| 1 |
Introduction and Overview of the Course
Game Brainstorming and Categorization: Initial Game Definition
Participatory Simulations Introduction - Live Long and Prosper
Game Exercise: Responses |
|
| 2 |
What is a Simulation? What is a Game?
Activity - Finding happiness on a checkerboard:
What defines a game? a simulation? a model?
What makes a game educational?
The Modding Revolution |
Group presentations on Research on Games and Learning:
Gender
Collaboration and Competition
Individual vs. Multiplayer
Technology vs. No Technology
Presentations with resources |
| 3 |
Exploring "Educational" Simulation and Games
Introduction to Edutainment Simulations:
Civilization® III
SimCityTM 4
Roller Coaster Tycoon® 3
Rise of Nations®
Chemicus/Physicus
ZoombinisTM
Poster Presentation |
Paper - Designing Curricula for Games (PDF) |
| 4 |
Edutainment in the Classroom
Mayor for a Day - SimCityTM
SimCityTM in the Classroom Links:
Urban Planning
Almost the Real World
What Do Game Designers Know about Scaffolding (PDF)
Uses and Subversions of SimCityTM (PDF)
SimCity™ 3000 Teaching Guide
What do you learn through these environments?
How can curriculum determine the learning experience?
See Pictures of Q&A from Class |
|
| 5 |
Video Games - Board Games
Edutainment Wrap-up and Gee Readings Discussion. (Please read Gee book and Squire papers.)
Intro to Board Games Activity (see description weeks 6-8)
Study on Transfer (PDF)
Zoombinis™ Study: Brainstorming Educational Board Game |
|
| 6 |
Designing and Developing Games to Teach (and Participatory Simulations)
Activity - Designing a board game:
What are the issues in designing an educational game?
How do we solve these issues?
Network Participatory Simulation
Participatory Simulations - Understanding Systems from the Inside |
White paper and proposal for educational board game (PDF) |
| 7 |
Designing and Developing Games to Teach
Critique and Feedback on Initial Board Game Ideas
Special Guest - Steffen Walz |
|
| 8-9 |
Designing and Developing Games to Teach - Presentations
Board Game Preparation and Testing
Readings Discussion
Board Game Presentations - 20 minutes of playable game |
Documentation and Presentation of an Educational Board Game (PDF) |
| 10-11 |
Simulation and Game Design - Adventures in Modeling
What is a simulation?
Overview of Simulation Environments:
Agent Based (StarLogo, AgentSheets, Stagecast) vs. Aggregate (Stella, Vensim, ModelBuilder)
Programming vs. Equations vs. Visual
General Purpose vs. Specific Domain
Adventures in Modeling - Exploring Complex Dynamic Systems with StarLogo:
The next three weeks will be dedicated to developing simulations or games with StarLogo TNG, a brand new simulation environment under development.
Activities and Participatory Simulations
Evaluating Models: Good Models and Bad Models - What defines a "good model?"
Idea Models - How much detail/reality need to go into a model? |
White Paper and Sketch on Model Proposal (PDF)
Presentations |
| 12 |
Simulation Design - Adventures in Modeling
Begin Final Models
Introduction to Instructional Design |
Final StarLogo Project (PDF)
Final Education Research Project (PDF) |
| 13 |
Educational Research - How do people learn from simulations?
Introduction to Educational Research
Muzzylane |
|
| 14 |
Final Project Presentations |
Presentations of Final Projects |