XplanaZine

We track a number of trends related to gaming here at XplanaZine. The purpose for this research is to find patterns that help us anticipate the emergence of online gaming as a pervasive learning model in K-20 education. Currently, my prediction is that this phenomenon will begin manifesting itself overtly in late 2007, with a transformative explosion occurring in 2008-2009. By 2010, I expect gaming (or experiential learning through play and discovery) to be an accepted and primary paradigm for education in the K-20 markets.

Having said that, I am not unaware of the common struggles that many are facing with regards to the introduction of blogs, wikis and other new technologies into traditional education structures. Yes, there is resistance to change. Yes, given a choice, people would rather keep doing what they always have rather than introduce any kind of novelty into the equation. So, if there is resistance to new technology in education, and if people would rather not change in the first place, how is it that I am so bullish on such radical change involving new technologies?

The answer requires a multi-part discussion that deals with (at the very least least): historical trends and evolution, markets, platforms, pedagogy, and product design and definition. It is that answer that will serve as a general framework for a new series of articles here on XplanaZine. Each Saturday, for the next two months, I will address the topic of gaming in education. I’ll focus on the ideas and products that are shaping this emerging learning model and the developments that are informing my own predictions. It is my hope that these posts will stimulate a wide variety of comments and thinking on the subject. Today’s article provides some useful definitions and discusses the basic differences between simulations and games.

As a brief introduction to this series, I want to share some useful definitions and a general outline of my thinking. To begin with I would like to talk about how I define gaming and how it is different from what many refer to as simulations.

Online gaming in education implies experiential, discovery-driven learning through play. Whether we are talking about game-based reading intervention programs or role-playing multi-player Business games, my definition of educational gaming insists that several components be present:

• play/fun
• a personal experiential framework
• an impetus for discovery
• a core learning purpose with some stated outcomes

Note that this definition is more abstract and philosophical. For further clarification, this definition assumes the requisite five essential elements of online games in general (not necessarily related to education):

• collections
• scores and ranking
• feedback
• social exchange and collaboration
• personalization

Simulations, one possible sub-component of gaming, are task-replication exercises. They may be pretty sophisticated task replication exercises — think of full-scale flight simulators and elaborate stock market simulations — but they are nonetheless limited in terms of gaming. That is because simulations are something a person does. The focus is on the specific skill or task and, often, simulations try to recreate the task environment as perfectly as possible (think of MS Office simulations). The last thing we want users to do in these simulations is to use their imagination or focus on something that would distract them form the task being simulated. The whole purpose of the simulation is to experience the surface of reality in such a way that if feels authentic. This authenticity is created by the detail of the simulation itself.

Games, on the other hand, are something a person becomes. They are experiential, and unlike simulations, insist that players bring their imagination to the experience and participate in the formation of the environment. Games may or may not create a “real” surface reality and are not inherently concerned that the game reality correspond directly to the players’ reality. Since games are about personal experience, they emphasize strong emotional identification and, therefore, employ devices such as role playing and story-driven structures.

This distinction is critical in education. In Higher Education in particular, most early work in “gaming” has stopped at the simulation level. We have created virtual environments that allow uses to hone their skills on specific applications or tasks. From a learning perspective, we have focused on exit exams (written) or practical demonstrations of skill acquisition.

There has been very little work, however, in developing more immersive learning environments that focus on story, role playing, and the seamless integration of learning objectives into the game framework. There are only a handful of products that are designed to get learners to learn in spite of themselves, to motivate them to study without even realizing they are participating in a learning activity. These learning games may feature embedded simulations but they are much larger in scope, imagination, and learning experience than any simulation can ever be. In teaching vernacular, a learning game is an entire course while a simulation is an activity or, at best, a course unit.

Such learning games are few for a number of reasons (which we will be discussing in the upcoming weeks). The biggest philosophical obstacle is that, in order to create them, you have to be willing to believe that the story element is more important than the information we are asking students to process. Game creators must be committed first and foremost to story and character, and they must understand intuitively that strong story and characters will produce in learners a more effective and permanent internalization of course information.

Next week, I’ll give a general overview of the gaming industry as well as provide an introduction to gaming in education.