Welcome to
the January 2010 issue of Learning Technology.
Game-based
learning attracts increasing interest worldwide, since it can bring significant
benefits in various different learning settings. The issue introduces papers
which describe new development frameworks and architectures, as well as
specific case studies of games which are used in specific settings.
Emond et al.
describe a project aiming to develop a virtual training environment using
advanced user input technologies for military personnel; Padilla Zea et al.
propose an architecture for designing educational video games with
collaborative activities; Jurácz et al. describe a framework for
developing flow-driven web-based educational games.
Chiong
describes a game-based learning approach for learning introductory programming;
Riemer describes a software product which was developed for facilitating the
well-known beergame, a role-play game for simulating supply chain
inefficiencies as depicted by the so-called bullwhip effect.
Caschera et
al. propose an advanced multimodal platform for game-based learning (AMPLE),
which enables the interaction in a gamed-based learning environment through a
multimodal interface; Pincas describes a high-level pedagogic framework for
designing educational games.
Baptista
and de Carvalho describe a role-playing game (RPG) for learning, representing
the setup of the city of Funchal, the capital of
Madeira Island. Chu
proposes a narrative approach based on informant design methods to build
casual, educational games for children.
Casimir
describes a management game that is used to allow students to integrate and
practically apply their knowledge of all subjects taught in a specific course.
Marchiori
et al. describe a visual, domain-specific language aiming to ease the creation
of educational video games.
Arnab et al.
discuss some design considerations for the development of game-based learning
(GBL) for cross-cultural awareness, which are based on the experience of the
eVita project; Boskic discusses how users perceive reality in computer games
(and other artificial worlds), and how this can affect learning, as well the
user’s experience in general. Canbek and Kurubacak discuss self-representation
of the real-self through humanoid identity immersive expressions of avatars in
Second Life.
The issue
also includes a section with regular submissions (i.e. not related to the
special issue theme).
Ahmed et al.
argue that existing learning technologies specifications and standards do not
effectively support the need for dynamic adaptations in learning systems. In
this context, the authors suggest the use of ontologies and related
technologies.
Rosas-Colin
et al. discuss work in progress aiming to investigate the epistemological bases
of learning technologies.
Zouaq discusses
how natural language processing and semantic web technologies and services can
be used for improving learning systems.
Santanchè
and da Silva describe a digital content repository (MediaBank) for storage,
sharing and re-use of e-learning content.
Elwell
proposes a progressive task-based virtual environment exercise (based on Second
Life) which aims to improve students’ competence, confidence, and independence
in English.
Churchill
discusses the conceptualization of learning objects, and the need for a broader
definition that serves the perspective of diverse communities.
Finally, de
Antonio et al. describe work in progress towards the implementation of a new
student modeling approach, which is based on ontological engineering.
We
sincerely hope that this special issue will help in keeping you abreast of the
current research and developments in game-based learning.
We also
would like to take the opportunity to invite you to contribute your own work in
progress, project reports, case studies, and events announcements in this
newsletter, if you are involved in research and/or implementation of any aspect
of advanced learning technologies. For more details, please refer to the author
guidelines at http://lttf.ieee.org/learn_tech/ authors.html.
Editors
Sabine Graf
Athabasca University, Canada
sabineg@athabascau.ca
Charalampos Karagiannidis
University of Thessaly, Greece
karagian@uth.gr
Games and simulations play a growing role in interactive
learning environments. Advances in computing power and graphical user interface
are certainly important determinants of this phenomenon, but innovation in user
input methods are also pushing the game and simulation platforms beyond
traditional input devices and desktop computer applications.
This paper gives a brief overview of a project aimed
at developing a virtual training environment using advanced user input
technologies. The main intention is to allow trainees to acquire
initiative-based tactics skills in an environment as similar as possible to the
operational conditions. This virtual training environment, the Immersive
Reflexive Engagement Trainer (IRET) is a collaborative research effort between
the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) and the National Research
Council Canada, Institute for Information Technology (NRC-IIT). The purpose of
the Immersive Reflexive Engagement Trainer is to blend a number of existing
technologies to allow soldiers to train simultaneously within virtual and real
environments.
The primary use of the system is to train personnel in
the rapid application of judgment to include the application of rules of
engagement and the use of force. The system will provide interactive enemy
forces that react to the soldiers’ actions and movements, challenging the
soldiers’ skills and judgment. Instructors will be able to select and pace
training challenges, assess performance during the simulation, and use “after
action review” features to provide soldiers with essential feedback and
remediation.
The initial seed for the collaborative project was a
laser technology developed at NRC-IIT to interact with large displays (Lapointe & Godin, 2005), which is
essential to allow trainees to interact in full body movement with wall-size
displays. The Combat Training Centre (CTC)-CFB Gagetown (Canada) had
already developed a prototype system for training soldiers in close quarters battle
using off-the-shelf game engine technology. Subsequently other NRC-IIT
technologies were incorporated with the DND game engine for speech processing,
multimodal interaction, and cognitive modelling.
The training system development includes requirements
specification and training objectives based on information collected and
validated by course instructors and subject matter experts. A systematic
requirements specification process will ensure that the training system is
designed to meet the desired level of performance and readiness from soldiers.
One of the objectives of the IRET project is to build high-fidelity elements
such as immersive scene projection on walls, use of realistic laser based
weapons (same feel and weight), simulated flash-bangs, feedback vests, and
speech and gesture recognition for interactions with cognitively realistic
simulated agents.
There is a growing interest in the Canadian Army for
using off-the-shelf computer games in training because of the interactivity and
engagement they create for the player (Roman &
Brown, 2007). However,
training simulations and games are designed with different objectives in mind;
a game being focused on the entertainment value for the player, and a
simulation being focused on the achievement of learning objectives. Roman and
Brown present a comparison table of gamers and trainers’ preferences (see Table
1), originally presented by Helsdingen (2006). The table shows
important and possibly irreconcilable differences between the two points of
view.
|
Gamer Preferences
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Trainer Preferences
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Entertainment
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Learning Process
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Emotion
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Structure
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Player Control
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Learning Goals
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Free Play
|
Instructor Control
|
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Unpredictable Turn of Events
|
Standardization
|
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Fantasy
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Realistic Problems
|
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No Boundaries
|
Effective and Efficient
|
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Social Interaction
|
Transfer of Training
|
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Surprise
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Validity
|
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Risk
|
Fidelity
|
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Suspense
|
|
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Art and Beauty
|
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Table 1. Comparison of
gamers’ and trainers’ preferences (Helsdingen, 2006; Roman & Brown, 2007).
Simulators
provide many advantages for training, including high-fidelity to real-world
operating environments. The main argument being that the closer the training
environment is to the real world, the better will be the transfer of skills and
knowledge acquired during training. However, it is now recognized that a
simulator’s fidelity must be measured not only by the physical appearance but
also by its psychological and cognitive realisms from the trainee’s perspective
(Liu,
Macchiarella, & Vincenzi, 2009). Simulators also
offer instructors the capacity to select specific training conditions, as well
as detailed recordings of a trainee’s performance for the purpose of
performance comparison, diagnostic, and evaluation (Moroney &
Lilienthal, 2009), with the
capability of repeating a simulation scenario several times without the cost
associated to live simulations. The availability of simulators is crucial to
maintain readiness and avoid performance degradation (Gorman, 1990;
Proctor & Gubler, 1998).
The R&D project currently underway explores the
impact of targeted simulation-based interventions in producing effective
training outcomes while future papers will report in depth on the scientific
theories and empirical results underlying the IRET system and training program.
References
Gorman, P. (1990). The Military Value of Training (Vol. Paper P-2515). Alexandria, VA:
Institute for Defense Analysis.
Hayward, F. (2006). The use of
simulation to support training in a resource restrictive environment. Canadian Army Journal, 9(2), 142-146.
Helsdingen, A. (2006). Games for Training. Paper presented at
the VV&A Methods, Defense Simulation and Training Conference.
Lapointe, J. F., & Godin,
G. (2005). On-Screen Laser Spot Detection for Large Display Interaction Proceedings of the IEEE International
Workshop on Haptic Audio Environments and their Applications (HAVE'2005)
(pp. 72-76). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Liu, D., Macchiarella, N. D.,
& Vincenzi, D. A. (2009). Simulation fidelity. In D. A. Vincenzi, J. A. Wise, A.
Mouloua & P. A. Hancock (Eds.), Human
factors in simulation and training (pp. 61-73). Boca Raton, FL: Taylor
& Francis Group.
Moroney, W. F., &
Lilienthal, M. G. (2009). Human factors in simulation and training: an
overview. In D. A. Vincenzi, J. A. Wise, A. Mouloua & P. A. Hancock (Eds.),
Human factors in simulation and training
(pp. 3-38). Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis Group.
Proctor, M. D., & Gubler,
J. C. (1998). Military simulation worlds and organizational learning. In D. J.
Medeiros, E. F. Watson, J. S. Carson & M. S. Manivannan (Eds.), Proceedings of the 1998 Winter Simulation
Conference (pp. 773-779).
Roman, P. A., &
Brown, D. (2007). Note to file - Constructive simulation versus serious games
for the army: a Canadian case study. Canadian
Army Journal, 10(3), 80-88.
Bruno Emond
National Research
Council Canada
Institute for
Information Technology
Ottawa, ON. Canada
bruno.emond@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Hélène Fournier
National Research
Council Canada
Institute for
Information Technology
Moncton, NB. Canada
helene.fournier@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Jean-François Lapointe
National Research
Council Canada
Institute for
Information Technology
Ottawa, ON. Canada
jean-francois.lapointe@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Major Jeremy MacDonald
Department of
National Defence Canada
Combat Training
Centre CFB
Gagetown, NB. Canada
macdonald.jl@armyelearning.ca
Abstract. PLAGER-VG (PLAtform for managinG Educational
multiplayeR Video Games) is an architecture to design, implement and monitor
learning processes supported by video games with collaborative activities,
which we call VGSCL (Video Games-Supported Collaborative Learning). The architecture
includes several subsystems, each one them with a specific and well-defined
purpose. This separation of concerns allows dividing the main problem into
several easier problems to face in phases, during development of the game and
its execution.
Introduction
Several studies
claim for advantages of using video games as learning tools [1] and other studies
prove that collaborative learning adds numerous benefits to the knowledge
acquisition [2]. Therefore, in this paper we present an architecture to apply
these two theories in an easy way.
Figure 1: PLAGER-VG Architecture
Figure 1
shows the four interrelated and interconnected subsystems in PLAGER-VG:
·
The
Learning Subsystem, intended to store
information about didactical objectives achieved by students, is composed by:
1) players and group models, with information about each of students as
individual players or groups as a whole; 2) personalized didactical rules, to
specify pedagogical restrictions according to students’ needs; and 3)
personalization processes, to specify which parameter the teacher wants to
monitor.
·
Groups Subsystem, which store the characteristics of
different kinds of groups (size, structure or roles), defining General Group
Models. These general models will be instantiated with specific students during
the learning process
·
By
means of the Analysis Subsystem we
carry an analysis from three viewpoints, coinciding with the perspectives used
to structure the player and group models: educational, recreational and
interactive.
·
The
Game Subsystem contains the game
itself, integrating design, execution and monitoring. The main element in this
subsystem is the General Tasks and Goals
Model [3], which is formed by two interrelated levels, one for educational
contents and the other one for recreational contents.
Designing in PLAGER-VG
Due to the
modular design of PLAGER-VG architecture, we can develop the video game by
splitting the design and implementation process in several phases:
·
Defining
personalized User Model: In this phase, attributes used to describe the user
must be specified. Since in our games we have both individual players and
groups, it is necessary to define models for individual players and models for
groups. This personalized design is based on a set of three ontologies (learner
profile, player profile and collaborator profile), by means of which the
teacher can select available attributes to be inspected. New attributes can be
introduced in the corresponding ontology.
·
Group
Modelling: Since we have group activities, it can be necessary to define the
characteristics of the group components and the number of students in each
group. In other cases, groups can be formed in a free way, and a General Model
for the group is not necessary.
·
Defining
educational Content: The teacher has to specify the educational objectives and
tasks to define the General Tasks and Goals Model. Both goals and tasks can be
shared between different games and PLAGER-VG manages its traceability. The
educational objectives are selected from an ontology to name the objectives in
a common way in order to: 1) relate recreational contents from different video
games with the same educational content, and 2) introduce the desired attribute
in the player and group models to have trace about the learning achievements.
·
Defining
recreational Content: In this phase the design of the activities of the game is
made. We must not lose sight of educational contents to teach via the game,
introducing goals and tasks which, although entertaining, introducing the
intrinsic educational component to these games. In addition, in this phase the
teacher defines the relationship between educational and recreational tasks in
the General Tasks and Goals Models.
·
Adaptation:
In this phase, the teacher can establish personalized pedagogical strategies
for a particular (or several) student or group. Then, the system will be able
to adapt the game of each student, ensuring that the learning process is
conducted appropriately. To do it, learning restrictions defined in the
personalized pedagogical strategies are evaluated on the student’s models,
deciding which tasks can be undertaken.
·
Re-design:
PLAGER-VG analyzes the learning process by using the log file and user models,
and produces an Improvements Report. In this report, the system offers a set of
recommendations to the teacher, including changes in the difficulty level of
tasks, different tasks to achieve a goal or changes in groups’ composition, for
example. All these recommendations help the teacher to re-design some parts of
the educational game to improve the learning obtained by means of that video
game.
Conclusions and
Further Work
In this
paper we have briefly described the PLAGER-VG architecture, for the design,
development, and monitoring of educational video games with collaborative
activities. The platform allows us to assess both learning achievements and
learning processes carried out by students.
Nowadays,
we are focused on the design of an educational video game for PLAGER-VG, which
will be teaching human nutrition for students between 11 and 12 years, which
corresponds to sixth primary in Spain.
This study
is financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain, as part
of DESACO Project (TIN2008-06596-C02-2) and the F.P.U Programme.
References
[1] Nussbaum,
M., Rosas, R., Rodríguez, P., Sun, Y. and Valdivia, V. ”Diseño,
desarrollo y evaluación de video juegos portátiles educativos y
autorregulados”. Ciencia
al Día. 3, vol. 2, pp. 1-20, 1999.
[2] Johnson,
D. W. and Johnson, R. T.. “Learning Together”. Handbook of Cooperative Learning
Methods Sharan S. (Ed.). Greenwood Press, Connecticut, 1994.
[3] Padilla
Zea, N., Medina Medina, N., Gutiérrez, F. L.,
Paderewski, P. “Modeling a VGSCL System to Analyze Collaboration”. 1st
International Workshop on Adaptive Systems for Collaborative Learning (IWASCL)
at IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Networking and Collaborative
Systems (INCoS), pp. 311-316, 2009.
N. Padilla Zea
Video games and E-Learning Research Lab
GEDES Research Group, University
of Granada
npadilla@ugr.es
F. L. Gutiérrez
Video games and E-Learning Research Lab
GEDES Research Group, University
of Granada
fgutierr@ugr.es
N. Medina Medina
Video games and E-Learning Research Lab
GEDES Research Group, University
of Granada
nmedina@ugr.es
The “flow” experience is a
crucial factor both in digital game design and in the design of engaging
educational resources [1]. Though good games should promote flow, it can be
difficult to carry the desired flow concept through the complicated process of
educational game development.
Going
with the flow in the learning environment
In both
Digital Game Based Learning (DGBL) and Scenario Based Learning (SBL) flow is
typically experienced through a series of interactive scenes. The sequence of
these learning activities is adaptive; it is governed by a set of composition
rules that take into consideration the learner’s performance thereby making the
experience flow-like for the individual. Another goal of these rules is to take
the learner on an optimal course towards the achievement of training
objectives.
The concept
of a series of scenes is sufficient to describe discrete aspects of the
learning exercise, however in DGBL the flow is experienced through continuous
user interaction with dynamic entities and objects, some of them spanning
through multiple scenes.
Figure 1: Adaptation in
game engine
Considerations
Designing
smooth and firm flows is primarily the responsibility of game designers,
instructional designers and subject matter experts [3].
Figure 2: Game
Development Process [3]
The
necessary feedback loops in the development process assume some flexibility
from the design itself and from the technology used in production phase.
Conversely, as producing specialized interactive game elements and
sophisticated artwork are extremely labor intensive and time consuming,
re-working and re-implementing these assets becomes costly.
Excitement
and curiosity is a crucial factor in keeping learner’s motivation at the
desired level [2]. Designers must consider carefully how to build remediation
resources while still maintaining the motivation level of learners who are
unsuccessful in their initial attempt at completing the training. Though the
ideal solution of developing multiple custom assets for each training attempt
may be out of reach, dynamically generating the content and maintaining it
separately from its visual presentation offers a more feasible solution.
We propose
a development framework that:
·
supports
isolation of the presentation interface from the content of the story,
·
supports
the concept of reusable, skinnable components,
·
facilitates
rapid modifications and creation of products.
Although
numerous authoring tools fulfill some of these requirements, supporting the
development of static, environment-based sequenced learning materials, they
don’t support:
·
the
concept of dynamic, cross-scene or global objects
·
high-level
implementation of flow experiences,
·
various
Learning Managements Systems.
Our goal is
to provide a tool that meets all these requirements, facilitating the
affordable authoring of flow-driven DGBL and SBL applications.
The
HoloRena framework
Derived
from the sequencing concept, the base of a game or learning resource can be implemented
as a sequence of autonomous sub-applications. These sub-applications are
implemented as configurable templates enacting a certain type of externally
injected multimedia content. They can be used for multiple scenes, in different
flows, displaying static or dynamic content. In our framework these
sub-applications are called presenters.
Presenters are pre-compiled and usually published to a remote location.
The game
engine, or player is initialized with
the content of the game flow. Flows can contain a sequence of scenes, actions,
and other flows. A scene is an instance of a presenter configured with content
for execution. Actions are segments of code written in a script language that
act upon a globally visible data space and thus manipulate sequencing
decisions. This configuration provides the freedom to maintain the content of
the game and the player itself without modifying the presenters.
The
framework must also be designed to handle cross-scene objects and asynchronous
events (like timers). In the HoloRena, cross-scene objects are referred to as gadgets. Gadgets are precompiled,
dynamically loaded from the story flow, configurable sub-applications and are
very similar to presenters though they do not necessarily have visual
representation. In some cases gadgets can be considered as plug-ins.
Figure 3: HoloRena
architecture
Sequencing
through the flow
When the
content of the main flow is loaded, the player executes it. Execution of the
upcoming flow element (scenes, actions, sub-flows) is based on certain
conditions (expressed in the flow content), allowing implicit branching via
skipping sub-flows, or flow elements. When the execution of the current flow
element has completed, the player seeks the next executable flow element. This
is the standard progression in the flow.
The player
allows irregular (back, jump) navigation between flow elements as well, though
it is a key point in the concept that the representation of the flow
experiences (as flow definitions) should be kept easy-to-read, clear and
simple.
Figure 4: Sample flow
content for a game mission
Integration
with the LMS
Presenters
and gadgets can be preloaded asynchronously, synchronously or on demand.
Designers can easily implement preloading actions before intense, fast flow
sections (for example before starting a mission) so as to avoid interruption in
the flow experience. The player facilitates holding the learner’s attention
while the execution of a flow is blocked by a loading event.
The
HoloRena framework’s persistence relies on communication with either a SCORM or
eLMS [4] server.
Implementation
and status
Our
research team is currently developing the proposed framework in support of
online learning resources to be used in professional cyberforensics training. Taking
currently available web technologies into consideration we chose Adobe
Flash/Flex as the platform for the framework. We intend to deploy the first
courses based on HoloRena in the summer of 2010. For more info visit:
http://www.prototus.org/
References
|
[1]
|
L. Rotto, “Curiosity, Motivation
and "Flow" in Computer-based Instruction,” Proceedings of
Selected Research and Development Presentations, Nashville, TN, USA: 1994.
|
|
[2]
|
R. Van Eck, “Digital Game-Based
Learning: It's Not Just the Digital Natives Who Are Restless,” EDUCAUSE
Review, vol. 41, Apr. 2006, pp. 16 - 30.
|
|
[3]
|
“The Game Development Process”. Retrieved
January 7, 2010, from http://www.e-games.tech.purdue.edu/GameDevProcess.asp.
|
|
[4]
|
“Delivery
— ProTotus Adaptive Learning Technologies.” Retrieved January 7, 2010, from
http://www.prototus.org/technologies/delivery.
|
László Jurácz
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, U.S.A.
laszlo.juracz@vanderbilt.edu
Gábor Pap
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, U.S.A.
Larry Howard
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, U.S.A.
Julie L. Johnson
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, U.S.A.
Introduction
Programming
is known to be a difficult subject for many students. Being a fundamental part
of the computer science curriculum, the high dropout and failure rates in
introductory programming units pose to be a problem that requires urgent
attention in our department. As a measure to counteract this situation, the
teaching committee responsible for programming units at introductory levels
conducted a curriculum review over these units in early 2007. Over the course
of this review, three main obstacles have been identified as to why students
were not doing well in these units: (1) problem-solving
ability; (2) logic thinking and
innovation; and (3) motivation and
persistency.
Game-based Learning
Inspired by
the fact that most of the young people like computer games, we have resorted to
game-based learning as a remedial solution to the obstacles identified.
Computer games have been known to offer several benefits in the educational
context, e.g. engage learners in learning environments [1-3], increase
motivation [4-6], intensify retention of information [7-8], and improve
problem-solving skills [9-11]. In addition, computer games also allow groups of
learners to share knowledge, skills, resources, and cooperate for solving
problems [2, 11].
Eck [12]
pointed out three approaches for integrating games into the learning process:
(1) learners create their own games from scratch; (2) instructors design games
to integrate learning and game play; and (3) use existing games in the
classroom. After some careful considerations, we deemed the first approach to
be tricky for assessment purposes, while the third approach is quite
impractical for programming units. As such, we decided to adopt the second
approach by designing purpose-specific games ourselves and integrate these
games into our teaching material. The details of our approach are as follows:
i.
Lectures – instructors deliver lectures on different
programming topics with a common theme that makes use of the purpose-specific
games. Our hope is that lectures with a ‘games’ theme would attract students’
attention to a greater extent. From one lecture to another, programming
concepts are illustrated in terms of how games can be constructed. Students’
instinct on games would also allow them to remember the lecture material in a
much better way.
ii.
Tutorials/Labs – students will then work on (and
play with) their hands-on exercises in tutorials/labs based on the same games
used for illustrations in lectures. The main advantage of game-based exercises
is that, unlike traditional programming tasks, games have stochastic behaviours
which do not necessarily be solved from one step to another. This allows
students more flexibility in attempting their exercises.
iii.
Assignments – instead of individual assignments
with separate topics it is now a single assignment but in several stages, with
a continuous game theme being introduced. The game itself is basically the
problem which students need to solve. At the beginning stages, the assignment
is on individual basis. When the tasks become more complex at the later stages,
students are allowed to form groups and work together. This not only motivates
them to keep trying, but also stirs them to think out-of-the-box.
The Results
Game-based
learning for introductory programming units was first put into practice in
Semester1/2007. Every semester is then a milestone for us to check and reflect
on the approach, and consider how we could further improve it. At the end of
Semester1/2007, we observed a slight increase in the overall passing rate but
statistical tests on students’ results indicated that the improvement was not
significant. Subsequently, similar trends were observed in Semester2/2007 and
Semester1/2008. It was not until Semester2/2008 that a significant improvement
has been recorded. Between Semester2/2008 and Semester2/2009, the passing rate
has improved by 15-20% compared to the years prior to the introduction of
game-based learning on these introductory programming units. Due to the
sensitiveness of these data, the details of these results cannot be
tabularised. Figures 1 and 2 show two examples of the games created by students
in Semester2/2008 and Semester2/2009.
The
insignificant improvement observed during the early days of this approach has
intrigued us to find a cause for it. After a thorough analysis on the feedback
and comments from students, we found that this ineffectiveness is mainly
because of inappropriate levels of difficulties of the games used. There were
some comments from weaker students indicating that due to the complexity of the
games, they just gave up. This finding tells us a great lesson that it is
extremely important for the right games to be used!
|
|
|
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Figure 1: The Shark-Fish
game.
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Figure 2: The Battleship
game.
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References
[1] Amory,
A. (2001). Building an Educational Adventure Game: Theory, Design and Lessons. Journal of Interactive Learning Research,
129(2/3), 249-264.
[2] Gee,
J. P. (2003). What Video Games have to
Teach us about Learning and Literacy? New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
[3] Quinn,
C. N. (2005). Engaging Learning:
Designing e-Learning Simulation Games. San Francisco: Pfeiffer, John Wiley &
Sons, Inc.
[4] Prensky,
M. (2000). Digital Game-based Learning.
New York: McGraw-Hill.
[5] Aldrich,
C. (2005). Learning by Doing. Chichester, UK:
Wiley.
[6] Michael,
D., & Chen, S. (2006). Serious Games:
Games that Educate, Train and Inform. Boston:
Thomson Course Technology.
[7] Randel,
J. M., Morris, B. A., Wetzel, C. D., & Whitehill, B. V. (1992). The
Effectiveness of Games for Educational Purposes: A Review of Recent Research. Simulation & Gaming, 23(3), 261-276.
[8] Hogle,
J. (1996). Considering Games as Cognitive
Tools: In Search of Effective “Edutainment”. Retrieved October 10, 2009,
from http://twinpinefarm.com/pdfs/games.pdf
[9] Mayer,
R. E., Moutone, P., & Prothero, W. (2002). Pictorial Aids for Learning by
Doing in a Multimedia Geology Simulation Game. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 171-185.
[10] Squire,
K. (2005). Game-based Learning: Present
and Future State of the Field. Madison,
WI: University
of Wisconsin-Madison Press.
[11] Gros,
B. (2007). Digital Games in Education: The Design of Games-Based Learning Environments.
Journal of Research on Technology in
Education, 40(1), 23-38.
[12] Eck,
V. R. (2006). Digital Game-Based Learning: It’s Not Just the Digital Natives
Who Are Restless. EDUCAUSE Review, 41(2), 16-30.
|
Raymond Chiong
Swinburne University
of Technology
Australia
rchiong@swin.edu.au
|
The aim of this article is to introduce a software product which was
developed for facilitating the well-known beergame, a role-play game for
simulating supply chain inefficiencies as depicted by the so-called bullwhip
effect.
The Beergame
The original beergame (or beer distribution game) was invented in the
1960s by Jay Forrester at MIT as a result of his work on system dynamics. While
the original goal of the game was to research the effects that systems
structures place on the behaviour of decision makers (“structure creates
behaviour”), the game can be used for facilitating systemic thinking in a range
of professions.
In the beergame, students enact a four-stage supply chain, the task of
which is to produce and deliver units of beer: the factory produces and the
other three stages deliver until the beer units reach the customer at the
downstream end of the chain. In doing so, the aim of the players is rather
simple. Every stage has to fulfil incoming orders of beer by placing orders
with the next upstream party, thereby managing inventory. Since communication
and collaboration is not allowed, the players invariably create the so-called
bullwhip effect. ‘Bullwhip’ refers to the effect that the amount of periodical
orders will swing wildly during the game and amplify upstream in the supply
chain towards the production end. This causes a range of operational problems
such as out-of-stock situations, inventory overflow, bottleneck situations and
ultimately high total system cost. The bullwhip effect is a well-known
phenomenon and a pertinent symptom of co-ordination problems in supply chains
and a placeholder for similar problems in other systems (e.g. organisations).
With the beergame, students experience first hand, not only the problems
of lack of information sharing and collaboration in fragmented systems (such as
supply chains), but also the main causes for the creation of the bullwhip
effect, such as lack of information, systems fragmentation and local
optimisation thinking. Henceforth, the game can be used in a range of
management educational areas: in its most general sense the game encourages
systemic thinking (“outside the box”) applicable in any organisation. In its
most applied sense it helps educate supply chain operatives in the value of
information (systems) and collaborative behaviour.
Reasons for developing the
software
A range of products exists for facilitating the beergame in a classroom
or workshop setting. The reason for developing a new product was to circumvent
the three main shortcomings of existing implementations. Firstly, a software
implementation helps to circumvent some of the problems associated with the
traditional (physical) board game or table versions: a) as inventory is
represented by physical tokens it is visible to other groups, thus compromising
the non-information rule; b) the logistical effort needed to facilitate the
game (e.g. recording order amounts and inventory data for later discussion)
tends to be enormous, especially in larger groups. Secondly, existing software
versions are Internet-based and thus render a fast and reliable Internet
connection necessary to play the game. Also, successful facilitation depends on
third party servers and thus is outside the facilitator’s control sphere.
Thirdly, existing implementations only facilitate the standard beergame, but do
not sufficiently capitalise on the possibilities of a software rendition of the
game.
Short overview of the
software
Our beergame facilitation software is a cross-platform client-server
application that allows setting up ad-hoc sessions in a classroom or workshop
context. It runs from a USB stick and is administered using a standard web
browser. The instructor simply initiates a session and hands out a URL to the
students, which they use to log on to the server from their computers (e.g.
their laptops in a wireless setup or from lab computers).
The software provides a high degree of freedom in setting up game
sessions, as a range of settings can be customised, such as the supply chain
length, shipping delay, initial values, or customer demand. Also, more than one
chain can be administered at the same time. During play, the instructor is able
to see the game progression in real-time (e.g. the bullwhip effect building
up). After finishing the game, the data created by the players can be
downloaded as an interactive excel file for immediate presentation and
discussion.
An
important aim in developing the software was the student experience: The
frontend is programmed in Macromedia Flash and shows animations of incoming
boxes and envelopes in order to make up for the lack of physical representation
via actual tokens.
Figure 1: Player frontend (with information
sharing)
One
of the most powerful aspects of the software, and a main reason for its
development, was to demonstrate the usefulness of typical supply chain
management measures in circumventing the bullwhip effect and associated
problems, such as:
·
Information sharing: The game allows providing consumer demand data for
all parties (e.g. POS data sharing), visibility of shippings (e.g. tracking
& tracing), and visibility of inventory levels (e.g. ERP data integration).
·
The software allows amending the supply chain structure by omitting one
stage (e.g. disintermediation) or shortening the delivery delay (e.g. logistics
optimisation).
·
It allows players to communicate in order to facilitate collaborative
behaviour.
Use of the software in a typical session
As
the software supports the above-mentioned options it is feasible to play not
just one session in the traditional setup, in which students will inevitably
create and experience the bullwhip effect, but to also play a second round in
which to demonstrate how to overcome many of these problems. Having experienced
what it means to be controlled by the forces that unfold in an uncoordinated
system, students can then be “put in charge” and experience first hand the
differences, which information sharing can make in improving decision making
behaviour. This powerful learning experience can help demonstrate the need for
ICT-led initiatives to facilitate organisational change in a variety of
organisational fields.
Information
on the beergame, its background and the software can be found on http://www.beergame.org.
References
Forrester, J. W. (1957): Industrial
Dynamics. A major breakthrough for decision makers, Harvard Business Review,
Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 37-66.
Kai Riemer
The University
of Sydney
Australia
& Münster University, Germany
Kai.riemer@sydney.edu.au
Game-based learning environments represents one
particular type of edutainment applications that have the great potential to
support learning contexts, as they provide a new form of engagement that is
participatory and collaborative. In these environments, multimodal interfaces
play a fundamental role for the achievement of a high degree of interactivity
during the learning process. Multimodal interfaces, indeed, by enabling the
combined use of speech and gesture and various physical and virtual avatars and
metaphors, allows the learner to directly interact with the learning objects.
This active involvement has the great potential to produce good results in
terms of motivation, understanding and long-term acquisition of contents,
compared to the traditional learning methods based on the passive reading of
books. In fact, the use of integrated multiple input modes provides users to
benefit from flexible and powerful dialogue approaches, as how an our previous
work (Caschera et al., 2007) has underlined through the analysis and
formalization of the main features of multimodal interaction and systems.
Nowadays, game-based learning environments have
been used in many different modes for supporting learning experience (Herz,
2001). Games have been used to support learning communities by using
interaction paradigms based on metaphors in order to allow people to experiment
and explore real world, such as Grangeton (http://www.grangeton.com/web/) and
The Sims (http://thesims.ea.com/). Moreover, games have been applied to
simulate microworlds, where people can interact in the game holding roles and
operating activities that can be transferred in real life contexts, for example
Revolution (http://www.gamerevolution.com/).
On the other hand, games can be played on
several devices, such as personal computers, game consoles, handled devices and
using mixed interfaces (i.e. augmented reality and mobile devices). The use of
these interactive technologies has given advantages to game-based learning due
to the flexibility and the possibility to give immersive learning experience
(De Freitas, 2007). In addition, some researches on game-based learning
environments have been focused on the use of multimodal interaction as the
medium for conveying educational material (Jovanovic et al., 2008). This
approach aimed at identifying and constructing profiles of user interfaces for
educational games using motivation as the key ingredient in the learning
process. The investigation of existing game-based
learning environments leads us to believe that a distributed architecture,
networking technologies, and multimodal facilities have to be integrated into
this kind of environments in order to enable an interactive and participatory
learning experience to learners. Therefore, we propose an Advanced Multimodal
Platform for game-based LEarning (AMPLE), which enables the interaction in a
gamed-based learning environment through a multimodal interface. This
platform allows efficiently managing multimodal communication between people
participating in the virtual learning environment.
AMPLE is based on a
client-server architecture as depicted in Figure 1. Each person (i.e. learners and teachers)
can access to AMPLE from its own device that is equipped with a multimodal
interface. Therefore, an AMPLE client includes specific I/O devices, such as,
for example, display, cameras, microphone, and loudspeakers, as well as the
components for extracting features from the received signals. The feature
extraction occurs on the client side, since it requires limited amount of
memory and computational power, whilst the remaining recognition process, which
consists in matching the extracted features with a predefined set of patterns,
is completed on the server.
Figure 1: Architecture of the AMPLE environment
The AMPLE server consists of the multimodal
interaction management and the game-based learning environment.
The multimodal interaction
management, whose architecture has been proposed in an our previous work
(D’Ulizia et al., 2008), is responsible for recognizing unimodal input coming
from the features extractors of each modality, appropriately interpreting these
inputs, integrating these different interpretations into a joint semantic
interpretation, and understanding which is the better way to react to the
interpreted multimodal request by activating the most appropriate output
devices. To do that, this component includes:
·
the
unimodal input recognizers, such as, for example the Automatic Speech
Recognizer and the gesture recognizer, and the output generators, such as the
Speech Synthesizer;
·
the
multimodal interpreter that integrates the recognized inputs, assigning them
the appropriate values for the attributes, as required by the multimodal
grammar notation, and applies the production rules stored in the Multimodal
Grammar Repository, to parse the multimodal input;
·
the
modeling components, that are aimed at capturing some information used during
the interpretation phase for leading up to the most probable interpretation of
the user input. Examples of modeling components that can be integrated in the
framework can be the user, content and context modeling components.
·
the
multimodal output manager for generating appropriate output information,
through the available output modalities (multimodal fission).
The game-based
learning environment consists of two main
components:
·
the Web 2.0 module, that provides social networking
services, such as web-based communities, for supporting online gaming of
multiple players;
·
the user information management, that is devoted to store and manage personal data of
network members. In particular, it provides controlled access to the network
and to user information, such as personal profile, contents and contacts. These
data are contained in three networked repositories.
In
conclusion, the use of multimodal interfaces in game-based learning
environments can help to enhance learning processes as it makes the interaction
with the game more easy, participative and less workload consuming than
standard graphical interfaces.
References
Bourges-Waldegg,
P. & Scrivener S.A.R. (1998). Meaning, the central issue in cross-cultural
HCI design. Interacting with computers, Vol. 9, No.3, pp.287-309.
Caschera,
M.C., Ferri, F., Grifoni, P., (2007). Multimodal interaction systems:
information and time features. International Journal of Web and Grid
Services (IJWGS) 3(1). pp.82-99.
De Freitas, S., (2007). Learning in Immersive
worlds. A review of game-based learning, Prepared for the JISC e-Learning
Programme. www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/.../gamingreport_v3.pdf.
D'Ulizia, A., Ferri, F., Grifoni, P. (2008). Toward the Development of an
Integrative Framework for Multimodal Dialogue Processing. OTM 2008 Workshops
Proceedings, R. Meersman, Z. Tari, and P. Herrero (Eds.), LNCS 5333,
pp.509–518.
Foley,
W. (1995). Anthropological Linguistics. Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
Gustavsson,
M. (1999). Designing a multimodal system for a culturally diverse user
group. www.ida.liu.se/~ssomc/papers/Gustavsson.pdf
Herz, J. C. (2001). Gaming the system; what
higher education can learn from multiplayer online worlds. Educause,
Publications from the Forum for the Future of Higher Education. Last accessed
7th August 2006. URL: http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ffpiu019.pdf.
Jovanovic,
M., Starcevic, D., Stavljanin, V., Minovic, M., (2008). Educational Games Design Issues:
Motivation and Multimodal Interaction. WSKS (1) 2008. pp.215-224.
Niederhoffer,
K. G., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2002). Linguistic style matching in social
interaction. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 21, pp.337-360.
Maria Chiara
Caschera
IRPPS-CNR, Italy
mc.caschera@irpps.cnr.it
Arianna D’Ulizia
IRPPS-CNR,
Italy
arianna.dulizia@irpps.cnr.it
Fernando Ferri
IRPPS-CNR,
Italy
fernando.ferri@irpps.cnr.it
Patrizia Grifoni
IRPPS-CNR,
Italy
patrizia.grifoni@irpps.cnr.it
This paper assumes everyone agrees with the recent
expert summaries of intellectual, social, and learning values in using games
by Royle 2009 and Gee & Hayes 2009. These can be
supplemented by a
flexible, systematic and practical pedagogic framework that has been refined and validated over many
years in the Online Education & Training course from the University of London. It is necessary to educational game
design with greater input of pedagogy,
while retaining the existing motivational benefits.
The system
starts from the three basic elements in any learning event: the 3Ps. These
generate 1000s of learning scenarios.
·
P1 = Teacher
presents the content
·
P2 = Teacher
helps learners to practice the activities proposed by the
teacher, and offers feedback.
·
P3 = Teacher
asks learners to perform by producing evidence of their competence,
for which they receive feedback and/or grades.
P1, content, is always there, otherwise there is nothing to learn.
Learners can become aware of content through many different media, such as the
teacher’s explanation, reading, audio-visual materials, the internet, or
demonstration as part of a game. Whether they find the content independently
through stimulating activities within a game, or have it brought to their
attention perhaps by the teacher before the game, it has to be there, e.g.
concepts, facts, skills, processes, attitudes or approaches. Teachers scaffold
learning by packaging content in be more learnable form, e.g. sequencing from
familiar to new, easy to more difficult, simple to more complex, or perhaps in
a hierarchy from general to particular (or vice versa), or simplifying
it (e.g. non-technical language). All these methods are integral to the
structures of games, though normally below the level of awareness even of the
designers.
Learning is always active, P2. Any
content, however presented, becomes embedded in the learners’ cognitive structures
through activity. And games are the Activity par excellence, since they
consist of a coherent bundle of activities. Again, just as the teacher’s role
is to organise such activities so that they lead to useful learning strategies
for acquisition, understanding, and memory, games can do this by their
necessarily wide range of purposeful activities.
Learners always need and seek ways of
evaluating their own learning, P3. Success or failure in a game provides
this by definition. But whereas formal assessment provides a measure of what
the learner cannot do, a game can sustain motivation by encouraging what they can
do. During conventional, or traditional teaching, the 3Ps are used in the
chronological default order: P1 + P2 + P3, i.e. Presentation - Practice - Performance
But there are 6 other possible orders, as shown
in CHART 2. They generate 6 different modes of learning that can be transformed
into 6 different educational game design modes. The chart shows a learning
example from different subjects and below it are basic proposals for game
applications which can be infinitely varied.
|
1
|
Conventional
|
Presentation
|
Practice
|
Performance
|
|
The default sequence: Give the knowledge,
skills or attitudes first, arrange activities, then check.
History: Show facts
in pictures
comprehension text Q/A
|
|
2
|
Resource/research based
|
Practice
|
Presentation
|
Performance
|
|
Ask learners to inspect/consult sources of
the knowledge, skills or attitudes, summarise the knowledge, skills or
attitudes, check.
Botany: Plants
to inspect Explain
structure Write report
|
|
3
|
Discovery based
|
Practice
|
Performance
|
Presentation
|
|
Arrange activities through which learners to
discover the knowledge, skills or attitudes, check, summarise the knowledge,
skills or attitudes.
Science: Watch
chemical reaction Create similar
one Explanation
|
|
4
|
Problem stimulus
|
Performance
|
Presentation
|
Practice
|
|
Set a problem for the learners to solve,
check and present the solution, arrange further practice.
Geography: Find average
temperatures Explanation More temperatures
|
|
5
|
Problem application
|
Performance
|
Practice
|
Presentation
|
|
Set a problem for the learners to solve, ask
them to apply it, check and summarise the solution.
New language: Oral comprehension 1 w
.picture clues to help in Oral
comprehension 2 Language round-up
|
|
6
|
Feedback responsive
|
Presentation
|
Performance
|
Practice
|
|
Give the knowledge, skills or attitudes
first, check what further practice is needed, arrange activities.
Maths: Demonstrate check exercises more exercises
|
As a
basic starting point in educational game design:
1.
Conventional:
The game starts with presenting the knowledge required and contains no need for
any more. The key focus is on embedding it through playing so as to clinch
understanding and aid recollection.
2. Resource/research based: Players are sent to consult sources
for the necessary knowledge. Their success in the game is the feedback on
whether they have done this adequately.
3.
Discovery based: Players start with activities through which they discover
necessary knowledge, but if they have difficulties, they are looped back into
further discovery until they demonstrate the [in-built] success level needed to
start the game.
4.
Problem stimulus: Play starts with a problem. The solution found by the
players is tested in a preliminary game, and success leads into the main game.
This can be an iterative process.
5.
Problem application: As for 4. but there is no preliminary game.
6. Feedback responsive: Content is given first, but before
play starts there is a check to establish whether it has been properly
understood [either internal or external to the game].
Whether a game is for one, two or multiple
players, and whatever its moves, strategies or rules, the issues for learning
are handled differently through each of the 6 patterns. The key point here is
that the design of the knowledge, activities and feedback can be imaginatively
varied. Games can capitalise on the full range of talk, text, multimedia, the
internet - especially Web 2.0, and technologies such as mobile devices.
Competition, partnering, teamwork, explanation, outcomes, inference, scoring,
etc. may be included. Any choice could be either inside or else linked to the
game from outside. The subject, context, and goals of the learning will
determine the choices.
Therefore, readers should find this necessarily
compressed demonstration a generative springboard from which to develop further
ideas.
References
Royle
K (2009) http://www.gamebasedlearning.org.uk/content/view/67/
Gee J P and Hayes E (2009) http://www.gamebasedlearning.org.uk/content/view/59/0/
Currently,
any reflection on education and training systems must include the analysis of
the changes imposed by the use of technology, including virtual and immersive
environments (Rosini, 2007), because they influence human cognitive functions,
such as memory, perception, imagination and reasoning. Learning with these
tools should emphasize viewing, hearing, feeling, experimenting, interpreting
and deciding (Tobaldini, 2003). Since we live in a society that also demands
creativity, responsibility and autonomy, Role Playing Computer Games (RPCG) may
well be an answer for a new learning model.
A game can
be instantiated for learning as it involves mental (and sometimes physical)
stimulation and develops practical skills – it forces the player to decide, to
choose, to define priorities, to solve problems, etc. Immediate reward (and
feedback) is a major motivational factor, whether it is translated as game
entities (more life power, access to new levels, etc.) or as neurological
impulses (happiness, feeling of achievement, etc.). Games can be social
environments, sometimes involving large distributed communities. They imply
self-learning abilities (players are often required to seek out information to
master the game itself), allow transfer of learning from other realities and
are inherently experiential with the engagement of multiple senses. It is no
surprise that the use of games for learning are currently under research, like
in Moreno-Ger (2009), Blanco (2009), Dodig-Crnkovic G. (2005) and
Eck (2006), just to cite a few.
Role Play
Games (RPG) are characterized by specific strategic and action contexts of play
where each player takes on a role according to the game rules. Play actions and
decisions happen through a spirit of discovery and learning.
We’ve
created a RPCG for learning, representing the setup of the city of Funchal, the capital of the Madeira Island.
The city started by small settlements on the slope of the bay Funchal and
gradually developed until, in 1508, it gained the royal letter of recognition.
Structures of government were created, with the figure of the Main Captain (in
Portuguese: “Capitão
Donatário”) as general administrator. The user/player assumes his
role and interacts with other characters like peasants, fishermen, slaves,
merchants, sailors, soldiers and priests. Players progress by applying and
developing their knowledge in several areas, such as History (events and
importance of the Discoveries, for instance), Geography, Society (social
relation between actors, for instance) and Economics (process of development of
colonies, for instance). This multidisciplinarity is embedded in the scenario
and in the challenges. Players must understand the logic of social and
hierarchical relationships, explore natural and imported resources, develop
trading skills and deal with dangers (pirates, etc.) of the epoch.
The play
environment represents a panoramic view of Funchal with the main dwelling
areas. The construction of several historical buildings and other real elements
can be determined by the player. However, to close up on the historical
reality, the correct locations will give the player more points.
Fig. 1 – Game environment
A relevant
aspect in the RPCG is that play is not linear so the game will not be the same
every time it is played. However a grading factor was included so that players
have the sensation that they could perform a task better. Therefore they are
motivated to try other forms of reaching the game objectives.
The road
book of the RPCG was defined with five possible campaigns in a time scope of
150 years, between 1420 to 1570. Each campaign represents a moment in the
island colonization, with different intervenients and factors that influenced
the evolution of the city. Objectives are defined for each campaign: for
instance, in the first campaign the main objective is the construction of the
essential elements for the city development (house of the captain and of the
colonists, the religious chapels and sea port).
The
implementation of the game with students of the secondary education in the Madeira Island was very successful (Batista,
2008). Their knowledge of the local history and the motivation behind the setup
of Funchal was greatly enhanced. As a consequence we decided to further develop
the project in a more ambitious scope: Europe.
A new project, denominated SELEAG - Serious Learning Games, will develop an
extensible, online, multi-language, multi-player, collaborative and social game
platform for sharing and acquiring knowledge of the history of European
regions. Initially 3 different but interrelated geographical scenarios will be
used so that students/players will be involved in a play that replicates the
evolution of these European places over the last 600 years in social, cultural,
economic, resources and military aspects. The game will emphasize the
cooperation between European countries to strengthen the notion of European
citizenship.
Acknowledgements
The SELEAG
Project hás been funded by the European Commission, under the Lifelong
Programme, Comenius action.
References
Batista, R.,
Vaz de Carvalho, C., (2008). Funchal 500 Years: Learning Through Role Play Games, Proceedings of the 2nd European Conference on Games Based Learning,
(October 2008), Barcelona, Spain
Blanco, A.,
Torrente, J., Moreno-Ger, P., Fernández-Manjón, B. (2009). A General Architecture for the
Integration of Educational Videogames in Standards-compliant Virtual Learning
Environments. Proceedings of the 9th IEEE International
Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT 2009), pp 53-55, July 2009,
Riga, Latvia.
Dodig-Crnkovic
G. & Larsson T.(2005). Game Ethics -
Homo Ludens as a Computer Game Designer and Consumer. International Review
of Information Ethics. Vol. 4 (12/2005). pp. 19-23.
Eck, R.
(2006). Digital Game-Based Learning:
It´s Not Just the digital Natives Who are Restless. EDUCAUSE Review,
vol. 41, nº 2 (March/April 2006). Available at: http://www.educase.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666?ID=ERM0620.
Moreno-Ger
P., Fernández, R., Sierra, J.L., Fernández-Manjón, B.
(2009). Model-checking
for Adventure Videogames. Information and Software
Technology, Volume 51, Issue 3, Pages 564-580
Rosini, A. M. (2007). The New
Technologies of Information and the Distance Education, Thomson Learning.
Tobaldini, M. (2003), Brancher, A. & Jacques, D. (2003). An RPG Computadorizado and Educational
Missions Contextualizadas with their environments. In: XV Computer Seminar,
San Francisco.
Ricardo Baptista
Escola da APEL,
Funchal, Portugal
ricardjose@netmadeira.com
Carlos Vaz de Carvalho
Instituto
Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal
cvc@isep.ipp.pt
Abstract. Our
research proposes a narrative approach based on informant design methods to
build casual, educational games for children. A mobile phone game was developed
and shows that the proposed method has promising potential so far. Future work
will evaluate the game and refine the methodology.
Introduction
Educational
digital games for children have had relatively little success. Research is
looking at integrating children, the target users, into the design process to
achieve more successful games. Our work explores a design procedure that
maximizes both children and adult designers’ contribution in casual, educational
game development. Prior research suggests that children’s involvement in design
progresses in terms of extent and timing: from users to testers, informants and
finally design partners (Druin, 2002). Informant design recognizes that
children have certain knowledge, that adult developers do not possess, about
what is appealing (Scaife et al., 1997). Yet, the “black box” problem has been
reported: children see their ideas as going into a black box and coming out as
unrecognizable design solutions (Nousiainen, 2009). Moreover, Scaife &
Rogers (1999) found that “many of the kids’ ideas are completely unworkable in
computational terms”. Conversely, positioning children as ‘design partners’
asks that they are continually involved in the design process (Druin, 2002)
making it very resource-intensive.
Our Methodology
We propose
an informant-based methodology using children in a narrative approach. Flexible
in terms of time, space and resources needed, our methodology aims to produce
games that are contextually relevant for kids while allowing them to feel
empowered. Concurrently, it makes up for children’s lack of specialized design
knowledge by achieving a balance between kids’ and adults’ involvement. The
proposed methodology consists of three major phases (Figure 1). It was tested
with a game targeting lower secondary school children on the curriculum topic
of ‘weather’, which children usually have problems understanding.
Phase I: Narrative Design
Phase I was
conducted in a one-day workshop session with 23 boys, aged 13 years old, from a
local school. The initial step consisted of brainstorming sessions, aimed at
triggering prior knowledge via random ‘weather’-related images. No images were
taken from textbooks to prevent children’s possible resistance to “school
work”. Participants wrote down their thoughts on sticky notes, upon seeing each
image, and subsequently categorized these on large sheets (Figure 2). The most
repeated theme, ‘global warming’, was identified through a process similar to
‘post-it notes surveying’ (Druin et al., 2009). Participants underwent a group
brainstorming session on the theme. This produced a valuable vocabulary set
from the children, with words like ‘tsunami’ and ‘hot’. To level out the kids’
knowledge of games, a game designer presented on common game types and
elements. In their groups, children devised game narratives based on the
brainstorming discussions and using low-tech prototyping materials such as
paper and colored pencils (Druin, 1999) (Figures 3 and 4). A game designer, whose
interference was minimal, facilitated each group.
Figure 1: Narrative-driven game design process
|
|
|
|
|
Figure 2: Categorized
Sticky notes
|
Figure 3: Children
designing their game narrative
|
Figure 4: Illustrations drawn by the children
Phase II: Game Design
In a
follow-up workshop with the same kids, we presented a summary of their game
narratives, asking them to make sure we understood their narratives correctly. A
game designer briefly presented on gameplay and mechanics. In groups, children
worked from their own narratives to devise the framework of a game design,
using low-tech tools.
Phase III: Design Moderation
Based on
kids’ votes and several criteria (e.g. completeness of design), one narrative
was chosen. It tells the story of an orang utan who wants to save the world
from global warming. The design moderation phase aims to improve the children’s
design while keeping its essence intact. Dickey’s (2006) design heuristics for
integrating game narrative into instruction was useful in gauging the
suitability of the children’s story for a game (Table 1).
|
Design Heuristics
|
Children’s Game Narrative
|
|
Present the initial challenge
|
Rising sea levels around Tropic Isle
|
|
Identify potential obstacles and develop puzzles, minor challenges and
resources
|
·
Humans illegally cutting down trees on the island
·
World’s climate is getting hotter
·
Carbon dioxide levels are increasing
|
|
Identify and establish roles
|
·
Hero: Ah Meng, the
Orang Utan
·
Mentor: None
·
Threshold
guardian: Ah Meng cannot stand the heat and decides to counter the illegal tree
loggers
·
Herald: He gets rewards
in the form of seeds to plant trees and fruits that he likes to eat.
·
Shapeshifter: None
·
Shadow: Illegal
tree-loggers
·
Trickster: None
|
|
Establish the physical, temporal, environmental and emotional, and
ethical dimensions of the environment
|
·
Physical: Mobile environment
·
Temporal: Urgency of
reducing temperature, carbon dioxide and sea levels
·
Environmental: Fantasy
characters set on an island
covered with coconut and banana trees
·
Emotional: Frustration of
Ah Meng
·
Ethical: None
|
|
Create a backstory
|
Based on the different dimensions of the environment, profile of the
protagonist and central challenge stated above
|
|
Develop cut scenes to support the development of the narrative
storyline
(feedback about whether
learners have successfully accomplished a task)
|
The more tree loggers he successfully attacks, the more rewards (e.g.
seeds) he gets from the government of the island who recognizes his hard
work.
|
Table 1: Children’s
narrative from workshop as mapped to Dickey’s [2006] heuristics for narrative
integration
The
gameplay devised by the children (a tower-defense type) was not entirely clear
but it gave us enough details to determine the game genre and formal elements. We
filled in minor design gaps, using only materials from the kids’ notes. Minor
changes were made to the narrative to improve its fit with the game design. For
instance, the government was eliminated as an actor in the story. The final
design is an action-based game with elements of strategy and resource
management. The game prototype, titled I’m
going Bananas (Figure 5) and built on the Android platform, was published
on the Android market. Feedback is generally positive so far.
Figure 5: Screenshots of the
game I’m going Bananas
Conclusion
The
proposed informant-based methodology showed promising potential in the
development of I’m going Bananas,
which presents children’s ideas polished by experienced game designers. Future
work consists of expanding the game, conducting in-depth evaluations, and
refining the methodology according to feedback.
References
Dickey, M. (2006). Game design
narrative for learning: appropriating adventure game design narrative devices
and techniques for the design of interactive learning environments. Educational
Technology Research and Development, 54, 3, 245-263.
Druin, A. (1999). Cooperative
inquiry: Developing new technologies for children with children. In Proceedings
of Conference
on Human Factors
in Computing Systems, CHI ’99, Pittsburg, PA,
223-230.
Druin, A. (2002). The role of
children in the design of new technology. Behaviour Information Technology
(BIT), 21(1), 1-25.
Druin, A., Bederson, B., Rose, A., & Weeks, A. (2009). From New Zealand to Mongolia: Co-designing and
deploying a digital library for the world's children. In Special issue of Children, Youth and Environments:
Children in Technological Environments: Interaction, Development, and Design,
University of Colorado at Boulder.
Nousiainen, T. (2009). Children’s
involvement in the design of game-based learning environments: Cases Talarius
and Virtual Peatland. In Kankaanranta, M. & Neittaanmaki, P. (Eds.), Design
and Use of Serious Game, Netherlands: Springer, 49-66.
Scaife, M., Rogers, Y., Aldrich, F. & Davies, M.
(1997). Designing for or designing with? Informant design for interactive
learning environments. Proceedings of Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems, CHI’97, San
Jose, CA, 343-350.
Scaife, M. & Rogers, Y. (1999). Kids as
Informants: Telling us what we didn’t know or confirming what we knew already. In Druin, A. (Ed.), The design of
children’s technology, San Francisco, CA:
Morgan Kaufmann, 27-50.
Sharon Lynn Chu Yew Yee
Mixed Reality Lab,
National University of Singapore
Gu Yuan Xun
Mixed Reality Lab,
National University of Singapore
Vivian Chen Hsueh-Hua
Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information,
Nanyang
Technological University
Henry Been-Lirn Duh
Dept of Electrical
and Computer Engineering,
National University of Singapore
This paper
describes a course in a Dutch
University that has been
based on a management game. Though it was held from 1997 to 2001 it has only
once been documented in the open literature (Casimir,2000). The purpose of the
course was to allow students in the first year of the combined Business and
Economics program at Tilburg
University to integrate
and practically apply their knowledge of all subjects taught in this program.
Apart from business and economics subjects this included mathematics and
statistics. The course would also help students to choose between Business and
Economics for the remainder of their study. One of the reasons for the
abolition of the course was the change to a conventional Bachelor-Master
schedule by all universities in the Netherlands. A fairly simple game
was especially designed by Eline van der Heijden, a recent economics Ph. D. who
was especially engaged to coordinate the course. The game model was described by
a set of simultaneous equations that were interpreted by a proprietary program
acquired by the university. The model used well known economic principles such
as the use of elasticity for the computation of sales and the Cobb-Douglas
function to calculate production. Students entered and received data in an
Excel spreadsheet designed by Henk Opdenbrouw, a professional Tilburg University
programmer.
During each
round, which represented a period, players provided input data on nine items
(see figure below). When the player pushed the “send data” button, data were
checked against the boundaries provided by the game administrator and
subsequently saved on a local area network. When all player teams had submitted
their data, the game administrator started his Excel application to compute the
results that were again saved on the LAN. As all players and the game
administrator were in the same computer laboratory, the players got a sign when
the results were available. Subsequently they pushed “read results” and received
complete results, including data on sales and production of their own company
as well as all other companies. In a state of the art application built today,
data would have been stored on the web instead of a LAN, but the students might
still use an Excel application.
The courses
were given by a group of ten assistant or associate professors from all
departments involved in the program, including some of the best economics and
statistics teachers. Students worked in groups of three or four. During a
semester, they met once a week with their teachers to get information on new
aspects of the game and came back to play 10-15 rounds of the game in the
computer room. A number of assignments to report on specific aspects of the
game had to be completed by the student groups and were evaluated by the
teachers. In the majority of the assignments, students had to use the data from
the spreadsheets. This had the additional advantage that every group used its
own data so it was impossible to copy the report from another group.
Typical
reports ranged from a macro-economic overview to a statistical analysis of
sales. As the model contained no random factor a correct analysis would yield a
correlation coefficient of 1. It was the explicit purpose of the course that
students would know and understand the model; hence they could improve their
results by optimizing the relation between price, number of sales outlets and
advertising outlays. This was not often done as usually no more than 10 minutes
was allotted for decisions in the game and hence there was no time for team
discussions or calculations.
The course
showed a clear difference between students in business and economics. Students
with a preference for business deplored the lack of opportunities to take risks
and make strategic decisions. Moreover those students often disliked a
mathematical approach. Similarly, teachers from the business departments
(accounting, marketing, finance and organization) did not really understand the
model of the game and hence did not contribute to its improvement, though the
formulation as a set of equations instead of a program was intended to allow
gradual improvements. On the other hand, some proposed changes, such as payment
for the delivery of additional output, were not implemented because they would
demand changes in the spreadsheet as well as the model. The main opposition of
the course however came from the university management, which became
increasingly opposed to the high cost of courses for small groups by fully
qualified staff. On the other hand, the success of the course could be
attributed to the teaching to small groups as well as by the use of a
management game. A typical decision that was made for organizational instead of
educational reasons was the introduction of a stock exchange game that asked
for investment in stocks that moved in random directions. The theory underlying
this game asserted that the best policy would be to hold on to the original
investment, but students wanted to execute some transactions and hence treated
the game as a pure lottery. From an educational point of view it would have
been better to extend the original game with a stock exchange that allowed for
stock issues and mergers, but this would take more effort than introducing a
ready-made game.
In my view
the main advantages of the use of the game as the base of an introductory
course are the integration of knowledge on different subjects by students, the
opportunity to give individualized assignments to students and the use of a
game model to foster understanding of the relation between subjects by the
teaching staff. The disadvantage is not the cost of the game itself, but the
cost of supervision
References
Casimir, R.J., “Teaching about information with management games”, Developments
in Business Simulation and Experiental Learning Vol 27 (2000), ABSEL,
Statesboro, Georgia 2000 (Proceedings of ABSEL 2000, Savannah, Ga),
p 42‑47
Rommert J. Casimir
Tilburg University,
The Netherlands
Casimir@uvt.nl
Introduction
Educational
video games and serious games are becoming more and more relevant as a
complement to traditional instructional approaches. However, several barriers
are in the way of the general adoption of this technology, such as the high
cost or the integration of the games in the learning flow. At the <e-UCM>
group at the Complutense University of Madrid we have developed the
<e-Adventure> platform for the creation
of educational video games that addresses some of those problems. The current
version of <e-Adventure> allows for the rapid creation of custom point-and-click adventure video games
with low development costs [1].
In some
cases, using COTS (Commercial-Off-The-Self)
video games could solve at least partially some of these problems, but usually
the available alternatives are very limited (e.g. using Civilization to teach
History). When no COTS alternatives are found, a custom development is needed,
but most educational professionals lack the necessary budget, tools and
technical background. Using the <e-Adventure> platform allows educators
to produce games without programming, but it is still perceived as too complex
by many. According to our direct experience with educators at different levels,
one of the most problematic issues is the difficulty to plan and develop a
story using the system. In an effort to reduce this perceived complexity, we
are creating a VDSL (Visual Domain Specific Language) to complement and enhance
the creation of <e-Adventure> video games. This new approach provides a
way to create games focusing first on the story behind them, which can
potentially increase their educational value, as a strong narrative is one of
the best game elements to support learning [2]. This story-based editor allows an
educator to go from the game story flow to a working educational game without
requiring technical knowledge.
Description of the Language
The new
VDSL will represent the story using a graph-like structure, where the nodes
represent different “points in the story” and the transitions indicate the
flow. In video games, the flow of the story is driven by the interactions (i.e.
actions in the game) of the user, and therefore they are represented as the
transitions of the graph. The basic elements are based on the underlying
<e-Adventure> model, but this approach could be applied to other tools
and game genres. Many representation enhancements are used to reduce
unnecessary complexity in the graph. The actions can also have consequences in
the game world that do not alter the game flow and are added as properties of
the graph (this includes mechanisms for tracking the performance of the
students for later assessment).
This new
system is created with the idea that a graphic representation, lacking some of
the most complex elements of <e-Adventure>, can help teachers to acquire
a better understanding of the games and increase their involvement in the
development process. Applying a similar criterion, the new system is tailored
into a “wizard”, where all the basic information needed to create an
educational video game is included so that novel users are guided though all
the necessary steps.
Figure 1: View of the story-flow editor, showing part
of a game where the player has to grab some scissors and cut a box using them.
The player can also choose to drink a glass of water at any time. Feedback is
provided for the actions.
The game
design process used in the wizard is based on research and real experiences on
the field [3]. Besides, it borrows concepts from
story writing; structural schemas will be used as a guide, to facilitate the
development of the story in a meaningful way. Creating a good story is
fundamental to achieve a high level of students’ engagement and motivation.
Even though we have no way to completely ensure a high quality of the story,
this system will allow the authors to focus on its design by simplifying the
rest of the development, which is a great advance.
Using a
graphic representation has some other additional benefits over the traditional
representation of the <e-Adventure> games. One of them is the possibility
to generate recommendations for the user. These recommendations can cover the
structure of the story (e.g. more o less branching, as needed) or its
educational value (e.g. more assessments or more instructional content).
Besides,
the new system will still have all the advantages found in the
<e-Adventure> platform as the games created will be fully compatible and
can be further edited using its advanced tools. These includes the possibility
to export the game as Learning Objects [4] in compliance with the SCORM 1.2 or
SCORM 2004 specifications.
Figure 2: Some steps of the wizard
Conclusions and Future Work
We expect
that this system will simplify the development of custom educational games for
novices in the field and allow developers to focus on the story. We intend to
have a working version along 2010 and test it to determine if it really eases
the development process in a controlled environment. After that, the new system
will be included as part of the <e-Adventure> platform in future releases
and distributed as open source software.
References
[1] P. Moreno-Ger, I.
Martínez-Ortiz, J. L. Sierra, and B. Fernández-Manjón,
"A Content-Centric Development Process Model.," IEEE Computer, vol. 41, pp. 24-30, 2008.
[2] A. Amory, "Building an
Educational Adventure Game: Theory, Design and Lessons," Journal of Interactive Learning Research, vol.
12, pp. 249-263, 2001.
[3] M. D. Dickey, "Game
Design Narrative for Learning: Appropriating Adventure Game Design Narrative
Devices and Techniques for the Design of Interactive Learning
Environments," Educational
Technology Research and Development, vol. 54, pp. 245-263, 2006.
[4] J. Torrente, Moreno-Ger, P.,
Martínez-Ortiz, I., Fernández-Manjón, B.,
"Integration and Deployment of Educational Games in e-Learning
Environments: The Learning Object Model Meets Educational Gaming," Educational Technology & Society, vol.
12, pp. 359–371, 2009.
Eugenio J. Marchiori
Complutense
University of Madrid, Spain
emarchiori@fdi.ucm.es
Javier Torrente
Complutense University of
Madrid, Spain
jtorrente@fdi.ucm.es
Ángel
del Blanco
Complutense
University of Madrid, Spain
angel.dba@fdi.ucm.es
Pablo Moreno-Ger
Complutense
University of Madrid, Spain
balta@fdi.ucm.es
Baltasar
Fernández-Manjón
Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
balta@fdi.ucm.es
Introduction
With the
global market constantly evolving through a globe-spanning network of
communications, collaborations and immigrations, individuals are encouraged to
be equipped with cultural literacy [1]. To offset cultural division, it is
essential to promote “cross-fertilisation
across all boundaries, between ‘majority’ and ‘minorities’, ‘dominant’ and
‘sub’ cultures, localities, classes, faiths, disciplines and genres, as the
source of cultural, social, civic and economic innovation” [2]. Three main
campaigns are:
·
Pluralism, which aims to promote
positive diversity by encouraging understanding and respect [3]. Britain, for instance,
has increasingly diversified in ethnic and religious terms as a result of
continued large scale immigration from a far wider set of source countries.
·
Homogenisation, that goes beyond
co-existence through tolerance by promoting one common identity based around
citizenship and assimilating minorities into the society. Malaysia, for instance,
is running ‘1Malaysia’ campaign [4] to promote homogenisation while celebrating
diversity.
·
Globalisation: Awareness nurtured at the root
level can be extended into a more global setting. The lack of cross-cultural awareness can be detrimental to the success of global marketing
campaigns, business meetings and international relations.
Within the
domain of game-based learning (GBL), this article briefly describes the
attributes of the e-VITA project [5], which may be adopted by future
initiatives in exploring games to support cross-cultural awareness campaigns,
such as ‘1Malaysia’ and multicultural Britain.
Learning Framework
With the
advancement of game technology, individuals can practice behaviours in
role-play situations within a 'safe' environment for rule learning,
acclimatisation and repetition of tasks [6][7][8].
Under the e-VITA
project, a set of games has been developed to promote European cultural
awareness by conveying cross-border and inter-generational experiences. Aspects
of Europe's socio-cultural past can be
experienced in an interactive and engaging way. The four key learning
parameters [9] that influence the design of e-VITA games are:
·
Context: The key aim is adaptability in
culturally-diversified conditions. The two objectives are to achieve
adaptability in cross-cultural communication (verbal, non-verbal) and socio-behaviour
(conscious/unconscious actions, reactions and habits). Based on the e-VITA
project, cross-border and cross-cultural experiences of senior Europeans are to
be conveyed to the younger generations.
·
Learner: In accordance with the learning
context, the different cultures, ethnicities and generations play key roles in
the game content. Learner-centric and personalised approach is essential to
ensure that the GBL will address the issues localised to the individual
countries.
·
Representation: The content should foster an
attitude of acceptance and respect for the unique cultures. The strategy is to
combat biases, anxieties and stereotypes through a series of scenarios that
provoke interest, emotion, and insight. Content should also preserve own set of
values instead of only developing empathy and tolerance. The design attributes are thus to motivate, expose and to provide
insight, which advocate experiential and narrative-based learning [10]. Life is
perceived through others’ eyes and a story of an experience is represented in
diverse ways. In the e-VITA project, game scenarios are based on personal
experiences of the older generation (Figure 1).
Figure
1: Screenshot from the e-VITA game prototype
·
Pedagogy: To provide an engaging GBL
experience, the e-VITA games incorporate four learning approaches:
i.
Narrative-centric, which emphasises the use of
storytelling to achieve immersion, drawing on oral history [11] pedagogy.
ii.
Experiential [10], in which the learner is
transplanted into the situations faced by the storyteller, drawing heavily on
situative [12] pedagogy.
iii.
Puzzle-based, where the emphasis is strongly on
providing effective puzzles and challenges for the learner, with the story and
narrative taking a less direct role.
iv.
Exploratory[12], focusing on ongoing learners’
development, in accordance with Vygotskyan [13] theory, by directing them to
external resources in the context of challenges or problems presented by the
games.
Conclusions
The motivation of using GBL is thus to gain insight
through an engaging platform that exposes learners to culturally-diversified
scenarios. The benefits include:
·
Safe
environment for exposure-based learning
·
Narratives
that elicit emotional involvement
·
Fun
and engaging activities
·
Awareness
and insights into oneself and others
·
Translation
of insight into daily lives
Future
works include adopting this framework towards the development of a learning
environment to supports campaigns, such as ‘1Malaysia’ and multicultural Britain.
Awareness nurtured at the root level can be extended to a more global reach.
References
[1] Peterson,
B (2004). Cultural Intelligence, A Guide to Working with People from Other
Cultures. Boston, MA: Intercultural Press.
[2] Fleming, T. & COMEDIA. (2009).
Intercultural: Making the most out of diversity [Online] Available:
www.interculturalcity.com/London%20Borough%20of%20Tower%20Hamlets.pdf
[3] McCartney,
C. (2006). International review of public policies towards improving
inter-community relations. A paper prepared for the Review of Community
Relations Policies.
[4] http://www.1malaysia.com.my/
[5] http://www.e-VITAproject.eu/
[6] Rizzo,
A. (2006). Expose, Distract, Motivate and Measure: Virtual Reality Games for
Health. En J. Sánchez
(Ed.): Nuevas ideas en Informática Educativa, ISBN 956-310-430-7, Volume
2, pp. 1-4, 2006.
[7] DeMaria,
R. (2006). Games for Health 2006: Addressing PTSD, Psychotherapy & Stroke
Rehabilitation with Games and Game Technology, Serious Games Source. [Online]
Available: http://seriousgamessource.com/features/feature_052306.php
[8] Gerardi,
M., Rothbaum, B. O., Ressler, K., and Heekin, M. and Rizzo, A. (2008) Virtual
Reality Exposure Therapy Using a Virtual Iraq: Case Report, Journal of
Traumatic Stress, Vol. 21, No. 2, April 2008, pp. 209–213.
[9] de
Freitas, S. & Oliver, M. (2005). A four-dimensional framework for the evaluation and assessment of
educational games. Paper presented at the Computer Assisted Learning Conference
2005.
[10] Kolb,
D. (1984). Experiential Learning, New
Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.
[11] King,
J. and Stahl, N. (1990) Oral History as a Critical Pedagogy: Some Cautionary
Issues. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Reading Forum,
FL, 1990.
[12] Mayes,
T. and S. de Freitas (2004). Review of e-learning frameworks, models and
theories: JISC e-learning models desk study, JISC
[13] Bruner,
J.S. (1984) Vygotsky's zone of proximal development: The hidden agenda, in
Children's Learning in the "Zone of Proximal Development", B. Rogoff
and J.V. Wertsch, Editors. Jossey - Bass: San
Francisco. p. 93-97.
Sylvester Arnab
The Serious Games
Institute, UK
sarnab@cad.coventry.ac.uk
Aristidis Protopsaltis
The Serious Games
Institute, UK
aprotopsaltis@gmail.com
Jacey-Lynn Minoi
Universiti Malaysia
Sarawak, Malaysia
jacey@fit.unimas.my
Ian Dunwell
The Serious Games Institute, UK
IDunwell@cad.coventry.ac.uk
Sara de Freitas
The Serious Games
Institute, UK
SFreitas@cad.coventry.ac.uk
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking
makes it so. (W. Shakespeare, 1985, Hamlet, Act II, scene ii)
Numerous
media producers, such as cinematographers, writers or artists have been
creating imaginary spaces for decades where the audience negotiates the
boundaries between real and unreal. So do video and computer game designers in
contemporary, technology-meditated society. While in movie The Matrix, humans live
in an artificial world of a computer program oblivious of its artificiality, or
in Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, the players
cannot make a distinction between a game and real world, in virtual realities
players engage in a suspension of disbelief, which, it seems,
goes beyond the gameworlds.
Players
increasingly spend their time in digital environments, about 20-30 hours per
week according to Castronova (2005) replacing real human relationships,
friendships, love and affections with virtual. This phenomenon raises a number
of questions. Is real in danger to be completely replaced by unreal? Which
world will we chose to live in? What can and will these worlds teach us?
The
interpretations of the experiences in “other worlds” have been changing over
centuries depending on the contemporary beliefs and established frameworks of
understanding. Regardless of the historical period and the prevailing theory,
the impetus has always been to make meaning of the world and to understand
ourselves and others as living beings. Plato argues (~428-348 BC) that there is
a reality that is more real than the world we can see. He uses the allegory of
a cave, where humans only see the shadow of the ideal on the cave walls. Although linear-perspective painting and film, for
example, may keep the viewer distant from what he views, in virtual reality the
viewer steps through Alberti's window and is placed among the objects of
representation (Baudrillard, 1988).
Cyberspace
as a term suggests an existence of an intangible world that we cannot fully
grasp or see its limits. It also means that it is elusive and escapes our control.
We, however, consciously accept to neglect the obscure. We communicate and do
business with people that we know only through cyberspace, i.e. email, without
even questioning their identity. We gain friends online that we may never meet
in our lives. We look for a ‘true’ love and compassion based on a given
profile.
Massively
Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) present another aspect of encompassing the
unreal. They provide not only the opportunities to ‘earn wealth’ and ‘concur
the enemy’, but also to meet others. Some virtual worlds, such as Second Life, exist purely as social
spaces. Virtual worlds blur the clearly defined notions of geography and the
laws of physics. The limitations of body, existing in real life environment,
are disrupted in virtual worlds. To enhance navigation, the avatars in
gameworlds can not only walk and run, but also fly, which does not make them
less real. The existence of the avatars and players’ interactions with them
promotes the sense of presence, which enhances the sense of reality.
An
increasing number of gamers would agree with Allegra from the eXistenZ that virtual worlds are better
than real life. The avatars have no physical imperfections, nobody gets fat,
nobody gets gray, and nobody gets sick. These worlds create their own culture
and sometimes become their own reality, no longer imitating the original. Reality
in these environments is subject to constant revision and re-construction
(Hayles, 1991), where players rework reality and beliefs (Mackay, 2001). As
Calleja would argue, alternate realities are “self-contained worlds”, a
combination of “artificial intelligence and human-controlled beings” (2006, p.
129). Some players reported feeling that Earth was just a place to sleep and
eat, but that ‘real life’ was happening in their fantasy spaces (Castronova,
2005). They often talk about virtual worlds as if they were real (Crowe &
Bradford, 2006), and they sometimes have to remind themselves of what is real
what is not.
The
theorist and researchers of video games and virtual worlds caution us that two
worlds have become so similar to each other that the participants simply chose
in which to live. Both those who explore virtual worlds and those who inhabit
them often argue that virtual and real are not two separate realms. Mackay
calls this state of accepting the unreal a “cultural illusion” (2001, pp. 90),
similarly to Gibson’s description of the future world as a “consensual
hallucination” (1984, pp. 51).
There are
numerous examples where both children and adults have neglected their real-life
duties, school, work, or marriage, because of spending too much time living in
an online world. However, there are other cases where living the unreal has
resulted in positive change of game players’ behaviour in real life (McGonigal,
2008). Serious games are often designed to deal with real world issues, some in
hope to make social change. Immersed in alternate reality, players learn more
about the other, and experience what the other experiences. Creating games
that allow players to be lost in someone else’s reality may help us build a
better future.
Baudrillard’s
prediction that we will at the end take a representation as real, without
knowing the real any more, may as well come true (1988). The question remains,
however, whether it will happen by game designers creating virtual worlds to
complement us as social beings, and fulfill our need for human company from
which we derive protection, enjoyment, and sympathy, or by making spaces that
will make us even more isolated and alone among millions of other virtual
bodies.
References
Baudrillard, J. (1988). Simulacra and
simulations. In M. Poster (Ed.), Selected
writings (pp.166-184). Stanford; Stanford
University Press.
Retrieved on July 28, 2009 from http://www.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/Baudrillard/Baudrillard_Simulacra.html
Calleja, G. (2006). Techno-mediated
otherworlds. Technoetic Arts: A Journal
of Speculative Research, 4(2), 129-139.
Crowe, N., & Bradford, S. (2006). ‘Hanging
out in runescape’: Identity, work and leisure in the virtual playground. Children's Geographies, 4(3), 331-346.
eXistenZ
(1999). Director David Cronenberg. Dimension Films.
Gibson,
W. (1984). Neuromancer. New York: Ace Books.
Hayles, N. K. (1991). Chaos and order: Complex dynamics in literature and science. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
The Matrix.
(1999). Written and directed by The Wachowski Brothers. Warner Bros.
Mackay, D. (2001). The fantasy role-playing game: A new performing art. Jefferson, North Carolina
and London:
McFarland & Company, Inc.
McGonigal, J. (2008,
June 10). Avant game: A blog about why games make us happy and how they can
change the world. Message posted to
http://blog.avantgame.com/2008/06/chaotic-fiction-meet-chaotic-community.html
Shakespeare, W. (1985). Hamlet, prince of Denmark. Cambridge,
New York: Cambridge University
Press.
Natasha Boskic
The University
of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada
natasha.boskic@ubc.ca
Abstract: The virtual worlds warranted by innovative
distance learning technologies are viewed as effective immersive tools for
education. Second Life (SL), in this context, has emerged as a new Web-based
structure, provides interactive learning space in where real
selves are represented via three-dimensional (3D) images. On the immersive
lands of SL, the digital personae can be represented through 3D images called
avatars. While the
debates are on effective individual learning in distance
learning over the past decades, SL, in this regard, has been gaining a
noticeable attention with its flexible form in which avatars are
allowed to be active participants in individual or group forms. In order
to utilize from the virtual learning systems like SL, course owners and
designers should be aware of the online representation of the avatars and the
analyze those driving forces results with online learning from an avatar
perspective.
Figure 1: Avatar Movie
(2010)
Introduction
Second Life (SL) is as an immersive space built up on
digital community network represented by humanoid characters termed avatar. As
it is described by Franklin
(2008), an avatar is an animated character that represents the learner in an
educational setting. In other words, avatars can be regarded as connecting
characters that play a crucial role for enhancing interactive social network
literally. To Dickey (2005), avatars are the representatives of individuals
that are allowed to interact with other avatars and the immersive milieu
surrounding them. For an improved online education associated with an
interactive communication, individual avatar reaction toward learning should be
taken into great consideration within the context of negotiating meaning based on personal
cognitive, affective and kinaesthetic experiences of a learner (de Byl and
Taylor, 2007, p.108).
The Self Representation of the Real
Self through Humanoid Identity
3D
platforms like SL, provides a unique,
hitherto impossible, opportunities to change the nature of learning and
teaching experiences, especially for distance education students (de Byl
and Taylor; 2007, p.108). In this sense, the self representation of the
learners’ real selves need a close observation in order to have the best
learning outcomes to be gained. As explained in the studies conducted by Ekman, the
emoticons including anger, fear, disgust,
surprise, sadness, happiness and contempt are universally expressed by all
cultures (Koda and Ishida; 2006, p.2). Therefore, new researches succeeding
the previous studies on avatar expression on learning should be reevaluated in
order to generalize the common attitudes of all avatars for better educational
results. As there is sameness in emoticons, the avatar reactions and approaches
for learning should also be analyzed within multicultural 3D structure of
social networking. In the network, avatars are given the possibility of creating
their own fused identities within physical features to reshape their visual
three-dimensional outlook. The networked platforms to which avatars belong to
are built upon interactive communal system. Within that network, avatars are
given the possibility for self expression and become able to (Canbek-Goksel and
Kurubacak; 2009):
1.
reshape their free spirited three-dimensional ideal fused identities;
2.
build interactive learning based on individual and group activities;
3.
learn to take part in collective practices of a virtual team;
4.
experience interaction in a diversified multicultural population; and
5. express themselves freely with no societal restrictions of obedience, devotion and even
classification.
Immersive Expressions of Avatars in
Second Life (SL):
The ascendant 3D platform, SL, is an immersive multicultural source providing
cyber interactions among avatars. A desktop collaborative virtual environment with 3D immersive expressions
of the avatars (Nassiri, Powell, Moore, 2005) can be regarded as the
simulations designed for genders worldwide. Within the collaborative medium,
eLearners build
an active communication through controlled gestures of their avatars. In
other words, the avatar becomes the
player’s body, for all intents and purposes, when the player is present in the
virtual world (Castronova, 2003, p. 6). The gesture of an avatar can be a
remarkable clue to distinguish the learner’s characteristics and skills to
adapt individual and communal learning. In this connection, course owners and designers should interpret body
gestures of the avatars and put forward an idea on the effectiveness of the
learning by analyzing the avatars’ immersive expressions.
Conclusion
eLearners embodied as avatars may have the ability of interacting with other avatars and
the virtual environment around them. Second Life success, in this sense, is
related to avatar interaction in which each learner has a chance to express
their own identity with a communicative forthcoming
attitude that is seen more affable than
e-mailing or instant messaging (Bedford
et al., 2006, p.26). In this connection, course owners and 3D media designers
may assess the utility of online distance education by analyzing reactions and
self representation of the humanoid identities toward online learning.
References
Avatar
Movie (2010). Retrieved December Jan 3, 2010 from,
http://videohaber.hurriyet.medianova.tv/Fragman/avatar_trailer.jpg
Bedford, C.,
Birkedal, R., Erhard, J., Graff, J., Hempel, C., Minde, B., Pitz, O., Pouliot
K., Retamales-Toro D., York
J., (2006). Second Life as an educational environment: A student perspective, Proceedings of the Second Life
Education Workshop at the Second Life Community Convention, 25-26.
Canbek Goksel, N. & Kurubacak, G. (2009),
Imaginary self: Virtual women personae in Second Life, International Interdisciplinary Women’s Studies Congresses, Sakarya University. Sakarya, TURKEY, 2009.
Castronova
E. (2003). The price of ‘man’ and ‘woman’: A hedonic pricing model of avatar attributes
in a synthetic world. Retrieved
December 29, 2008 from, http://ssrn.com/abstract=415043
Dickey,
M. D. (2005). Three-dimensional
virtual worlds and distance learning: two case studies of Active Worlds as a
medium for distance education. British Journal of Educational Technology,
36(3), 439–451.
Franklin T. J. (2008). Second Life learners: An
exploration of Teaching and Learning in a virtual environment. I-manager’s Journal of Educational
Technology, 5(3), 1-72.
Koda T. & Ishida T.(2006). Cross-cultural Study of Avatar Expression
Interpretations, International Symposium on
Applications and the Internet, 1-7.
Nil Goksel
Canbek
Anadolu University, Turkey
ngoksel@anadolu.edu.tr
Gulsun Kurubacak
Anadolu University, Turkey
gkurubac@anadolu.edu.tr
Systems
that support lifelong learning help work-based learners to accomplish their
goals and tasks while keeping abreast of ongoing changes in their fields. They
can also guide the learner in improving their skills and competency levels for
a particular work-based environment (Sharples, 2000: Jarvis, 2008). The notion
that “what I learn in school will get me through my entire working life” no
longer exists. As a consequence, work-based learners need continuous learning
support to update their occupational skills and knowledge or to learn new occupational
competences. For technology enhanced learning, it is a major challenge to
develop learning environments that effectively enable each learner to get
individualised support in filling ever-changing skills and competence gaps;
i.e. to create environments for personalised adaptive learning (Aroyo et al.,
2006).
Current
learning management systems (LMS) are used to deliver learning content;
however, they usually have limited adaptive functionality and hence do not
fully consider the diversity of learners. A recent study was conducted in six
European countries to gather personalization and adaption needs among corporate
learners and training providers. According to that study, an adaptive learning
system has an added advantage over a non-adaptive system due to its
personalized nature in supporting work-based learners (Hover & Steiner,
2009). An important component of an LMS is the learning objects (LO) that
encapsulate various goals. However, in order to construct an intelligent and
adaptive LMS according to the needs of lifelong learners, we must go beyond the
concept of the LO and consider learning scenarios in a broader vision of
learning activities (Ruis et al., 2008).
The idea behind LO-based systems is
to enhance the efficiency of learning processes and human performance in
work-based learning. Current learning standards and specifications include IEEE
LOM (Learning object metadata), which gives information about the contents or
the format of the learning object, and IMS-LD (Instructional Management Systems
Learning Design), which focuses on the activities. Neither approach captures
sufficient information for personalization of the learning process, which
requires an awareness of context. When learning content is presented to
lifelong learners, many assumptions are made about the learners and the
conditions of their learning, which include the experiences, skills, and
competencies of the learners, their personal preferences, learning styles,
goals, motivations, time availability and so on. These factors all contribute
to context (Jovanovic et al., 2006), which may also include special needs, so
that lifelong learners “can make the most of their talents, irrespective of
their physical and mental disabilities” (Kay, 2008). Specific issues in
explicitly representing context in design include the limited size and
complexity of metadata: (the amount of metadata is usually small and either too
open, with non-specific words such as ‘Learning’, or too closed, with
excessively specific descriptions), prediction of information at design time
and reusability of the content at different levels of granularity (Jovanovic et
al., 2006). However, the concept of a learning scenario provides a model of an
expected sequence of events to achieve a learning goal within the LMS (Ruis et
al., 2008).
In order to achieve dynamic
adaptation, we might adopt an ontology based approach for defining the
behaviour of all the elements involved in every scenario (Ruis et al., 2008).
One definition of ontology in the field of computer science is given by Gruber
(1993), who defines ontology as “an explicit specification of a
conceptualisation”. An ontology provides the vocabulary for referring to the
terms in a particular domain. It also defines some logical statements that
describe what the terms are, how they are classified as well as some rules for
combining terms and relations to define extensions to the vocabulary (Hendler,
2001). In personalised LMS, reasoning rules are used for some specific adaption
purposes. These rules query learning resources and metadata, and reason over
distributed data and metadata descriptions. A major step for reasoning is to
get information about the learning process while applying any adaptation rule
(Henze et al., 2004). Thus different types of ontologies may be used together
to model a learning process across a LMS. Current literature on how
ontology-based systems can possess the necessary flexibility to respond to
dynamic learner activities is limited. Therefore, further study of the
application of ontology to LMS is needed.
This article has presented a need to explore
ontology-based systems with the aim of supporting dynamic adaptation in
learning scenarios of LMS. Work is needed to identify the main concepts used in
adaptive learning processes within the domain of lifelong work-based
environments, which might be represented as ontologies. We may then leverage
these ontologies to develop personalized and adaptive LMS environments for
work-based lifelong learners.
References:
Aroyo, L, Dolog,P., Houben,G-J.,Kravcik,M.,
Naeve,A., Nilsson,M., & Wild,F. (2006). Interoperability in personalized
adaptive learning. Educational Technology
& Society, 9(2), 4-18.
Gruber,
T.R.(1993). A translation approach to portable ontology specifications.
Knowedge Acquistion, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 199-220.
Hendler, J. (2001). Agents and the Semantic Web. IEEE
Intelligent Systems, 16(2), 30-37.
Henze N., Dolog,P., Nejdl,W. (2004). Reasoning and
ontologies for personalized e-learning in semantic web. Educational Technology & Society, Vol. 7 No. 4, pp. 82-97.
Hover,K.M.
& Steiner,C.M. (2009).Adaptive Learning Environments: A requirements
analysis in business settings.
International Journal of Advanced Corporate Learning (i-JAC), Vol.2, Issue 3,
August 2009.
Jarvis,
P. (2008). Rediscovering adult education in a world of lifelong learning. International Journal of Critical Pedagogy,
Vol.1, No. 1 (Spring 2008).
Jovanovic,J.,
Knight, C., Gasevic,D. & Richards,G. (2006). Learning object context at
semantic web. Proceedings of the sixth
international conference on Advance Learning Technologies (ICALT’06).
Kay,
J. (2008). Lifelong learner modelling for lifelong personalized pervasive
learning. IEEE Tansactions on Learning
Technologies, Vol. 1, No. 4, October-December,2008.
Rius, A.,Sicillia, M. & Gaia-Barriocanal,
E. (2008). An ontology to automate learning scenarios? An approach to its
knowledge domain. In Whatley, J. (Ed.), Interdisciplinary
Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects, Vol. 4, 2008.
Sharples,
M. (2000). The design of personal mobile technologies for lifelong learning, Comput Educ., 34 (3-4), 177-193.
Sohaib
Ahmed
Institute of Information
& Mathematical Sciences
Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
s.ahmed@massey.ac.nz
David Parsons
Institute of Information
& Mathematical Sciences
Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
d.p.parsons@massey.ac.nz
Hokyoung
Ryu
Institute of Information
& Mathematical Sciences
Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
h.ryu@massey.ac.nz
Introduction
Education
and technology have been in strong interaction since the middle of the last
century giving origin to a new study field: Educational Technology (ET) [1, 2,
3 & 4]. In the eighties a debate about ET identity took place. On the one
hand it was considered as a branch of educational psychology or pedagogy; and
on the other, as a branch of computer science or engineering [4, 5 & 6]. It
seems that since the boom of Informatics and Communication Technologies (ICTs),
ET has just followed the second path, promoting engineers work over other
professionals on educational issues. Therefore we propose the necessity of
guarantying an interdisciplinary view for the development of Learning
Technology (LT), specifically of Learning Objects (LOs), in order to prevent
the mistake of attributing intrinsic properties to new technologies. We invite
to avoid the naive believe that ICTs themselves can improve, increase or
accelerate learning.
Work in progress
Our
research project: Epistemological bases
for science and technology education and research joins engineers,
psychologists, pedagogues and other professionals in social sciences under the
leadership of an epistemologist. One of the goals: LOs development toward a new
pedagogy of mathematics. We focus on mathematical reasoning in high school
students where the idea is to develop not just LOs with arithmetic and algebra
content, but a didactic procedure for mathematics education using ICTs based on
a specific psycho-pedagogical assessment. As partial results, we got no LOs
according to our assessment necessities. It is needed metadata and LOs
informing the theoretical psycho-pedagogical framework of its design and
possible implementation.
Likewise we
realized that LOs reflects the designer’s learning instead of student’s
learning. This result take us to a conceptual reflection about knowledge,
learning, teaching, education, science & technology as linked concepts from
different theoretical and disciplines views. According
to the ISI Web of Knowledge [7] the concept of Learning Objects (LO) is used
since 1960, but it’s up to the Twenty-first Century that studies about LO
increases in a notable way, specifically between the years of 2000 and 2007.
Nevertheless the meaning of LO not yet is clear. There are several definitions
of LO, the common one is that it is an informatics digital entity developed for
the generation of knowledge, skills and attitudes that have sense in function
of the subjects needs and that it has correspondence with reality [8].
However
most LOs have been designed and implemented focused on the role of the teacher
-to help him or to replace him- not really on the student. Then we propose a new categorization for
digital entities used in education: Teaching Objects (TOs) and Learned Objects
(L’dOs). Our account is that TOs are those digital entities useful as support
materials for teaching. TOs can be complement or substitute of blackboards and
other common didactic resources. TOs as teacher’s or engineer’s products are
the sort of digital entities that actually, as we said above, are erroneously
called LOs. Instead, L’dOs must be student’s products: digital entities which
must reflect what students have learned. This means that students must link
informatics knowledge with concepts and skills about a specific subject to
create their own L’dO. In this manner they would reflect their rationing.
This
proposal involves a new pedagogical model constituted not just by digital
entities but by an active educational model configured in an interdisciplinary
framework. We think that Learning Technology may start to consider and
guarantee educational technology
procedures with interdisciplinary support; not just engineer’s products
applied to education. This support might be provided in a linking way by
pedagogues, psychologist, engineers and subject experts. Then we can avoid
digital entities as products with an excellent presentation and sophisticated
technological support, but based on the implicit naive believe that ICTs by
themselves can improve teaching or, increase and accelerate learning.
Conclusion
Our
proposal is based on an epistemological view: an epistemology of engineering
based on an epistemology of imagination [9] that considers next basic
assumptions: 1) generation of new knowledge is not a social product but an
individual product that is socialized. 2) It is a priority to focus on the
individual cognitive development, particularly on symbolic-imagination
experience and then in both, practical and formal experience. 3) Instruments
have a very important role for the former three sorts of experiences. From this
framework L’dOs are digital instruments as the combination of material
instruments and mathematical knowledge. They are triggers, not determinants of
learning, which means to understand technology as the coordination of the
application of engineering as well as the application of psychological and
pedagogical principles in education field. TOs (now known as LOs) in
mathematics can be continuing developed as didactical digital tools but just as
a part of an interdisciplinary pedagogical method. The challenge for LT then is
a new kind of friendly software that allows the student to generate software
(L’dOs) that could reflect his mathematical rationing.
References
[1] M.
Area-Moreira, Los Medios y las
Tecnologías en la
Educación, Ediciones Pirámide, Madrid,
2004.
[2] G.
Villaseñor-Sánchez, La Tecnología en el Proceso de
Enseñanza-Aprendizaje, Trillas, México, 1998.
[3] A.
García-Valcárcel Muñoz-Repiso, Tecnología Educativa. Implicaciones educativas del desarrollo
tecnológico, La
Muralla, Madrid, 2003.
[4] B.F. Skinner, Tecnología de la
enseñanza, Ediciones Labor, Barcelona, España, 1976.
[5] Kemp, R.
Educación Multimedia y Nuevas
Tecnologías, Ediciones de la Torre, Madrid, 2002.
[6] J.B.
Araujó & C.B. Chadwich, Tecnología
Educacional. Teorías de instrucción, Paidós Educador,
Barcelona, España, 1993.
[7] ISI Web of Knowledge (2007). Web of Science. The Tohomson
Corporation. Recuperate in August 14th 2007 from
http://portal.isiknowledge.com/portal
[8] A. Di
Ioro, A. “Automatically producing accessible learning objects”. Educational Technology & Society, 9 (4):
3-16, 2006 [e-version]. Current Contents Connect. Recuperate in August 14th
2007 from http://portal.isiknowledge.com/portal.cgi?DestApp0CCC&Func=Frame.
[9] L.M.
Rodríguez Salazar. El Significado
epistemológico de los Instrumentos Científicos bajo una
noción ampliada de experiencia. GEDISA/CINVESTAV-IPN [in
evaluation].
Carmen Patricia Rosas-Colin
Instituto
Politécnico Nacional (CIECAS-IPN), México
cprosasc@yahoo.com.mx
Luis Mauricio Rodríguez-Salazar
CIECAS-IPN,
México
lmrodrig@cinvestav.mx
Silverio Gerardo Armijo-Mena
CIECAS-IPN,
México
sarmijo@ipn.mx
Abstract. This paper describes an ongoing research that aims at creating
a domain model from learning object textual content in particular and from
documents in general. A domain model is represented by a set of concepts,
attributes, relationships and axioms describing the domain rules and
restrictions.
Key
Technologies for e-Learning
There are
some key areas and techniques that are necessary for the creation of such
explicit semantics into learning objects: Natural
language processing which is useful for mining learning object content and
creating metadata, Semantic Web,
which enables a formal and unified representation of this content and Semantic Web Services which are key
components for flexible and reusable architectures.
Natural Language processing (NLP)
There are
two main streams for knowledge extraction in the domain of NLP: shallow and
deep syntactic methods. Although shallow syntactic methods can be of interest
for information retrieval due to their speed and robustness, they remain
limited and do not discover important knowledge, such as some semantic
relationships. On the opposite, deep syntactic analysis requires more resources
(lexicons, syntactic grammars, etc.) but they enable a deep understanding of
texts. Based on previous and ongoing research [1, 2], I believe that e-Learning
requires deep syntactic analysis. In fact, learning objects should be annotated
with semantic knowledge that reflects their exact content in terms of concepts
and relationships. Developing a semantic analyzer based on deep syntactic
analysis is then a requirement. An interesting formalism for this analysis is
the use of dependency grammars. A dependency-based semantic analyzer is
independent of a particular domain and relies on generic syntactic patterns
coupled with processing functions that map the syntactic structures to semantic
representations. It can be intuitively more easily understood by non-NLP users.
At this stage of the research, a semantic analyzer has been developed that
covers a good set (a kernel) of the main syntactic structures of the English
language and future work will enlarge the set of syntactic structures.
The
benefits of this semantic analysis for eLearning are various: this enables to
explicitly state the learning content in terms of concepts and relationships
(concept maps). Metadata is created in a semi-automatic manner instead of being
purely manual. In fact, manual annotation hinders the retrieval and reuse of
learning objects as it is very often incomplete, time-consuming and it does not
reflect the exact content of the learning object. Moreover, concept maps can
benefit to learning as they represent a synthesized view of the knowledge
conveyed by the learning objects [5]. This enables a constructivist exploration
of the domain by the learner. By clicking on a concept and requesting a concept
map, the learner can grasp the important relationships and related concepts of
the domain. Furthermore, he can be directed towards specific portions of texts
that are related to the concepts of interest.
Semantic Web (SW)
The
semantic analyzer outputs semantic representations expressed as concept maps.
Here concepts maps describe rich knowledge structures based on semantic
concepts and relationships including attributes, hierarchical links, and
conceptual links. However, such a rich and detailed representation cannot be
reused in this form for indexing learning object content. In fact, the final
representation should be able to insure learning object interoperability and
should provide a conceptual view over the domain. SW technologies and
especially domain ontologies seem to be the perfect structures for doing this.
Ontologies have been widely used to annotate learning objects content. However,
they are often created manually and then used to annotate learning objects. One
drawback of this approach is the manual creation of knowledge but also the risk
of having a conceptual mismatch between the real learning object content and
the ontology. Such a mismatch could complicate the retrieval of the learning
object and the comprehension of the learner regarding this content. For these
reasons, I believe that a domain ontology should “emerge” from learning object
content, thus creating a natural, accurate and automatic indexing of the
object. Current semantic representations are converted into OWL [4] using a set
of metrics and mapping rules that detect key concepts and relationships in the
concept maps [1]. My current work aims at applying new metrics for ontological
class mining including the page rank of a concept, its betweenness (based on the
number of shortest paths that pass through the concept) and its centrality.
More details on these metrics can be found in [6] for example.
Semantic Web Services (SWS)
In general, present efforts for next
generation e-learning architectures aim at building dynamic educational
services. This approach is also a key enabler for next generation learning
objects mining. I am currently working on a service-oriented architecture that
implements the semantic analyzer and the conversion of the semantic representation
into a domain ontology as services. This architecture has the advantage of
being modular as it tackles each ontology learning step (concepts, taxonomy,
conceptual relationships, axioms) using a variety of NLP and statistical
methods (also represented as services). The other advantage is that it enables
combining various methods through semantic composition and orchestration and
testing the most interesting combination based on tasks and needs.
Such an
integrated approach based on NLP, SW and SWS would enable the management and
reuse of a learning object repository content in a more efficient and automatic
manner.
References
[1] Zouaq, A. and Nkambou, R.: Enhancing Learning
Objects with an Ontology-Based Memory. IEEE
Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering 21(6): 881-893 (2009a)
[2] Zouaq, A. and Nkambou, R.: Evaluating the
Generation of Domain Ontologies in the Knowledge Puzzle Project, IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data
Engineering, vol. 21, no. 11, pp. 1559-1572, (2009b).
[4] OWL Web Ontology Language, available from http://www.w3.org/TR/owl-features/
[5] Cañas A. J. and Novak, J. D.:
Facilitating the Adoption of Concept Mapping Using CmapTools to Enhance
Meaningful Learning, in Knowledge Cartography,
Software Tools and Mapping Techniques, Springer (2008).
[6] Harith, A. and Brewster, C.: Metrics for
Ranking Ontologies, Proceedings of 4th
Int. EON Workshop, WWW Conference, Edinburgh
(2006).
Amal Zouaq
Athabasca University, Simon Fraser
University
azouaq@sfu.ca
Introduction
Learning
Object (LO) open standards (e.g., SCORM [ADL 2004]) have achieved stable
specifications, providing reliable ways for exchanging digital content and
fostering environments and tools to offer support for LO storage, indexing and
presentation. Relevant examples are Learning Management Systems, like Moodle
(http://moodle.org) and Sakai
(http://sakaiproject.org), which accept SCORM packages. This scenario motivated
our initiative to build a digital content repository for storage and sharing
e-learning content, fostering reuse at our university.
The process
of e-learning content production at our university is guided by a workflow
detailed in Figure 1. It starts up when a professor/author submits written
documents by using a popular text-processing tool (content authoring). After
content and style review a course goes towards the course authoring process.
Course authoring addresses tasks of: systematizing the course content according
to a learning design, course description using learning metadata and preparing
the content to be reused.
Following
this workflow the author acts in two distinct stages: content production and
content authoring. These two stages can be also seen in another perspective,
the former concerns mainly data
production and the latter mainly metadata
production. Therefore, we here consider the content authoring a kind of
annotation task of the produced content. We have remarked three main practical
difficulties related to the annotation process:
1.
The
annotation task appears as a disjoint additional
step after the content production process.
2.
The
metaphors adopted by annotation
standards and tools are distant from those adopted by content production tools
to which authors are used.
3.
When
production+annotation tools are adopted for developing specialized content, the
lack of homogeneous content format
has hampered the content reviewing process.
The remarks
above have led us to a research that issued in a methodology for content
annotation, which we call In Loco
Semantics.
In Loco Semantics
In Loco Semantics is a methodology for producing annotations
linked to digital content by using interoperable semantics and ensuring
semantic persistence, with the following principles:
1.
In Loco Annotation: the annotation process occurs
concomitant to the content production (in loco).
2.
Metaphor Integration: the metaphors and models adopted
in content annotation are aligned with those adopted for content production.
3.
Interoperability: in loco annotation strategies are
designed to enable automatic information extraction and conversion to Semantic
Web open standards.
4.
Semantic Persistence: in loco annotation elements are
connected to unification ontologies, which will guarantee their equivalent
interpretations in different contexts, subsidizing semantic persistence among
transformations.
Figure 1. Workflow diagram of an e-learning course
production.
The diagram
in Figure 2 synthesizes a typical scenario of the methodology application. This
scenario can be organized into three distinct activities: (1) design – a content
profile is designed including its templates or schemas; (2) production – a content is produced and annotated following an annotation pattern and based on a
template or schema; (3) CO transformation – the original content
is transformed by an information extraction tool, which can map the content to
a domain neutral complex object (CO), (4)
Domain transformation – the domain neutral CO is mapped by a conversion
tool to a domain specific representation, a LO in this context.
Figure 2.
In Loco Semantics process diagram.
Document-centric Authoring
Even though
in loco semantics can be applied to many content producing contexts, the most
popular content producing tools available to end-users adopt documents as
metaphors for content producing and as units of representation and
distribution.
Modern word
processors have the “style” feature, which enables to assign a name to a
specific format configuration. Our annotation
pattern extends its interpretation to our purposes. As shown in Figure 3,
besides its formatting concerns, styles work as a semantic markup. Therefore,
by marking fragments of documents using a {Title} style, for example, authors
perform two operations: they apply a preconfigured format to the text and
simultaneously attach a semantic annotation to the fragment.
Figure
3. Converting document annotations in a LO comprising its learning design.
Figure 3
illustrates a summary index automatically extracted from e-learning content. In
this case, the titles and subtitles can be straight converted to SCORM [ADL
2004] internal organization structure. Furthermore, the figure shows a link
between the document entitled “Cell Division” and the one entitled “Cell”
formatted using the {Prerequisite} style, indicating a prerequisite lesson.
This example shows how annotation patterns are explored to infer the learning
design behind the content following the IMS LD [Koper 2004].
Related Work
There are
other solutions to produce LOs by using text processing tools, like GTK
Komposer Suite (http://www.gtkpress.com) and Question Based Learning System
(QBLS) [Dehors et al. 2006]. The main advantages of our solution lie in:
- It is not limited to a monolithic tool: In Loco Semantics is a
methodology and its tools are implementations which can be adapted and
expanded.
- Mappings from annotations to a LO structure are based on
customizable XML open documents.
- In Loco Semantics is not
restricted to a text processing tool or a specific annotation pattern (e.g.
style-based).
Concluding Remarks
This paper
shows our document-centric approach to automatically produce LOs by means of In
Loco Semantics methodology. It has been successfully applied at our University.
We are expanding the methodology to other tools – e.g., spreadsheets and slide
presentations have already been implemented – and other annotation patterns.
Thus annotation patterns become a semantic communication strategy between
humans and machines. Instead of requiring humans to learn ever increasing
number of complex tools, our strategy proposes to enhance the language adopted
in widespread and well known tools.
References
ADL
(2004). Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) 2004 – 2nd Edition –
Overview, accessed on 11/2004.
Dehors,
S. et al. (2006). Reusing learning resources base on semantic web technologies.
In: Proc. of the VI International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies.
Koper, R.;
Olivier, B. (2004). Representing the Learning Design of Units of Learning. Educational Technology & Society, v. 7, p. 97-111.
André Santanchè
UNIFACS – Salvador
University
Salvador – BA, Brazil
santanche@unifacs.br
Luiz Augusto Matos da Silva
Acre Federal University
Rio Branco – AC, Brazil
luiz.matos@ufac.br
Abstract. Typical English as second language (ESL) learning in East Asian public
school systems leaves a gap in student confidence and facility in functioning
with the spoken language which is a serious obstacle to participation in global
society. Virtual worlds, such as Second Life, provide a strong opportunity for
the students to experience situated learning. We present an outline of how to
apply mission-oriented situated language learning in a virtual world game.
Keywords: Second life, mission-oriented situated second language learning,
game
Introduction
Typical English as second language (ESL) learning in East Asian public
school systems leaves a gap in student confidence and facility in functioning
with the spoken language. This gap becomes a serious obstacle to participation
in global society. Academics, for example, can find their research
misunderstood or overlooked if they cannot present it, and themselves,
effectively. Elwell, et al. (2009)
have tested shared virtual environments complementing task achievement training
in English language instruction at the graduate school level in Japan [1]. This
method provided little or no scaffolding, and placed the students directly into
spontaneous authentic interactions in an open social setting. The initial
confidence barrier therefore remains high.
We propose a progressive task-based virtual environment game to build
students' competence, confidence, and independence using spoken English to
achieve functional goals, within the resources typically available at the high
school and undergraduate level. The objectives are: 1) Task achievement with
strong scaffolding (competence); 2) Task achievement with weak scaffolding
(confidence); 3) Task achievement without scaffolding (independence).
Mission-Oriented Situated Learning
A situated environment, where learning is a social process and knowledge
is co-constructed [2], is appropriate for second language learning, but
physically creating such an environment is a significant challenge. Virtual
worlds provide a new venue for situated learning. In Second Life, for example,
the learning environment can be adjusted easily according to the situated
learning objectives. Learners can interact with their peers in typed public or
private chat, and even voice conversation.
The challenge of providing a situated learning environment, however,
also involves the design of the curriculum and pedagogy. Mission-based learning
fosters students' knowledge integration, teamwork and cooperative learning,
critical thinking, complex problem solving and creativity [3]. Figure 1 shows a
mission-oriented curriculum mode in which a mission is composed of several
sub-tasks. The students achieve a mission by completing the sub-tasks,
competing to finish in the shortest time.
Figure 1. Sample curriculum
design: Attending an international conference
The activity is designed as follows:
1) Students enter
the virtual environment and complete an assigned task using assigned means
2) Students
complete an assigned task with a choice of means
3) Students are
given a "big task", a final game goal, for which they must choose
what subsidiary tasks to attempt and then how to achieve those tasks
4) The object of
the game is to complete the tasks as rapidly as possible
Figure 2. Sub-task design
Narrative:
1) Student A enters a prepared and bounded location in Second Life, and
once familiar with avatar movement and using interactive objects, is presented
with a situation and assigned a task with a tangible result. In this case, the
tangible result will be a receiving a "calling card", representing
pre-registration for a conference. The means for achieving the task will be
provided (a suggested set of phrases), and peers and instructors in the
physical classroom can offer support and guidance. When achievement of the task
is verified, the student may progress to the next task.
2) Student A is presented with a new task; finding an exit from the
bounded location, representing successfully traveling to the conference venue.
This time, A must choose among three avatars to ask for instructions and then
successfully follow those instructions for the exit to open. Each of the three
instruction givers will offer a different means of achieving the task. Using
the exit will demonstrate task achievement and take the student to the final,
"big" task.
3) Student A's avatar is transported directly from the exit of the first
location to an open location in Second Life, where the avatars present include
ones operated by people unrelated to the exercise. A's big task is to be
invited to join a group, representing successful participation at a conference.
4) The time taken for finishing the game is recorded and compared with
other trials.
Practice Environment
The physical classroom, with its instructor and peer support, remains
part of the learning environment, but the actual gameplay takes place in the
shared virtual environment of Second Life. In the first two stages, learners
operate within prepared locations where entry and exit is controlled by the
instructor(s), and where all avatars represent instructors or fellow learners.
In the final "big task" stage, the location also includes avatars
representing unrelated persons elsewhere in the physical world.
Figure 3. Second life learning
environment snapshot
Conclusion
We have proposed a progressive task-based virtual environment game to
build students' competence, confidence, and independence using spoken English
to achieve functional goals, within the resources typically available at the
high school and undergraduate level. This method addresses logistic and
systemic limits on authentic modeling, individual interaction, and functional
practicum in school settings. With adjustments, it can be applied to other
stages and forms of instruction.
References
[1] M. Elwell, S. Cook, M. Leigh and J. Terrillon,
“Shared virtual environments complementing task achievement training,” in Proceedings of the 17th International
Conference on Computers in Education, 2009, pp. 757-759.
[2] J. Lave and E. Wenger, Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1991.
[3] Y. C. Shih and N. S. Chen, “Mission-based
learning model and its instructional activity design,” in Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computers in
Education, 2002, pp. 943
Mark
Elwell
Hakusan
International School, Japan
markelwell@hakusaninternationalschool.com
Ben
Chang
National
Chiayi University, Taiwan
ben@ncyu.edu.tw
Introduction
Initially
the idea behind the computer-based learning objects was that the content of a
course could be broken down into small, reusable instructional components and
each addressed a specific learning objective. These components could be tagged
with metadata descriptors and deposited in digital libraries for subsequent
reuse into larger structures such as lessons and courses (see Cisco Systems,
2001; IMS Global Learning Consortium, 2002; Jonassen & Churchill, 2004;
L’Allier, 1998; and Wiley, 2000). More recently learning objects begun to
emerge within a variety of contemporary pedagogical frameworks that promote
constructivist learning, e.g., problem solving, engaged learning, problem-based
learning, rich environments for active learning, technology-based learning
environments, interactive learning environments, collaborative knowledge
building, situated learning (Churchill, 2007). Common to these frameworks,
students must engage and interact with a task where knowledge is created and
applied, and the learning object is seen as a tool and a cognitive supplement
that facilitates completion of this task. To overcome potentially conflicting
conceptualization of the learning object, there is a need for a broader
definition that serves perspective of diverse communities interested in this idea
(e.g., computer scientists, education professionals, and corporate
instructional designers).
Broader Definition of the Learning Object
The author
describes the learning object in broad terms as a multimedia representation
designed to afford uses in different educational contexts. In this context, the learning object utilizes representational
capabilities of contemporary technology to deliver educationally useful
displays of data, information, concepts, and ideas. Supplementing this
definition is a classification of learning objects into the following types:
presentation, practice, simulation, conceptual models, information and
contextual representation objects (see Table 1).
Learning
objects might reside in digital repositories, ready to be retrieved and utilized
by those involved in generating educational activities (e.g. teachers and
students). They can be tagged with suitable metadata descriptors that indicate
types of learning objects, and accordingly suggest suitable reuse. Some of the
learning objects from the classification can be combined with other objects
into direct instruction products supporting traditional pedagogies (e.g.,
computer-based tutorials). Other learning objects are more appropriate in the
context of student-centered pedagogical approaches as resources to be deployed
in learning tasks designed by teachers. Through all these forms, representation
and interaction are key attributes.
Task-driven Reuse of the Learning Object
Traditional
instructivist framework assumes that learning occurs through contact with
learning material, processing/internalization of principally presented content
and demonstration of behavior that shows achievement of learning objectives. It
is believed that multimedia messages, when effectively designed, arranged and
presented, can enable learners to memorize material, while interactivity allows
repetitive drill and practice until the desired performance is achieved. It is
possible for reuse of the learning objects to be machine-driven based on data
such as learners’ pre- or post-test results. For example, Cisco’s Reusable
learning Objects (RLO) strategy describes such machine-driven reuse (see Cisco
Systems, 2001).
Table 1: Basic types of learning objects (from
Churchill, 2007)
In
contrast, the constructivist framework assumes that learning occurs within a
task that results in experiences leading to knowledge construction (e.g.,
conceptual changes, development of coherent knowledge representations,
internalization of social constructed and negotiated meanings, accommodation
and assimilation of new concepts in existing knowledge). A suitably designed
task is an ill-structured, dynamic and authentic engagement that requires
students, for example, to solve problems, conduct inquiries, work with
information and data, collaborate, deliver products and presentations and in
other ways apply emerging understanding through strategic decisions, as well as
engaging in meta-thinking and reflection (Churchill, 2006). Hedberg and
Churchill (2008) describes four types of general tasks: (1) the learner might
be practicing the use of rules or
standard processes to achieve a solution; (2) the learner might explore a incident or scenario and argue for a
particular course of action; (3) the task might include a new design so that
the focus is built upon the strategy
through which it is achieved; and (4) the situation might require the analysis
of different perspectives and hence the challenge is seen in terms of a
particular role that the student
might take. The role of a teacher is to design learning tasks that will require
students to work with material and produce artifacts that demonstrate their
learning achievements. Once a learning task is planned, suitable learning
objects to enable students’ learning are supplied.
References
1. Churchill, D. (2006).
Student-centered learning design: Key components, technology roles and
frameworks for integration. Synergy, 4(1),
18-28.
2. Churchill, D. (2007). Towards a
useful classification of learning objects. Education
Technology Research and Development, 55(5), 479-497
3. Churchill, D., & Hedberg, J.
(2008). Learning Objects, Learning Tasks and Handhelds. In Editor: L. Lockyer,
S. Bennett, S. Agostinho & B. Harper (Eds.), Handbook of Research on
Learning Design and Learning Objects: Issues, Applications and Technologies,
(pp. 451-469). Hershey, PA.: Information Science Reference.
4.
Cisco
Systems (2001) Reusable learning object
strategy: designing information and learning objects through concept, fact,
procedure, process, and principle template. San Jose, CA:
Cisco Systems, Inc.
5.
IMS
Global Learning Consortium (2002). Learning
Resource Meta-data Specification. Retrieved February 15, 2005 from
http://www.imsglobal.org/metadata/ .
6. Jonassen, D., & Churchill, D.
(2004). Is There a Learning Orientation in Learning Objects? International Journal on E-Learning, 3(2),
32-41.
7.
L’Allier,
J. J. (1998). NETg's precision skilling:
the linking of occupational skills descriptors to training interventions.
Retrieved September 15, 2000, from http://www.netg.com/research/pskillpaper.htm
.
8.
Wiley,
D. A. (2000). Connecting learning objects to instructional design theory: A
definition, a metaphor, and a taxonomy. In D. A. Wiley (Ed.), The Instructional Use of Learning Objects. Retrieved
July 24, 2004, from http://reusability.org/read/chapters/wiley.doc
Daniel Churchill
The University of Hong Kong
dchurch@hku.hk
Introduction
At the end of the 90’s emerged the
so-called Intelligent Virtual Environments for Training and/or Education
(IVETs), combining Virtual Environments (VE) and Intelligent Tutoring Systems
(ITS), two areas of great complexity. In this way, the benefits of 3D
environments may be combined with those of an ITS in order to provide added
value educational/training solutions.
The complexity of Student Model, core of an
ITS, is even higher when the ITSs are applied on VEs because the new
interaction possibilities offered by these environments must be considered as
new key information pieces for SM, impacting all the educational process.
We have proposed, in the framework of a Ph.
D. work, a new SM mechanism based on Ontological Engineering and inspired on
pedagogical principles, with a wide and flexible data model about the student
that facilitates its adaptation and extension to different ITSs and learning
applications, as well as a rich diagnosis method with non-monotonic reasoning
capacities. The diagnosis method is able to infer the state of the learning
objectives encompassed by the ITS and correspondingly infer the student’s
knowledge state.
The proposed SM approach has been
implemented and integrated in the student modeling agent (SMA) within an
existing software platform for the development of IVET’s called MAEVIF (Imbert,
2007).
Proposed
Student Modeling
The development of any ITS requires an
instructional design for the subject matter to be taught (X) (see Figure 1).
The activities and the objectives that the student should achieve in each
activity, should be initially fed into the SM ontology, together with the
initial state of objectives (established as assumptions of the SM), knowledge
elements involved in the learning objectives, and personal information about
each student. The SM ontology also defines relationships among concepts, such as
the ones between the learning objectives (meaningful for the Tutoring Agent)
and the knowledge objects that the student should acquire in order to be able
to reach those objectives (meaningful for the Expert Agent).
The characteristics of every action performed
by the student in a learning session causes the triggering of some diagnosis
rules defined in the Pedagogic Diagnosis
Agent (PDA). In this way, the SMA can infer from the student's behavior
which learning objectives have been acquired or not by the student, and the
state of their knowledge, or, rather, reasonable assumptions, since some of
assumed learning objectives and knowledge elements may be refused later, when
more recent evidence provokes inconsistencies in the beliefs of SMA. These non
monotonic reasoning capacities of method relying on an ATMS (De Kleer 1986) and
a Conflict Solver. The pedagogic diagnosis rules have been formulated as
domain independent rules, arranged in a rich taxonomy of diagnosis criteria (De
Antonio, 2009a) and implemented using Jena
framework.
Figure 1.
Diagram of the proposed student modeling.
Overview
of the Ontology
The language chosen was OWL and
as ontology editor Protégé was used.
Based on the design requirements for the
student modeling agent, we have developed (Figure 2) three single
student-dependent ontologies representing the following:
·
Student
Profile Ontology: the
student's personal information (demographic data, preferences, physical and
psychological features, etc.).
·
Student State Ontology: the student's knowledge, the acquired learning
objectives, the degree of completion of the instructional design of the course,
and an assessment of the student's acting along different learning sessions.
·
Student
Trace Ontology: the
temporal register of the whole student’s activity.
In addition, we have built two more single
student-independent ontologies:
·
Learning
Objectives Ontology: the
learning objectives defined in the instruccional design of the course.
·
Knowledge
Object Ontology: the
knowledge elements involved in the considered learning process.
Figure 2. Overview of the student ontology.
Conclusions
and future work
The proposed SM has been implemented and it
has been instantiated for two types of learning environments: one for learning
to use the graphical user interface of a software application (De Antonio,
2007) and a Virtual Environment for procedural training (De Antonio, 2009b).
Taking into account the experience acquired in these two implementations, a
methodology to guide on the application of this student modeling approach to
each specific system is being developed.
We are in the course of testing, on top of
MAEVIF, the proposed SM in a chemical laboratory environment where IVETs are
especially suitable for learning/training purposes, since some exercises may
entail a high risk. These tests will help us to tune the diagnosis rules,
specially the non monotonic mechanisms, and to detect possible knowledge gaps
in the student ontology.
In the short term, another challenging
issue that will be tackled is the modeling of an instructional design
description in ontological terms. For that purpose, the IMS Learning Design
specification (IMS Global Learning Consortium, 2003) will be considered as the
frame of reference, and it will be represented in the form of a new student
independent ontology.
References
De Antonio, A. et al, 2007. A proposal of Student Modelling Based on Ontologies. 17th European-Japanese Conference on
Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases. Pori, Finlandia, pp. 302-309.
De Antonio, A. et al, 2009a. An ontology for pedagogical diagnosis in virtual environments for
learning. 6st
International Conference Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age.
Rome, Italy, pp. 250-257.
De Antonio, A. et al, 2009b. Focusing the diagnosis
for Student Modelling on an instructional design. 1st International Conference on Computer Supported Education.
Lisboa, Portugal, pp. 285-290.
De Kleer, J., 1986. An Assumption-based
TMS. Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 127-161.
Imbert, R. et al, 2007. A Multiagent
Extension for Virtual Reality Based Intelligent Tutoring Systems. 7th
IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, ICALT’2007.
Niigata, Japan, pp. 82-84.
IMS Global Learning Consortium, Inc.: IMS Learning
Design. Version 1.0 Final Specification, 2003.
http://www.imsglobal.org/learningdesign/
Angélica de Antonio
Universidad
Politécnica, Boadilla del Monte
Madrid, Spain
angelica@fi.upm.es
Jaime Ramírez
Universidad
Politécnica, Boadilla del Monte
Madrid, Spain
jramirez@fi.upm.es
Julia Clemente
Universidad de
Alcalá, Campus Universitario
Alcalá de
Henares, Spain
julia@aut.uah.es
