Using serious games for learning in higher

education – “False Dawn” or untapped resource?"

Pauline Rooney, Brian MacNamee

CAL ’07, Trinity College Dublin 26th-28th March 2007

2of17 Presentation overview

Serious games & digital game-based learning

Serious Gordon case study Evaluation & future work Q & A

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Serious games & digital game-based learning

What are “serious games”? “games designed to do more than just entertain”

(Michael & Chen 2005) “games that have ulterior motives such as

teaching, training and marketing” (Johnson et al. 2005)

Simple digital games for learning www.teach-nology.com

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Modern serious games movement

Hazmat HotzoneAmerica’s Army Yourself!Fitness

Peacemaker Food Force A Force More Powerful

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Why serious games for learning?

Engaging! Extensive opportunities for drill & practice / skills development in risk-free environment Multi-sensory environment Facilitate situated learning / cognitive apprenticeship Develop higher order cognitive skills – critical thinking, problem-solving, team work etc.

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Designing serious games: the challenge

“…the key is not to privilege one arena over the other but to find the synergy between pedagogy

and engagement…”(Van Eck 2006)

LEARNING/PEDAGOGYLEARNING/PEDAGOGY

ENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENTVS

7of17 Serious Gordon Project aims:

design serious game to teach undergraduate culinary arts students at DIT the principles of food safety

to explore the potential of using a commercial source engine for developing serious games

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The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI)

FSAI state that:

“…it is a legal requirement that staff involved in a food environment are trained and/or supervised

commensurate with their work activity.”

Food Safety Authority of Ireland (2006)Guide to Food Safety Training: Level 1- Induction Skills and Level 2 - Additional Skills for Food and Non-Food Handlers (Food Service, Retail and Manufacturing Sectors)

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Kitchen food safety competencies

1. Wear and maintain uniform/protective clothing hygienically

2. Maintain a high standard of hand-washing3. Maintain a high standard of personal hygiene4. Demonstrate correct hygiene practice if suffering

from ailments/illnesses that may affect the safety of food

5. Avoid unhygienic practices in a food operation6. Demonstrate safe food handling practices7. Maintain staff facilities in a hygienic condition8. Obey food safety signs9. Keep work areas clean

10of17 Serious Gordon: first steps

Formed multi-disciplinary team

Learning Technology

Team

School of Computing

Digital Media Centre

School of Food Science

& Environmental Health

11of17 DEMO

12of17 Screenshots

13of17 Screenshots (cont…)

14of17 Screenshots (cont…)

15of17 Future work

Undertake a rigorous evaluation and pilot (beginning 29 March)

Expand game scenarios to incorporate more complex learning outcomes.

Expand game features – e.g. complexity of graphics, difficulty levels, scoring mechanisms, multi-player option?

16of17 Questions raised

Do students learn through game? Are students more motivated to learn through gaming?

Does students’ prior gaming experiences impact on effectiveness of gaming as learning aid?

Can students transfer learning in game to real-life context?

Balance between fun and learning: have we been successful? What constitutes an effective balance?

How realistic does the gaming environment need to be for effective learning?

17of17 Questions

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