Game designing and game playing: what we have learned from the SimSafety project! The case of Greece. Social Applications for Lifelong Learning, Patra, Greece, 4-5 November 2010 Maria Fountana, Vasilis Delis, Thanasis Hadzilacos and Demetra Egarchou RACTI

The “SimSafety” 3D virtual online environment for “safely” exposing players to potential risks, i.e. teaching danger through simulation Target group: 9-12 yrs old Teachers and/or parents The “Chaperon” (escort) role in Internet activities Rules for re-playability and scalability Other positive effects Deal with generational “digital distance” Intercultural and International communication

Theoretical Considerations Internet Safety Issues Possible Internet Risks Content risks Contact risks Conduct risks Learning and Game Playing

Conceptual Design Gaming mechanism Scenarios supporting (for teachers/parents, for pupils)for teachers/parentsfor pupils different game settings different objectives Controlled environment Scoring system Flexibility Links to all safety internet projects currently running in Europe

Schools, teachers and pupils School NameNo of TeachersNo of PupilsPupils’ age 48 th Primary school, Patras ft grade (10-11 years old) 60 th Primary school, Patras th grade (11-12 years old) 1 st Primary school in Markopoulo, Athens 22*20=406 th grade (11-12 years old)

Indicative list of activities SimSafety_Testing_Workshop_EL SimSafety_MiniGame_Scenario01: “Explosive Photos” SimSafety_MiniGame_Scenario02: “We don’t play with you” SimSafety_MiniGame_Scenario03: “Theft” SimSafety_Scenario04: “Making New Friends in SimSafety” SimSafety_Scenario05: “Handling Lost Items in SimSafety - The Lost Keys” SimSafety_Scenario06: “Handling Lost Items in SimSafety - The Sim Card” SimSafety_Scenario07: “Handling Lost Items in SimSafety - The Credit Card” SimSafety_Scenario08: “The Bullying Machine” SimSafety_Scenario09: “The Quizzes”

Data collection Techniques Videos and Pictures VideosPictures SimSafety Recordings from activitiesRecordings Fieldnotes Collection of Questionnaires

Implementation Drawbacks Difficulties setting up the computer labs (upgrade of internet connection and memory cards in all three labs involved in the project) Limited Number of computers available in primary school labs Low connectivity Difficulty arranging SimSafety sessions

Implementation Highlights Great enthusiasm on behalf of pupils (many more would like to have been involved in the project. However, the limited number of computers available as well as the limited time available in schools made this almost impossible) Great support from teachers Persistence and patience on behalf of pupils who also access SimSafety from home regularly

Some Fieldnotes 6 th grade primary school pupils tend to be more focused and perform better in SimSafety than 5 th grade primary school pupils SimSafety is not an environment that pupils can take full advantage of without the support of an inspired teacher Often visits to SimSafety minimises the technical problems and highlights the positive aspects Mini games are successful when one of the roles is being played by an adult making provocative questions and initiating interesting discussions Interesting discussions among teacher and pupils occurred during mini game playing and while answering the quizzes Some of the pupils have become great funs of SimSafety and import “gestures” to the system, help us debug it etc.

Pupils’ Comments (1/2) They liked: the graphics (they thought there were many nice places to visit) their avatars that there were many nice things to do that they could discuss with each other that they could discuss with pupils from other countries flying the “Report Centre”

Pupils’ Comments (2/2) They didn’t like: “sinking” into the water or in the ground due to bad internet connection the fact that “Kostas whispers” (bullying machine) was calling them names They suggest that we implement : planes, cars and motorbikes More action Superpowers Some punching and striking More games Multiple cities Speed (make the system quicker)

Teachers’ comments They liked role playing games (they found them educationally useful) They thought it was an asset of SimSafety to have many pupils online at the same time discussing and acting together They thought there is great potential in SimSafety

Thank you