Learn by Doing in Virtual Environments Digital Games Virtual Worlds Augmented Reality

1. Learn by Doing in Virtual Environments Digital Games Virtual Worlds Augmented Reality Presented by: Susan Conrad, Susan Dass, & Debra Moore

2. Learn by Doing: Digital Games Presented by: Susan Conrad

3. Agenda • Game Definition and Demographics • Gamers and their communities • Game Design and Pedagogy • What we can learn from MMORGS

4. Digital Games: What’s all the Fuss?

5. Who is Playing Digital Games? • 72% of American Households • Average game player is 37 and has been playing for 13 years • 55% of heads of household play games on mobile devices • $16 billion in software revenue 2010 • 100-135 of the Fortune 500 will use games for employee education • (Entertainment Software Association 2011)

6. Components of Educational Games • Be important • Be easy to understand and interesting but not distort the learning process • Be forgiving - not penalize for wrong answers • Be WINNABLE - allow for multiple winners and recognizing the gain of all participants Gredler (1996)

7. What Can This Guy Teach Us?

8. MUD Characteristics (Multi User Design, Dungeon or Dimension) • Can be complex to learn • Sophisticated user interfaces • Game difficulty increases with each level of accomplishment • Social interaction and recognition • MMORGs, First Person Shooter Games, RPGs

9. What Makes RPGs Special? • Active Engagement • Collaboration • Rich Resources • Timeless • Player specific • Encourages Assessment – who wins? • Failure is OK and expected • Creativity encouraged

10. Real Life MMORPGs • America’s Army • Emergency Preparation • Government Leadership Training • Navy policy game • Marriott Careers • Healthy Apps • DimensionsM

11. Collaborative Learning

12. Game Design Components

13. Cognitive Affordances of MMORPGs • Avatar • Select Best Plan • Break the mission into tasks • Quest • The roles • The rules

14. Finding Love Virtual or Reality?

15. In Our Quest for Knowledge: Lessons Learned

16. Learn by Doing: Virtual Worlds Presented by: Susan Dass

17. Agenda • Definition and types of virtual worlds • Inherent characteristics and capabilities • Peer-reviewed research examples: • Pedagogy, Domain, Activities, Findings • GMU example

18. Definition and Types • 3D, online, persistent, interactive environment • accessible by many users simultaneously • Role-playing, working, training, mirror, or social • Emphasis on communication, community building, • and ability to create in-world artifacts There Active Worlds Second Life

19. Inherent Characteristics Presence, Awareness, Community, Immersive Search Search Friends Search Friends Inventory Search Friends Inventory Maps Search Friends Inventory Maps Chat Search Friends Inventory Maps Chat Avatar Search Friends Inventory Maps Chat Avatar Snapshot Text Chat Voice Avatar

20. Other Capabilities • Open a web browser • Sync with a Learning Management System • Conduct a survey • Present information… static or interactive • Supports files: xls, ppt, pdf • Use of space and time • Create artifacts

21. Research Examples See: Shen & Eder, 2009; Wagner & Ip, 2009; Wang & Braman, 2009; Wang, Song, Xia, & Yan, 2009; Dreher, Reiners, Dreher, & Dreher, 2009; Jarmon, Traphagon, Mayrath, & Trivedi, 2009

22. Research Examples: Findings • Positive attitudes as a learning environment • Motivated to learn • Felt part of a community, sense of presence • Required a steep learning curve • High effort level did not reduce learning value • Talked more to peers and instructors • One computer science: 14% increased grade

23. Research Examples: Recommendations • Align learning objectives with activity • Activity commensurate with skill capability • Use technology commensurate with need • Improve collaboration tools • Use space to denote topics or purpose

24. George Mason University: Economics • TerraEconomicus • Private, 3D, virtual world, Second Life platform

25. George Mason University: Economics

26. George Mason University: Economics • Second Life Field Trips

27. George Mason University: Economics Experiential Activity: Hurricane Island

28. Student Perceptions Second Life made learning more interesting. Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree My engagement in this course increased because of Second Life. My learning increased because of Second Life. Using Second Life as a learning environment was a good idea. N = 8

29. Perceived Ease of Use Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree I was able to access Second Life off campus without frustration. Second Life was easy to use. Moving my avatar around in Second Life was easy. I was aware of what was going on while in Second Life. Communicating with others in Second Life was easy. N = 8

30. Behavioral Intentions Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree I would take another course that uses Second Life. I intend to use Second Life on a personal basis. N = 8

31. Conclusion: Virtual Worlds • Affords learn by doing pedagogies • Supports domains and activities • Results in positive student perceptions • Requires addressing adoption obstacles • Illustrates learning as an experience

32. Learn by Doing: Augmented Reality Presented by: Debra Moore

33. Augmented Reality (AR) • Examples & definitions • Issues • Learning with AR • Living with AR • Conclusion

34. How Cool is This? http://youtu.be/9DNVa3Npt0Q Virtual data combined with what we see in the real world, for the purpose of enhancing the information we perceive with our senses (Horizon Report, 2010)

35. The Long Nose of Innovation Growth of an idea Invention Refinement & Augmentation Traction

36. Technical Issues

37. Other Issues

38. Improved Learning Comprehension up Generalization up Attention up Scores up Maintenance time cut in half

39. Supportive/Guided The mother of all performance support tools Cognitive Apprenticeship

40. Situational Learning Immersive Environment Alone or in a group Actively gather & process info

41. Potential of AR at DAU? 2010 Efficiency initiatives • Catalogs • Multiple overlays • Compare features • Exploded views • Pictures/speeches • Auxiliary information

42. Living With AR Email:mooreamazingar Blog: augrealinfo.wordpress.com

43. Conclusion When and Why? Digital games Virtual worlds Augmented Reality QR Code and link to 2-minute video summary provided on next slide

44. Learn by Doing in Virtual Environments The End Access a 2-minute video summary by pointing your cell phone at one of the QR tags above. Color tag reader at http://gettag.mobi. Black and white QR code reader at http://reader.kaywa.com.