Download Technology that Teaches - MERLOT International Conference

Technology that Teaches: Games in
Education
MERLOT 2005
Stefan Gunther, Federation of American Scientists
[email protected]
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Simulations and Exploration Environments:
Key Research Needs
• Interoperability for integrating simulation
– ontology, geometry, and message passing
• Reuse, updating, and maintenance of simulations
– open architectures, certification, management techniques
• Adapting simulation to learning environments
– Learner modeling and assessment, fidelity, distance learning,
and collaboration
• Improved navigation techniques in virtual environments
– presence, viewing, manipulation, movement, and haptics
– tools to provide control for teachers and instructors to run
demonstrations, manipulate parameters
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Simulations: learning by doing, virtual
environments, practice opportunities
Some Current Examples:
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Characteristics of Games &
the Potential for Learning
 Games support:
 Active learning
 Experiential learning
 Problem-based learning
 Immediate feedback
 Learner-centered learning
 Gaming environments include:
 Problem-solving in complex systems
 Creative expression
 Social relationships
 Peer assessment
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We Know That Games Are Engaging
 An 8th grader plays video games an average of 5
hours /week
 By high school, 77% of students have played games;
by college nearly all have
 60% of college students are regular game players
 Game sales nearly $10B in 2004
 US Army’s America’s Army (as of April 2005):
• >5M registered users
• >3M completed basic training
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Question Asking & Answering:
stimulating questions; providing instructionally sound
answers; connecting learners and teachers to experts
About > AllExperts > Experts
Search
Topic: Biology
Expert:walter hintz
Question: I am a 26 year old who is taking this bio 30 distance ed, and my teacher gives me a
page number to read and all the reading did not help, i still do not understand I hope you can help
me.
Assume that the production of an important hormone depends on a simple enzyme, and cells
require a particular DNA sequence to control production of the enzyme. As a protein, let the
enzyme consist of ten amino acid sequences
leucine-alanine-cysteine-glycine-leucine-proline-leucine-valine-lysine
find the correct DNA code of the following mutated sequence, so the enzymes abo ve can be
properly produced. Show the steps necessary to sol ve this problem.
DNA sequence : TA CAATCGA CGGACA CCTGA TA TTAA TCAA TTTA TT
Answer: There is a problem here because in order to solve this problem you need the mRNA
codons. If you do not have this go to http://www.accessexcellanc e.org/AB/GG.html
Here is the solution to the problem given.
AA sequence leu ala cys gly leu pro leu val lys
codons CUU GCU UGU GGU CUU CCU CUU GUA AAA
DNA GAA CGA ACA CCA GAA GGA GAA CA T TTT
For some reason there are only nine amino acids given instead of ten.
How do you do this. Do you know the base pairing rules? DNA RNA
A ----U T------A
C------G
G------C
Notice this in the problem above that I did; Opposite the CUU was a Caa and opposite the GCU
was a CGA etc.
Is the DNA sequence a separate problem? If so then find the RNA using the bas e pairing rule,
then the codon sheet and find the Amino acids. If you are still having problems get back to me.
A typical student
asks .17 question
per hour in a
conventional
classroom
27 questions per
hour in one-onone human
tutoring
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Individualized Instruction: user modeling for
personalized learning, context sensitive answers,
better assessments
(recommender systems,
personalizing shopping)
The cookies on
your daughter’s
computer
probably know
more about what
interests her than
her teacher
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Assessment: accountability to the learner,
teacher, parent, employer, system
vs.
Demonstrate
(simulation)
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Federation of American Scientists:
Educational Games Project Overview
Kay Howell, [email protected]
Michelle Roper, [email protected]
Stefan Gunther, [email protected]
Mark Schleicher, [email protected]
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Immune Attack
• Game Features:
– Teach immunology concepts, using biologically
correct simulations and “characters”
– Demonstrate players of the game are more engaged
in the subject; more positive attitude towards science
• Target audience: senior high school
students
• Funding: NSF Information Technology
Research Grant --$1.3M, over 3 years
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Immune Attack
• Grant Collaborators:
– Brown University
• Andries van Dam, Co-Principal Investigator for grant
• Subject matter expertise, Prof. Christine Biron
• Visualizations for the game, in collaboration with game development
team
– FAS
•
•
•
•
Henry Kelly Co-PI for grant
Learning content, including oversight of Ed Adv Panel
Game design and development; learning tools integration into game
Implementation and evaluation of the game in 2 high schools
– Game development team
• Team of consultants with commercial development experience,
managed by FAS; using OGRE game engine
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Immune Attack
• Immune Attack© combines 3D depiction of biological
structure and function with advanced educational
technologies to provide an introduction to basic concepts
in immunology for high school and college students
• Students are motivated with a series of progressively
more difficult challenges in a compelling gaming
environment in which success depends on increasingly
sophisticated grasp of concepts in immunology
• Game features include:
– scientifically accurate simulations of the immune system
– context-sensitive question answering and dialogue
– continuous assessment techniques to determine when the
learner is ready to move to a new level
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Game Play
• Player configures and programs the behavior of a
particular cell, such as choice of cell surface receptors
• Other similar cells are automatically created that exhibit
the same kind of behaviors, be they sequestration,
following specific cytokine paths, or engorging on enemy
cells.
• Various puzzles have to be solved as the game
progresses. Thus, although transparent to the player, the
student learns basic principles of immunology through
playing the game.
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Goals for the Game
• Demonstrate that games can may learning more engaging - the
game does not replace the teacher; however, students who play the
game will be more motivated to learn because they will: 1) have a
better understanding of the complex material, and 2) will be
motivated to learn more in order to win the game
• Help teach young adults to choose better life-style behaviors to
protect themselves from infection – they will experience first-hand
how difficult it is for the immune system to defend against many
viruses and bacteria.
• Expose young adults to the exciting fields of healthcare and
biosciences. With Immune Attack©, students will experience the
challenges of defending the human body against invading antigens
and the potential for healing and saving lives. At this critical age
when which many young adults must make decisions about college
and careers, this exposure may attract more students to careers in
bioscience research, medicine and other healthcare professions. 14
Immune Attack
• Milestones
– Grant awarded: October 2004
– 1st Prototype: August 2005
– Full Game level 1, Scene 1 : October 2005
– Subsequent Scenes : every 2 months
– Full prototype: March 2006
– Distribution & Evaluation: March-May 2006
– Final Grant Report: August 2006
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Immune Attack
• Other Notes:
– Credits of project team
•
•
•
•
Peter Chan (conceptual artwork)
Darrin Stephens (2D illustrations)
Donovan Webb (3D visualizations)
Christine Biron, David Scott, Jeremy Ahouse (immunology
expertise)
• John Bransford (learning science expertise)
• High schools (Pittsford; Montgomery Blair)
– Additional implementation sites
• Washington, DC Community Technology Centers
• Other high schools being considered
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Discover Babylon
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Project Objectives
Use simulation-based learning to...
• Increase institutional capabilities
• Promote cultural diplomacy
• Explore opportunity for ‘digital’ repatriation
• Encourage audience to interact with
museum and library holdings in
fundamentally new way
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Discover Babylon
• Game Features:
– realistic historical simulations and digitized museum
artifacts with compelling story line that captivates the
learner with challenges and mysteries
– encourage the learner to appreciate Mesopotamia’s
diverse contributions to writing, mathematics,
literature and law
• Target audience: middle school students ages
12-16
• Funding: Institute of Museum and Library
Services National Leadership Grant
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Collaborators
– UCLA
• Principal Investigator/ subject matter expertise
• Digitizing content and ensuring standards are met
– FAS
• Learning content
• Visualizations for the virtual environment
• Game design and development
– Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
•
•
•
•
Provides objects for digitization
Assisting with learning objectives
Provides subject matter expertise
Hosts game kiosk, participates in evaluation and distributes game
– Library of Congress
• Provides objects for digitization
– Berlin Max Planck Society
• subject matter expertise
• European mirror for source data
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Game development company & approach:
– 1st prototype - CMU Entertainment
Technology Center (Kiosk version - 5 mins of
gameplay)
– Final game – Independent Contractor with
Univ of Central Florida script-writer (20 mins.
Game play)
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Milestones
– Grant awarded: October 2004
– Kiosk game: May 2005
– Full prototype: March 2006
– Distribution & Evaluation: March-Aug 2006
– Final Grant Report: Sept 2006
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Mass Casualty Incident Response
• Issue: Prepare 1,096,900 firefighters working
in 30,542 fire departments
–
–
–
Incident Command and the practical implementation of
national first responder policy
Rapid cycle time and practical cost
Repeatable as needed by the security situation
• Current methods:
–
–
–
–
TOPOFF exercises (Every 2 years, $16 million-$50 million,
10k people, 200 groups)
Advanced Simulations (100 people, $40K)
Traditional classes (time off job, travel, groups of 20, $60 $1,200 per student)
“e-learning” (free to $200, same as reading a book, some
testing)
• Four years after 9/11 most are not trained and
are not ready
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Mass Casualty Incident Response continued
FAS Project:
• Desktop computer w/ internet distribution
–
Scaleable national distribution capability like e-learning
• Good learning Science Applied
–
–
–
–
High fidelity simulation, interactive discovery capability
Adaptive to learner’s adult experience
Built-in assessment and feedback
Combines learning science for knowledge acquisition
and simulation for application practice
• Maintainable with rapid changes
–
Central database and update capability gives instant
national accessibility to new or changed content
• Local Customization
–
Open editing system
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Mass Casualty Incident Response continued
FAS Project:
• FDNY team of Subject Matter Experts and
testers
• Wisconsin team for local customization and
portability testing
• Development supplier selected
– Open software environment
• Independent evaluator
• Multiple scenarios:
–
–
–
High rise firefighting 1st
Subway with HAZMAT 2nd
Further development dependent on additional funding
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Prototype Interface Panel
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Stand Alone Training Mode
BEGIN
Training
Mode?
No
Scene 1
Action
Yes
Training Content
Training
Mode?
No
Scene 2
Yes
Evaluate
Action
Incorrect Choice
Instruction
Content
Correct
Reinforce Content
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Local Customization Interface
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Interface with Navigation
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Institutionalization (Immune Attack© )
• Goal: get broad market adoption in
educational markets, including high
schools and undergraduate colleges and
universities
• Primary vehicle: Co-bundle and co-market
the game with a textbook.
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