Description of Artifact #2
In Spring 2011, I was enrolled in EDIT 557, a class that focused on creating a learning module. For this class, I was asked to take all I had learned in my learning theory classes and merge it with everything I had learned in my technology classes. I developed An Elizabethan Journey based on an initial model created for my EDIT 484 class titled The Greek Adventure. (See My Completed Projects)
The Flash-based game is currently available below (view full version for best experience)
My Work
Generally speaking, 9th graders do not have a firm concept of what life was like in the late 1500s. The oft-neglected time period is very much talked about in English classrooms, but neglected in historical contexts. Still, students are required to read William Shakespeare in 9th, 10th, and 12th grades. They have been required to do this with little or no context. My goal was that this piece of educational software would be useful in introducing the world of Shakespeare to students. It is by no means a thorough look at the era, but should provide students with a solid foundation.
Theory
Video games are exceptional tools for the classroom and interactivity is the most essential component. Control/Role-playing seemed to be another essential part of video game design. Students want to feel like they are immersed in the story and have some modicum of control over their environment. While I didn’t have the technological know-how to design something too immersive, I tried to make sure that the narrative surrounding the story, A Journey to Elizabethan England was effective. Since the students who used my computer-based interface were all my students, I added a level of customization by mentioning things specific to my classroom. I made sure to include introductory photos, narration by me, and made allusions to other assignments/classroom procedures.
Another key component of successful games was that the game must be simple and easy to play. Kurt Squire’s study hit a huge roadblock when some students couldn’t pick up the nuances of the game, Civilization III (2005). Since I designed something solely as an introduction to the Elizabethan Era, it was very important, even necessary, to engage the learner by providing a simple, easy-to-use interface. As a designer, I took every step I could to make sure the interface was very intuitive with little to no ambiguity in what buttons to click or how to proceed.
When designing my game, I also looked at what made other games successful. While I didn’t have the technical prowess to render 3D graphics, (a staple of present-day video games) I made sure my game had a clear goal by mentioning it within the text at the beginning. As students navigated through the module, they consciously recognized the goal and what they are doing to achieve that goal. In designing, I arranged my questions so that the harder ones were further toward the end. To get students used to the interface, the very first choice was something simple- “Do you want to go on the adventure?” This question, provided zero instruction, but was a good opportunity to get students used to the interface and introduce the all-important concept of choice/roleplay. Since students should feel an escalating amount of peril as they run through the module, the module had the most difficult question at the very end.
The first article I read, which examined a successful interface, (Weerasinghe et al., 2009) introduced several ideas I implemented in my final project. The article discussed the use of graphics within a program and discouraged text on top of pictures. Since my project was a mix of words and pictures (mostly paintings from the Elizabethan era and photos of my trip to the Globe) I utilized their advice. The article also made solid arguments about bolding important words, so in my own module, I changed the color of possible vocabulary words that consisted of AP words and terms commonly used in Old English like “aye”, “thee”, and “thou”. Doing this hopefully gave struggling students a chance to look up words later and advanced students a chance to recognize vocabulary words in context. Scaffolding and adapting my work across a variety of students was essential.
Connection to Educational Philosophy
I created a Flash game where students take the role of your average Joe in the late 1500’s. The story is told in narrative form, asking students to progress linearly as opposed to going through a section and then returning to a main menu. Within the story itself, students were introduced to problems they needed to solve by going to websites and finding the answers. Upon giving a correct answer, the students were allowed to progress further through the story, eventually answering three short questions.
As teachers, we should make sure students are regularly engaging in exploratory learning. This module allows students to explore several different websites, find answers, and interact with the program, similar to how they might play a video game.
Areas of Improvement
The best recommendation I received was in regard to the audio. If you went beyond the required scene, there was no way to turn off the audio. While I could have easily added a, “stop all audio” button, I was unsure of where to place it, as the entire project had already been completed. Of course, the students could always close and restart the program if needed to.
Requirements
The main requirement is being able to view Flash.
References
Alessi, S.M. & Trollip, S.R. (2001). Multimedia for learning: Methods and development (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Blunt, R. (2009). Do serious games work? Results from three recent studies. eLearnMagazine, Retrieved from: http://www.elearnmag.org/ subpage.cfm?section=research&article=9-1
Squire, K. (2005). Changing the game: What happens when video games enter the classroom?. Innovate 1 (6). http://www.innovateonline.info/ index.php?view=article&id=82 (accessed February 2, 2011)
Weerasinghe, T.A., Ramberg, R., & K. P. Hewagamage. (2009). Designing online learning environments for distance learning. International Journal of Instructional Technology, March 2009. Retrieved from: http://itdl.org/Journal/Mar_09/article03.htm
