Michele D. Dickey
This study expands upon some of the ideas introduced in my first journal review. To reiterate: game design can inform educators on methods to engage learners.
According to Dickey (2005), Virtual worlds enable a variety of advantages for learners, including:
-Avenues for community support and the development of social relationships
-Peer role models
-The possibility for an appreciative audience to interact with players
-A safe, non-threatening environment which fosters experimentation and exploration of self-identity in a range of contexts
In addition, a well design virtual world incorporates the notions of intrinsic motivation, clear goals, imitation, learning and unambiguous feedback, fantasy, and progressive challenges. As participants engage with the virtual world, they simulate the activities of discovery, observation, trial and error, problem solving, and interpretation of complex visual symbols. These are vital skills for the modern workplace.
AIMS
To investigate how commercially popular computer games might inform instructional design by looking at methods, strategies, and devices that engage gameplayers, and comparing them to models of engagement in instructional design.
The study explores point of view (of the player), the role of narrative in game design and in player positioning, and methods employed in interactive design.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF ENGAGED LEARNING
There are key aspects to designing activities that enhance motivation:
Elements of engaged learning include:
Focused goals
Challenging tasks
Clear and compelling standards
Protection from adverse consequences for initial failures
Affirmation of performance
Affiliation with others
Novelty and variety
Choice
Authenticity
If the goal of learning is to get students to complete complex tasks that demand a sustained commitment over time, and require social and cognitive skills, then the learning process can be facilitated in a virtual world environment which, as noted above, utilizes these skills. In an offline setting, students are discoverers of concepts, and act to connect different ideas whilst interacting with a range of materials and resources. Teachers create learning environments that allow learners to become engaged in meaningful activities. The teacher acts as both content creator and guide.
Dickey notes that the theoretical framework of engaged learning emerges from cognitive and constructionist research. While he uses both 'lenses' in his paper, he doesn't define what they are to a level that I can grasp as a person unfamiliar with those terms. Basically, he states that "the focus of cognitive engagement is on the relationship between motivation, learning processes, and learning strategies for supporting self-regulated learning" (p. 70), while the constructivist perspective supposedly differs, but he doesn't state in what way, merely offering a parallel between game design and construtivist based methods. In any case, he contends that a combination of the two perspectives will be useful in his discussion.
Dickey explores three areas of game design that might be employed the in the creation of engaging learning environments: the trajectory of player positioning, narrative, and interactive choice.
PLAYER POSITIONING
As videogames moved away from the omniscient perspective found in early games such as pong and SimCity towards the first and third person perspectives of modern FPS and RPGs, there has been an increase in player engagement. Players become absorbed in the activities of a single character, only seeing what their avatars see. That is, the environment is presented to them in bits and pieces as the player encounters them, not all at once. This has implications in the design of learning environments, where research has shown that engagement increases with the introduction of first or third person perspectives. There are a few reasons for this. The ability to 'zoom in' on a particular character's point of view also facilitates the interaction of virtual objects in 3D space, potentially leading to a better understanding of the content. Additionally, virtual environments bridge the gap between concept and experience; codified information is replaced with first-hand non-symbolic experiences, thus learners are educated in what might be argued as a more tactile, 'natural' way.
NARRATIVE
Since narratives are traditionally linear, they interfere with the affordances available to gameplayers. This has been a challenge to game designers looking to incorporate stories into their games. One solution is to have branching narratives, while another solution involves keeping the narrative intact but allowing the player to experience the story in any order they choose. Another solution is to have Virtual worlds like Second Life that allow the user to create and share their own narratives - both within the game and externally (via reference) to the game.
Narratives in games is commonly told via backstory and cutscenes. They are most effective when they do more than just advance a story, such as when the player's actions has an effect on the story.
The benefits of incorporating narratives into learning environments is that "they provide opportunities for reflection, evaluation, illustration, exemplification, and inquiry" (p. 74). Narratives facilitate role playing and fantasy, the effects of which seems to aid comprehension. Narrative, due to its linearity, also serves as a tool to guide players through a complex multimedia environment. Dickey suggests that a narrative can be served to the player to motivate them, and the player can receive feedback through changes in the story's outcome.
He notes that videogames are sometimes designed around the techniques of spatial storytelling, employing the same kind of narrative techniques used in architecture. This notion of telling stories through architecture can be a useful metaphor when designing learning environments. It also allows players to construct their own journey within the environment.
INTERACTIVE DESIGN
"Elements of interactive design can include the various dimensions of a setting, the roles and characters within a game environment, and "hooks" that afford actions and feedback to the players" (p. 75).
The setting in games supports the narrative, constructs the gamespace and provides an immersive environment. The use of setting is already used in learning activities, e.g. case studies, project-based learning, problem-based learning, and anchored instruction. The purpose of creating a setting is to establish a macrocontext to embed the learning within complex and realistic environments. Game designers carefully blend five dimensions of settings to construct their worlds: the physical (size, edges, scale, and boundaries of the world), the temporal (how much is afforded to the player to complete the task, whether or not the world has a daytime cycle, etc), the environmental (game appearance and atmosphere, including cultural context and backstory), the emotional (characters), and the ethical (defining the moral aspects of the game). These dimensions of setting may inform the design of learning environments.
The roles and characters that players assume also establish a sense of immersion or ''telepresence''. Characters can help players empathize with others as well as motivate them to assume various roles. In order to immerse players within characters, game designers use a range of techniques, such as: "linking the character and environment, providing the player with choices, and establishing emotional depth through the use of symbols, dialogue, and through interactions with NPCs" (p. 76).
Hooks are choices that players make in the game. They both personalize and affect the experience of the gameplay. They might be used in simulations to teach cause-and-effect relationships to players. There are a range of different hooks, including action hooks, resource hooks, tactical and strategic hooks, and time hooks.
CONCLUSION
Dickey concludes with some questions for instructional designers. Here's a sample:
Where is the learner positioned in the environment (first person, third person, or omnipotent observer)?
How will information be revealed to the learner?
What are the physical, emotional, temporal, environmental and ethical dimensions of the setting?
Who are the main characters and how are the constructed (assigned roles or learner created)?
What type of chocies or hooks will help support the learning activity?
The distinction between games as entertainment and learning environments as education is perhaps not as strict as we might be led to believe. Games can teach certain skills while learning environments may be entertaining (as long as their construction is informed by game design).
Dickey, M.D. (2005). Engaging By Design: How Engagement Strategies in Popular Computer and Video Games Can Inform Instructional Design. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53, 67-83. doi:10.1007/BF02504866
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