Edutech2009

EDU-TECH 2009, 24 september 2009, Milano

http://www.e-ucm.es

Games as a Didactic Tools: Integrating Educational

Videogames in the Learning Flow

Baltasar Fernández-Manjón

Baltasar Fernandez-Manjon, [email protected], http://e-adventure.e-ucm.esBaltasar Fernandez-Manjon, [email protected], http://e-adventure.e-ucm.es

Outline

Introduction about games, learning

Issues to address for applying videogames

Examples of educational videogames

<e-Adventure>

Examples of application of <e-Adventure>

Integrating specific games devices in the learning flow


Can be the games used as a didactic tools?

What is the potential of videogames in education?

Other questions How to use videogames in education? What can be teach using videogames? When to use videogames? Where videogames will be played?

Videogames are very expensive. It is the use of educational videogames cost-effective?

What is the role of the teacher when videogames are used?


Learning and motivation

Highly motivated students learn better

Difficult to obtain student attention 10 minutes myth

Theory of “Flow”

The reason (kids) don't like school is not that the work is too hard, but that it is utterly boring (Seymour Papert)


Games and motivation

Games are … Highly interactive Engaging Fun to play!

But also … Are difficult to learn Include complex rules that the user need to discover

by playing Are very complex to master


Games characteristics

Basically, a game is an abstract world where some goals should be obtained following some rules

Fun elements Conflict and challenge Fantasy and curiosity Perception of the advance Progressive difficulty Feedback


Teachers point of view

“A game can be didactic, but is something to do in your free time. In any case it is not compatible with the every day school routine in an average school.”

“I have previously been a believer in using comercial games –COTS-. However, although COTS bring so many advantages on the motivational side it just makes it really difficult to get started (hardware, license issues, time-to-get-started, off-topic elements). Great teachers can use COTS with great results but for mainstream teaching I fear it will be too difficult.”

Obtained from “The Games in Schools Community of Practice Report”D. Robertson. European Schoolnet 2009


Identified problems

Difficult for teachers to identify what is pedagogically relevant (possible connections between game and curriculum)

Difficult to promote educational potential of video games in the teaching profession

Lack of time and resources needed to become familiarized with the game environments and to develop pedagogical scenarios adapted to the curriculum

Difficult to concentrate exclusively on the relevant elements of a game due to number of functions that can distract users

Considerable effort that teachers should deploy to ensure that students are in step with game instructions

Technical access and usage problems of hardware/software.

Obtained from “The Games in Schools Community of Practice Report”D. Robertson. European Schoolnet 2009


Virtual Leader

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsEIzNukHcc


Objection!


Civilization


Brain Training


Virtual Learning Environments

E-learning platforms

e-learning platforms are very common in many educational institutions Moodle, Blackboard

e-learning infrastructure can be used to deploy and integrate the educational videogames in the learning flow

EducationalGames

- Web-based

- Driven by standards & specifications to guarantee interoperability

- Desktop applications

- Closed products, do not tend to reuse


<e-Adventure>

Authoring environment for the production of point-and-click adventure games & immersive learning simulations


<e-Adventure>: main characteristics

Reduce the development and maintenance costs

Involve the instructors in the design and development

Focus on adventure videogames Story is more important than action

Games are packed as a Learning Objects using the “de facto” standards IMS Content Packaging IEEE Learning Object Metadata

Videogames can be automatically deployed in an e-learning platform Moodle BlackBoard-WebCT


<e-Adventure> educational features

In-book games To provide factual knowledge to the student

User tracking and assessment the relevant situations can be detected and included in

a report that can be used for auto evaluation or assessment purposes

Adaptive games The designer can include an adaptation profile for

changing the behaviour of the game (e.g. initial state)

Produced games can be stored in a repository of educational contents AGREGA Spanish Ministry of Education central

repository for learning contents

Teacher as a game producer? Web 2.0?


Hematocrito

In collaboration with the Complutense Medical School

Practical work in an interactive simulation with game elements

Tested with 75 actual students with promising results


Computer Science Training!

Integrating LMS with portable game devices (Nintendo DS)

The game is played in the NDS but it is configured from the Moodle platform

Moodle receives the outcome of the game for evaluation purposes


CS Training!

Types of games


CS Training!


More about <e-Adventure>

Mobile devices are everywhere with new powerful capabilities

<m-Adventure> Export the games for mobile devices Same editor y different devices


Other <e-ucm> initiatives

Integration of platforms and virtual worlds

Moodle provides services for the multiverse world


Discussion

Games are not the silver bullet but can be a very powerful educational resource if included in the learning flow

Include the teacher in the loop

Simplify the task of the teacher Facilitating the integration of games in Virtual Learning

Environments, just as another learning resource Include automatic assessment for game-based

learning activities

Next steps … It is necessary to identify good practices in using

games Domains Success stories


Thank you!

Any Question?Any Question?

Baltasar Fernandez-ManjonBaltasar [email protected]

More infohttp://www.e-ucm.es/publications/articles.html

Don’t forget to try out the <e-Adventure> platform!http://e-adventure.e-ucm.es

Edutech2009

Education

cs training

educational

learning flow

esbaltasar

baltafdi

schools community

european schoolnet

baltasar fernandez