How to make games, media tools and interactives that don't stink
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The document discusses effective educational game design, emphasizing learner engagement and inquiry-based learning. It outlines a model for designing games that consider audience needs, learning environments, and desired outcomes, while debunking myths about educational methods. The document also critiques common pitfalls in educational game creation and stresses the importance of integrating teaching and game design.
How to make games, media tools and interactives that don't stink
- 1. How to m a ke games, media tools interactives and t h a t don ’t stink. Ba r bar a C h a m b e r l i n • bc hamber@nmsu.edu
- 8. how do you think people learn?
- 9. learning external little answering from memorization rewards guidance questions experiences succeed lots of opportunities positive at one thing discipline guidance to fail reinforcement then the next reading teaching opportunities asking watching fun others to reflect questions observing understand why and internal adversity set own goals consequences how they motivation are learning
- 10. opportunities to ask questions discover new things reflect on what how do I I’ve learned find good games? understand concepts share what I know with others how does this app or game facilitate learning?
- 11. what I see when p e o p l e learn sustains interest long enough to reach understanding driven by learner’s interest opportunity for learning offered in appropriate place and time gives practice and application when needed is relevant
- 12. what I see when p e o p l e learn hard enough when learners want to learn something designing learning experience very difficult when they don’t we have to use other tools to drive learning
- 13. How do we make educational experiences STINK? that
- 14. What do we want the learner to be able to do? inquiry-based learning create an environment have them do it where they decide & reward them how to do it themselves gamification
- 15. myths of educational design It SEEMS e d u c a t i o n a l , so it must B E .
- 16. myths of educational design I f t h ey HEAR IT they will L E A R N it.
- 17. myths of educational design Learn what I want you to know in the way it is most convenient for me to teach.
- 18. I h a v e a n IDEA great for a game .
- 19. I h a v e something that must be learned, and I’m not sure how.
- 20. let’s hear it
- 21. define design prototype idea refine for rethink the communicate thing make the audience thing environment for use outcomes platform game, sim, or interactive
- 22. E D U C AT I O N A L game designm o d e l math: multiple representations of Start with... numbers, numberline, order of operations • Broad educational goals. 6th graders lacking conceptual understanding + parents and teachers • Any of the following: • audience (age, info, existing knowledge) • use environment (where, by whom, seat time, platform) • budget RCT in classrooms • timeline 4 years
- 23. E D U C AT I O N A L game designm o d e l Food safety to mid schoolers: Start with... temperature, handwashing, separation • Broad educational goals. • mid schoolof the following:- just learning to cook Any kids in class or home • audience (age, info, existing knowledge) • use environment (where, by whom, seat time, platform) • budget at home by in class, afteron web, 20-30 mins themselves, school • timeline 16 months
- 24. E D U C AT I O N A L game designm o d e l Start with... ATV safety to teenagers. • Broad educational goals. • Any of the following: kids 8-18, never ridden, don’t own ATV • audience (age, info, existing knowledge) • use environment (where, by whom, seat time, platform) • budget at home by themselves, on web, 20-30 mins • timeline 6 months
- 25. what do they already know? why this audience? self-directed or teacher led? audience why aren’t they learning this another way? why would they want to use this?
- 26. what types of what other computers will learning be used to access what other strategies will be this? things will be used before, with vying for the or after this? user’s attention? how long will this be used for? environment where used what is learner’s will users return motivation to use? who will be to it repeatedly or with the user just use once? when this is used?
- 27. what does work with other approaches? What would this do? what isn’t working with other why is technology approaches? Why? needed? How is this better than other approaches? outcomes what needs to be practiced or understood? conceptual understanding? practice or application? after using, what can the user do? behavior change?
- 28. E D U C AT I O N A L game designm o d e l ... what doesn’t work: • game makers serve as educational designers • educators make their own games educators developers design make
- 29. To make the best educational games... don’t try to just teach, don’t try to just make a game, think about how to design a learning experience
- 30. $ No one will pay you to make a game. Ask for money to educate. shape attitudes. change behavior.
- 31. Continuum of Development Demographics Calculator Food Safety Sim iPhone App Web-Based Interactive Landscaping Tool Database (Web and Mobile) $ $$$ Exergaming Case Studies 3 Minute Videos Financial Literacy 2-10 hour game
- 32. Technology b e t t e r . doesn’t make it mobile devicer . Being on a doesn’t make it bette Being better makes it better. -- Barbara Chamberlin, Educational Designer
- 33. How to m a ke games, media tools interactives and t h a t don ’t stink. Ba r bar a C h a m b e r l i n • bc hamber@nmsu.edu
Editor's Notes
- #2: instuctional design process - sabbatical\n\nguiding questions, into user testing.\n
- #3: We’ve gotten pretty good at teaching weird content... stuff that you might not think you need to know, stuff that you prolly won’t learn else where... stuff most people don’t want to teach you... so it makes snese to go to math which is stuff you need to know but may not want to learn, people want to teach you but may not know how. \n
- #4: vocabulary is very casual... they answer questions, they test and answer. We don’t tell them what a hyptohesis is. We don’t have them read about independent and dependent variables... ist’s scaffolded.\n
- #5: \n
- #6: This is a diner dash... time management. \n
- #7: \n
- #8: \n
- #9: \n
- #10: The truth is... you don’t need to know how I think learning happens, and I don’t need to know how you think learning happens, but you need to know how you think learning happens, and apply it in a meaningful way.\n
- #11: \n
- #12: If these conditions are met... a magazine article on an inflight magazine may be all that is needed... it can be educational... but too often, we design from our perspective of what we want to teach, rather than what the learner’s perspective is, of what they want to learn... But of course... our job is to teach content to people they don’t necessarily want ot know, certainly, don’t think they need to know, may not even understand that they don’t know it.\n
- #13: when they want to... that is what eXtension is... content there for people who are looking for it... are driven by it, and curious and hungry and are asking the right questions... BUT... OUR jobs have to move beyond that. When they don’t want to learn it or don’t know they don’t know it, or don’t know that that knowledge is even out there. \n\nWe drive learning with incentives, sure... but what we want to create are experiences. Experiences of humor or challenge or success or visualization or contextually relevent moments. Things that either convince people they do need to learn it, or provide opportunity to learn it in a way that is meaningful at the time so they have it when they need it later. \n
- #14: How do we create educational experiences that stink? \n
- #15: \n
- #16: We design it... we think putting educational content into a game of jeopardy, or simply adding content to a game does the trick. Just because it seems educational doesn’t mean it actually changes behavior or leads to knowledge. \n
- #17: \n
- #18: We design it... we think putting educational content into a game of jeopardy, or simply adding content to a game does the trick. Just because it seems educational doesn’t mean it actually changes behavior or leads to knowledge. \n
- #19: Our ideas are a starting point, but we don’t think about them in terms of what makes a good game, what is a good experience...w e think about what could be a game, or what is like a game we’ve played and how we could maybe throw education into it... it may not be a good game... it may just be a game we’ve played and we can see how it is adapted. Regardless... \n
- #20: Our ideas are a starting point, but we don’t think about them in terms of what makes a good game, what is a good experience...w e think about what could be a game, or what is like a game we’ve played and how we could maybe throw education into it... it may not be a good game... it may just be a game we’ve played and we can see how it is adapted. Regardless... \n
- #21: \n
- #22: \n
- #23: You need to start with some of this, so you know who you need on your team. Braod educationa goals... not all of this...s ome needs to emerge. We budget games like we buy houses... \n
- #24: You need to start with some of this, so you know who you need on your team. Braod educationa goals... not all of this...s ome needs to emerge. We budget games like we buy houses... \n
- #25: You need to start with some of this, so you know who you need on your team. Braod educationa goals... not all of this...s ome needs to emerge. We budget games like we buy houses... \n
- #26: \n
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- #28: \n
- #29: - We know what doesn't work:\n- designers hand designs to developers and tell them to  'make it' (so much is lost when they don’t design together)\n- game makers create educational games without understanding the content and pedagogy (they don’t know best practices and teach the way they were taught)\n- educators make games without understanding game design (they are wasting time on the wrong stuff, and often doen’t understand games)\nNot sure this is fair... I certainly use a different blended approach... but it isn’t the teams that are the primary problem, but the educational approach. game makers can have insight on education, educators can certainly have insight on games... it isn’t the teams... but the lack of the collaboration between, and the lack of a process that helps keep them on track. This makes me happy... that, having spent 20 years refining and defining our approach, these whippersnappers with a mere 4, 6, 7 years experiene haven’t beat me to the punch. So, here’s what we do. \n
- #30: and to do this, you have to start with what you want your learner to do. Now where you want a game delivered, not that you even want a game, not that you want to be on the iPad, not that you have a game idea... but what you want your learner to know or do... \n
- #31: \n
- #32: We don’t usually do $15k apps\n
- #33: \n
- #34: instuctional design process - sabbatical\n\nguiding questions, into user testing.\n