Open Learning Games

Marshall S. Smith and Phoenix WangThe William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

January 8, 2008Shanghai, China

• Overview• 1. Some thoughts about learning

• 2. Salient properties of games as a place for learning.• 3. Popular learning games • 4. Possible design characteristics for Learning Games• 5. Open as a Competitive strategy for learning games.• 6 Goals for the future.

Learning = f(Content, Motivation, Time)

Elements of How People Learn

• Problem solving and reasoning. • Organizing information, making inferences, and discovering strategies for

problem solving. • Meaning making embedded in cultural experience and social relationships.• Receiving positive reinforcement and sense of accomplishment• Seeing different perspectives.• Making sense of complex phenomenon. Simplifying, applying heuristics,

system thinking, understanding interactions between the parts.

Salient Properties of Games as Learning Environments

:Motivating:• Positive reinforcement for success and progress• Player Control over learningProblem Oriented:

Allows for experimentation, failures and practiceAllows players to test different hypotheses

• Can simulate past, present, future, and fantasiesEngages in simulated real or fantasy life beyond current experiences• Driven by compelling narratives – mystery, journey, quest• Allow players to try on different identities and change perspectivesAllows for personalization through feedback• Capable of tracking individual’s performance and personalizing experience

Learning Games We Love(d) • In the 90’s – popular subject-specific games

– Oregon Trail (history)– Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego (geography)– Zoombinis (math)

• Last decade—more complex system oriented games emerged:– Civilization – Whyville – Quest Atlantis

Design Criteria for Smart Learning Games

1. Modular: Player(s) can accomplish something valued with limited time. Easily modified/personalized. Localizable and extensible.

2. Easy to use by novices (teachers, students, parents) – wide audiences. Transparent to grandparents.

3. Robust and reliable4. Challenging but attainable goals that build on one another. 5. Support learning through formative assessment – continuous improvement

loops. 6. Relatable to 21st Century skills or curriculum standards for school based use 7. Communication tools to connect with other players 8. Cross-platform – computers, consoles, mobile, etc.

Areas Ripe for Investment

UN World Food Program: Food Force

Social problem solving

Language Learning

Other Areas: Real science problems requiring simulated experiments: Understanding by determining fundamental laws of nature (physics, chemistry etc.) Solving mysteries in real life.

Music

Play Station: Amplitude Coastline College: OLLI

Why can’t we make this happen? Some of

the Barriers to Learning Games • Field dominated by a few, large commercial interests• Field dominated by a few, large, killer apps.• High barriers to entry: development tools, distribution

channels, talent• Relatively low capital investment in learning games• Balance between entertainment and learning value

• Few exemplars of smart, modular, manageable

learning games.

Changing the Strategy “Open” As Competitive Strategy

• Open dramatically increases opportunities for dissemination and access

• Spurs innovation through cycles of use, reuse, and adaptation. Feedback loops from user to creator, creator to creator, user to user.

• Lowers cost when allowing others to expand or localize the product: modularity critical.

• Alternative business models to traditional one by one sales: Red Hat, Long Tail, demand creating government, NGO, industry support.

Open Educational ResourcesFree for use, reuse, modify, and adapt

Support Open Environments to Stimulate Growth

Strenghten Infrastructure – bandwidth, open tools, networks, dispersed capacity

Open protocols and modular designs

Enables more experimentation

Allows for global audience to customize and localize

Lowers barrier to entry

Open games R&D models to study effectiveness

Create Demand

Vision for Future Learning Games

“Seed the environment” with smart manageable games that follow usability and modifiability criteria. Create demand for smart games and inspire interest in generating an army of mix and mashers who can turn into developers. Perhaps use competition to jump start.

“Learning Game World” Open immersive worlds where open games are accessible, usable, reusable, and where communities of users and developers can develop and flourish

“Game School”: Entire curricula for grades 6-12 curriculum developed as games. As core curriculum or supplemental materials.

Develop, validate and use generalizable measures of outcomes that are assumed as outcomes of games like “World of Warcraft” -- problem solving, communication skills, cooperation skills, creativity etc.