©2003 Lloyd Rieber It’s better because it’s homemade! Lloyd Rieber & Gretchen Thomas The University of Georgia http://it.coe.uga.edu/wwild ©2003 Lloyd Rieber Did you say “Games”? • The term “game” is a loaded term • People tend to have a biased view about games – pro or con – few are neutral • Games are like books and movies in that they refer to a general medium or art form • Like books and movies, games can be inspiring, good, bad, or disgusting ©2003 Lloyd Rieber Something to discuss later • What is your opinion of the role of games in education? • Consider this from both an “instructivist” and “constructivist” view • Instructivist – Students learn by playing educational games given to them and designed by others • Constructivist – Students learn by designing and building their own games ©2003 Lloyd Rieber Learning in a Game: Affective Domain • Motivation – Competition, random features – Intrinsic motivation: You create your own reasons for participating – Triggering challenge and curiosity – A feeling of control, but with an edge of uncertainty ©2003 Lloyd Rieber Learning in a Game: Cognitive Domain • Meaningful, relevant context • Active participation in an “interactive story” • Organization, situation, goals, and feedback – Helps students to organize information, followed by putting knowledge to use • Narrative: The power of stories – Myths & Archetypes (Joseph Campbell) ©2003 Lloyd Rieber Designing a Game • Part art (creativity) and part science (analytic) • Similar to story writing • Weaving the educational content and game together into a meaningful whole • Lends itself to team work ©2003 Lloyd Rieber Learning by Designing • If you want to learn something well, teach it! • Teaching is but one form of designing • Design activities take time! • The challenge is to find design activities that students find authentic and compelling • Our research shows that game design is an excellent strategy for students as young as fourth grade ©2003 Lloyd Rieber Eight Years of Elementary and Middle School Students Designing Educational Computer Games http://www.nowhereroad.com/kiddesigner/ ©2003 Lloyd Rieber Using PPT for Educational Games • Why PowerPoint? – “Almost ubiquitous” software application – Excellent way to “package” and “deliver” a game – Excellent development tool – Teachers love it – Hyperlinking feature has lots of gaming potential ©2003 Lloyd Rieber Using PPT for Educational Games 1. Find existing PPT templates and insert your own content – Game show templates • Jeopardy, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, etc. 2. Revise existing PPT games 3. Make your own 4. Have your students create their own [...]... • • Revise existing PPT games Make your own Have your students create their own then… Share your game with others via the WWILD Team ©2003 Lloyd Rieber Designing Games • Game Fantasy – Where will the game take place? – Give your game a title – Write a story for your game • Game Objects – What/who are the game characters and game objects? • Game Goal – How does someone win the game? – Will anything special... special happen when someone wins or loses? • Game Rules – What are the 2 or 3 most important rules of the game? • Game Directions – The goal of the game is to… – To play the game you have to… – To win the game you have to… • Artwork ©2003 Lloyd Rieber KID DESIGNER Approach • Ice breaker – What makes a game fun? – What games do you play now? Why? – What games did you play as a kid? Why? • Design teams... contribute PowerPoint games ©2003 Lloyd Rieber Phase 1: Building an infrastructure Games should be: • • • • • Easy for others to play; Easy for other teachers and students to modify or customize; Good integration of content and consistent with curriculum standards across States; No copyright restrictions - you agree to let all teachers and students copy, use, and modify your game at will; All games must include... do you play now? Why? – What games did you play as a kid? Why? • Design teams form – Identifying individual roles • Brainstorming game topics • Initial design • Design/development cycle – Academic standards – Social negotiation Prototype Development Redesign Game Play • Game day! ©2003 Lloyd Rieber ©2003 Lloyd Rieber The WWILD Team World Wide Interactive Learning Design Team • What is it? – A database... standards across States; No copyright restrictions - you agree to let all teachers and students copy, use, and modify your game at will; All games must include the following mandatory slides: Credits, game directions, and materials list ©2003 Lloyd Rieber . Games • Game Fantasy – Where will the game take place? – Give your game a title. – Write a story for your game. • Game Objects – What/who are the game characters. most important rules of the game? • Game Directions – The goal of the game is to… – To play the game you have to… – To win the game you have to… • Artwork