Essential Role for Simulations in Future of e-learning

I was drawn to this blog as I researched e-learning effectiveness for another project and thought it noteworthy for our classmates. The well known author, Sam Adkins, accuses instructional designers of selling our skills as "snake oil," and feels that training, e-learning, blended learning, and knowledge management do not work.

After bashing the industry, I was surprised to see that he still views simulations as "the only viable way to deal with the affective learning domain." To support his belief, Adkins uses statistics from CyberEdge which predict that 70% of e-learning will include some type of simulation by 2006. An interesting discussion ensues as one follows the blog responses. We should be aware of this point of view and prepared to deal with it.

See the link from the 11-18-2003 posting Learning Circuits: We are the Problem: We are selling Snake Oil.

All Aboard!

Railroad enthusiasts rejoice!

The Rail Road Depot is a website that is dedicated to providing railroad and model railroad information. Within this site is a section that leads to railroad games and simulations. In the “games/simulations” section one can find game reviews about the latest in train games. Among the recent game reviews, one can find Microsoft Train Simulator, 3D Railroad Master, Train Engineer, and Train Master. This a wonderful site for those interested in railroad games and simulations and railroads in general.

Teen workplace safety game

The U.S. Department labor provides instruction for students studying workplace safety in restaurants. There are several fun quizzes on the topics of serving, clean-up, drive-thru, cooking, food prep and delivery. After studying each section in the interactive website, teens can test their knowledge by completing a Multiple choice quiz for each topic. This could be a great opportunity to motivate students to learn about workplace safety in a Health class.

Observatory Simulations

From the United Kingdom, the National Schools' Observatory website contains a number of astronomical simulations, including an orrery (An animated model of the solar system and it’s planet’s orbits around the sun), an animated explanation of what causes night and day, and where stars, the sun and the moon are in the sky over a 24 hour period, a simulation of movement of stars across the night’s sky from different locations on the earth, and a handful of other simulations.

The simulations here are all problematic, either through faulty user interfaces or a lack of sufficient explanation during the simulation.

The electric orrery would have been one of the better simulations, but it shows only a small window on the rotations of the planets around the sun. Most of the screen area is for the display of the legend, graphics indicating which planet is which in the animation.

The Day & Night and Spinning Earth simulations simply display a quick animation of the movement of the heavenly bodies. No points of reference are highlighted, no particularly note-worthy bodies are pointed out, and no explanation of what you are looking at is provided. In addition, the user interface that acts as the gateway to the animations is counter-intuitive, which would have been more troublesome were there a reasonable number of options to choose from.

In fact, the only really useful simulation of the bunch is the Life of Stars, and it doesn’t use any animation at all. Instead, the user steps through the a set of slides, each with a graphic depicting a particular point in the star’s evolution along with an explanation of that point.

Overall, these simulations suffer from animation for animation’s sake, and don’t provide useful information until the gimmickry is stripped away.

Posted by Joshua Bleier

Teach-nology

Teach-nology is a web portal that offers a wealth of sources for teachers, including interactive games for students. The super-cool aspect of the site is that if you become a paying member for $39.99 (not so cool), you can create your own games, via the website. Most of the games on the site are the virtual counterparts of old tried and true games like memory, connect four and rubics cube. Other games like word games such as crossword puzzles and mad libs are available for English gurus.

Shockwave.com

For the regular game-player, this site may be a popular venue. At Shockwave.com you can sample a variety of jigsaws, word games, action puzzles, games of strategy, card, and board games. Once you've sampled by playing, you can download and purchase the game or games of your choice.


An interesting simulation, Lemonade Tycoon, boasts of making its players "thirsty for more". You begin the game with a lemonade stand, a recipe, and a dream of becoming the Lemonade Tycoon. You read the weather forecast and the newspaper headlines to evaluate consumer trends and find the most customers. Once you buy your ingredients, set your price, you wait for sales to come in. The smart tycoon then invest profits in upgrades to improve efficiency and increase sales. At the day's end you get to see if you've reached the "Tycoon" status.

This game may be perfect for those who still regret missing their opportunity to own and operate the neighborhood lemonade stand. Might that be you?...

Games Created By Students, For Students

Surfing around the web, I stumbled upon a site for an elementary school in New Jersey who takes gaming seriously. Students at Hartshorn School have designed Webquests about all kinds of subjects- a "make up your own game" about the human body, a Wonders of the Sea Guessing Game, a Rain Forest Concentration Game, and much more. Getting kids to start thinking about game design early on can really foster the learning process.

How Do They Do It?

Ever watch a story on the news where they talk about national spending budgets? How do the president’s advisors come up with the numbers that are reported? How is it decided what stays and what goes? What goes into preparing a national budget? I always wonder about this when I hear about the many trillions of dollars that are spent on the military, international affairs, social security, medicare, agriculture, transportation, and so on. How do they do it?

The National Budget Simulation answers these questions by putting the user in the shoes of policy makers. The simulation asks users to adjust spending and tax expenditures in the 2004 budget proposed by the White House in order to achieve either a balanced budget or any other target deficit. This simulation is perfect for people like me, who “learn by doing.” I found that it is a good way to see what actually goes on behind the closed doors of the Washington, D.C. power circles.

Game Design Wiki

Wikis + Games, a familiar sounding combination, eh? I just ran across this Game Design Wiki which is taking a design patterns approach to the topic. Like all wikis, it's a work in progress but still worth checking out.

Real World Physics

When checking out the Interactive Physics page mentioned in an earlier blog, I ran across a related page, Working Model, from the same publisher that uses similar interactive modeling for more practical applications. The program applies physical principles to real-world mechanical systems and processes as an aid to prototyping. It would appear that these same simulations could also be used as training aids once a product or process was refined and completed.

Wired Kids

CNN News reported an analysis from the Educatonal Department that more and more children are using computer and the internet. About 90% of children ages 5-17 use computers and 59% of these childredn use the internet. These rates are both higher than those for adults.

I currently teach a Saturday Computer Science class with students ranging from 6 - 13 (2nd to 8th grade) and I've found that there is very little gap in the computer knowledge of my students. I can easily use the same lesson plan for all my students with little to no changes to make up for the age gap. The older kids just do things faster.

The Information Age and its discontents

I have been reading The Cult of Information by Theodore Roszak. And though the book is not perfect in its critique of the computer and all that it brings, it is a work with some merit. I believe it will temper my wiki and blog entries.

What does this all have to do with Simulations and Games... a couple of things: 1) I would like to know what others who have looked at this book think about it 2) The author brings up the old philosophical debate between rationalism and empiricism (roughly: which has primacy in forming thoughts, ideas or data.) I raise the argument that simulations embody the rationalist dictum applied to educational software: simulations encourage exploring concepts and the underlying ideas about things rather than emphasizing the learning of facts. I would hold this up as a strike against the book:the author implies that computers are inextricably bound-up with an empiricist epistemology (that ideas emerge from data.)

Wikis- How credible should something be on the net?

This isn’t really about a game or simulation but I thought it still blog worthy! I have been thinking a lot about wikis and their role in the accessing information. There are two issues here; first with the development of the web we can access just about anything we want. We can look up statistics, biographies, real-time events, just about anything. But how true is the information we are reading. That brings me to my second issue. The wikipedia is a way of researching and gaining knowledge in a very interactive way. You can move through the pages and find yourself beginning with a topic such as Ballet and find yourself at Communism (trust me I did it). As great as it is to weave through the plethora of information, how do I determine its validity? Being an Ed Tech major I understand the difference between credible and non-credible resources, but what about the common teenager surfing the net. Do we have a responsibility to him to make sure the information being provided is accurate or do we just say, “well you can’t trust what you see on the net!”

The www is the truest form of freedom of speech- uncensored, raw, and possibly true. The wikipedia presents this fact magnificently especially since it is easily changed by others. Your freedom of speech is not protected by others freedom to disagree!

Quest to End Game Addiction

Here is a good article on how game addiction have taken over our lives. Wired News The article touches on a few stories of people who have been addicted and people who have family members that are addicted.

Not many gamers will admit to being addicted to a game, and once one is addicted it is very very hard to quit. I know how tempting a game can be being a former almost addicted StarCraft gamer myself. Game after game, hour after hour, playing till 5 am is not an uncommon weekend ritual for a few months.

Game addiction may become a problem in the future. More and more teenagers and young adults are getting addicted to games and drop out of school as a result. Gamers need to be more aware of addiction and how they can get caught up into a game if they are not careful. Like the article states, 'the important thing is balance'.

Talk Like a Gamer

Here's a fun article by Greg Cotikyan on gamer lingo, originally published in the Summer 2002 issue of Verbatim: The Language Quarterly . Some of the terms refer to game actions that sound pretty gruesome and some of the language would make a sailor blush, but it is interesting to read about the different jargon used to describe various game terms. Here are a few examples of gamer-speak:

A buff is a spell or other game effect that temporarily increases a character's abilities; to debuff is to cast a spell on a character that adversely affects his or her abilities.

A mule is a secondary character used to provide more storage space for the stuff you want to hang on to; if your backpack is full, just fire up the mule character and give him/her/it the stuff to carry. A mule will water ski, meaning it will automatically follow the main character about, like a boat pulling a water skier.

A brick is a powerful fighter, usually devoid of magic or other powers. The implication is that bricks wall off more vulnerable members of a group from dangerous mobs by interposing themselves between the two.

Cotikyan lists all the games he's authored in his Ludography .

Interactive Physics

In class yesterday, I had mentioned a program called Interactive Physics. The program functions like a "construction kit" for basic Newtonian mechanics. It has a very nice, intuitive interface for setting-up simulations. Once the simulation is started you can see the movement of the objects in real-time. You can also have the program dynamically display velocity or acceleration vectors for the objects in the simulation. These quantities can also be plotted in a graph. And you can obtain a free demo of this fantastic software!

I have been using the demo version of this program to experiment with the models presented in a book on acoustics by Aurthor Benade. In his Fundamentals of Acoustics, Benade presents a model of the guitar string composed of a small set of point-masses joined by springs. This simple model can be used to demonstrate some of the properties found in actual guitar strings.

In the model I built with Interactive Physics, I am able to simulate plucking the string in different positions, and see how the overtone series of the string differs. If I "pluck" this simulated string in the middle section, the oscillation of the string will have a sinusoidal waveform. Plucking the string near one of its end points will cause the string to oscillate with a more complex overtone series, just as a guitar string plucked near the bridge will yield a more complex tone. It is so gratifying to build a mathematical-computational model and see that it agrees with the "real-world".

Below is a picture of this model of a guitar string, and a graph of the sinusoidal vibrations exhibited by the simplest mode of vibration of the model.

Scene It? The DVD Movie Game

DVD meets gaming. This movie trivia game is the world's first DVD board game. The developers had the bright idea of matching the actual game to the topic-hence, you actually see the questions on your DVD player. Scene It? uses the new proprietary Optreve technology that allows the game to be played on any home DVD player. Pretty awesome! Perhaps this is the wave of the future...

Gamasutra- The Art and Science of Making Games

For anyone interested in the development side of things, check out Gamasutra. Its a very rich site, with articles on all facets of game creating. I've been getting the weekly list of articles that relate to gaming and game development, and have really found some good stuff that way.

Plus, the name is really funny.

Facade

Facade is a prototype for a fully-realized interactive drama where the player interacts with artificial intelligence controlled characters. Through continuous dialogue, gestures and actions in 3D space, the player engages the main characters, Grace and Trip, who are on the verge of a break-up. In this first-person game, the player engages the hosting couple, altering the fate of their relationship. A Behavior Language (ABL) makes Grace and Trip capable of multi-intelligent verbal and non-verbal reactions. ABL will be made publicly available to the game industry around 2004.

http://www.quvu.net/interactivestory.net/

Terminal Time

Terminal Time is an interactive documentary of the past 1000 years that can be customized by the audience. Through a response-measuring device (applause meter), audiences are asked to respond to questions every six minutes during the documentary. The answers to these questions decide how the computer program presents the historical narratives. Using artificial intelligence algorithms, the program creates a unique cinematic experience depending on the audience needs and biases. The interactive documentary generated can be projected on a theater screen or broadcast on television monitors.

http://www.terminaltime.com/

Video Game Simulations as a Cure for Phobias

An article, Computer Games Can Treat Phobias, in the October 2003 issue of New Scientist magazine points out that advances in computer graphic chips have enabled a level of virtual reality that give video games new power. Citing a study conducted at the University of Quebec, the article noted that confronting one's fears was a common therapy for dealing with phobias. Previous research had involved elaborate and expensive customized virtual reality simulations. Apparently researchers have now discovered that off-the-shelf games such as Half Life and Unreal Tournament can be used to create virtual environments that train phobic people address their fears and potentially overcome them. For example, Half Life was used to create an environment where arachnophobes could be confronted with spiders and conditioned to minimize those fears.

War Games

From MIT's Technology Review, here's an interesting analysis of the relationship between war and games. Is it too soon to be designing ways to play Iraq?

Ghettopoly

I have been watching the growing controversy regarding this game with interest. I added a posting to this blog regarding this game earlier but pulled it because I felt I hadn't satisfactorily expressed my feelings. I find this game offensive, just as I find about 80% of everything on TV and the radio offensive. But the controversy surrounding this game bothered me for some reason, and I wasn't sure why. I think I've now figured it out.

The reason that the controversy surrounding this game gives me cognitive dissonance is because this game, as far as I can tell, presents nothing new in the way of offensive stereotypes. The stereotypes reinforced in this game can be found in all forms of our media, particularly music. Violence, drug dealing, 'pimping', and all the rest of it are glorified in much of our music and many of our movies. So, why should this game cause such a stir? I'm glad people are protesting. But why aren't they also protesting the movie and music industries that created and marketed the 'gansta' and 'pimp' stereotypes in the first place, and continue to do so to a much greater extent than any other medium? Why so much attention on one board game? Could it be that we instinctively recognize the power of game playing and role playing, and hence the potential for this game to reinforce negative stereotypes to an even greater degree than music and movies? Could it be that we instinctively view movies and music as passive activities (correctly or not) and game playing as an active activity, and are therefore more threatened by disturbing content in games than in movies and music?

The game site is located at ghettopoly.com and a simple search on Google using ghettopoly will turn up plenty of sites protesting the game.

elearning.post: Timely, Relevant and Interesting!

The elearning.post is a worthwhile and relevant site to watch. In the past few days, there have been several relevant and timely articles including a great interview with the author Clark Aldrich. Reading his quotes and opinions in casual prose makes our text, "Simulations and the Future of Learning," come alive.

Another terrific article posted on November 6, 2003 is titled "Games as Roadmaps to the Knowledge Society." In it the following quote can be found:

"Games are becoming ever more popular as tools for learning, both in teaching and the workplaces. Despite major differences of opinion among different disciplines, both researchers and developers agree on one thing: The strength of games is that you learn things in the context in which you use them."

Just when I thought this was plenty, a new post popped up today on the Making of Lego Bricks. The online animations are a marvel for kids of all ages!

Watch the elearning.post for other incredible articles!

The Black Plague Simulation

Here is a simple simulation to learn about the plague that is suitable for K-12 and that uses readily available materials. This simulation uses role cards and a die. The role cards are for pilgrims and traders, the primary spreaders of the plague. The progression of the simulation relies entirely on the role of a die. Given the ignorance of the times regarding the plague and how it is spread, this randomness is valid. Although the simplicity of this simulation is its strength, the simulation could easily be adapted to allow for decision making.

http://www.mcn.org/ed/cur/cw/Plague/Plague_Sim.html

Pepper's Adventure in Time

Desk Chair Adventurer has one of several positive reviews I came across regarding the educational game Pepper’s Adventure. Created by Sierra, Pepper’s Adventure follows a girl who is jettisoned back to the colonial period and must repair the damage caused by her mad scientist uncle who introduced weird quirks to the era. In the process of helping Pepper complete this task, you must solve a number of historical puzzles. In addition, you have the opportunity to read and learn about a number of interesting facts regarding this period in American history. As a motivating factor, if Pepper is not successful in reparing the damage done, America remains a colony of Britain.

Simulations for Crime Scenes

A morbid topic, perhaps, but with the popularity of TV shows such as C.S.I. Miami (Crime Scene Investigation), there probably is an audience for online detective sytle simulations. Imagine if Sherlock Holmes had the benefits of computer simulations to solve crimes! Real life detectives, attorneys, insurance and fire investigators use simulations daily to reconstruct (not reenact) scenes and sequences of events leading up to a variety of scenarios. Results of these simulations have determined causes of fires, provided evidence in trials and valuable information for safer designs of everything from cars to buildings. The Crime Zone is one of many websites dedicated to law enforcement professionals. In our world of games and simulations, here is a viable market for development of more realistic simulations.

Computers in Schools

According to two reports recently issued by the Department of Education, 99% of US public school classrooms have internet access. The reports also show that 90% of people ages 5 to 17 use computers and 59% of them use the Internet. The report also shows that the gaps between the use of computers by boys and girls has pretty much disappeared but that there are still gaps in the usage outside of school between whites, blacks and Hispanics. A major portion of this difference is attributed to computer access in the home.

The implications of this for classroom instruction - including the use of simulation and computer games - seems enormous. However, the report also indicated that while 87% of public schools with internet access had offered professional development to teachers to help them integrate the use of the Internet into the curriculum, many teachers are not yet comfortable enough with the tool to incorporate it.

This information was obtained from an article in the Commercial Appeal dated 11/2/03. Additional information was obtained from the Department of Education press release dated 10/29/03 which also contains links to the actual reports.

Brookfield Zoo online science site for kids

This is an easy and fun site for elementary grade science students. I was drawn to the "Into The Wild" dairy entries from real scientists, "Dolphins in Depth" and the "Ways of Knowing Trail in the Ituri Forest" interactive games. Although the graphics and game designs are fairly basic, the knowledge reinforcement will be appreciated by teachers. The site provides the players with choices, includes corrections and chances to play again for mastery and more points. With budgets for software non-existant in schools these days, simple web-based Flash games have their place. Visit the Brookfield Zoo site and see for yourself.

Counter-Strike Cutting Into TV Time?

There is a recent editorial column on ABC News which speculates that Counter-Strike is responsible for a drop in television viewership among men 18-34 years of age. "It may even mark the beginning of the end of the dominance of television in American life." This is an editorial, but I suspect the writer may be correct. As I began to research online gaming, I am astounded at the quantity and variety of online games out there. It bespeaks a vast interest in interactive, online competition that I never suspected, as well as a huge desire for role playing and fantasy games. See my Wiki entry for a basic description of online gaming.

Is Counter-Strike Cutting Into TV Time?

There is a recent editorial column on ABC News which speculates that Counter-Strike is responsible for a drop in television viewership among men 18-34 years of age. "It may even mark the beginning of the end of the dominance of television in American life." This is an editorial, but I suspect the writer may be correct. As I began to research online gaming, I am astounded at the quantity and variety of online games out there. It bespeaks a vast interest in interactive, online competition that I never suspected, as well as a huge desire for role playing and fantasy games. I’ll have more info for you when I post to the EdTech Wiki.

Real Lives Simulation

The Real Lives simulation offers a free demo from its site. I thought this simulation was interesting because it seems like a blend of Dope Wars game my group played in class, with the SIMS. The interface is similar to that of Dope Wars, where there are statistics that you have to keep track of as you make decisions. It is similar to the SIMS because you track and virtually experience the life of the person. You start with a baby being born, and are given circumstances throughout the character's life, and make your decisions according to your best judgment. The learning point of this game is for the players to experience what live would be life in other countries, given different situations. This could be a great eye-opener for students that have never experienced life outside of their own town or city.

Virtual Reality Gets Taste!!

Unbelievable!! We have virtual reality devices that can simulate vision, hearing, touch, and smell. Now a professor and his colleagues at the University of Tsukuba in Japan have developed a food simulator. The device goes into your mouth and simulates the force required to chew a piece of food, the chemicals needed to taste the food, and audible vibrations of chewing the food. The next phase of the simulator is to add a vaporizer to deliver the smell of food.

To read more about this virtual reality device, go to: http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2003-08-01-3

Unlimited Game Rentals

Blockbuster has a game pass where you have unlimited game rentals for the month. Right now it is only 14.95. If you are interested in playing some of the games like Midtown Madness and the Sims that are talked about in the reading, this is a good way to get to see the games up close and personal. as cheap as a movie and popcorn, and bound to last longer.

Forest Fire Simulations

Simulations can be powerful tools for understanding complex events like forest fires. Certainly computer simulations and models are being used by researchers in fire science. Here is a web page documenting a scientific simulation based on the Yellowstone Fire of 1988. I will look for other useful URL's of scientific simulations.

The StarLogo programming language includes an example program that demonstrates a cellular-automaton simulation of forest fire propagation. Also, I found a web page with a simple Java Applet which simulates fire propagation on a 17 x 17 grid of trees. These simulations are clearly not useful research tools. For example neither the StarLogo nor the Java Applet account for wind. But they are a starting point for understanding the complex dynamics of fire propagation. I would be interested in communicating with educators in the San Diego area to see if there is any way a curriculum could be developed to help students better understand these forces that can have a profound and devastating effect on our lives.

Note: this posting is rather rushed; I will try to provide more useful links later today.

Modeling Complexity

A new site at Mesa State College in Colorado is pulling together resources and dialog about agent-based modeling. They focus on the use of NetLogo, a cousin of StarLogoT, both of which are cross-platform and free. There's a list you can join to keep up with the latest developments in this realm, and links to models of the spread of rumors, wealth distribution, oil spills and ecosystems. Interesting stuff!

Educational Simulation

www.simulations.com is a great website for educational simulations you can bring into the classroom. The company offers a template for teacher to fill in the blanks with curriculum. This gives classrooms the opportunity to interact with the content material and other classrooms across the world. Educational Simulations Inc. recently created a United Nation project where the individual classrooms became a nation and connected with other classroom to discuss global issues. This type of interconnectivity capabilities in classroom opens the doors to endless possibilities of discovering cultural perspectives!

Hot Shot Business

In reading through the NASAGA website, I found an interesting simulation linked from an article. Developed by Disney Online, this simulation gives you the chance to start your own business. There are two coaches who attempt to guide you through a rough business development. It seems to be a decent mini simulation (emphasis on mini) on just a few business aspects involved in getting a business off the ground. In this simulation, I opened a pet spa and almost broke even!

Gaming News...When You Gotta Have It!

Just as CNN provides 24 hour news for us “news junkies”, GameSpy Daily provides, “24 hour gaming news coverage from the inside,” for “gamers” who must have the latest information on anything and everything that deals with the games they play.

The website has links to different areas of interest including top stories of the day, news feeds, forums, screenshot archives, news archives, and of course, games. The games link takes one to the GameSpy Network where a search can be performed to find news, reviews and general information on a particular game. A definite must for gamers worldwide!

Addicted to Addicting Games

Ever wonder what kids in computer class are doing when the teacher is not looking? If they are not checking their
e-mail, chances are they are playing games at AddictingGames.com. There must be something true about this website's name because kids just seem to flock to it in droves whenever there is the slightest bit of downtime in class.

AddictingGames.com is a clearinghouse for online games enthusiasts or kids looking for a few minutes (or hours) of fun. The site, which has links to a few hundred games, classifies games into six different categories: action, puzzle, arcade classics, sports, everything else, and card & casino. This site can best be compared to a "candy store" of online games.

Ghettopoly Manufacture Violates Trademark Rights

Ghettopoly, a spinoff of the popular Monopoly game, let's players buy stolen properties, build crack houses, allows car jacking, and takes players to the emergency room.

Hasbro, who has trademark rights and copyrights to the Monopoly game is upset that the maker of Ghettopoly used his intellectual property to sell what Hasbro calls a "reprehensible" game and has filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island.

Although the educational value is questionable, it is debatable whether this game is reprehensible. This game could have been developed in the context of a different type of learner (lower income families who live in poorer neighborhoods). If so, the game has a different audience than the well none Monopoly game.

Nonetheless, Chang has violated Hasbro's trademark and copyright rights. It will be interesting to see what the courts decide.


http://www.nggnet.com/games/ttgs/ttgnews.html
www.hasbro.com
www.ghettopoly.com

Hooked On Phonics

Hooked on Phonics offers quite a few free lessons and drill games online. It is a good way to try out the program before you buy it, or used as a supplement to a lesson in class. The page is located in Education 4 Kids.

Flight Gear Simulator Project

Is it better to have an elite group of experts develop a game or would it be more interesting to leave it out in the open for anyone to contribute their talents? FlightGear is a free, open-source, multi-platform development project that breaks the mold of commercial flight simulator games. Like our upcoming wiki assignment, anyone can go in and alter the course and path the game takes. It'll be interesting to see where it started, who contributed and what it will end up looking like.
The coolest thing about this game is how real it actually is. Each location offers current information on the airport, conditions, etc. and tips and tricks on how to maneuver around in this environment. Pretty neat!

Catch Michael Jackson's Baby

Marc Prensky defines those of us in the Baby Boomer generation in terms of the digital age. To him, we are “digital immigrants.” Those born after us, who were raised using technology all their lives, he terms “digital natives.” And it’s the digital natives who are fluent at speaking “game.” According to Prensky, game is “. . . a very rich new language. As soon as there's something to be said, someone says it in game.”

Here are two versions of an interesting digital game that proves Prensky’s point. This may not be an educational game, but it’s surely a relatively new way of communicating about current events. In this case, it’s an expansion of the ludicrous amount of media airtime devoted to Michael Jackson’s self-promotional antics.

I found an interesting article by Clive Thompson in the Slate webzine about this form of social commentary. Slate also points the reader to www.newgrounds.com, which contains anyone and everyone’s idea of Flash movies that have something to say. There is plenty of offensive material here, so be careful. Slate provides a nice disclaimer:

“These links will take you to games hosted by Newgrounds.com, which archives hundreds of thousands of games and animations. Many of those games (but not the ones Slate has linked to) involve material that is openly racist, sexist, and homophobic, and Slate doesn't endorse them in any way. In addition, most of the pages, including the ones Slate has linked to, feature banner advertisements for pornography.
• Downing Street Fighter
• War on Terrorism
• Al Quaidamon
• Kaboom!
• 9/11 special section”

I especially found the history of the site interesting, because it originated with a 13-year old (and some material hasn’t advanced past that). Talk about a digital native!

Frank Oppenheimer on Play

Inspired by reading the Rieber article on play, I dug-up my beloved copy of the Exploritorium magazine commemorating the life of Frank Oppenheimer (1912-1985), founder of the Exploratorium. One of the articles in the magazine is a reprint of a piece that Mr. Oppenheimer wrote in 1980 titled "Adult Play". In just a few pages he captures some of the essential aspects of play that we as educators are interested in. In particular, he touches on an issue that I find compelling: that the ability to play with ideas is something that some students do not learn how to do. He goes on "…it is clear that the kind of playing that is so fruitful in art and science and in getting accustomed to life or change is an extremely vital aspect of all human endeavor. If the ability to play is inadvertently denied to a large part of the population, it would be worth finding out why."

I believe that we can encourage students to play with ideas, by providing simulations and games that serve as idea "tinker-toys." To do this, we must extract some of the salient concepts of a particular domain (be it mathematics, biology, or social science) and build a microworld that allows students to combine these concepts in new and unexpected ways.