In-class activity

Group members: Bil and Robin.

Our assigned topic was "communism".

Jot down three things that you feel would be criticl for people learning about this topic.

• Philosophy and key players
• Difference between capitalism and communism
• What countries are still communist

Choose at least two Gee principles that should be reflected in learning experience on that topic.

• #3 - Semiotic principle - Learning about and coming to appreciate interrelations within and across multiple sign systems (images, words, actions, symbols, artifacts, etc.) as a complex system is core to the learning experience.
• #5 - Metalevel thinking about semiotic domain principles - LEarning involves active and critical thinking about the relationships of the semiotic domain being learned to other semiotic domains.

Find at least two web-based games/simulations that would support some prt of the learning experience.

• http://thecapitalistgame.com/?pw-b=21162825&pw-c=9313

• http://digg.com/d13zY4

Final Game Play Reflection Questions

How did your gameplay contribute to your overall perspective on games/sims and learning?

America's Army was a source of frustration. I learned nothing about the Army. But I learned something from the frustration (see below.) ToonTalk made good use of puzzles, and that helped me to understand the importance of providing tools or techniques, and opportunities for mastering their use.

What did you learn in your gameplay that most effects how you might approach teaching/learning differently in the future?

In both of my games, I was frustrated when I did something right, without knowing how I did it. I think the same frustration extends to the classroom. In a math class, for example, a student may guess the right answer, and be relieved to no longer be the subject of scorn from his teacher or ridicule from his peers, but at the same time be frustrated because he doesn't know what he did right. I would use questioning and reflection to attempt to prevent that.

Baby steps. Here are one or two tools or techniques. Use them to solve these problems. OK, now let's move on to the next.... But don't make it too easy, or else it will be boring.

What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of your game?

In both cases, the lack of help was the biggest weakness.

In the case of "ToonTalk", the biggest strength was its use of puzzles -- an idea which I incorporated into my simulation.

To talk about strengths for America's Army would be to imply that I enjoyed the game. I did not. The only aspect of the game I enjoyed was target shooting.

Name two elements of your game that, if improved, would make for a much better game (in terms of engagement or learning or challenge or other)

One element only: Help.

Gee Chapters 6 and 8

Describe your reaction to Gee's cultural models approach.

I read the chapters several weeks ago. I wrote on the first page of chapter 6, "This chapters full of social commentary, etc. Question the status quo". Which is to say, his book (naturally) provides a platform for him to espouse his views and this is the chapter in which he does so. It is really a chapter on sociology rather than education. Some quotes...

"...video games are just as easy to design to allow you to play a sinner as a saint. (p. 147)" [So it's the message, not the media. Ok.]

"Cultural models are the tacit, taken-for-granted theories we (usually unconsciously) infer and then act on in the normal course of events when we want to be like others in our social groups. People who have no cultural models would have to think everything out for themselves minute by minute when they attempt to act. They would be paralyzed. (p. 153)" [An example of the sociology nature of this chapter.]

"Are cultural models, then, "good" or "bad"? They are good in that they allow us to act and be social in the world without having to constantly reflect and think. They are bad when they operate so as to do harm to ourselves or others but go unexamined. (p. 154)" [Not hard to guess Dr. Gee's political affiliation. And I agree, but we're getting off the topic of video games and education....]

"Hate groups like the National Alliance have long recruited members through the use of websites, white-power music, and books and magazines. However, there is concern, for just the reasons we have discussed, that interactive media like video games are a more powerful device than such passive media. But if they are, then they are potentially more powerful for both good and ill. (p. 159)" [This discussion reminded me of a program I heard on NPR not tool long ago about white supremacist groups passing out audio CDs with white-power music to kids at middle schools. Quite disturbing. I can see how such groups would be drawn to the power of video games for recruitment purposes.]

"Very often, if you are not very careful, you get shot and die without even having seen what direction the bullet came from. (p. 163)" [That's what happened to me with America's Army and was the point at which I felt I had suffered enough and I quit the game.]

"...progress was punishingly slow. (pp. 163-164)" [America's Army Escape and Evasion. Difference between me and Gee is that I had enough good sense to quit.]

"When we did accomplish our goals in fine fashion, I did not know how much or how little I had contributed to the "victory". (p. 164)" [So where's the learning?]

"In video games, losing is not losing, and the point is not winning easily or judging yourself a failure. In playing video games, hard is not bad and easy is not good. The six-year-old mentioned earlier was once asked whether easy or hard was better in a video game. Without a pause, he said hard is always good, easy is not. Would that children said such things about learning in school. (p. 175)" [This is really the whole point of Gee's book.]

"At one point she says to Solid Snake something that is not a proverb, of course, but is meant to have much the same effect: "Aren't you glad that you have the time to play a video game? Relax and enjoy yourself. ... Wouldn't it be great if we could say to children in school, when they are struggling mightily with hard problems: "Aren't you lucky you have the time and opportunity to learn?" and have them smile and nod? (pp. 175-176)" [Yes]

Considering the entire book, summarize what you believe Jim Gee's overall message is in one or two sentences.

Gee is not saying video games are good. He is saying here is something that is difficult and time consuming but holds children's attention anyway: what can we learn from that?

What do you say about the occasional critique of Gee's work that it is overly critical of traditional education?

Yes, he is critical, but I think that as a tenured professor at a he has earned that right. He might fend off some of that criticism by citing examples of better teaching. He might also discuss how his teaching has changed. I suspect most of his critics have only skimmed his book.

Describe two concepts or principles in Gee's work that most resonate with you.

In 1977 as a scout camp staff member, I learned about a teaching technique which was recommended by the BSA called "guided discovery". Much of what Gee says reminds me of guided discovery. A good gaming example is the notion of levels. Give someone a few tools or techniques, and "puzzles" which require the use of those techniques. Once those tools or techniques have been mastered, more complex tool or techniques can be introduced, along with appropriate "puzzles". I see this as guided discovery.

Continuing with the BSA metaphor, in the mid 1970s the BSA began giving out "Skill Awards" for accomplishing certain tasks. These were easier to earn than full rank advancements. They were kinda like "instant gratification." That's what the levels of video games remind me of. Maybe there needs to be more of that in education? And something other than letter grades and varsity letters? I don't know.

Game Project Progress Report #8

I just can't leave it alone!

In an attempt to make things more visual, I have added a new option to show lines which show the movement of data between the register and the buckets. The option is set by the popup menu (right click on the panel to see the popup menu.) The lines are shown only when stepping through the program (press Step instead of Run.)

Here's the popup menu showing the Show Lines option...


Here's the program with a line showing. The lines appear for one second only...


By the way, the program now stands at 3,528 lines.

MMORPG Reflection

How are MMOGs fundamentally different from other games and simulations?

MMORPGs bring together large groups users (learners) from remote locations. Consequently, MMPRPGs are Internet only.

How are they like and different from virtual worlds (like Second Life)?

MMORPGs are games or simulations, with a known objective. Second Life is merely an "environment". MMORPGs have non-playing characters (NPCs) which employ artificial intelligence (AI). Second life has other "real" players only.

Could you describe a learning problem in your environment that might be addressed by a MMOG? Describe what it would look like.

I can't think of a use for MMORPGs in my environment. The following phrases were used by the author to describe the benefits of MMORPGs: "support collaborative experience-based and exploratory learning approaches", "support learning through real-time experiences", "support collaboration and team-building skills", "a tool to aid students from different disciplines...to work collaboratively", "leadership training". I could not see this being used in my work place. I can see where it would be of interest to sociology and psychology teachers. As in Second Life, people can be who/what they want to be, and test other peoples' reactions to that.

I thought it significant that the author mentioned the importance of debriefing and reflection (page 60).

Gee Chapter 7

The main points of this chapter were (1) learning is social, and (2) learning is distributed. I don't really have much to say on the first point, but I thought Gee's discussion of the second point was significant. A few quotes:

"So thinking and reasoning are inherently social. But they are also inherently distributed, and more and more so in our modern technological world. By this I mean that each of us lets other people and various tools and technologies do some of our thinking for us." (page 196)

"In school we test people apart from their thinking tools, which include other people as well as texts and various sorts of tools and technologies. We want to know what they can do all by themselves. But in the modern world - and this is certainly true of many modern high-tech workplaces - it is equally more important to know what people can think and do with others and with various tools and technologies." (page 196-197)

"If we want to know how good students are in science - or how good employees are in a modern knowledge-centered workplace - we should ask all of the following (and not just the first): What is in their heads? How well can they leverage knowledge in other people and in various tools and technologies (including their environment)? How are they positioned within a network that connects them in rich ways to other people and various tools and technologies? Schools tend to care only about what is inside students' heads as their heads and bodies are isolated from others, from tools and technologies, and from rich environments that help make them powerful nodes in networks. Adrian wouldn't play a game in these circumstances, nor would most of the other players whom we have interviewed. Good workplaces in our science- and technology-driven "new capitalism" don't play this game. Schools that do are, in my view, DOA in our current world - and kids who play video games know it." (page 202)

In my work as a Java programmer, I very often need to go to the internet to find examples of how to do something. This doesn't make me a weak programmer. I would argue that my ability to find a solution to a similar problem, to read and understand the sample code, and to modify that code to solve my problem, is a difficult skill, and one which is of value to my employer. My reliance on the internet doesn't make me a weak programmer, it makes me a stronger programmer. The trick is to utilize the same techniques in the classroom; to encourage the use of distributed knowledge.

Some might call that "cheating". But I wonder how much of what we call "cheating" is a result of the social norms which we grew up with. Do we need to reconsider what constitutes "cheating" in today's world? For example, I once had a conversation with the secretary to the dean of the college of computer science at a major university. We were discussing comprehensive exams and how silly they are. She said the only reason the college of computer science used comprehensive exams was to catch all the people who cheated throughout their coursework, "especially the [members of one ethnicity]; they don't do their own work."

Indeed, members of this ethnic group have a tendency to work together on everything. It would seem to me - as an outsider looking in - that they are committed to each others' success. In their mind, they are not "cheating", but in the western mind, they are. One might argue that they are merely leveraging knowledge, and the synergistic result is that each is stronger because of it. Is that "cheating"?

I don't have the answer.

Game Project Progress Report #7

I decided to change the functioning of the ZERO and ONE operations. Previously, they moved zero or one respectively directly into a bucket. I've decided to make them move zero or one into the register instead, as this will be more consistent with the workings of the other operations, and will be more consistent with my goal of staying close to an assembler-type language.

I alse decided to change the wording on one of the menu items from "Audit" to "Prove It!" A student would use "Prove It!" to prove to his teacher or friends that he completed a puzzle. Since the puzzles tell you what numbers to enter -- no more no less -- I changed the report to include a list of all number which had been read for the most recent execution of the program.

Here's the new menu item (reminder: right-click to get the popup menu)...




And here's the "Prove It!" report...

PROGRAM

1. Zero E
2. Read
3. While Reg > E
4. Write
5. Read
6. Wend
7. End
8. _

LEVEL

Level is 3.

REGISTER

The register has a value of 0

VALUES READ

1. 3
2. 4
3. 8
4. 2
5. 0

BUCKETS

Bucket A is empty.
Bucket B is empty.
Bucket C is empty.
Bucket D is empty.
Bucket E has a value of 0.

RESULTS

1. 3
2. 4
3. 8
4. 2
5. Normal end.

Game Play Reflection #7

I am continuing with Toon Talk ... and I am very frustrated.

I was introduced to a new "character". Pumpy the bicycle pump can be used to make boxes larger or smaller. Smaller is useful so a large box fits the screen. Press F3 to call Pumpy.

I completed a puzzle which demonstrated that multiplication was just repeated addition.




I seem to have gotten past the robot programming problems I had last time -- remember to "suck", out of the thought bubble, values which will change. (In fact, it would appear as though you need to suck out anything which will change, including scales.)

When I got stuck on one of the puzzles, I was reminded "robots work faster when they are not being watched." So if I stand up and leave the room and come back in, the robot should be done with his (her?) task.

But only if he knows when to stop. I had to program the robot to add 1 to a block, and repeat 1000 times. So I started it, left the room, immediately came back, and the robot was on something like his 91,500th iteration. I cannot get it to stop.

I have searched the internet. I cannot find out how to control the number of iterations a robot makes, nor can I figure out how the "scales" work (used for comparing values). For example, in the diagram below, why do I have 56 on the left? I want it to stop at 24.


I think it is because I need to change the number on the robot's wand, but I haven't been told how to do it. (See the "99" on the image below?)


Consider Marty's comment in the following screen shot: "You know the magic wand doesn't always have the right amount of magic." Yes, I know, but you never told me how to change it!



I am so ready to be done with this aspect of the course....

Gee Chapter 5

I'm afraid if I write about a comment made in the first paragraph of the chapter, it will appear as though I didn't read the whole chapter. But I did! In fact, I've completed the book.

Gee said, "...humans are poor at learning for lots of overt information given to them outside the sorts of contexts in which this information can be used. ... Humans tend to have a very hard time processing information for which they cannot supply such simulations. They also tend readily to forget information they have received outside of contexts of actual use, especially if they cannot imagine such contexts." (page 113)

If I had not already believe this, the point would have been driven home this week with an experience I had. I spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings teaching Microsoft Access to an audience of six people. As is often the case with Access classes, the people attending the class are long time Excel users and though they are willing to believe that Access is the tool of choice for some jobs, they just aren't convinced it will be worth the effort it takes to make the switch.

I am reminded of a comment I once heard at training conference. This was at a time when WordPerfect was the top word processing program, and the speaker made a comment about word processing programs in general. He said, "A word processor is kinda like a spouse: if you have one which satisfies 90% of your needs, it's generally not worth upgrading."

That comment can apply to people who use Excel (rather than Access) as a database system.

I went through the first two mornings following the approved course outline with the approved course text. Anyway, the class was frustrated on the last day since they just couldn't see how they would do this on their job. So I asked each person what they wanted to be able to do. In each case, I was able in 20-30 minutes to show the class how to solve each person's problem. In one case it was getting data into Access from Excel, in another case it was getting data from multiple .txt files into a single Excel table, and in three cases it was creating the proper database design schema. Each person left the class anxious to try (to learn) Access.

I suggested to my employer that we approach the client about offering a day of one-on-one coaching sessions (four people each sign up for a two hour time slot.) This would be training in the context of each individual's work requirements. (Gee discusses "just in time" and "on demand" information on page 136. See -- I did read the chapter!)

Game Project Progress Report #6

There is now one URL only: http://www.billqualls.com/sim

To change levels, right-click on the panel and choose Level I, II, or III from the popup menu. At some point I hope to make the level selection more sophisticated (e.g. database driven).


I have also added an Audit feature: right-click on the panel and choose Audit from the popup menu. A dialog box will appear showing the contents of the code display, the register, the buckets, and the output display. For now, this can be used for printing your work.


The complete audit report appears as follows:

PROGRAM

1. Read
2. Store A
3. Read
4. Add A
5. Write
6. End
7. _

LEVEL

Level is 1.

REGISTER

The register has a value of 5

BUCKETS

Bucket A has a value of 2.
Bucket B is empty.
Bucket C is empty.
Bucket D is empty.
Bucket E is empty.

RESULTS

1. 5
2. Normal end.

Game Play Reflection #6

Having given up on America's Army, I have returned to Toon Talk. But this, too, proved to be frustrating. My task was to create the complete alphabet by repeatedly add 1 to a letter and appending that letter to the already existing string of letters.



But I couldn't remember how to train the robot, and there is no help. In desperation I went to the internet. Supposedly I could press F1 while holding an item (robot?) and get help, but that didn't work: the computer just made some sound indicating I had done something invalid. F10 shows a function key table, but it turned out to be useless as well. Finally I discovered I had to drop a box ON the robot (but NOT on his "thought bubble") to get it to run. But then it would do one iteration only. Finally, I went back to Marty (the Martian) and he said to use Dusty (the vacuum) to "suck up only the stuff that will change in the 2nd and 3rd holes." So I did so, and it worked. But it was painfully slow because I forgot the technique whereby I could skip the animation and go straight to the result.



What I find so annoying is that I could have saved a lot of time -- well over an hour -- if I could have asked someone a question -- not on the programming but on the usage of the robot. It was extremely frustrating! And sometimes you do the right thing accidentally, and you aren't sure what you've done so you can't do it again. What kind of learning is that?

Game Project Progress Report #5

I've made some great progress on BucketLogic.

• Level II has if/else/endif
• Level III has while/wend and zero/one
• Puzzles for all levels have been added to the Puzzles page

I am having some problems getting the program to change levels as seamlessly as I would like, so for the time being it will require three different URLS.

Level I: http://www.billqualls.com/sim
Level II: http://www.billqualls.com/sim2
Level III: http://www.billqualls.com/sim3

I have a friend whose wife is involved with a home schooling group. I'm going to ask her to pass it around to see if I can get some age appropriate feedback.

Have fun!

p.s. The program now stands at 3,039 lines!

Aldrich article

Describe at least two primary barriers to the use of these technologies in your setting and how they might be addressed.

The following comments by Aldrich were relevant to me. Some of my comments relate to my game project (Bucket Logic), while others relate to the development and/or use of simulations in the workplace.


(1) Free play versus guided play.

"How much do you help the user along?"

"If you guide them too much, the point of the simulation falls away. Now they are getting linear instruction again, and just mindlessly carrying out orders."

Comment: How much help, indeed. I need to give the user (learner) more credit for their abilities to figure things out. And if it's too easy, they will probably get bored.


(4) Sabbatical, Not Seamless.

"Training departments have been pressured over the years to reduce the length of their programs."

"Through customization and smaller pieces of content, we expect a piece of content, a single moment of understanding, to be delivered when and where we want it."

Comment: I have said before (particularly in the context of project management training) that most clients don't want training: they want the laying on of hands. They want a miracle.


(8) One "Level" at a Time

"The instinct for a simulation designer is to do everything."

Comment: This echoes the sentiment expressed in (1) above.

"These (Star Trek) games did not do well despite how narrowly they focused, but because of how narrowly they focused."

Comment: I am adding "levels" to my game. Each "level" will have a focus. Level I will be read, write, and simple math. Level II will be selection (if/else/endif). Level III will be looping (while/wend). By adding "puzzles" (which for the time being will be listed on the web page), the user can check their own mastery at each level.


(11) Role of Standards

"LMSs have a hard time tracking them."

Comment: I have seen in my own work the increase in complexity (read: cost) of eLearning or simulations when tracking is required. In the past, I have attempted to "negotiate" that away.


(12) Evaluation

"It will be harder to evaluate simulation-based content."

Comment: Here the author is discussing the ability of the simulation to satisfy the learning objectives. This is difficult because the user can, in some cases, take many paths to the same goal. And part of the benefit of simulations is that the learner can benefit from mistakes. Who learns more: the user who "gets it" on the first try (was it just dumb luck?) or the user who makes mistakes along the way? I think part (but definitely not all) of the solution is to really nail down the performance based objectives of the course before beginning design and development. That sounds so obvious, but I know that it is seldom done.

Game Project Progress Report #4

OK, I fixed the GUI. In fact, the interface is complete!


Program now stands at 1,621 lines.

I still have to add the execution logic (to run the programs which the user writes) and make it accessible over the internet (probably as an applet).

I think "BucketLogic 1.0" will be complete tonight. But I can't say at what hour...!

BucketLogic 2.0 will include IF and WHILE/WEND constructs...eventually.

Game Project Progress Report #3

I made some changes to the GUI for aesthetic purposes...only another Java programmer would understand how easy it is to screw things up when you do that. Stupid layout managers...grrr...

Game Project Progress Report #2

I spent some more time on my project today. In an attempt to make it as visual as possible, I have decided to replace the "keyboard" with a "keypad". Therefore, the entire simulation will be button driven.

I have no significant design issues to discuss...just a progress report. Here's what it looks like so far:


FWIW, this is 859 lines of Java code so far (that count includes blank lines, comments, braces, etc.)

Game Play Reflection #5

At 2:03pm I started playing. Yes, I am timing it as I am not willing to spend more than the requisite two hours per week playing – and I am counting the time it takes to write my reflection in those two hours so as to minimize my suffering.

I am still trying to complete the Special Forces Escape and Evasion training. And it’s so hard to see! After about a half hour I went to the internet to see if there were any good hints. One post mentioned adjusting your brightness. Huh? I can adjust the brightness? It didn’t say how, so I just started pressing function keys until I saw some reference to brightness. OK, at least now I can see.

So I continue to stay low and slow. But it doesn’t matter. The “enemy” always sees me. When you are seen, the game zooms in from the perspective of the spotter. Sometimes I can see myself clear as can be. Oops. I was out in the open (but there wasn’t any cover!) Othertimes, I can’t see any hint of me. I have no idea what they saw. So it’s back to the start again.

A couple of game forums mentioned that this particular part of America’s Army can take three hours to complete: one hour per checkpoint. I have yet to make it to the first checkpoint.
I continue to try and to retry. In this picture I have gotten farther than ever before by going through the trees to the left of the enemy camp. I managed to get here three or four times, but I always get spotted.


I check the clock. 3:03pm. I’ve spent an hour. An hour I can never get back. OK, new strategy. From this point on – or until I adopt a new strategy – I will spend one hour in training and one hour in combat; that is, if I can find a combat mission to take part in. What I really need now is an hour of bloody mayhem to calm me down abit.

So...I’ll try “Infantry – Border Missions”. But wait...it looks like I have to enter a multi-player game. It’s probably full of nerdy kids and frustrated graduate students. I can’t face this kind of humiliation yet.


But somehow – no, I don’t know how – I’ve stumbled on a “map” game where I just walk through the map, picking up “briefcases” with sensitive information. No one shooting. Just the wind howling and the occasional dog barking. I don’t need to be Special Forces to do this! So I walk around, and I am understanding how the navigation tool works at the bottom of the screen.

Here’s some nice desert scenery. This is good. Afterall, I like desert.


And here’s a briefcase, just before I press “F” (how intuitive) to pick it up...


And approching another objective (B, C, and D turn out to be beat up pickups.)


Having accomplished all of the objectives (and meeting no resistance at all) I have no choice but to start playing the game. I choose a server, and then I am required to enable something called “Punkbuster”, which requires about 5-10 minutes. Finally, I “pass” and I am fighting with the likes of “IMA HOE”. I can see that Punkbuster is really doing its job. I have to join a side and pick a squad (at least I think that’s what this is...)


And eventually I am in the game. So I start walking around. I see a few friendly forces running around haphazardly. I attempt to find an objective. About three minutes into the game, some asshole shoots me in the back. This is me dead...


And this is my corpse rotting in the desert...


Actually, it’s just bad rendering, but I think it looks like my body has been picked clean by rodents.

OK, it’s now 4:18pm and I’ve gone over my required time by fifteen minutes. Seriously, enough is enough. I am going to buy “ToonTalk”, which I reviewed earlier in the semester, and start playing that game in earnest. I am far more interested in an educational game that teaches “visual programming” than in this piece of crap. With all due respect to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, this Private is taking his leave now.

Gee Chapter 4 – Best chapter yet…

Describe an example of situated learning (meaning) in your video game.

First, I will give a couple of quotes from Gee as he describes situated meaning:

“In games like Deus Ex, the meaning of any event, object, artifact, conversation, written note, or any other potentially meaningful sign is up for grabs. …meanings in video games are ‘situated meanings; or ‘situation-specific meanings’, not just general ones.” (page 82)

“While video games actively encourage such situated and embodied thinking and doing, school often does not. In school, words and meanings usually float free of material conditions and embodied actions.” (page 84)

“Meaning is material, situated, and embodied if and when it is useful.” (page 87)

An example in my video game (America’s Army) is the use of various keys. Most important keys: “W” to go forward; “X” to cycle through standing, crouching, and crawling; and “F” to “use”, where the meaning of “use” is, itself, situational. “Use” can mean pick up a rifle, open a door, or flare your parachute.

Describe a learning experience in a traditional environment you have had that would have been much improved if it had been better situated, How could that have been done?

I think statistics classes are flush with opportunities for improvement! In particular, the notion of variation in a process. Around about 1996 I traveled to Christian Brothers University in Memphis to attend workshop for statistics instructors. We spent several days working with very simple hands-on examples which repeatedly “gave meaning” to the notion of variation in a process. The entire weekend we did nothing more complicated than calculate an average. I don’t think we ever calculated a standard deviation: no square roots all weekend! But I learned more about variation from those simple exercises than I ever had before. Indeed, concepts which were still abstractions to me finally became concrete. And this is after I had completed my MS in Applied Math. There were other teachers there with PhDs in Mathematics, and I know they felt the same way.

Any other thoughts?

Yes! Pages 84 through 86 are awesome! But especially the following quote, which is relevant to my experience at CBU as described above:

“Now someone’s sure to say: ‘But we cannot teach children everything they need to learn in school, things like science and math, in ways that make sense in terms of situated meanings and embodied actions. There just isn’t enough time, and, after all, they’re not all going to become scientists.’ There is a sort of good common sense in this remark, but the problem is this: There really is no other way to make sense. If all you know – in any domain – are general meanings, then you really don’t know anything that makes sense to you.” (page 84)

So true!

Game Project Progress Report #1

I have come up with a game for my course project. Actually, it's more of a simulation, and it's an extensive rework of a project I completed in 2001. It is a computer simulator, and the user can actually write and execute their own programs using a limited instruction set. It's written entirely in JavaScript, and it's a pretty cool program if you're into this kind of thing. Anyway, here's what the original looks like:


As you can see, the original was entirely text based. Well, I was profoundly affected by Gee pages 84-87, especially the comments about situated meaning, embodied experiences, and abstraction. It occurred to me that my computer simulator could be made less abstract if it was more visual. So I came up with a Powerpoint storyboard, the last slide of which appears as follows:

In this example I am using labeled bins to show the contents of memory rather than a text based "memory dump" as shown in the first image. I sent the storyboard to our professor, and he said to go with it, and so that's what I have done. He also suggested that I post my progress here. (I have an advantage over most of you in this area because I am a Java programmer by profession. And work is slow right now, so I have some time to kill.)

As I thought about it some more, I decided I want to make this as "visual" as possible. Now here is where you all have the advantage over me: I am not artistic at all! But the first thing I came up with is the use of buckets. Over the years I have often heard the term "bucket" used by programmers when referring to some place in memory to hold the contents of a variable. So I found a bucket on the web...

Now Java is a great programming language, but when it comes to designing the GUI; that is, laying out the screen, it is a terrible language. Creating the layout can be very time consuming, and usually involves a lot of trial and error. Anyway, here is my game so far...


Buckets will show their contents in text boxes. Buckets are "lettered" and the user will refer to the buckets (memory locations) by letter. I tried to come up with a clever name for my simulator, and the best I could come up with is "BucketLogic". What do you think of the name? I welcome your suggestions. I will keep you posted of my progress.

America's Army: Learning to crawl...

America's Army Game Play Reflection #4

Today I would continue training. First stop, Advanced Marksmanship. Oops. Not available. Apparently when I did basic marksmanship in BCT, I only qualified as Sharpshooter. I need to qualify as Expert to be eligible for Advanced Marksmanship. This requires I go back to BCT and requalify. I need to get 36 hits out of 40 shots. It was pretty easy once I realized I was supposed to press the right mouse button to get to use the iron sites rather than the "green dot". So then it was on to Advanced Marksmanship. This is long range guns. You have to use the scope (which fortunately I now know requires the right mouse button.) I hate to say it, but this part was kinda fun. I was most impressed with the programming that went into using these long range guns with scopes. You could hear "Bill Qualls as Soldier" simultaneously trying to breath and hold his breath as he attempts to steady the gun. The scope is almost on target, and then "floats" away as you expend your breath. I caught myself actually holding my breath! And I'm only using a mouse! I had to laugh at myself. How's that for an "embodied" experience? But I did qualify!


So then it was off to Special Forces training. The "Introduction" course was really bogus. You walk around to eight different people and listen to them tell about their job. When you listen to all eight, that's it, you're done.


So having passed the SF introduction, it's off to Escape and Evasion training. You fly in by helicopter and get dropped off in the woods and you have to make your way to three different objectives without being seen. Note that there is no instruction given.


"Slow and low", they tell you. "Stay off of ridges or places where you will be silhouetted." Does this constitute learning? For that matter, does the target audience know what "silhouetted" means? Anyway, I can mock as much as I like, but I didn't make it. Not even to the first checkpoint. I was spotted everytime. I find the simulated darkness very difficult: I don't think that's what Gee meant when he referred to am embodied experience. This is slow and b-o-r-i-n-g. I can hardly wait for next week to try it again....


Jason - I appreciate your suggestion that I change games. My son is wishing I would, in hopes that I will understand his obsession with video games. But I don't think it matters: as I've said before, it's not video games in particular, it's games in general. I just see it all as wasted time. Maybe the game will improve when I finish all the training modules. Note this is not to say I haven't gotten something out of this course. I absolutely have. For me, the most significant part of this course so far -- the big "ah ha" moment -- came with Gee pages 84-87. I would be happy to discuss with you if you'd like.

Student Selection #2 - Using riddles and interactive computer games to teach problem-solving skills

Source

Doolittle, John H. (1995). Using Riddles and Interactive Computer Games to Teach Problem-Solving Skills. Teaching of Psychology, 22(1), 33-36. Retrieved Friday, February 20, 2009 from the EBSCO Host database.

Abstract

"Cognitive flexibility, which is defined as the ability to generate several categories of possible solutions, is identified as the most critical aspect of creativity training. Word tables, interactive computer games, and riddles are used to develop cognitive flexibility. Preliminary results from analyses with quasi-experimental designs provide promising evidence that these methods are effective in enhancing creative and other forms of critical thought in college students."

Comments

I found a couple of comments which are relevant not only to computer games but also to e-Learning: "Students solving interactive-fiction problems on a computer generate a variety of solutions, but they may become frustrated on finding that not one of their solutions leads to progress toward the goal. (Comment: this has absolutely been my experience with America's Army! Also consistent with "anxiety" as mentioned in Carl's "Flow" paper.) This frustration can quickly build into discouragement and a sense of failure and must be countered by either the sequencing of task difficulty or the judicious application of hints." And, "To determine when and where hints are necessary, the software can record which obstacles are the hardest to overcome and where students seem to get stuck. The student can retrieve this information and improve the flow of the program." Wouldn't it be nice if, as teachers, we could track how long it takes each student to "get it", or if they even do? Well, with logging of computer responses we can do just that!

The author also presented empirical evidence for the effectiveness of using riddles and computer games for training students to be problem solvers. Several instruments were used to measure problem solving abilities. Students in the comparison groups did not show gains in the measures beyond chance expectation, but students in the experimental groups (which received practice with the riddles and computer games) showed statistically significant gains on all of the measures. "Independent analyses conducted by the Dean's Office at the University of California Medical School, Davis, have indicated an improvement for (the experimental group) students in grade point average, undergraduate dropout rates, and medical school admission and retention rates."

Reflection on "Flow" paper

Reading Reflection
Flow - A Theory of Optimal Experience: History and Critical Evaluation, by Walter John Carl III

Give your thoughts.

The article begins by posing the question, "Have you even been involved in an activity where you felt alert, in effortless control, unselfconscious, performing at your best? A sense of time and emotional problems seem to disappear, and maybe there is a feeling of transcendence, or oneness with the activity?" Several examples immediately came to mind. First, when I knew I was great job teaching. Second, when I knew I was doing great programming. And third, when I was doing great hiking. What a strange mix, huh? Teaching, programming, and hiking?

The interest in flow is intrinsic motivation. Why do different individuals perceive different activities to be so deeply satisfying? As with my "strange mix" mentioned above, research shows that "intrinsic rewards could be built into any activity, including work".

"The result of this (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson 1987) study showed that almost any activity in daily life can produce a flow like experience. Also, it showed that activities like studying and schoolwork were conducive to flow the same as typical leisure activities were. It was also shown that television viewing was the activity that produced the greatest amount of apathy in an individual." I enjoy going to school (though I don't particularly enjoy schoolwork) but I get very little enjoyment from television. In fact, we haven't had a television in our home for three years.

So why do so many people (seem to) enjoy TV? The article doesn't really address why some things create a flow experience for some people but not for others. (Beyond being too challenging or too boring.)

The author said "To remain in flow, one must increase the complexity of the activity by developing new skills to meet new challenges." I am not convinced this is the case. Likewise, "(Edward Deci) noticed that when people were given money for activities they enjoyed, they lost interest in those things faster than if they were not rewarded." Oh really? Let's test that theory. Pay me to hike. Please.

What are the features of some games that lend them to inducing flow?

I am not really qualified to answer this question since, as I have stated before, I am not really a game player. But I'll take a stab at it. Consider the model shown on page 11, with Skills on the x-axis, Challenges on the y-axis, and Flow along the diagonal.

I like the model: it is simple, "parsimonious". But if I were to attempt to apply the model, I would say that people tend to gravitate towards those games which, for them, fall along the diagonal.

Still, there are flaws in the model (as with most models) when applied to games. For example, I'm sure there are games which are not very challenging, and for which I have no skills, but I would doubtless find boring. Likewise, I'm sure there are games which are quite challenging, and for which I might have the requisite skills, but I would also find boring. Example: I am a pretty good chess player, but I find chess boring.

So I guess what I am saying is that I don't think some games are "better" than others at "inducing flow". I think people are just drawn to the games which "flow" for them.

Can you recall a situation in which you experienced flow? Now try to think of another in an educational setting.

As I mentioned in the first paragraph of this reflection, I have had flow experiences when I have been teaching, programming, and hiking. As for flow experiences in an educational setting, I have them when I leave a classroom feeling as though I have learned something, especially something that is relevent to me.

Do you think flow is antithetical to traditional learning?

Not if we follow the model presented by the author. The challenge to educators is to move learners towards the middle -- towards the flow diagonal -- to add challenges when they are bored, and to remove challenges (or provide hints, thereby lessening the challenge or guiding them to the solution) when they are anxious.

America's Army: I can now jump AND treat my own broken bones!

America's Army - Game Play Reflection #3

Describe your gamplay this week. What happened, what did you do, what did you find satisfying, frustrating, etc.

When we last left Bill, he was failing jump school...so I thought I would give it an hour before giving up on being Airborne. But it wasn't necessary. A mere 53 minutes of play and I was finally made a satisfactory jump, landing in the circle. What is frustrating is (1) I was never told what I was doing wrong, and (2) I still don't know what I did right. I think it is because I steered left ("A") before steering forward ("W"). Also, don't "flare" the chute ("F") until about 2 seconds off the ground. (I learned that part from Googling this, but I'm not sure it was significant and I'm not about to try it again!) What was most annoying about the jump was that everytime you tried (and failed) the game had to be reloaded and you had to stand in the plane for 30 seconds while you waited for it to fly over the jump zone. Grrr....

So on to Field Medic training. This was interesting -- basically it's three modules of first aid training, each of which is presented in a lecture / powerpoint format...



...followed by a multiple choice quiz.



I think you need 70% to pass. I was embarrassed when I (an Eagle scout and CPR trained) got 72% on the first section (Airway Management) but I was interrupted by a phone call and I couldn't figure out how to pause the presentation. So I paid closer attention on the bleeding and shock presentations and got 100% on those...



You cannot go back to a quiz and see what you answered wrong. I think that is a learning opportunity that was missed by the game designers.

I am now Airborne and Field Medic certified.



Identify a connection to Gee's identity concepts described in Chapter 3.

Honestly...

• Bill Qualls as Soldier was frustrated.
• Bill Qualls as Soldier was frustrated.
• Bill Qualls as Soldier was frustrated.

I did not at any point feel an identity as Soldier.

Describe how your game provides the elements Malone & Lepper detail and how they are important to your game.

Challenge - The jump was not particularly motivating. I thought I might get it eventually, and I did, but the motivation came from my own stubborness. The medic quizzes were challenging (motivating) in that I wanted to get as high a score as possible. I think it has more to do with self-efficacy.

Curiosity - I am curious about the future modules, which require successful completion of these training modules.

Control - In the jump training I felt I had almost no control. Would "A" really steer me to the left? When should I flare? In the medic training, I felt in complete control: walk to the classroom, listen to the instructors' presentations, take the tests. The medic training was much more motivating that the jump training.

Fantasy - The whole thing is a fantasy, and I personally don't find that motivating at all. Please understand -- I'm not complaining. I have gained a lot from the Gee book so far, and from the ToonTalk game I wrote about earlier. I don't care for fantasy literature or fantasy movies, so it is no surprise (to me) that I don't care for this game. And it's not even of the fantasy genre! But I will persevere...until I am honorably discharged in May.

Gee Chapter 3

Give your thoughts.

I enjoyed this chapter (more than chapter 2, but less than chapter 4), and its tripartite identity model.

Can you recall or imagine an experience you have had that fits this tripartite identity model?

An example would be my experience in Boy Scouts. There is the virtual identity (Bill Qualls as boy scout), the real world identity (Bill Qualls as boy scout), and the projective identity (Bill Qualls as boy scout). The projective identity is one which educators should be most concerned with: it is what leads to the semiotic domain discussed in chapter 2 and the embodied meanings discussed in chapter 4.

Choose two principles summarized on page 67 and describe briefly how you might or have used them in your educational setting.

11. Achievement Principle. For learners of all levels of skill there are intrinsic rewards from the beginning, customized to each learner's level, effort, and growing mastery and signalling the learner's ongoing achievements. (This reminds me of ranks in scouting, and belts in tae kwon do.)

14. "Regime of Competence" Principle. The learner gets ample opportunity to operate within, but at the outer edge of, his or her resources, so that at those points things are felt as challenging but not "undoable". (Example from scouting: you learn knots before learning lashings, and swimming before life saving. Example from tae kwon do: you learn a round house kick before an autobahn kick, and single kicks before kick sequences.)

Malone and Lepper "c" the light, (boo)

Describe Malone and Lepper's point in three sentences or less.

Malone and Lepper are concerned with "the design of instructional environments that are intrinsically motivating; that is, environments in which people are motivated to learn in the absence of obvious external rewards or punishments (page 223)."

Identify a game (digital or not) that you have played that exhibits the four individual intrinsic motivational elements (challenge, curiosity, fantasy, control).

You should know by now that I'm not much of a game player - digital or otherwise. About as close as I can come is Freecell.

Challenge.

Relevant quote: "People prefer an optimal level of challenge. Activities that are trivially easy or impossibly difficult will be of little intrinsic interest (page 231)."

It is certainly challenging: each "deal" is different, and though it has never been proven, the thought is that every game is solvable. I think I have solved just about every Freecell game I've attempted. I have certainly had to start over. And there are those which I have quit because of other tasks I needed to tend to.

Curiosity.

Relevant quote: "Curiosity is stimulated by an optimal level of informational complexity or and optimal level of discrepancy or incongruity from present expectations and knowledge."

Given this definition, I cannot see any curiosity in Freecell. (Curiosity can be easily confused with challenge.)

Control.

Relevant quote: "There seems to be considerable agreement that it is the perception of control, rather than the objective level of actual control, that is the important psychological variable of interest (page 238)."

I suppose there is an element of control to Freecell: I get to choose the cards I move. I guess in the gaming sense, the opposite of control is random. I am in control of the outcome of the Freecell game: there is nothing random about it beyond the initial dealing of the cards.

Another relevant quote: "In fact, there is evidence that even an illusion of control may often produce powerful effects (Langer, 1975). Although we would not recommend it as a design strategy, it seems possible that even response-independent programs that appear to have been responsive to user input would produce enhanced levels of intrinsic motivation (page 239)."

This would appear to have significant relevance to the development of e-Learning courseware.

Fantasy.

Relevant quote: "We define a fantasy environment as one that evokes mental images of physical or social situations not actually present (e.g., darts and balloon or being the ruler of a kingdom). We believe such fantasies contribute to intrinsic motivation in several ways (page 240)."

Beyond the abstraction of a deck of cards, there is nothing "fantasy" about Freecell, though it does remind me of the concept of "amplification of input" that was discussed in class. Specifically, I say new game and -- poof -- the cards are all dealt.

Identify a situation you have experienced in a traditional learning experience that provided these elements.

I would have to go back to Boy Scouting:

• Challenge - advancement requirements become more difficult with each rank.
• Curiosity - wondering what the more senior scouts know.
• Control - some merit badges are required, but some are of the scout's choosing.
• Fantasy - the high adventure aspects of camping and hiking; "roughing it".

America's Army: This white man can't jump

America's Army - Game Play Reflection #2

This is my second reflection on my game play time with America's Army. I sat down to play, reluctantly, at 7:53am. I said I would give it two hours. I must complete the shoot house to graduate from BCT (Basic Combat Training). I need 10,000 points to get out. I tried repeatedly.

8,100
6,700
7,600
5,600 (Will I ever get out of here? I can't tell the good guys from the bad guys!)
7,100
8,200
10,500 (Finally!)



So now I can go on to additional training. But wait! The menu says they are all still unavailable to me! Turns out my results from the shoot house were not recorded. Here we go again....

7,900
7,000
4,800 (Oh dear God!)
10,400 (Oh thank you God!)

Somewhere in these latter attempts I realized that I am supposed to press "F" after viewing my results in order to Save the results or to Retry the game. I found this out by mistake -- the "F" is the general purpose "Use" key and is used to skip instructions, pick up your gun, open doors, and apparently, open menus. Knowing this in advance would have saved me a lot of time which was spent reloading the game.

This sucks.

My son tells me it's my own fault for being too cheap to buy a "real" game. I should have sent the kid to military school.

But at least I am out of BCT. On to Airborne training. First stop is the Tower Jump. I completed this on my first try. Not sure how.

Now I need five (oh no!) live jumps. After almost an hour of trying, I have yet to complete one of them successfully. I have never been told what I am doing wrong, only that each jump is "totally unsat". I cannot seem to land in the circle. The "A" key is supposed to steer left, but doesn't appear to be doing so.


I guess that's my criticism with this game (I don't know if it applies to other games as well): I don't really know what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong. And what should I do to improve. Is it really appropriate to fail a task without knowing why, or to complete a task without knowing how? That certainly wouldn't fly in education.

I will continue to maintain a semi-open mind about this...but only for two hours per week.