G AMES -T O -T EACH P ROJECT Fall 2002

1. GAMES-TO-TEACH PROJECTFall 2002 Kurt Squire: Research Manager, MIT Comparative Media Studies Indiana University Henry Jenkins: Director, MIT Comparative Media Studies

2. Games-to-Teach • Background / historical context • Design Research Activities • Design commitments • 10 Conceptual frameworks • Themes • Next steps / invitation for participation

3. Games-to-Teach • Background / historical context • Research • Design commitments • Conceptual frameworks • Next steps / invitation for participation

4. Educational games in context

5. Bell Labs Science Films

6. Edutainment

7. Edutainment?

8. Games-to-Teach Vision Contemporary Pedagogy + State-of-the-Art Gaming = Next Generation Educational Media

9. Games-to-Teach

10. Games-to-Teach GameDesigners MITFaculty ComparativeMedia Studies Educational Technologists Students

11. Games-to-Teach • Background / historical context • Research • Design commitments • Conceptual frameworks • Next steps / invitation for participation

12. Research on Gaming • Educational games don’t work(Clegg, 1991; Downey & Levstick, 1973; Ehman & Glenn, 1991; Gredler, 1996) • Lacking a coherent theoretical framework(Gredler, 1996) • Instructional context more important than media(Clark, 1983; White & Frederickson, 1998)

13. Research on Gaming • Produce increased motivation (Cordova & Lepper, 1997; Malone, 1985) • Effective within inquiry framework (Clark, 1983; White & Frederickson, 1998) • Social interactions produce learning (Johnson & Johnson, 1985) • Large disconnect between “state-of-the-art” and educational games (Squire, 2002) • “Emerging pedagogies” (Squire & Reigeluth, 1999) • Problem Based Learning (Barrows et al, 1999) • Anchored Instruction (Bransford et al, 1992) • Goal-Based Scenarios (Schank, 1996) • Case-Based Reasoning

14. Modeling, Visualization, & Microworlds

15. Participants • Educational Researchers • Howard Gardner, Mitchell Resnick, Chris Dede, Steven Pinker • Media theorists • Henry Jenkins, Justine Cassell, Nick Montfort • Teachers & MIT Faculty • Bonnie Bracey (K-12), Woodie Flowers (MIT), John Belcher (MIT), Tom Keating (San Francisco Exploratorium) • Students • MIT, Boston Gibbs, UMass, Central Florida • Survey 653 MIT students

16. MIT Student Survey Survey of MIT undergraduate student body • 653/4000 Respondents MIT students grew up with games • All respondents played a computer or video game; 88% before age 10 Most MIT students are frequent game players • 60% spend more than an hour / week playing games • (compared to 33% for television, 57% reading) • 30% of respondents students play online games > 1 hour / week

17. MIT Student Survey 555 respondents listed at least 1 favorite game. • Final Fantasy series (I-VIII) 55 • Starcraft 46 • Civiliation I/ II 29 • Zelda 24 • Tetris 22 • Quake 21 • 33 Mario Franchises: Super Mario Brothers; Mario Kart • Unreal Tournmanet 12 • Snood 12 • Madden Sports 8 • The Sims 6

18. Participants • Game Designers • Bryan Sullivan (Ironlore / Age of Empires), • Doug Church (ION Storm / Thief, Deus Ex), • Eric Zimmerman (gamelab / Sissyfight 2000 / Lego Junkbot), • Brenda Laurel (Purple Moon / Rocket’s adventures), • Chris Weaver (Bethesda / Morrowind), • Alex Rigopulous (Harmonix / Frequency) • Kent Quirk (Cognitoy / Mind Rover), • Matt Ford (Microsoft / Asheron’s Call), • Steve Meretzky (Infocom / Hitchhiker’s Guide), • Ben Sawyer (Digimill / Virtual U) • Brian Moriarty (Infocom / Loom)

19. Design Commitments • Appeal to broad audiences • Women in lead design roles • Gender inclusive game designs • Leverage existing genres • Grounded in existing learning sciences research • Provide “transgressive play” • Address misconceptions • “Induce” contextuality • Designing for sociability (Preece, 1999) • Recognizing Instructional Context • Assessments

21. Replicate

22. Replicate • Transgressive Play • Choice  Engagement & Critical Thinking with content • Specialization and differentiation (role playing) • Visualization • Elucidate misconceptions • Viruses & Temperature

23. DreamHaus: Architectural Engineering

24. DreamHaus: Playful Characters

25. DreamHaus: Environmental Puzzles

26. DreamHaus: Construction Kits

28. DreamHaus:Hybrid Game Genres • Romantic allure of architecture • Intrinsically interesting aspects of engineering • Rich Characterization • Learning through Construction • Multiple Play Styles • Community Connections • Humor Playfulness

29. Cuckoo Time!

30. Cuckoo Time! • MisconceptionsPower-ups = Scientific VariablesMultiplayer

31. Cuckoo Time! • Lectures • Problem Sets • Written Assignments • Assessments • Construction Kits

32. Cuckoo Time! • Microworlds • Failure • Power-ups • Multiple Use contacts • Collaborative games

33. BiohazardBiology through Pathology • Action Role Playing - ER! + Outbreak + Deus Ex - Doctor / Disease control- Simulated Diseases- Biology through pathology - Observation, experimentation- Content - Inheritance Patterns- Viral Structure and Replication- Reproduction, - Growth and Development- Structural, Physiological, and Behavioral Adaptations

34. BiohazardGoal-Based Scenarios Melodramatic tension Access to tools & resourcesSeductive Failure statesAssessment: Replaying Events

36. BiohazardSimulated RPGs Choices & Consequences Time, Resources, & Character Development Developing skills, making contacts, earning reputationSimulated Worlds Viruses, synthetic charactersAuthentic tools Skills, Read-outs, displaysAssessment Statistics, records, reflectionMultiplayer potential

37. HEPHAESTUSMassively Multiplayer Earth is dying... our only refuge, 4 light years away… a lone volcanic planet... HEPHAESTUS ...and everyone wants a piece of the pie.

38. HEPHAESTUSMassively Multiplayer - Build Robots down to the gear- Make engineering trade-offs- Carrying load vs. mass - Mass vs. friction- Explore a volcanic planet - Divert lava flows - Gain energy- Spend Resources to upgrade- Personalization - Differentiation

39. HEPHAESTUSMassively Multiplayer - Collaborative & competitive play- Differentiated Roles- Open-ended play-

40. HEPHAESTUSMassively Multiplayer - Differentiated Roles- Multiple Player types - achiever, socializer, competitor, explorers- Virtual identities- “Elfs & Orcs”- Modes of expression- Collaboration

41. Environmental Detectives • Handhelds are cheap, powerful, easy to use, and easy to store • What to do with them? • Lend themselves to gaming and interactive narrative • Lack of demonstrated gaming models (US)

42. Environmental Detectives • Environmental Disaster • Interact with chemical simulation • Meet virtual characters • Share information with peers • Write report • Devise treatment plan

43. Environmental Detectives • Augmented realities

44. Supercharged!Learning Through Microworlds

46. Social Contexts If learning is participation… • What is legitimate participation in social practices • Simulations vs. reality Social interactions • Explaining strategies • Teacher’s “just-in-time” lectures Collaborative communities of practice Online communities Sharing strategies (ala The Sims) Using Games to “induce” complex problem solving Role Playing Microworlds Strategy / Resource Management

47. Using Game Conventions Contested spaces • Leveraging contests in content Power – ups • Ways of making students choose • Ways of manipulating variables Character development – choosing skills / items • Creating emotional investment • Inducing creative thinking Differentiated Roles

48. Future Steps Internal Development • Supercharged! (Electromagnetism) • Environmental Detectives (Environmental Studies) • Replicate! (Biology & Virology) Developing with partners - Biohazard(Emergency Response workers) New content partners • Royal Shakespeare Company • Colonial Williamsburg

49. Future Steps Building a network of teachers, researchers and developers… http://cms.mit.edu/games/education/ ksquire@mit.edu