.” Attributed to SOCRATES by Plato ~400BC

6. “Kids Today” have been “Kids Today” for thousands of years, BUT… Vampire: The Masquerade

7. Kids Today Really Are different Digital Natives (-) Tech Savvy yet Still Naive Producers, not just Consumers Final Fantasy XII Final Fantasy XII Nomad Soul

8. Kids Today Are different What do we do about it? HELP THEM? Prepare them? Cure them? We need to consider whether we are educating children for their futures or our pasts. Geoff Southworth 2002

9. We’ve come a long way, right? “ Our schools have been scientifically designed to prevent over-education from happening...The average American [should be] content with their humble role in life, because they're not tempted to think about any other role." - William Harris , U.S. Commissioner of Education, 1889 Vocational training is the training of animals or slaves. It fits them to become cogs in the industrial machine. Free men need liberal education to prepare them to make a good use of their freedom. - John Dewey , 1916

10. Importance of play (it makes us human) Games: Require joint attention Imitation games precede language development in children Mimetic games form culture… 2500 BCE http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/w/x/wxk116/romeball.html Knucklebones 3-400 BC http:// www.attalus.org/info/howto.html Def n : Mimesis: intentional non-linguistic representational or imitative acts [ Janet Murray ] Progress of hominid cognition // progress of game forms - Merlin Donald

11. Michael Tomasello Ur ~3000 BC Senet ~3000 BC Games are media of interpersonal communication Marshall McLuhan Culture ratchets cognition – our brains and our culture co-evolve.

12. Games are Natural Instructional Technologies As old as mankind.

13. Making the Case for New Ways EverQuestl

14. New Methods for “New” Ways “ The invention of new methods that are adequate to the new ways in which problems are posed requires far more than a simple modification of previously accepted methods." Vygotsky (-)

15. New Ways (again) Everything old is new again Apprenticeship (PBL, case-based…) OLD OLD? New

16. New Ways (again) Everything old is new again Experiential Learning One learns by doing a thing; for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try. - Sophocles Never Winter Nights Harvest Moon OLD New

17. New Ways (again) Everything old is new again Story-telling OLD New

18. New Ways (again) Everything old is new again Visual Culture OLD New

19. If Everything New is Old, Then WHAT, if anything HAS Changed ? Media -> Digital Games = New Method (this is not just about getting kids to pay attention)

20. One View of Communication Media through History Performing Arts Story-Telling Broadcast Radio Cinema Television Multimedia Passive: watch, listen, read Active / Interactive: Do, Act, Contribute Print Media

21. "Technology is anything that wasn't around when you were born. 20’s-30’s: radio, telephone 40’s-50’s: television 60’s-70’s: computers, cell phones 80’s: games, internet, ipods 90’s: nothing (!!!) texting , blogging , wiki’s , open source , FaceBook , YouTube , MySpace , RSS , preferences (& customization, see D.Norman ), augmented reality games , machinima Alan Kay What is technology for you? When were you born.... SecondLife

22. Gamers..... Gamers are: - mostly under 18 years - primarily male Most popular games are: - violent twitch games RIGHT???? Data source: http://www.theesa.com/archives/files/Essential%20Facts%202006.pdf XIII

23. Gamers..... Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Average age of Gamer: 33 # of US homes that have game consoles: 45 million (~half) Gamers are: 31.0% under 18 years 44.0% 18–49 years 25.0% 50+ years 85% of all games sold in 2005 were rated "E" for Everyone, "T" for Teen, or "E10+" for Everyone 10+. WOMEN age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (30%) than boys age 17 or younger (23%). 38% of gamers are women. http://www.theesa.com/archives/files/Essential%20Facts%202006.pdf

24. What Gamers Do…. WHAT ELSE ARE GAMERS DOING? Gamers devote more than triple the amount of time spent playing games each week to exercising or playing sports, volunteering in the community, religious activities, creative endeavors, cultural activities, and reading. In total, gamers spend 23.4 hours per week on these activities, compared to 6.8 hours per week playing games. 79% of game players of all ages report exercising or playing sports an average of 20 hours a month. 93% of game players also report reading books or daily newspapers on a regular basis, while 62% consistently attend cultural events, such as concerts, museums, or the theater. Source: Peter D. Hart Research Associates , 2004 51% of all gamers play games in-person with other players at least one hour a week, and a quarter (25%) of gamers play games with others online for at least an hour per week. http://www.theesa.com/archives/files/Essential%20Facts%202006.pdf

25. Games (and learning)

26. Digital Games More than a simple modification of previously accepted methods… Now what? Tomb Raider

27. Digital Games If we are to take advantage of the medium, we must Look at HOW… Look at exemplars: “ Old Media” New Media

28. The Masters (and learning from them)

29. Why are these such good teachers? Amos’n’Andy The West Wing

30. Are Games Good Teachers Too?

31. Figuring it out: To find out how games should teach, first look at how games do teach. Place in familiar context: Learning & Instructional Theories Find contact points. Gagné / Reigeluth / Merrill / Bruner / Jonassen Kolb / Keirsey / Gregorc / Felder Activity Theory / Problem-Based Learning (This work has been done)

32. Games and Pedagogy Premise: Games already incorporate sound pedagogy – even if it was not deliberate. Test: Can we superimpose accepted learning and instructional theories on existing games? Grim Fandango

33. Answer: Yes, if they are good games. An example… Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

34. How Do Games Teach? Learning Theories Back Story Boss Challenges Levels H.U.D. Heads Up Display Cut- Scenes Attract Mode N.P.C. Non-Playable Characters A.I. Artificial Intelligence P.O.V. / Perspective Point of View Variable L.O.D. Level of Detail Sandbox Mode Story Mode Transmediality Gagné’s Nine Events Trailers Valorization Fan Sites & Game Communities Each of these elements can be seen as a tool that facilitates learning. 1. Gaining Attention (Reception) 2. Informing Learners of the Objective (Expectancy) 3. Stimulating Recall of Prior Learning (Retrieval) 4. Presenting the Stimulus (Selective Perception) 5. Providing Learning Guidance (Semantic Encoding) 6. Eliciting Performance (Responding) 7. Providing Feedback (Reinforcement) 8. Assessing Performance (Retrieval) 9. Enhancing Retention and Transfer (Generalization) Tutorial Mode Click to progress through events

35. All good games incorporate: Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction (-) Engagement – Solving realistic (real-life) problems Activation – Start Where the player/learner is. Demonstration – Show them what we want them to learn – don’t just tell them. Application – New knowledge must be applied to solve problems. Integration – Motivate to apply what was learned

36. Serious Games (-)

37. Games for Change (-) Science Health (-) Learning Training Interface Work Visualization Defense Collective Intelligence Etc.

38. Food Force http://www.food-force.com/

39. Food Force http://www.food-force.com/

40. Making History http://www.making-history.com/

41. Making History http://www.making-history.com/

42. A FORCE MORE POWERFUL The Game of NONVIOLENT Strategy The game’s producers enlisted the help of veterans of recent nonviolent campaigns, including Ivan Marovic of Otpor, the Serbian resistance group that played a critical role in ousting Slobodan Milosevic. “ We wanted to create a game that is not only interesting and fun to play, but one that replicates the real world,” said Marovic. “The game emphasizes and rewards planning and calculated decision-making. Ultimately, by teaching strategic skills that are applicable to a variety of scenarios the game teaches individuals how to think about their own situation.” http://www.aforcemorepowerful.org/game/index.php

43. Re-Mission Our mission is to "combine the highest standards of scientific research with innovative solutions to improve the health and quality of life for young people with chronic illness." http://www.hopelab.org/ http://www.re-mission.net/

44. Games for Health Pain Distraction Phobia Management Pre-Op Calming Surgical Training Chronic Illness Management / Education (like Diabetes) http://www.interactivemediainstitute.com/index_conf.html

45. http://www.hungryredplanet.com/academic/acaov.html

46. Virtual Leader http://www.simulearn.net/leadershiptraining.htm l

47. Thanks!! Game Images courtesy of: Official Game Sites (images are identified by game) Fan Art Mobygames.com Gamespot.com IGN.com Further Resources Available at: Serious Games Pathfinder: http://www.minkhollow.ca/KB/PF/index.html Katrin’s Thesis: http://www.minkhollow.ca/KB/PhD/Thesis07/doku.php?id=thesis:main Katrin’s Website: http:// www.minkhollow.ca /KB

48. Games: Black & White: http://www.lionhead.com/bw/ Civilization III: http://www.civ3.com/ Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: http://www.elderscrolls.com/games/oblivion_overview.htm Everquest: http://everquest.station.sony.com/ Final Fantasy XII: http://www.finalfantasyxii.com/ Grim Fandango: http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/grim-fandango Harvets Moon: http://www.natsume.com/currentgames_frameset.html Harry Potter: http://harrypotter.ea.com/ Legend of Zelda: http://www.zelda.com/universe/ Lineage II: http://www.lineage2.com/ Myst: http://www.mystworlds.com/us/ Neverwinter Nights: http://nwn.bioware.com/ Nomad Soul: http://www.quanticdream.com/#omikron Nox: http://www.mobygames.com/game/nox Railroad Tycoon: http://www.2kgames.com/railroads/railroads.html Real Lives: http://www.educationalsimulations.com/products.html Riven: http://www.mobygames.com/game/riven-the-sequel-to-myst RollerCoaster Tycoon: http://www.atari.com/rollercoastertycoon/ Second Life: http://www.secondlife.com/ Shadow of the Colossus: http://www.us.playstation.com/PS2/Games/Shadow_of_the_Colossus/OGS/ Spore: http://www.spore.com/ Syberia: http://www.theadventurecompanygames.com/syberia/index.html Tomb Raider: http://www.tombraider.com/ Turok: http://www.turok.com/ Vampire: The Masquerade: http://www.white-wolf.com/Games/Pages/VampireHome.html Wik and the Fable of Souls: http://www.wikgame.com/ World of Warcraft: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/index.xml XIII: http://www.xiii-thegame.com/uk/home.php