Use of Game Environments in a Postgraduate Blended Learning

Programme

Mari Cruz García, Kuwait Scotland eHealth Innovation Network (KSEHIN), School of

Medicine

Jim Piggot, TPLD Ltd.

‘Gamification’ ?

‘Edutainment’ ?

‘Virtual worlds’ ?

‘Game environments’ ?

‘3D learning

environments’ ?

Some useful definitions…Gamification is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts, such as education, to increase the engagement, participation, motivation and fun of participants (Deterding et al, 2011)

Game environments are rule-based learning environments with a variable and quantifiable outcome, to which the learner feels attached. The learner is asked to perform certain tasks (game) in order to influence the outcome and the consequences of the task are optional and negotiable (Juul 2003)

Game based pedagogy are learning models aimed to transform non-game activities into ‘game-like’ ones (Pivet 2009)

Developing creativity and transferable skills (team work, communication, problem solving,etc)

Engaging, motivating and rewarding student (i.e. Badge system)

Offering a space for leaders to naturally emerge

Pros

‘Chocolate-covered broccoli’ fiasco: Empirical evidence of effectiveness of games as learning environments (O’ Neil 2005) ?

Can the new acquired skills and knowledge be applied to wider educational contexts ?

Drill-and-practice game environments do not foster the creation of ‘affinity groups’ in which deep learning can take place (Gee 2009)

Cons

The ‘Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma/MSc in Diabetes Care and Education’ forms part of the educational programme of The Kuwait Scotland eHealth Innovation Network (KSeHIN)

The MSc Programme aims to facilitate changes in the management of chronic diseases through capacity building and training in clinical, leadership and education

The programme is delivered following a ‘blended-learning’ approach that integrates taught sessions and online activities

Saduworld is an bespoke 3D game environment developed by Mairi Scott, Education Programme Director, and Susannah Silver, Instructional Design Developer, in collaboration with the Dundee-based company TPLD The KSeHIN team and TPLD started their collaboration in January 2013. The aim was to develop an immersive 3D learning environment that supported game-based activities to introduce key concepts and theories explored as key concepts in appropriate modules

So far the educational collaboration has produced eight game-based activities and eight virtual spaces (‘rooms’).

Saduworld has been used in eight academic modules.

http://www.screencast.com/t/K3hUmlAX

ReferencesSebastian Deterding, Dan Dixon, Rilla Khaled, and Lennart Nacke. 2011.From game design elements to gamefulness: defining ‘gamification’.

O’Neil, H. F., Wainess, R., & Baker, E. L. (2005). Classification of learning outcomes: evidence from the computer games literature. Curriculum Journal, 16(4), 455-474.

Juul, J. (2003). The Game, the Player, the World: Looking for a Heart of Gameness. In M. Copier and J. Raessens (eds.), Level Up: Digital Games Research Conference Proceedings. Utrecht University, 2003, pp. 30-45.

Pivet , P.(2009). Game-based learning or Game-based teaching. Becta.

Jean Paul Gee website: http://www.jamespaulgee.com/

"even Saduworld cannot substitute

for the person to person interaction

which has that intimacy and is very

special and cannot be substituted

for anything else but the module

itself is less rigid, it’s more viable"

"The idea of Saduworld is the most

important and the feedback I think will

be good but it needs more

development and more ideas how to

use this type of learning in our

modules”“This is a virtual world where we can all be

included in it at the same time and you can

create different atmospheres – a classroom, or

whatever and you can have interactions and

you can also be anonymous if you wanted to

be”

“It’s a different way of

delivering information

– that’s what I think –

instead of reading

them out from a

paper”

“This is a virtual world where we can all be

included in it at the same time and you can

create different atmospheres – a classroom, or

whatever and you can have interactions and

you can also be anonymous if you wanted to

be”

“This activity will encourage them to come

and feel more freely to connect to each

other”

Let’s have a go with

Saduworld!

http://hostavirtualevent.com/scienceofdiabetes/

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