Finally Some Progress

Things are starting to move along in the course. I have been reading every spare minute that I have and am finding some great sources. The more I read, the more inspiration I get. I have come up with several ideas for assignments that we can use in the course. Some of them apply the game concept of looping, which means that we are revisiting the assignment when we tackle a new topic. I also put together my learning outcomes for each of the units that I am developing, which give me some direction as I am doing my research.

Monday’s Meeting

Molly and I had a great meeting on Monday. We came up with the idea of organizing the readings into a “library.” Within the library the articles can be grouped or tagged by subject. Some readings will be required, and others will be supplemental depending on the interests of the student, but it should be a great compilation of literature on the topic by the time we are done. We decided that we should do the same thing for videos. We can call it the “theater.” It will also have required and supplemental content.

Assignment Ideas

One of the things that we want the student to walk away with from our course is the ability to think like a game designer. Teachers are already designers, so it shouldn’t be too difficult a task for them. One of the ways that we will help them to do this is to look more closely at games. We are planning to have a web quest/scavenger hunt as part of the module on game elements. Once they are familiar with all of the mechanics, dynamics, and components, we will send them out to play games. While they are playing, they will need to look at the elements that are being used by the game. They will need to share a picture or screen shot of the game and explain the element and how it is being used/why they think that it works. They can earn points for each element that they find. They are required to find a minimum number, but we will make it a competition, so the person with the most “wins.” Don’t know what they win yet, but we will figure that out later.

The other exciting ideas was our looping assignment. At the beginning of the course, we will have them pick a game that they enjoy, and that has some complexity to it (i.e. not Candyland). They will describe the game, what they like about it and what they think makes it fun to play. When they complete the Game Elements module, they will go back and look at the same game from a game designer’s view point. They will look at the dynamics/mechanics/components used by the designer, then analyze how these work together to make the game a good experience. After the psychology unit, they can analyze the game from that view point, and also look at the elements of the game that they may be able to use in their work. Finally, after the Gamification Design Framework module, they will look at the game from the perspective of someone who is designing their own game or gamification project. They can look at what it does well, what it doesn’t do as well, and ways that can use what they have learned in their project. I really think that by digging deeply into one game, they can really get good insight into what they are learning in the modules.

Other Random Things

There were a few other things that we talked about in our meeting that are relevant. It is very important that the student comes away with a strong understanding of what gamification is and isn’t. It is NOT adding a game (like Jeopardy) to their lesson. This is something that we will need to ensure comes across in our lessons. Gamification is the use of game elements in a non-game situation, making it a very useful and flexible tool.

We also want to make sure that the students are reflecting on what they are looking and looking for ways that they can use what they have learned. I’m not sure that we came up with the best way to do that, but it is on the list of things to be included.

We spent some time talking about the project that they will do the second half of the semester. This will be somewhat of a challenge since we feel strongly that the project should be something that the student will be able to use in their work, and the diversity of the students will ensure that there will be a large variety of projects. We threw around a few ideas. I am sure that this will start to come together as we get more of a grasp on the content.

 Plans for This Week

Now that I have learning outcomes and the drafts of assignments, I can begin putting together my modules. I am hoping to start adding content to my modules in the course site. I am still struggling with the best way to deliver the content, since we know that ultimately it will all be part of the story/game, but I guess that I will just need to bite the bullet and get something in there. We can change it later as needed to fit the storyline.