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Game play is a primary impetus for learning. It's no wonder that games have been used to teach
for nearly as long as games have existed.
Game design that motivates learners
Different types of games utilize different learner motivations. A game builds on the innate motivations of the
learner, whether competitiveness, curiosity, or creativity.
Games: the challenge factor
Quizzing games, games of physical skill, and multi-player games employ the competitive traits of the
learner by pitting the learner against a fixed scale of performance, usually another player or a
predetermined goal with a time limit. The result is a productive stress, within which the player
strives to complete tasks.
The game can force the learner to reproduce prior learning, or the game can
be engineered so that the completion of the task itself is a learning act. The stated difference seems
subtle, but within a game it is pronounced. It takes ingenuous design to bring about unconscious
learning in a competitive game.
Games: the investigation factor
By contrast, open-ended exploratory and experimental learning objects tap the learner's curiosity or
creativity. These games are more focused on the simulation of a spacial or conceptual reality, and are
not about scores or winning.
The most open-ended of learning simulations has no set objective at all.
These games do not force the demonstration of skills or learning; they facilitate inquiry. These games
often allow learners to explore, investigate, and manipulate the game environment. The only restrictions
are the conditions of the game itself.
Powerful learning solutions delivered by Web Courseworks
Web Courseworks designs and develops learning games of varying complexity. More complex games are
likely to contain several different types of learner motivation. Simulations may be reinforced with competitive
play strategies, adding motivation and suspense. Naturally, as complexity increases, so does production time,
and the complexity of online delivery and learner tracking. As the number of learning objectives increase, the
complexity of the game increases.
Online learning simulations and games produced by Web Courseworks are built in Adobe Flash. These learning
objects can be programmed to send and receive database calls, or report SCORM- or AICC-compliant data to a
learning management system.
Types of simulations to engage learners
Web Courseworks has categorized three game development types to better scope training projects. These include:
single-concept games, multi-concept games, and immersive games.
Single-concept games for learning
- Addresses a single learning objective
- Portable across courses or even subject areas
- Simulations are sufficiently realistic
- Mastery in less than an hour
Single-concept games are often small, modular learning objects. A single-concept game might teach learners
how to steer a car or identify the characteristics of a hydrogen atom.
Multi-concept games for learning
- Addresses more than one learning objective
- Less portable, more specific knowledge
- Simulations moderately realistic
- Mastery in an hour or more
Multi-concept games encompass more than one learning objective, but their scope is still somewhat limited.
A multi-concept learning object might teach learners the elements of car maintenance, or how hydrogen and
oxygen atoms interact.
Immersive learning simulations
- Addresses several learning objectives
- Often contains multi-concept games or mini-games
- Simulations are highly realistic
- Mastery in hours, days, or weeks
An immersive game addresses several learning objectives at once. An immersive game can in fact be composed
of many multi-concept games. An example would be a driver-education game in which the learner must demonstrate
driving skills, proper car maintenance, and knowledge of driving rules. Another example would be a game in
which the learner conducted a single oxygen atom through the process of photosynthesis and respiration.
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© 2007 Web Courseworks |
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