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G4C Features
Previous entry: 7th Annual Games for Change Festival May 24-27, 2010
Next entry: Opening of G4C Festival 2010
Day 1: G4C Festival Workshops
Posted by Mark Smith on 05-24-10Two simultaneous workshops launched this year’s festival—G4C 101.5: A Workshop for Making Social Issue Games, a new iteration of past years’ 101 Workshop, and The Power of Design: Youth Making Social Issue Games workshop, a brand new event for 2010.
This year’s official hashtag is #g4cfest10, for those who want to share or catch up via Twitter. We also have a few “Twambassadors” sharing what they notice throughout the festival on a g4c Twitter List.
Notes from The Power of Design: Youth Making Social Issue Games Workshop
Games for Change Executive Director Alex Quinn introduced this workshop track by outlining three key goals of the day. Discussing:
1) what does game design mean for learning and 21st century skills?
2) what are tools for teaching game design?
3) what are specific examples of youth game design programs?
Throughout The Power of Design workshop, speakers explored the transformation of youth from game players to game producers, and the emerging understanding of tools, techniques, and intelligences that this shift requires. Speakers ranged from practitioners to researchers to students themselves, extensively discussing how game design cultivates STEM skills (science, technology, engineering, and math), the relationship between learning and creating, and the importance of assessment. Two game design platforms in particular—Gamestar Mechanic and Scratch – received repeated mention by panelists.
Allyson Peerman introduced the AMD Foundation’s Changing the Game program and reflected on the increased acceptance and appreciation of both social issue games and the relationship between games and learning since the initiative launched two years ago.
The three speakers in the first session each brought a unique perspective to the question, “why is designing games good for learning?” Alan Gershenfeld, founder of E-Line Media, told his own story as a game developer at Activision and the deep mastery of subject matter required to create a game. He described the depth of social, cultural, political and military history knowledge amassed in the process of developing Civilization. Similarly, he noted the parallels between the physics involved in developing the skateboarding game Tony Hawk and what could be the basis of a high school physics curriculum. Gershenfeld argued that the power of games for learning is in the complex system thinking, rigor, and discipline required to develop them, as well as in their ability to motivate and provide relevancy to kids and their future professional life. Leah Gilliam from Quest to Learn, a new New York City public school explained her work in creating immersive and game-like learning experiences. Using a game design, systems-thinking methodology, the school’s designers and teachers help kids first understand the systems of games, and then what these systems look like in the world around them. Gilliam clarified that the school is not about playing games, but rather, about learning that is inspired by what’s best about games: immersive, media-rich, just-in-time, interdisciplinary, rule-based, goal focused, core mechanics, and interdependency. Stating an idea that would be repeated by others throughout the workshop, Gilliam described as a basic tenet of games, “a need to know, and then share what you know.” Betty Hayes of Arizona State University rounded out the panel with her experiences becoming involved with game design and TechSavvy Girls through an interest in gender. In her work, she had found that gaming was a gateway to computer science for boys, and wanted to know if it could serve as a similar entry point for girls. In studying The Sims, she found that it is a useful game design tool, especially for thinking about learning differently and understanding game design as the design of play, not the design of technology. Hayes argued that the public debate over the rules found in online game fan communities is the same sort of evidence-based argument construction we hope kids will develop in school.
Building on these ideas, Idit Caperton and her team from the World Wide Workshop presented two pilots of the Globaloria game design program, in Texas (a charter school model) and West Virginia (a statewide public school system model). Globaloria’s purpose is to develop content knowledge and technical skills through project-based, student-centered, social learning. The program aims to bring the theory of constructionism into practice through social networking and gaming technologies, with six “contemporary learning abilities” as its target outcomes. Videos of students and educators from both programs highlighted skill development, improved literacy, and changing student perceptions on social issues. David Lowenstein, the program’s state director in West Virginia explained that, although they are trying to transform public education on a systemic level, the program has also had bottom up demand from teachers because their students are so engaged. The program also features extensive professional development for educators, a student internship program, and statewide competitions. Program Director Shannon Sullivan described the three components to Globaloria’s online environment:
1) wiki as transparent design studio with embedded curriculum embedded
2) blogs
3) website/resource library
Laura Minnegerode and Rebecca Reynolds, two of the researchers studying Globaloria’s impact, described the data they are collecting. The focus of their evaluation is on learning, engagement, and knowledge development of students and educators. Reynolds’s research seeks to understand what informs a shift in student motivation, and whether participation effects attitudinal change. Alex Quinn asked an important question of Globaloria’s West Virginia pilot: “how did you infiltrate a whole state system when we hear so much about educator resistance to this kind of work?” Caperton attributed their success to the program being grounded in research, and focusing on STEM and a new model of student engagement. She pointed out that they took the risk with a small group of teachers, and then made the case with their success, to which Lowenstein added that having teachers and students speak for themselves is a powerful response to skeptics. Caperton concluded that their next challenge is building a sustainable business model and affecting policy.
The morning closed with two short sessions. First, Eric Nunez and Mike Edwards of Parsons The New School for Design gave an overview of six game design platforms, chosen for their appeal to young game designers and because many have associated curriculum for educators.
Scratch: Imagine, Program, Share
• developed at MIT
• not meant for game design per se, but visual programming language that helps develop relevant skills
• drag and drop interface, adjustable parameters
• 500,000 registered users, 1 million projects uploaded - well developed community
• Scratch Ed community provides support for educators and after school facilitators, forum for exchange on curriculum
• Forum for registered languages in 12 languages
• Scratch Day - annual event
• works on Mac/Windows/Linux, is free
Game Maker: Play, Make, Share
• developed by professor in the Netherlands to help undergraduates with game design/programming classes
• now used frequently in middle/high school, also by independent game designers because its easy to do rapid development
• created over ten years ago, well supported, regularly updated
• drag and drop interface, adjustable parameters, very customizable
• debug version lets designers see what happens behind the scenes, which is great for kids to see what their parameters require players to do and what the actual outcomes of their decisions are
• 300,000 registered users, 87,000 games created, regular competitions for users
• Windows only, although there is talk of versions to be released for Mac and PSP
• lite version is free, $25 for the pro version
Kodu Game Lab
• developed by Microsoft Research, released last year
• drag and drop interface
• 3D environment
• runs on Windows and XBOX 360
• free demo version, $5 full version (full version only on XBOX 360 Live Arcade)
7Scenes: Direct, share, play
• mobile platform, developed by Waag Society in The Netherlands, used in secondary schools there
• game logic embedded in content
• emphasis on “scene building”
• web-based, runs on Nokia, currently single-player on iPhone and Android
• free to play, paid subscription required to develop and organize games
Gamestar Mechanic
• developed by Parsons Institute of Play and University of Wisconsin
• started in 2006
• originally funded by MacArthur Foundation, now supported by Institute of Play and E-Line Media
• it is both a game and a game design platform, although the focus is not on programming
• Flash based
LittleBIGPlanet: Play, create, share
• developed by Media Molecule and Sony
• known for its great 2D physics engine
• over 2 million games uploaded, enormous community around it
• many contests, downloadable content
• $30 for game, $399 PS3, $130 PSP
Nunez and Edwards identified Scratch as the easiest place for students to start with game development because it has the simplest interface. The speakers suggested that, for educators hoping to use these platforms with students, LittleBIGPlanet is easy to pick up, but hard to master; Gamestar Mechanic is also easy to just pick up and start understanding because logic is built into the game and no knowledge of programming logic required. In response to the question of building a social issue game on one of these platforms, Edwards noted that on 7scenes there are many historical and advocacy games because it’s mobile and geography-based. For example, a student can see how a neighborhood used to be, how it has progressed, and then envision/design how it might be in the future.
Next, Colleen Macklin of PETLab and John Sharp of Savannah College of Art and Design debuted their newest and soon-to-be launched project, Activate!, a curriculum and game design project supported by AMD’s Changing the Game. Activate! is web-based and will be available to anyone, with pilot implementations running in both China and the US (the game is currently being translated into Mandarin). Styled on classic, 8-bit games (built on Game Maker) and designed by Parsons graduate students at PETLab, Activate! focuses on game design, game playing and sharing, and social issues. There are four levels: rookie, design apprentice, master designer, and design ninja, which include missions, challenges, and even a game generator at the ninja level. STEM skills are embedded throughout the experience and a facilitator’s guide and challenges are discreetly available for download by educators. A codex (their more fun word for glossary) includes terms both related to social issues and game design for users to learn as they go.
After lunch, Rafael Fajardo and Scott Leutenegger of P4 Games (pixels, programming, play, and peadgogy) at the University of Denver presented with Karen Michaelson of Tincan on their respective projects teaching STEM skills through game design.
Leutenegger described P4 Games’ summer game camp, teacher game institute, and school year programming, in which both youth and teachers create games. Examples of youth games creatively explored student emotions and issues of identity; teachers designed games on the electoral process. Michaelson described Tincan programs, which in addition to summer camps, offers a biotech/CSI/game development afterschool program for middle school girls, and a three week summer institute for teachers (one week a practicum in the summer game camp).
Leutenegger sees the advantages of game design for STEM learning as students wanting to make something, which allows educators to sneak learning in. Fajardo noted the importance of having a finished artifact of learning and the desire to share it and receive feedback (all ideas that were later backed up by the experiences of sixth graders from Quest to Learn). Also reinforcing the methods of Quest to Learn, Michaelson suggested that game development encourages kids to think in computational terms, to understand the patterns that emerge from computer science and apply them in much broader contexts. Finally, expanding the acronym to STEAM, the panel discussed why art matters to STEM, particularly the way it can renew students’ suppressed voice and engage a different kind of student who might otherwise be attracted to STEM programs.
Game Design and STEM Learning Presentation Slides
In the panel on evaluation, Jim Diamond of the Center for Children and Technology outlined backward design and logic models as framework for CCT’s evaluation of two game design projects, Global Kids’ Ayiti and a Boys & Girls Club project with PETLab and Games for Change. In the process of backwards design, Diamond suggested thinking backwards: start with a gap analysis to identify the change you’re hoping for, determine what qualifies as acceptable evidence, then plan learning experiences and instruction. Developing a theory of change is simply a question of what one hopes to get out of involving kids (and adults) in game design. Diamond described logic models and formative evaluation as a kind of design thinking, analogous to the process of play-testing in game design itself. Alex Games from Michigan State University’s Games for Entertainment and Learning Lab challenged the group to reconsider current models of evaluation. Reminding us that the purpose of assessment is to make informed decisions. Games asked provocative questions such as, what are the desired learnings, who are the desired learners, and what counts as evidence of learning? Citing a need for greater discussion of the role of instructors in the learning process, he argued that game design theory underrepresents the role of instructors, and instructional design theory underrepresents learners. Games then presented a proposal for a theory of game design learning:
• games are by nature interactive media
• games communicate designer’s intentions
• games allow players active participation
• game participants use unique forms of language
• game design as a communication system and a form of literacy: as a cultural product, as meaningful media, as mechanical system
Games concluded with his idea of documenting from the ground up through behavioral evidence (what do learners do?), language evidence (how do they talk?), and artifact evidence (what games do they make?).
The final two sessions of the day showcased a number of youth game design programs to give participants an idea of what these concepts look like in practice. First, Barry Joseph moderated a panel of representatives from organizations who have adopted and adapted Global Kids’ Playing for Keeps program. Otis, a former youth leader with Global Kids, explained the program and gave a demo of Tempest in Crescent City, the game he helped design while a participant. He also described how the program had helped him learn game design, communication skills, valuing others’ opinions, research skills, world issues, and making a difference. Jack Martin from the New York City Public Library discussed how their pilot in three libraries was an experiment in mini courses, as opposed to the drop-in youth programming they have traditionally offered. While IT and attendance were challenges for the libraries, Martin felt that kids do want to learn serious content after school if it is engaging. Thaddeus Miles of Mass Housing in Boston described a very different pilot program, working across many different sites, where the technology and instructors’ skill sets varied greatly at each location. Miles said their greatest challenge was training the trainers - older instructors who had a paradigm shift to go through regarding gaming to get past stereotypes and misperceptions. Before moving on to the last two examples, Selen Turkay, a researcher from Teachers College explained their goals for evaluation: whether the training effectively trained facilitators and what facilitators learning can be transferred to other programs. One major finding was that facilitators had to modify existing curriculum based on needs, knowledge, interests of youth in their specific context.
Marc Lesser of MOUSE explained that their programs are designed around a trajectory and a desire to engage youth year after year. Their group of learners is not varied - they are all already engaged by technology and gaming, and expect to be able to “hack the system” and know what is coming next in the program. MOUSE’s challenge has been adapting programs so that they worked in a minimally guided online environment. Lesser showed wireframes of the step-by-step, series of experiences they are creating for their youth.
Paul Allison of the NYC Writing Project talked about Tech Thursday sessions for educators to talk about serious gaming. The group started with comparing, discussing, and analyzing issue based games, then continued learning by making paper based games, attending G4C Festival, and playing Evoke. Allison said that playing Evoke inspired a community/school garden, and lead to drawing connections between gaming and gardening.
Spreading Serious Game Design: Global Kids’ Playing for Keeps Capacity Building Program Presentation Slides
The day concluded with two additional exemplars of the day’s ideas. Cindy Rondeau from Boys & Girls Clubs of America showed MyClubMyLife.com and presented Game Tech, a game design program and curriculum funded by Todd Wagner Foundation. The program was developed on Scratch, and as John Sharp explained, has the following learning goals: systems thinking, iterative design process, introductory programming concepts, game design principles, problem solving skills, and teamwork & collaboration. The program includes a facilitators guide, step-by-step guides for all eight activities, and “recipe cards” for instructors, all of which is available online. Sharp noted that the strengths of the curriculum come from feedback during the pilot process. Rondeau mentioned that Game Tech 2 will include a social issue component so that the games kids create relate to what is happening in kids’ lives, the same way that all Boys & Girls Club programming does (should be released in early 2011). Al Doyle and four of his sixth grade students from Quest to Learn showcased the learning process that happens in his Sports of the Mind (game design) classroom. His students began designing games with Gamestar Mechanic, then moved on to become beta testors for Atmosphir, a new platform, and now are designing games with LittleBIGPlanet. One student, known for making the most difficult games, said, “I like to make my game really challenging because it encourages people to play it more.” Doyle said that he gives assignments tied to specific core mechanics and learning experiences, but that, overall, his students learn so quickly that he wouldn’t be able to formally teach them fast enough. When asked whether social issue games are addressed in his classes, Doyle maintained that the school is changing the very relationship of students to learning, and students to teachers, a process that in itself makes them change agents, even if social change itself isn’t embedded in the curriculum. Unknowingly closing the loop on the discussion from the morning, the students told participants that they know they are getting better at game design when they share their games with others, have it play-tested, and receive feedback, and that learning game design has taught them persistence, how to understand systems, and how to learn.
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