Play until you win Using the Success Structure of Computer Games for Online Student Engagement Emma Satterfield Lecturer Missouri S&T

Wikipedia: Level (video gaming) The use of levels in video games dates back to Namco's shoot 'em up Galaxian, released in 1979 during the golden age of video arcade games. The term level used during this era of arcade video games represented a difficulty phase or defined section of a given game Each level usually has an associated objective, which may be as simple as walking from point A to point B. When the objective is completed, the player usually moves on to the next level. If the player fails, they must usually try the same level again or perhaps return to the very start of the game.

Wikipedia: Level (video gaming) A practical advantage is that levels divide the game into manageable sections, giving players a chance to rest at periodic intervals. Games can be automatically saved at these points and the gaps can help build suspense.

Online Module Trial 4 Levels Released daily for two weeks Starting with lowest level Increasing difficulty with increasing level First level focuses on training tasks Spelling, capitalization Basic concepts (charges, subscripts/superscripts) Simple elements & compounds

Writing Element Symbols Naming Chemical Elements Identifying Chemical Compounds: Ionic vs. Covalent (simple formulas) Identifying Chemical Compounds: Ionic vs. Covalent (intermediate formulas) Identifying Chemical Compounds: Ionic vs. Covalent (difficult formulas) Identifying Chemical Compounds: Ionic vs. Covalent (challenge) Identifying Chemical Compounds: Ionic vs. Covalent (names) Identifying Chemical Compounds: Ionic vs. Covalent (challenge) Naming Ions (simple) Naming Ions (intermediate) Naming Ions (difficult) Naming Ions (challenge) Writing Ion Formulas (simple) Writing Ion Formulas (intermediate) Writing Ion Formulas (difficult) Writing Ion Formulas (challenge) Naming Ionic Compounds (simple) Naming Ionic Compounds (intermediate) Naming Ionic Compounds (difficult) Naming Ionic Compounds (challenge) Writing Ionic Compound Formulas (simple) Writing Ionic Compound Formulas (intermediate) Writing Ionic Compound Formulas (difficult) Writing Ionic Compound Formulas (challenge) Naming Hydrates Naming Hydrates (challenge) Writing Hydrate Formulas Writing Hydrate Formulas (challenge) Naming Acids (simple) Naming Acids (intermediate) Naming Acids (difficult) Naming Acids (challenge) Writing Acid Formulas (simple) Writing Acid Formulas (intermediate) Writing Acid Formulas (difficult) Writing Acid Formulas (challenge) Writing Covalent Compound Formulas Naming Covalent Compounds Naming Organic Compounds (simple) Naming Organic Compounds (intermediate) Naming Organic Compounds (difficult) Naming Organic Compounds (challenge) Writing Organic Compound Formulas (simple) Writing Organic Compound Formulas (intermediate) Writing Organic Compound Formulas (difficult) Writing Organic Compound Formulas (challenge) Naming Chemical Formulas Naming Chemical Formulas (challenge) Writing Chemical Formulas Writing Chemical Formulas (challenge)

Elements Identification (simple formulas) Identification (intermediate formulas) Identification (difficult formulas) Identification (challenge) Identification (names) Identification (challenge) Ions (simple) Ions (intermediate) Ions (difficult) Ions (challenge) Ionic (simple) Ionic (intermediate) Ionic (difficult) Ionic (challenge) Hydrates Hydrates (challenge) Acids (simple) Acids (intermediate) Acids (difficult) Acids (challenge) Covalent Organic (simple) Organic (intermediate) Organic (difficult) Organic (challenge) All All (challenge)

Online Module Trial Levels released daily as optional practice Students who actively participated in practice were invited to take an online exam trial – 120 students participated – 77 achieved 90% or higher (these students were excused from the paper exam) Overall results of paper and online exams – Students that utilized practice had 82% average – Students that did not utilize practice had 65% average

Chemical Nomenclature Exam Scores median: 74.0% FS 2009; N = 742 median: 74.6% median: 85.0% FS 2011; N = 750 FS 2010; N = 756

Student Comments … What did you like? I enjoyed using it instead of mindlessly reading and rereading notes and flashcards. The ability to get instant feedback on what I was doing wrong was a major help. I liked that the difficulty of practice exams gradually increased. The format of them was very helpful for learning all the stuff, and the amount of repetition really made it stick. Continuous practice available. My reasons for not studying something are because it isn't convienient. But this made is so easy, so I used it.

Student Comments … Why didn’t you use? I thought I knew nomenclature from high school better than I actually did - I did make use of the practice exams, but not in the way I should have, nor did I have the time (bad time management, still working on that) to complete all of the quizzes. I chose not to use the Nomenclature Practice exams because I was not doing well on the homework and I did not need the exams verifying that I was not doing well.

Student Comments … What would you change? I thought they were great. They should probably specify that they do not count mispelling...

About 90% felt more confident as a result of using the practice 85% felt that the practice improved the outcome of their exam Student Feedback

More than 50% believe that more time on practice modules would improve their grade.