"explore the idea of enhancing learning through stories, story development by educators and or fellow learners, the construction of stories to convey a set of learning objectives, the conversion of planned, emergent or experiential learning into stories to help others learn and, the translation of learning from stories from one domain to another, and more."I've offered a session on game-based-learning and how narrative can be used in games to increase engagement. I want to feature some local examples as well as some I'm aware of from colleagues externally.
I thought I'd post mini-summaries here of what I've got in mind for my bit and would appreciate any additions you may have to this list - comment below or email me if you prefer - thanks!
Introduction to ARGs in Education (Alternate Reality Games)
"a format which blurs the line between reality and fiction, game and real life, online and offline, creating an immersive experience for its participants."
more information: ARGOSI introduction, Viewfinder article by Alex Moseley (pdf)
ARGOSI
Manchester Metropolitan University
ARGOSI was an alternate reality game with an "ongoing story that runs throughout the game provided coherence and context to the challenges, and the game community provided a forum for students to share information, provide hints for each other and work together. As well as the universal induction aims of encouraging students to make new friends and get to know the city, in this pilot the focus was on a single area of the induction curriculum: introductory library and information skills."
more information: ARGOSI website
Who is Herring Hale? (Alternate Reality Game)
University of Brighton - 2006
A pilot project to investigate the use of game formats to introduce support information and services, primarily to first years:
• An online and offline treasure-hunt game
• Fun, intriguing and engaging
• Optional for all students
• Develops key IT and social skills
• Encourages awareness of support services
• 1 (30 minute) clue per week over the term
more information: Overview blog post
What is GG? (Alternate Reality Game)
University of Brighton - 2007
The next implementation of ARG building on lessons learned from "Who is Herring Hale?"
The Great History Conundrum
University of Leicester - 2008
"Responding to a need within a first-year undergraduate History module to improve take-up and engagement by students of the critical analysis and filtering of internet-based historical resources, the innovative Great History Conundrum project used paradigms from online social networks and immersive online alternative reality games to create a four-week long activity based in problem solving, collaboration and competitive play. Through the solution of a number of puzzles of varying difficulty, high level searching, filtering and criticism skills were taught. Collaboration and reflection were encouraged through the use of discussion forums and the construction of a collective wiki (a resource the students will be able to use throughout the rest of their degree) , and carefully constructed assessment criteria encouraged and assessed engagement with the activity and concepts. The activity additionally served to develop a community of practice early in the undergraduate course, hence improving engagement and performance in the wider academic context."
more information: ALT-C abstract, Overview blog post
World of Warcraft Grading
Indiana University 2009
"Last year, Sheldon replaced the traditional grading system in two of his game design classes with a system that is based on experience points (XP), which were typically used to track progress in role-playing games. Students commenced the program as avatars at level one, which corresponded to zero XP and a grade of ‘F’. They gained XP by completing ‘quests’, ‘fighting monsters’ and ‘crafting’– in other words, giving presentations, sitting quizzes and exams, and handing in projects."
more information: Overview blog post
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