Learning Through Game Design

''Welcome to Learning through game design, $name! '' You are a teacher looking to find novel ways to teach your subject area, mathematics, to your junior high school class of 12-13 year olds. You’ve heard about gamification – you’ve even tried some gamified activities with the class. It’s break time and you’re in the staff room talking with Lois, the head of Math at Chief Dan George Junior High… <style> img {max-width:50%; max-height:50%;} </style> <img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Humber_College_H_Building_%2838474534051%29.jpg"/> <hr> [[“Hi Lois, how’s your morning going? Can I pick your brains about using game design in class?”->Passage2]] <audio src="https://andrewetec544.opened.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/7574/2024/04/people-talking-in-small-room-6064.mp3" autoplay>

(set: $name to (prompt: "Firstly, let’s introduce ourselves. <br>I’m Twine, your nonlinear story guide.<br> What is your name?", "")) Let's get started! <hr> [[Continue->Passage1]]

Here's Michael Resnick, a colleague of Papert's, talking about Seymour shortly after his death in July 2016. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZoczAscGYeQ?si=fhdG9f_EunXRsHSa&autoplay=1" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen autoplay></iframe> <hr> (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]]

This is going to be a very short game if you ignore old Seymour. Go on! Give him a chance; you might even learn something… <hr> (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]]

Constructionism is rooted in the idea that individuals learn best when they actively construct knowledge through the process of creating tangible objects or artifacts. Unlike traditional instruction where knowledge is transmitted passively, constructionism emphasizes hands-on learning experiences that encourage learners to build, experiment, and reflect on their creations. Central to constructionism is the belief that learning is most effective when it occurs within meaningful contexts and through active engagement with the material. By engaging in the process of construction, learners not only deepen their understanding of the subject matter but also develop critical thinking skills, creativity, and a sense of ownership over their learning. Constructionism promotes a learner-centered approach where individuals take an active role in constructing their own knowledge and understanding of the world. <hr> (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]]

''Why Game Making?'' <iframe src="https://ctlr.h5p.com/content/1292244279783375188/embed" width="1089" height="252" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; geolocation *; microphone *; camera *; midi *; encrypted-media *" aria-label="Why Game Making?"></iframe><script src="https://ctlr.h5p.com/js/h5p-resizer.js" charset="UTF-8"></script> Of course, in most cases we’re trying to achieve more than one of these goals with the same activity. <hr> [[More research->Passage7]] (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]]

The term "digital native" was coined by Marc Prensky. Prensky posited that Millennials, Generation Z, and Generation Alpha cohorts can consume digital information quickly and comfortably through electronic devices and platforms such as computers, mobile phones, and social media because they have some innate ability, having been around the technology since birth. Critics of the term "digital natives" argue that it oversimplifies the relationship between young people and technology and perpetuates stereotypes about their digital skills and behaviors. Here are some common arguments against the term: <iframe src="https://ctlr.h5p.com/content/1292244283935312738/embed" width="1089" height="309" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; geolocation *; microphone *; camera *; midi *; encrypted-media *" aria-label="Digital Natives"></iframe><script src="https://ctlr.h5p.com/js/h5p-resizer.js" charset="UTF-8"></script> <hr> (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]]

Jensen and Droumeva’s study involved 67 Grade 6 students. They chose 6th graders because this is the point where many students start to think about courses they’ll take at high school level. The students in the study completed about 15 hours of game design activity using Game Maker Studio. Only about 1/3rd of that time was direct instruction – the rest was learning by doing. Students completed a pre-test designed to measure their general attitudes and habits towards media/tech and computers/programming, as well as a survey measuring their confidence in computer use. They also completed a post-test afterwards. <hr> [["What questions did the researchers want to answer?"->Jensen2]] (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]]

The research examined: Assumptions of [[“digital nativity”->MythOfDigitalNatives]] as it relates to playing games, and to [[pre-existing knowledge about computers and programming->Jensen 2a]] The relationship between gender and confidence in/attitudes toward learning computer programming, and [[gender differences in performance in the context of learning through game design->Jensen2b]] <hr> (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]]

Contrary to the ‘digital natives’ claim, the students reported that they preferred to communicate face to face. The researchers also state that “the oft-assumed relationship between ‘digital nativity or competencies’ and aptitude for computer science… did not correlate with either a high score on the computational knowledge pre-test, or with an overall high confidence about using computers and learning programming” p221 NOT playing games at all did seem to be associated with lower scores and lower confidence, however. <hr> [[The question of gender->Jensen2b]] [[Continue->Jensen3]] [[I’ve read enough about Jensen and Droumeva’s research, thanks ->Passage8]] (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]]

When it came to tech use at home, there was little gender difference, except that the boys were more likely to have access to game consoles at home. Among girls the Wii console was more popular. The study found that boys generally had a low opinion of girls’ abilities in computing and their suitability for a career in computing. Girls generally positively rated boys on the same measures. The reserachers created two personas to represent collectively the data reported in the survey. <hr> [[Ben]] [[Suki]] [[The question of pre-existing knowledge->Jensen 2a]] [[Continue->Jensen3]] (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]]

“Whereas boys learn by playing at home through having more access and freedom, the school classroom becomes the primary space where girls can ‘fail in a safe environment’” (Jensen & Droumeva, 2017, p.221) Lois: “So we need to improve our basic computer literacy education, since this is where the gender gap can be closed” <hr> [[Let's rejoin Seymour and Lois->Passage8]] (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]]

Many of the modern tools share a common ancestor in LOGO – if you haven’t read about it yet, you might want to [[take a look->LogoPassage]]. <iframe src="https://ctlr.h5p.com/content/1292244894455749408/embed" width="1089" height="594" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; geolocation *; microphone *; camera *; midi *; encrypted-media *" aria-label="Tools for Game Making"></iframe><script src="https://ctlr.h5p.com/js/h5p-resizer.js" charset="UTF-8"></script> <hr> [[Continue->Passage10]] (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]]

''Communities of Game Makers'' “Where and how do children look to share the video games they create?” (Burke & Kafai, 2014, p. 700) Community as a term has expanded in the Internet age, especially with the advent of social media and user-generated content online. We live in a time where the conditions are ripe for educators and students to take up Papert’s mantle and experiment with game design as a learning tool. MIT Media Lab’s Scratch platform is perhaps the biggest example of a game design community in action. Scratch enables another feature of learning through game design (and of web 2.0 technlogies in general) - Remixing. And other tools are also allowing designers to publish and share their games for others to play and adapt. <hr> [["This is all great, but how do I use this in my teaching?"->Passage12]] (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]]

Lois: “Again, Burke and Kafai recommend developing “practical and reliable assessments measuring children’s learning through game making.” There are some promising new directions in this area, including the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255618880_Glitch_Game_Testers_African_American_Men_Breaking_Open_the_Console" target="blank">Glitch-Testers initiative.</a> <style> img {max-width:50%; max-height:50%;margin-right:10px;} </style> <img src="https://andrewetec544.opened.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/7574/2024/04/Seymour_Papert.png" align="left"/>Seymour “One idea might be to offer your students partially designed games and have them edit, revise, or complete them, for example.” <hr> (set: $cameFrom to (history:)'s last)[[Back->$cameFrom]] [[End->Credits]]

''Images'' ''College'': By Jeff Hitchcock from Seattle, WA, USA - Humber College H Building, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71492475 ''Lois'': https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/ ''Seymour'': By Rodrigo Mesquita - https://www.flickr.com/photos/rmesquita/2544780949/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29162115 ''Young Seymour'': By Matematicamente.it - Matematica C3 Algebra DOLCE 1, Testo per il primo biennio della Scuola Secondaria di II grado, prima edizione anno 2014. Pagg. 344. ISBN 9788896354681; prezzo € 0,00; formato ebook pdf; licenza Creative Commons BY; editore Matematicamente.it: http://www.matematicamente.it/staticfiles/manuali-cc/algebra1_dolce_1ed.pdf, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46565196 ''Henry Jenkins'': By Peabody Awards - This file has been extracted from another file, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93031192 ''Isometric view of room'': Werdul8 PIxabay https://pixabay.com/illustrations/room-isometric-home-furniture-7572233/ <hr> ''Sounds'' AI Voices from ttsmp3.com