1. Ed-Media ’07: Teaching Teachers About Serious Games 1 © 2007 K.Becker Teaching Teachers About Serious Games Katrin Becker

2. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 2 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 OverviewOverview What is DGBL? Course Structure What they learned. What I learned. The Projects.

3. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 3 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 My Background 23 yrs higher ed (teaching - tech) 18 years hatching program (teacher support) PhD candidate 3 kids Tomb Raider

4. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 4 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 What are new pressures on teacher education? More choices than ever before for learners. Adaptability. Ideal vs. reality. Our teachers were not that different from us – this is no longer true. Spore

5. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 5 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 What should teacher education look like? “Technology” is a given, not an option. [more demanding than books] Allow time for practice. "Appropriate practice is the single most neglected aspect of effective instruction." (Merrill) – applies to teachers as much as students.

6. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 6 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 What kind of teacher should faculties of education be striving to nurture? Life-long learners. Tech-savvy vs. tech-phobic (appropriate technology) Culturally aware (incl. pop-culture)

7. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 7 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 What is DGBL? Digital Game Based Learning Serious Games The use of game technology to enhance/ support/ augment (and yes, sometimes provide) education and learning. COTS & Custom Games & Sims Some examples….. Syberia

8. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 8 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 Virtual U

9. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 9 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 Virtual Leader

10. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 10 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 Food Force

11. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 11 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07

12. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 12 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 ReplicateReplicate

13. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 13 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 CivilizationCivilization

14. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 14 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 Nation States

15. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 15 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 Hundreds of years in the future, mankind and dolphins live peacefully together and share the earth. Dolphins, who are much more intelligent than they seem, act as the earth's caretakers, while dolphins and humans explore the galaxy. An alien force, known as the Foe, seeks to end this happy existence. The Foe damages the Earth's defense system, and alters history for the worse. One extraordinary dolphin, Ecco, must travel through time to set things right. Ecco is a 3d underwater adventure game (a “dolphin simulator”). There are more than 25 aquatic environments to explore. Ecco must communicate with other ocean creatures and learn to manipulate his environment if he is to succeed in defeating the Foe. http://www.mobygames.com/game/ps2/ecco-the-dolphin-defender-of-the-future

16. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 16 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07

17. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 17 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 Course Structure Seminar, readings, discussion, examples, projects Themes: –The Current State of Games and Gamers; –Current state in Media Studies and Games Theory (including a discussion of violence in games); –Is Learning Fun? (Games and Pedagogy); –What Can Games Do? –How important are fidelity and validity? –Instructional Design for Games; –Making Games, and Resources for making games; –Assessing Games for Learning.

18. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 18 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 What they learned Don’t need to be a gamer. Games are technology. Media is not neutral. Media backlash is not new. Game-based learning is here. Game savvy is cachet.

19. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 19 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 What I learned. Interest is high. Teachers are willing. Resources are scarce (equipment & information). Technology integration still lags.

20. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 20 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 The Projects. MunchLand How to Get To Carnegie Hall FIFA Soccer Civ III Food Force

21. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 21 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 unchand What is MunchLand? It is a fun way for elementary aged kids to learn about nutrition and exercise. In MunchLand Russ, Pat, and Bobby search through a house looking for food, but not just any food. They need to find the food that will fulfill the recommended food requirements in the Canada Food Guidelines.

22. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 22 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 How to Get To Carnegie Hall You may choose your own adventure, as you make decisions which affect your career as a musician. Your goal is to appear at Carnegie Hall.

23. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 23 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 FIFA Soccer for ESL

24. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 24 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07CivilizationCivilization

25. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 25 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 Food Force

26. Teaching Teachers Serious Games 26 © K.Becker Ed-Media ’07 Questions?Questions? Note on images: Images used come from official game sites and user fan sites. The game is named on each slide. Images taken from game review sites (like ign.com, gamespot.com, etc. have the site logos left intact to identify the image source).