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Jen Helms - Immersive, Playful Learning in the Real World vs. Video Games

Presenter: Jen Helms, Co-Founder, Playmation Studios Inc. When can video games provide learning that real world experiences can’t? When is a real world experience truly the best solution to achieve an educational objective? Is there the potential for video games to provide a bridge for what I term an “experience gap” that many students, young and old, face? By “experience gap” I refer to the opportunities that some are afforded based on greater wealth while others cannot, such as traveling to learn a new language through an in-country immersion program. Having taught through immersive play in Yosemite National Park and now as a developer of video games, this talk will explore the above questions from my unique perspective and through interactive examples.

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Jen Helms - Immersive, Playful Learning in the Real World vs. Video Games

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Who Is Jen Helms?

  2. Workshop Outline 1 2 Experiences and lessons learned teaching through play in the real world. Exploring what makes a great educational game and the education game/entertainment game spectrum. 3 4 Analyzing examples of concepts taught in the real- world and through video games. Dreaming up our own ideas around educational games

  3. Educational framework • Sense of place: designing games and additional teaching materials to provide a deeper connection to students’ surroundings. • Interconnections: highlighting how different components of the environment are connected and tying the experience back to their lives and community

  4. Bat and Moth Moth Bat

  5. Wonder Surprise Connection Fun Interaction Engagement

  6. Where might the experience fall short? • Missing opportunity to discover the inner workings of system processes • Missing opportunity for exploration and feedback

  7. Where do we start with designing a great educational experience? What system do we want the student to model in their head?

  8. • In what ways can the student inhabit that system? • How can it be represented, communicated, interacted with?

  9. How does that system, its representation, and the manner in which it's being interacted with speak to the student's prior understanding of themselves and the world they live in?

  10. How deeply can the student understand that system through its representation and to what extent does their learning translate into the real-world?

  11. Are all games purely educational or purely entertainment? Entertainment Education Sleep Furiously Stagecraft

  12. Cut the Rope

  13. Sleep Furiously

  14. Looking at photosynthesis as a case study Environmental Education = Race for the Sun Video Game = Reach for the Sun H2O+CO2+chlorophyll(in the presence of sunlight) -> sugar(glucose)+O2

  15. Race for the Sun C02 H20 C02 H20 Sun H20 C02 H20 C02 Plant Plant H20 H20 C02 H20 H20 H20 C02 C02 H20 C02 C02 C02

  16. Reach for the Sun by Filament Games

  17. Reach for the Sun Race for the Sun • Broader timeline • Deeper visibility into a plant, root system • Player is able to experiment, get feedback, and try again • Goal parallels reality for plants • Low cost • Benefit from intangibles • Laughter • Play • Teamwork • Familiarity with other childhood games

  18. Foreign language learning as a second case study Real-world playful learning = Study abroad programs Video Game = Stagecraft

  19. Stagecraft

  20. Stagecraft Study Abroad • Instant feedback about how language ties to the game world • Perceptual grounding • Low cost • Communication, both generating and processing language • Endless possibility for new vocab, slang, etc. • Cultural exposure • Personal development

  21. Let’s dream up educational games! 5 minutes brainstorm to discuss what you want to teach, what system will students be exploring? 5 minutes to brainstorm how the student can inhabit that system. How can it be represented, communicated, interacted with? Is it better represented through a real-world game or video game? 5 minutes to share your thought process and results.

  22. Email: jen@playmationstudios.com Twitter: @jenrhelms Website: http://playmationstudios.com

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