1. NMC Conference Designing and Developing Interactive Fiction for Learning Brett E. Shelton Department of Instructional Technology Utah State University

2. NMC Conference Overview Instructional Games Class at USU ( http://itoutreach.ed.usu.edu/~bshelton/courses/instgames/index.htm ) –What is the emerging nature of this field? –What are the elements of an effective instructional game? –What makes for “good” instructional design within a gaming environment? Choosing a project –Spoon River Anthology by Masters –( http://www.bartleby.com/84/ ) http://www.bartleby.com/84/ –9th grade English education –Desired objectives reading comprehension, poetry literary device –Unexpected(?) outcomes problem solving, orienteering, confidence

3. NMC Conference Why Interactive Fiction? Blends entertainment and education Allows for narrative, interaction (NPCs, variety of actions and locations), rich description Text-based format –Consistent with English learning objectives –Allows for similar experience as the traditional book –( http://www.ifarchive.org/, IF wiki: http://www.ifwiki.org/, http://nickm.com/, http://emshort.home.mindspring.com/, http://www.brasslantern.org/ ) http://www.ifarchive.org/http://www.ifwiki.org/http://nickm.com/http://emshort.home.mindspring.com/ http://www.brasslantern.org/ http://www.ifarchive.org/http://www.ifwiki.org/http://nickm.com/http://emshort.home.mindspring.com/ http://www.brasslantern.org/

4. NMC Conference Instructional Technologists as Game Designers Combines their experience with traditional instructional design theory with new exposure to game theory Utilizes hybrid theory of “alignment” –Ensures all game activity is aligned with learning objectives Become mini-content experts –English instruction –Spoon River Anthology –Computer science and game development –( http://it.usu.edu/cle/CLE_IF_learning.html ) http://it.usu.edu/cle/CLE_IF_learning.html

5. NMC Conference Design& Development Process Cluster-based activity within design/development groups combines –Characters –Locations –Artifacts –Resolutions –Game-related activities –Learning objectives Iterative testing Integration of game/code modules (see accompanying paper for one example)

6. NMC Conference Next steps… Research the game in-use with 9th grade English students –Motivation and activity-goal alignment –Expected and unexpected learning outcomes

7. NMC Conference The Creative Learning Environments Lab at USU… Instructional simulations Educational games New media design and experiences Augmented reality and education Learning Sciences Data visualization theory and practice Interactive immersive learning environments. http://it.usu.edu/cle/