Group items tagged

This article examines how to best create flow experiences in video games. The author argues for 1) including a variety of gameplay activities, 2) allowing players to play at their own paces, and 3) letting players make choices.

Hear MIT GAMBIT Lab experts talk about engagement in practical terms--and get some hands-on experience designing a board or video game. The three-hour workshops are part of the Cambridge Science Festival; this event takes place on April 28 and requires a $5 preregistration. Though I'm sure EMF will be touched on one way or another in all of the workshops, I thought the Serious Games for Social Change workshop might be of particular interest to you all: "In this workshop, best practice examples of serious games for social change will be played, discussed and analyzed. Furthermore ideas and sketches for proto-types will be developed and ways of realizing them will be discussed! The workshop gives the participants hands-on experiences and insights into the potential and limits of video games designed for social change. No pre-experiences are needed!"

This article talks about a participatory design initiative with undergraduates at Utah State University to determine how higher education could be transformed into a more engaging and cohesive experience. "What if we put students in the driver's seat of a new kind of R&D to transform higher education? One that provided a platform for engaging students more fully in a real world effort that also involved faculty, administrators, support services and more?"

Here is an ethnographer's in-depth look into World of Warcraft. From this site you can read the full book online, read an interview with the author, or listen to a podcast. The author "introduces us to her research strategy and the history, structure, and culture of Warcraft; argues for applying activity theory and theories of aesthetic experience to the study of gaming and play; and educates us on issues of gender, culture, and addiction as part of the play experience."

Interesting NYTimes article - an elementary school organizes regular field trips to provide students with basic experiences that many low-income kids don't get to have (i.e. an auto repair shop so they get a chance to experience sitting in a car) and connects these to academic work.

Great article! It seems like there is a growing movement to bring "play" back into childhood learning.

Interesting article about how certain features of video games (gaining experience points, forming guilds, etc.) are being incorporated in unexpected ways in our lives.

Personal experience in learning MOOC

Good summary of the principles for designing learning experiences. 

The author talks about society's addiction to "stupid" mini-games (e.g. Angry Birds), which have minimal learning objectives but help us compartmentalize our lives.

DigiGirlz is an event that promotes STEM careers for middle school girls, in which students experimented with Microsoft Kodu and robotics.

Since college recruiters know that only a small percentage of students open email, Ohio State is planning to let prospective students get in touch directly with current students via IM, email or phone.

We talk a lot about student engagement. Does being accountable and respected raise the engagement level (and hopefully performance) of the teacher?

I wonder if the instant feedback and scoring feature helps these kids go into a state of flow more easily while learning an instrument. The experience provides the beginner with all the requirements for flow: clear goals, right level of challenge, and instant feedback

I came across this great question posted in Quora. One of the responders, Anne Halsall listed structured narratives, diverse hand- drawn animation, more difficult puzzles (less hints), and a single-player experience as hallmarks of 90s adventures games. The highlights of these adventure games are a stark contrast to the conditions, at least according to Gee, that make video games useful learning tools (e.g.,open-ended, immediate feedback, opportunities for socialization). This lead me to wonder, are the trends in contemporary game design driving engagement theory, or is the research driving game design?

This longer gamasutra article talks about Macro Flow and Micro Flow, complete with Csikszentmihalyi's flow diagrams. "Macro flow is the constant rise in difficulty to compete with the player's increasing skill level, maintaining the balance between boredom and anxiety. Macro flow refers to the entire gameplay experience from the beginning of the game until the end, and having a good macro flow will likely result in constant interest and intrinsic motivation on the part of the player throughout the course of the game." "Micro flow is short intense periods of flow that happen frequently, as well as the constant adaptation of the game's challenges to the player's increase in skill level. It is perpetuated by repeated successes in rapid succession, which provides positive emotional and tangible feedback encouraging the player to continue in the micro flow; this is known as a virtuous cycle."

Thanks for posting, Stephanie. I wonder if these instances of "micro flow' interfere with a gamer's chances of experiencing macro flow. I'm imagining instances of micro flow to be like interesting pit stops along a road trip, while macro flow would be equivalent to the exhilaration of cruising down an open road without any interruption. Not sure if that's the right way to think about it though...

The second part of Project Tomorrow's Speak Up 2011 report (based on a national survey of teachers, librarians and administrators), was just released. This part focuses on how "today's educators are personalizing the learning process for students," and how they are personalizing the classroom experience with online, socially-networked media and digital content.

Thoughtful reflection by 8th grade teacher... enjoys experimenting with technology, but stresses the importance of questioning the pedagogical value of integrating tech in classrooms

Hi Leslie, Thanks for sharing. The article not only talks about the effectiveness of social media tools but a range ot technology which I found useful.

"Gaming will probably progress to the point where the player's mind will control and communicate with the gaming station. Perhaps transmitters will communicate back and generate gaming experiences in the player's mind without requiring a screen."

Learn about the gamification of the university experience at RIT's School of Interactive Games & Media. I learned about this at a MIT talk on Civic Games, which was written up here: http://civic.mit.edu/blog/mstem/event-writeup-civic-games. They only really touched on motivation, autonomy, and rewards, but the transcript is also worth checking out for the names of people, books, and sites mentioned.

I forgot to point out the interesting use of RFID in Just Press Play.