{"id":379,"date":"2017-10-02T00:02:15","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T07:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/?p=379"},"modified":"2017-10-02T00:06:43","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T07:06:43","slug":"getting-lost-in-gamification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/getting-lost-in-gamification\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Lost in Gamification"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-294 alignleft lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2017\/08\/WAIB.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"106\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 198px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 198\/106;\" \/>A post that explores the implications of abundant digital content for teaching and learning. The course exercise was to research a topic for a few hours, answer prompt questions about abundant content [given a reading &#8211; Weller (2011)] and provide an example of how the content could be developed for learning.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>by Fiona Prince and Nicolette Young<\/p>\n<h1>What we investigated:<\/h1>\n<p>We\u00a0decided to discover if there were enough resources available for someone to learn how to create a simple video game for adult learners. Specifically, we wanted answers to the following questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What software is available and recommended?<\/li>\n<li>How long would it\u00a0take\u00a0someone to learn how to create a game?<\/li>\n<li>Are there free\u00a0software\u00a0or free trials available\u00a0to practice?<\/li>\n<li>What technology do you need to create a game (software and\u00a0hardware)?<\/li>\n<li>Are there\u00a0active and supportive learning communities and user groups to help newcomers create\u00a0games? (Some\u00a0user groups may be too technical for the average person).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1>What we found:<\/h1>\n<p>A Google search on \u201ccreate video games\u201d returned articles that\u00a0claim\u00a0you do not need any experience to create a video\u00a0game. This seems unlikely because at the very least, a\u00a0person needs to know the fundamentals of how to use a computer.<\/p>\n<p>We also found that we needed to be more specific about the type of game we wanted to create.\u00a0The amount of effort and time required to create even a simple video game will depend on the genre, such as puzzles, shooters,\u00a0adventures, to name a few.<\/p>\n<p>Using the search string \u201chow to create educational video games\u201d, we found\u00a0a plethora of\u00a0websites and resources including:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Many commercial blog posts with lists (top 5; top 10)\u00a0of\u00a0how to incorporate games or\u00a0gamification into learning design.<\/li>\n<li>Learning industry and community sites such\u00a0as\u00a0Elearningindustry.com,\u00a0Articulate\u00a0E-learning Heroes Community, and\u00a0elearningbrothers.com, that contain informative\u00a0articles and tutorials.<\/li>\n<li>Recommendations for authoring tools that include gamification elements.<\/li>\n<li>Online classes to learn how to create educational games.<\/li>\n<li>And of course, a bazillion sites trying to sell their gaming software, assets, and swag.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h1>Confidence in the abundant content around our topic enabling us to learn about it:<\/h1>\n<p>We are confident that there is abundant content on how to create simple video games; however, many of the resources assume a high level of computer literacy and ability. Few resources provide a concrete timeline for how long it will take someone to create a game. For example, in his a<span style=\"color: #000000\">rticle\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/gaming\/how-to-make-a-video-game\/\">How to\u00a0Make a\u00a0Video\u00a0Game (Experience\u00a0Not\u00a0Required)<\/a>, B<\/span>randon Widder (2017) claimed it took ten hours for him to\u00a0create one level of a simple motion game;\u00a0however, he did not reveal\u00a0his level of\u00a0computer\u00a0skills. According to his bio, he is\u00a0a multi-media journalist. So, perhaps he is\u00a0not your average user.<\/p>\n<h1>Was abundant content enough:<\/h1>\n<p>Abundant content\u00a0actually\u00a0inhibited our ability to find the targeted content we were looking for. The industry articles and tutorials seemed to be the best starting\u00a0place while commercial\u00a0sites seemed\u00a0to entice readers\u00a0to purchase\u00a0their\u00a0software or services\u00a0through\u00a0the\u00a0information they provide.<\/p>\n<p>To sort through the abundant content for\u00a0all\u00a0the relevant information\u00a0took\u00a0a significant amount of time which must be factored into the time it would take to learn to create a video\u00a0game. Widder\u2019s (2017) ten hours could be doubled.\u00a0This supports Weller\u2019s\u00a0(2011)\u00a0view\u00a0that abundant content \u201cchanges the consumer\u2019s relationship to content, [as] it is no\u00a0longer the content that\u00a0is [<i>sic<\/i>]\u00a0scarce, but their own time and attention [that] becomes the key\u00a0scarce resource\u201d.<\/p>\n<h1>What\u00a0you need to make use of the\u00a0content:<\/h1>\n<p>First you need to know the offline elements for creating an\u00a0educational game, including the learning outcomes, audience, technology (e.g. iOS, Android, Windows). Then you need to discern between the real experts and the marketers\u2014those who wish to share their knowledge vs those who wish to sell a product.<\/p>\n<p>Weller (2011) refers\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0pedagogy of scarcity\u00a0in the context of classroom learning where the lecturer is the expert; there is one expert for many learners. On the internet, in order to\u00a0learn how to create a simple video game, we need to first unearth who the experts are before we can trust that the learning materials will meet our needs.<\/p>\n<h1>Ways we can make use of this content:<\/h1>\n<p>As instructors in an online course,\u00a0we\u00a0could design an assignment for learners to create a simple video using a\u00a0specific,\u00a0easy to use video-game software package.\u00a0We would provide\u00a0comprehensive tutorials\u00a0with worked-examples for learners to follow and\u00a0three scenarios\u00a0(relevant\u00a0to the area of\u00a0study)\u00a0to\u00a0choose from.<\/p>\n<p>We felt that by providing the\u00a0software\u00a0and associated assets (graphics,\u00a0sound effects, music), learners would be able to\u00a0focus\u00a0more time\u00a0on\u00a0their subject matter\u00a0than on getting lost in the abundant content on what software to use and\u00a0how to use\u00a0it.<\/p>\n<h1>References<\/h1>\n<p>Ertmer, P., &amp; Newby, T. (2013).\u00a0<em>Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective<\/em>. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.<\/p>\n<p>Weller, M. (2011).\u00a0<em>A pedagogy of abundance<\/em>.\u00a0Spanish Journal of Pedagogy.\u00a0 249 pp. 223\u2013236.<\/p>\n<p>Widder, B.\u00a0(May 8,\u00a02017).<em>\u00a0How\u00a0to make a video game (experience not required)<\/em>\u00a0[Blog post]. Retrieved from\u00a0https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/gaming\/how-to-make-a-video-game\/<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Image Source: &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/stocksnap.io\/photo\/3SB40Y1R8T\">Untitled<\/a>&#8221; by <a href=\"https:\/\/stocksnap.io\/author\/200\">Matthew Henry<\/a> is licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/stocksnap.io\/license\">CC0 1<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A post that explores the implications of abundant digital content for teaching and learning. The course exercise was to research a topic for a few hours, answer prompt questions about abundant content [given a reading &#8211; Weller (2011)] and provide&#8230; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/getting-lost-in-gamification\/\">Continue Reading &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-assignments-thoughts-sharings","category-lrnt523"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":389,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379\/revisions\/389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0028\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}