Week 13 - Literature Review Topic/Resources

Topic:

How can video games create authentic learning opportunities in school?

Literature Review:

Arnseth, H. (Dec. 2006). Learning to Play or Playing to Learn – A Critical Account of the            Models of Communication Informing Educational Research on Computer Gameplay. Game Studies, 76:1. Retrieved from http://gamestudies.org/0601/articles/arnseth

Frossard, F., Barajas, M., & Trifonova, A. (2012). A Learner-Centred Game-Design Approach:    Impacts on Teachers' Creativity. Digital Education Review, (21), 13-22.

Gee, J. (n.d.). Why are video games good for learning?. Informally published manuscript,             Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI.

Lunce, L. (2006). Simulations: Bringing the Benefits of Situated Learning to the Traditional         Classroom. Journal of Applied Educational Technology, 3:1. Retrieved from       http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.93.8969

Simpson, E., & Clem, F. A. (2008). Video Games in the Middle School Classroom. Middle           School Journal, 39(4), 4-11.

Skogen, R. (2012). The Boy Who Learned to Read through Sustained Video Game Play: Considering Systematic Resistance to the use of –New Tests- in the Classroom. Journal of Unschooling & Alternative Learning, 6(12), 53-81.

Week 12

Sorry it's late, I was in a car accident and had to take the weekend off. 

Here is my final project: Balanced Equation Hero
My file was WAY to big so I deleted the music and compressed the project.  The artwork is not as much fun anymore but due to space constraints I didn't have a choice. 

1. What: What is your project? How does it work? How did you come up with the idea?

My project is based on the task of balancing equations in chemistry.  Balancing equations involves making sure there is the same number of each atom on both sides of the equation.  When playing my game you are greeted by a mad scientist who has to choose between levels 1 and 2.  The game is played by selecting the letter (A or B) that indicates the correctly balanced equations.  I am not sure how exactly I arrived at this idea.  I looked at a lot of other Scratch projects and games when I was looking for ideas.  I decided balancing equations is very important and may students could use extra support.  I guess this lead me to my game. 

2. So What: What was your process for developing the project? What was interesting, surprising, or challenging? Why? What did you learn?

I would have to say that developing my project was interesting and challenging.  It was challenging because this is the first major project I have made in Scratch.  The major challenge was developing level 1 because level 2 was a copy with minor edits/changes.  Getting my letters to show-up on every question was one of my biggest challenges.  It would work when I played on my computer but when I uploaded the game to Scratch it no longer worked.  I also had difficulty because my file size was way too big.  I did research to learn how to compress the file which caused my pictures to be less vibrant.  The project was interesting because I had fun with the challenge and learning how to Scratch.  I still have lots of improvements for my Scratching skills, but I feel I am on the way.  While Scratching I faced the challenges of learning how to change backgrounds, having my players show and hide when they should, displaying correct and incorrect, and in general making the game flow smoothly. 

3. Now What: What are you the most proud of about your project? What would your change? What do you want to create next? Why?

 

I can’t pick one thing of my project that I am most proud of.  I am proud of the entire thing.  I have shown my students and my family.  I never thought I could create my own game so the entire experience makes me proud. 

The only thing I would change would be the file size limit.  Because I had to compress my file the art work and backgrounds aren’t as vibrant.  I also deleted my music to help shrink the file size. 

I am not sure what I want to do next.  I plan to play with Scratch more in the future but not until I graduate because I am out of “playtime.” 

4. Principles of Good Games and Good Learning: Provide explicit examples of the principles of good games and learning you applied in your game design. Then provide explicit examples of the principles of good games and good learning you could apply if you had more time and better Scratching skills. 

I have tried to incorporate as many principles of good games as possible with my limited time and Scratching skills.  The first principle is identity.  When the player starts the game they have to become the scientist and balance the equations.  The next principle is interaction.  The student interacts with the game by choosing the correct letter associated with the balanced equation.  They also interact with the game because the teacher (the scientist in the game) asks the players name causing them to “own” the identity.  Customization is also part of my game.  The player decides what level they will play allowing them to customize the game.  The game is also customized when the player enters their name.  The principles of “Just in Time” and “On Demand” are also incorporated in the game.  These are fulfilled by the short and sweet directions.  There is not a lot of detail in the beginning but if the player clicks the wrong answer they are given a brief reminder of how to balance equations.  My game loosely includes well-ordered problems.  When creating the game I tried to start with easy equations and work toward harder ones.  Level 2 contains more complex problems than level 1 which also demonstrates well-ordered problems. 

Creating the game incorporated the principle of pleasantly frustrating.  The final product isn’t frustrating, at least not to me, but it could be for struggling students. 

If given more time and better Scratching skills I would try to incorporate more principles.  One of which would be risk taking.  It would be fun to make the game change depending on the number of correct or incorrect answers.  For example if the player answered so many questions wrong I could create a scene with and explosion to demonstrate the player failing at saving the classroom and/or school.  A fun way to incorporate production would be to have the player choose which door to enter and behind each door could be a different type of chemistry problem.  This would allow the player to write their game as they go because what problems they are faced with depends on the door they choose.  This freedom would lead to the principle of agency.  System thinking could be incorporated by having each level build toward the final level which could contain problems where the player must use all the skills from the previous levels to succeed. 

Double Entry Journal 11

“In my mind, play and learning can and should be intimately linked. Each, at its best, involves a process of experimentation, exploration, and testing the boundaries” (Resnick).

I chose the above quote because I truly believe what it says.  Linking play and learning allows students to be creative when they are thinking.  This allows for thinking outside the box and exploring.  In a classroom setting, many students are scared to think outside the box because they might be ridiculed for their thoughts.  Creating a setting where students are playing leads them to believe they are not going to be judged by their peers.  This allows them to be more creative and explore their ideas. 

When Googling the topic play and learning I came across the following webpage: Play, Creativity, and Lifelong Learning.  I chose this as my additional resource because it contains different short articles about playing. 

Week 11

I feel this is very close to my final project.  I am not sure what else to do unless some bugs are found.  I went through the rubric and feel I have the qualifications.  If anyone finds any bugs or has any final recommendations please tell me!  A specific place the bug occurs is very helpful!  Thanks, all comments are welcome and helpful!

The most noticeable revision I made to my project was completing level 2.  I also added a few more backgrounds/questions.  I fixed the spelling error and the bug that wouldn’t let the game progress.  I added some more detailed instructions about balancing equations but I feel the students/people that would search/play this game would know about balancing equations. 

Once I finally got the project finished my biggest struggle has been making the file small enough to upload on the Scratch site.  After a lot of searching and try this and that, I have made the project small enough to upload.  The images have suffered but still get the point of the project across. 

Here is my project… Draft 2 – Balanced Equation Hero

Double Entry Journal #10

“In any case, the fact that computer games have become a major industry means that in many people’s lives computer gameplay features as a very pleasurable and entertaining, but also at times frustrating and challenging, activity” (Arnseth, 2006).

“The important point to make is that the order of words says something about focus and emphasis. Regarding playing to learn, the emphasis is on learning, which is to say that some content or skill should be the end result of game playing. As such, knowledge and skills are treated as effects or outcomes. In regard to learning to play, on the other hand, the emphasis is on the activity of playing. As such, learning might be regarded as an integrated part of mastering an activity, in this case, gameplay” (Arnseth, 2006).

“According to such a view, the object of study is how people in and through their participation in gaming activities construct social identities, relationships, competencies and languages” (Arnseth, 2006).

I had difficulty choosing three quotes from this article.  I enjoyed reading it and it made a lot of since.  I have always wondered about the distinction between playing to learn and learning to play.  I believe they can go hand-in-hand especially with the right guidance.  I remember learning to spell my middle name by playing a game with my grandfather.  This is a prime example of both playing to learn and learning to play and why I chose the second and third quotes. 

The increasing importance of technology has been discussed several times by everyone in the class.  This is why I chose the first quote. 

For my resource, I chose the following an article from The Journal of Applied Educational Technology.  Simulations: Bringing the benefits ofsituated learning to the traditional classroom is an article written by Les Lunce.  I felt this article is straight from this week’s topic.  It discusses simulations which are useful games for teaching.  I had a science ethics class and one of the assignments was to play an ethics game simulation.  It was a great way to get us, the students, involved and actually in the shoes of someone else. 

Arnseth, H. (Dec. 2006). Learning to Play or Playing to Learn – A Critical Account of the Models of Communication Informing Educational Research on Computer Gameplay. Game Studies, 76:1. Retrieved on April 5, 2013 from http://gamestudies.org/0601/articles/arnseth.

Double Entry Journal #9

Why should programming be part of school curriculum?

Based on the article, programming should be part of the school curriculum because it helps bring students together.  Any type of activity that brings students together naturally and allows them to collaborate on their own is a good program. 

“In addition, groups of youth had begun working collaboratively together to create projects with a group name, such as “DGMM,” for the Dang Good Money Makers” (Kafai, Peppler, and Chiu).

What are the barriers to implementing programming in schools? 

Funding is one of the barriers as it is to all programs.  If there is no money there is no program.  Generally if low income areas are provided resources they are the bottom of the barrel resources. 

“If members of low-income and minority communities gain access to new technologies, they are introduced in such a way that neglects to take the local context into consideration, and are often presented in such ways that reinforce rote learning activities rather than cognitively demanding activities” (Kafai, Peppler, and Chiu).

How can barriers to implementing programming in schools be overcome?

Funding, funding, funding!  Funding is the key because it provides the means for buying materials and hiring help. 

“Fortunately, recent legislation has reappropriated funding to further these efforts, thus establishing CTCs as a fixture in the landscape of technology access” (Kafai, Peppler, and Chiu).).

Week 10 Activity #2

This is the draft of my project.  Level 2 has not been worked on but it will be the same format as level 1 with more difficult equations.

I am also planning on adding to the question bank but I wanted to be sure to fix all the bugs before I added more.  Please let me know if you find any bugs or have suggestions.