Group items tagged

Here is more on self-efficacy theory, particularly how it was applied in the author's game "Air Medic Sky 1."

Nice post, Stepahnie. I have already borrowed a couple of ideas from this for my project, such as some training modules within the game to provide mastery experiences.

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."

This is an MFA thesis that proposes a practical methodology for implementing Csikzentmihalyi's theory in the design of videogames.

Here is an overview of several theories of motivation, with some tables and simple animations and games illustrating concepts. It addresses a mix of articles and ideas that have come up in class and ones we haven't touched on yet.

Wow! Stephanie, what a fantastic resource! Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

This is an interesting piece by Ben Shneiderman, the reigning authority on graphical user-interface design, and Greg Kearsley, an authority on distance education.

The Fun Theory! This is cool~

Very good synthesis of applying Flow in Education; in time for next Monday's topic on Flow. Good takeaways in the "Implications for Teachers" section.

Thanks for sharing Malik. I think this article provides a nice overview of flow and one main takeaway was the importance of positive affect. I agree that it is a good predictor of flow in an activity.

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?

One school using video game design to engage students.

Nice summary of Csikszentmihalyi on flow with parallels in Asian philosophy. Contains video link to his TED conference presentation. This site is maintained by M. K. Setton, an authority on eastern philosophy and religion.

"In his book, What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy, James Paul Gee derives a set of learning principles from his study of the complex, self-directed learning each game player undertakes as s/he encounters and masters a new game. He suggests that adherence to these principles could transform learning in schools, colleges and universities, both for teachers and faculty and, most importantly, for students."

Roger Travis, Professor of Classics uses games to teach Homeric epics. The 1:1 mapping he used for learning objectives and play objectives led him to coin the term "practomime" from "praxis and mimesis," that is, a doing and representing.

I really liked the building points toward a grade concept and the idea that people were more willing to compose in Latin.

Detailed examination of the axis that promote/discourage collaborative play (Synchronous vs. Asynchronous player interaction, Symmetrical vs. Asymmetrical relationship formation & Strong Tie vs. Loose Tie relationship evolution). The article provides examples of each axis in practice. Interesting application of SDT's "relatedness" in a gaming context.

I found the recaps of these seminars (and the handbook linked from this page) very interesting. Seminar 2 specifically focuses on the role of narrative--at what point it should enter the design process, how it can increase motivation and enjoyment or serve as a distraction, issues with traditional narrative in an interactive medium, etc. This quote from the Seminar 2 overview reminded me of relatedness from SDT Theory: "It was agreed that a quality necessary for engagement with narrative was that of identification with characters or a situation (an example was given from a mine disaster simulation with junior children, where the degree of engagement with the narrative content due to the identification with the victims drove the experience forward). Authenticity could also contribute to engagement. Whilst hard to pin down, it could mean authenticity for the children in cultural terms or in terms of being a 'human' story, one of a kind which resonates for them."

Related to the Pew Foundation Study on Tagging we read earlier in the course... Topic models provide a simple way to analyze large volumes of unlabeled text. A "topic" consists of a cluster of words that frequently occur together. Using contextual clues, topic models can connect words with similar meanings and distinguish between uses of words with multiple meanings. Coupling the use of such tools with blogging allows students (plural) to spot trends in their collective writing. The key is to "share-out" their pieces in weekly class review sessions. This "ups" the level of engagement.

This article looks at how games incorporate three intrinsic motivation needs.

On game design, gamification and self-determination theory