Krista's proposal

Objectives

Technical: To acquire a basic understanding of programming languages (html, actionscript, php), sharing documents and interactive applications on the web, and creating user-friendly and accessible applications.

Theoretical: Research into whether interactive technologies can be valuable education tools. Can an interactive encyclopedia make a game more didactic, and credible? What are the merits of informal and experiential learning, and do games have a role to play in this model?

Practical: To conceptualize a game manual that describes rules and concepts of the game; this will also act as an interactive textbook. Create visual images and 2D animations for this application.

Please see Methods section for a goal timeline.

Research Questions

1. How does complexity affect the education or entertainment value of a game? What considerations must designers make, in both the game interface and its content?

Hypotheses:

Simplicity may be more valuable in the interface, as elegant and uncluttered designs are easier to navigate (Mullet and Sano, 1995; Gehrke and Turban, 1999; Tufte, 2006).

When considering scientific content to include, researchers suspect that over-simplification of concepts presented in classrooms negatively affects student learning (Koschmann et al 1996).

Complexity may thus be valuable in the content, and concepts of the game. This may include a complex amount of information embodied by the 3D environment, characters, and in the game manual.

Similarly, individually-tailored curriculums aid learning (Meltzoff, et al 2009), and an application of this could be customizability in the game interface.

2. How can interface design affect a user’s ability to learn? Can games be designed to evoke emotional responses in players, and how does this affect learning?

Hypotheses:

Visually pleasing designs are thought to improve heuristic processing and creativity (Norman, 2003); the aesthetic quality of an educational game may therefore impact learning. Also, emotions are intimately tied to memory (LeDoux, 1996, Frijda, 1988), and research suggests there are many avenues of interaction between humans, their emotions, and computers (Brave and Nass, 2008; Kim et al, 2003).

Customizability and the emotional mood of the game may also affect learning, as people tend to remember mood-congruent information better (Matt et al, 1992).

Persuasion is needed to change student view points, and computer programs are emerging as powerful persuasive tools (Fogg et al, 2008). In order to be persuasive, designs need to be perceived as credible; please see the group literature review, and Stanford's Web Credibility Research for elements that improve credibility.

3. What are the benefits of informal learning? How informal can a game be to be still considered educational? If it’s no longer an ‘educational game’, can the game still ‘teach’?

Hypotheses:

According to Wellington, and many proponents of constructivism, informal learning is embodied by voluntary, haphazard, unstructured, open-ended, learner-led and learner-centred activities that occur outside of the classroom (see Table 1, from Wellington, 1990).

Informal learning may increase student attention, (please see literature review in group proposal for elaboration on how games may affect motivation, can tailor curriculums to a student, increase self-efficacy, and incorporate emotional and social aspects into the learning experience).

The repetitive, and problem-based qualities of games may also make them valuable teachers, as spaced repetition improves recall (Bahrick et al, 2005), and elaborative processing (making deeper connections) improves short-term memory (Craik et al, 1973). Actively solving problems in the game may encourage elaborative processing.

Computer games, as tools in informal learning, may be powerful and cost-effective alternatives to classic, classroom teaching.

4. How can the integration of an encyclopedic module enhance or detract from a game’s playability? Will it be used? And how may its design and usability serve to educate?

Hypotheses:

Game manuals incorporated directly into a game, in the form of interactive encyclopedias (for example, the Civilization games' civilopedia), not only prove anecdotally useful according to game afficianados, but considerable evidence in the literature celebrates their instructive value (Squire, 2005; Squire, 2009; Alvarado, 2008).

Such a tool should enhance the credibility, and playability of the game, by providing accurate scientific references and the knowledge needed to succeed in game challenges.

Methods

Please see methods section in the group proposal.

Discussion

Educational games hold much promise in improving students' learning experiences.

Games may tap into and encourage social, aesthetic, emotional, problem-solving, motivational, esteem, and self-efficacy elements that more formal methods of learning do not. They also represent an economically-efficient way to provide students with a tailored learning experience.

It is my hope that in producing an interactive game manual, researching the elements of effective game design, and working to incorporate accurate, scientific content in a visually pleasing, and entertaining format, I will gain some of the skills needed to contribute to this growing industry.