My Mind is Swimming

My mind swims with ideas and thoughts of how games, simulations and virtual worlds can be used for learning and education. I separate learning and education due to the level of formality in each. Learning takes place all day, everyday; while education seems to mostly take place in formal settings. There is so much that can be learned through games, simulations and virtual worlds, things that the person learning may be completely oblivious to. Things that the developer of the game, simulation or virtual worlds may not have been aware of including. As I reflect on the simulations and virtual worlds I have been spending the majority of my time exploring, I begin to recognize many lessons inherent in each. So many thoughts pop into and out of my mind faster than I can get them written on paper or typed out on the computer...

I now struggle to settle my mind on a way in which to share what I have learned about gaming, simulations and virtual worlds with the faculty I work with. What will be of benefit them? What will they be interested in? How might games, simulations or virtual worlds be of use to them?

Second Life Part III: Social Interactions

Thus far in my exploration of Second Life (SL), I have found that the social interactions I have had with others (once I found my way to locations where we weren’t all brand new to SL) have been the most helpful in locating educational areas of SL. I have learned about and joined a couple of educators groups within SL that communicate together via SL to share how they are using or could use SL in their teaching. I visited Angel Island during the workday and spoke with an educator:

[10:25] MacGregor McGuire: I'm from Sinclair Community College
[10:26] You: I'm from Syracuse University
[10:26] MacGregor McGuire: Go Orange!
[10:26] MacGregor McGuire: Have you been in sl much?
[10:26] You: not too much, I'm still exploring and trying to figure out what possibilities it has
[10:27] MacGregor McGuire: We are doing the same...about to put together workshops to introduce faculty and see what Ideas they have

[10:27] MacGregor McGuire: Did you attend the ANGEL useer's conference
[10:27] You: no I didn't
[10:28] You: I found this location the other day, but am just getting back to check it out now
[10:28] MacGregor McGuire: There was a good session there on why they did this and from an English instructor at Ball State who is using it
[10:29] You: That would have been a good session to attend
[10:29] You: I'm hoping to find a session or something that will provide me with a better understanding of the power SL has in ed
[10:30] MacGregor McGuire: Have you joined ISTE in sl...they have many session
[10:30] You: no, but I will, thanks
[10:31] MacGregor McGuire: my pleasure...good luck on your searches
[10:31] You: thanks
[10:31] MacGregor McGuire: I think I have a landmark to the ISTE location
[10:32] MacGregor McGuire gave you ISTE (The International Society , Eduisland (30, 223, 28).
[10:32] You: Great, thank you.
[10:32] MacGregor McGuire: Your welcome...have fun
[10:32] MacGregor McGuire: see you around
[10:33] You: okay, enjoy

While this exchange did not provide me with ground breaking information, it did provide me with a new experience within SL at ISTE, that of meeting a docent, whose purpose is to provide assistance and information about the island:

[10:57] theusual Shackle: hi Krizten
[10:57] theusual Shackle: Welcome to ISTE!
[10:57] You: Hi theusual
[10:57] You: Thank you.
[10:58] theusual Shackle: Is this your first time at iste?
[10:58] You: yes, I just learned of it today, and was provided a link here today
[10:59] theusual Shackle: Outstanding, I'm the docent here at the moment, so if you have any questions I can show you around
[11:00] You: Great, unfortunately I don't really have time to explore right now, but I will be back another time.
[11:00] theusual Shackle: In addition to this building we also have a whole new island as well
[11:00] theusual Shackle: would you like to join the iste group to receive announcements and information
[11:00] You: yes, I would
[11:01] theusual Shackle: did you receive the invite?
[11:01] You: yes, thank you, I have accepted.
[11:02] theusual Shackle: There are quite a few events for eductors, and the new island adds quite a bit to iste's presense
[11:03] You: I'm looking forward to attending events and learning more about both iste and sl
[11:04] You: Thank you for you time, and the invitation to join the group. I have to get going.
[11:04] theusual Shackle: Alright, it was great to meet you
[11:04] You: nice to meet you too. take care.

I wish I had had more time to take this opportunity to speak with a real live person about their island that day, because the next time I returned, there was no docent available. As I reflect on the social experience and opportunity I was not able to take advantage of that day, I also realize that I don’t know what I would have asked other than what their event schedule was, and perhaps what events they recommended attending…still searching for an opportunity to participate in some educational event that will show me the true educational potential of SL ...

Flow Theory: World of Warcraft vs. Second Life

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi introduced the theory of flow which is described as the optimal state in which someone is so focused and involved in what they are doing (an activity) that nothing else seems to matter. Time flies by without notice. Csikszentmihalyi also attributes flow with enjoyable experiences, and provides five design elements that enable flow to be achieved: challenge, goal, concentration, control and feedback. As I think about Flow Theory, and consider my interactions within World of Warcraft (WoW) and Second Life (SL) I find that flow comes naturally in one, and that I struggle toward achieving flow, without ever quite reaching it in the later…

Elements of Flow within WOW:

Challenge is in almost every aspect of the game, such as creatures attacking, the horde (or if you are a member of the horde, the alliance) attacking your territory, learning how to use each of your abilities, learning a profession, etc.;

Multiple goals – to make money, better arm and protect yourself, complete quests, improve/increase your professional/class skills (for instance, if you are an herbalist, you can run around collecting herbs), etc.;

Concentration it takes to defeat other characters (player vs. player) and beasts in battle, or to come up with strategies of how to remain alive when assailed by 4 attackers at one time;

Control you have over creating your character to determine it’s class and professions, the choice you have whether to explore and move through the world on your own, join a guild, or a temporary group, etc.;

Feedback provided throughout the game, is given upon certain things occurring in the game (uninitiated by the player) to let you know what you did or what could have been done, helping you to learn as you go.

Elements of Flow within SL:

Challenge – it’s a challenge just to figure out what to do to get started

Multiple goals – the resident must devise the goals on their own, while trying to figure out what the point of SL is

Concentration – required to figure out how to move around in the world at first, but then the level of concentration required becomes less

Control – residents control where their avatar goes, who it communicates with,

Feedback – only provided when the resident intentionally or accidentally locates an interactive item by moving their mouse over or clicking on everything in sight

I have found that I can sit and play WOW for hours without realizing how much time has gone by, and still feel like I want to continue because there is more to achieve with my character, more quests to accept and complete, more herbs to collect, etc.; however I find that I can only spend 30 minutes to an hour wandering around in SL because even with the goal of just exploring it, SL still comes across as cumbersome and with no point beyond spending time in a virtual world with no goals.

Second Life part II: Exploration

Despite my initial impressions of Second Life (SL), I decided to continue exploring it to see what it had to offer. But this time, I explored from a different perspective: that of a teenager who just wants to see what something is about, rather than as someone who is expecting more guidance in what to do or what can be done. So I logged in, and started moving my mouse over everything, and clicking on everything that indicated a potential interaction. Via this new perspective, here is what I learned:

1. That many items provide the resident with a note card providing information or guidance for how to do various things within SL
2. How to add/request someone be a friend
3. How to teleport directly to someone on your friends list
4. How to create a prim (primitive object, usually something of a geometric shape such as a box, cylinder, ball, etc.; that can be made in various sizes, shapes, colors, textures, etc.
5. How to personalize my Avatar
6. How to create landmarks making it easy to return to locations I had visited.


After offers of friendship had been sent, received and accepted, I had the opportunity to interact with one of my friends. And it was via this type of interaction that I figured out how to teleport on cue (at least to a friend or location I had previously landmarked), as well as to send someone an invitation to teleport to my location.

As a result of this further exploration, I am more comfortable in SL, and more confident that it may have some viable educational uses…

Second Life part I: What is it?

Second Life(SL) is promoted as a 3-D virtual world built entirely by its “residents.” You are told that you will find a vast digital continent full of people, entertainment experiences and opportunity. Everything that we see in SL was created by your “fellow residents,” which can be bought, sold or traded among residents. SL even has it’s own currency which can be converted from US dollars at various Linden Dollar exchanges (very much like exchanging US dollars for Euros when visiting Europe). Okay, I thought this could be interesting so I downloaded and installed the SL client on my computer, created an account and an avatar. So far, so good, right? Sure. I logged into SL and found myself in a deserted city with no clue as to what to do or where to go. So I started wandering around. By accident, I noticed a small window in the bottom left portion of the open window that indicated that there might actually be a point to this deserted city. I “spoke” with several other residents, but since none of us knew what we were doing, we couldn’t even help each other out. Where was the tourist information center to help point us in the right direction? Where were the cues to tell us what we needed to do to get out of the deserted city? SL is not at all user intuitive. Sure there is a progress meter that provides you with information about the progress you’ve made toward learning various methods of movement, but it wasn’t until my second log-in to SL that I “achieved” one of the goals, I learned fly, to put 2+2 together to realize what the purpose of the progress window was. Now I was getting somewhere, but my motivation to continue wasn’t there.

How would I describe my initial visits to SL? Frustrating, confusing, and an un-productive use of my already limited time.

What educational uses did SL provide during those first two visits? I learned a couple of lessons myself in what NOT to do in gaming/simulation/modeling. When I initially logged in, I was very interested in what SL had to offer, but after over 1 hour of time in SL, there was no motivation or desire left to further explore. The creators of SL might want to consider looking at Motivation theory and principles to improve the initial experience in SL more user intuitive and less confusing.

Had the use and exploration of SL not been a requirement of a course I am taking on Gaming, Simulations and Modeling in Education, I doubt I would’ve logged in again…

World of Warcraft Part II: Foreign Language Learning?

My free 10-day trail of World of Warcraft (WOW) ended recently, however I have not yet settled on an answer as to its’ educational uses. I did however come across a blog posting suggesting it for use in the learning a foreign language, which has me intrigued. As an intermediate speaker of Spanish with the desire to improve my proficiency, I have begun to think about ways in which I could learn Spanish were I to connect to one of the game servers in Spain and using the Spanish language patch for my gaming client…

There are several things within WOW that I have noticed that would help with learning a language:
Repetition - there are words and phrases that are seen (text) repeatedly when moving through the game, for instance I have encountered approximately 4 different “types” of Wolves;
Context – the context drives the language used by the game itself. Quests provide opportunities for reading and understanding the idea of what is being “stated” so that someone who is not fluent in the language would be able to form their understanding of unfamiliar words via the context in which they are used;
Socialization – while there is no voice directly through WOW, the opportunities to use what you know of a language is offered via chatting with other players.

But can these aspects of the game really provide a venue for learning a foreign language?

World of Warcraft Part I: Commercial and/or Educational Game?

After several hours of downloading the game, and a couple more hours downloading and installing updates, I was finally able to register an account and begin my free, 10-day trial of World of Warcraft(WOW). Upon logging in, I was faced with the task of creating a character. Easy right? For some, yes, for others, no. It was kind of like ordering a coffee at Starbucks…first I had to choose between creating a character that was part of the Alliance (the good guys) or the Horde (the other guys); then I had to select whether to play a male or female character (apparently you can’t judge the player by the sex of their character); followed by a race, class, profession, hair style, hair color, etc. Wheeew! After making a series of choices, I was finally ready to play the game. Lucky for me, I know someone who was able to guide me and help me to understand the play. We played for about 2 hours (it’s amazing how much time flies by when your engaged in something) and during this time I learned the following things:

1. The guys with the !’s above their head pass out the quests.
2. The guys with the ?’s above their head greet you and provide you with the items won for succeeding in your quest.
3. When trying to kill the animals, don’t just stand there and get killed while they fight back
4. If you can’t use an item you pick up, sell it.
5. How to communicate with other players

…and several other things, however, I did not discover how the World of Warcraft can be used in teaching and instruction. So, is the World of Warcraft educational? Maybe. I plan to further explore the game to see if I can answer the question of whether or not WOW can be considered an educational game.

Games Generation Learners: Are they different from previous generations?

Today’s learners are often referred to as the “Net Generation,” but Marc Prensky refers to them as the “Games Generation,” and discusses how the education system is not sufficient for today’s learners and economy. Are today’s learners really different from those of the past? Or do the differing requirements of today’s society and economy make it appear as though today’s learners are different? Are games the best way to gain and maintain the interest of today’s learners to ensure learning occurs?

Prensky provides a list of 10 ways in which learners are different, most of which are related to the barrage of information that is constantly thrown at them, the methods for how they process the information, and how they communicate with each other. I believe that learners may fundamentally be the same as previous generations in so far as when they first begin their formal education, they are like blank journals waiting to be filled with information and knowledge, and that they must learn the same basic skills (reading, writing, computation, etc.) that prior generations learned; however, that is where I believe the similarities end. Learners of today are the product of the environment that their parents, grandparents and society created for them. They are bombarded with so many different information inputs coming from all angles that they have been forced to learn at an early age how to handle so much information. A direct result of this information bombardment is that they become easily bored when faced with long periods of sitting at a desk while a “Sage on the state” talks at them. This is not to say that learners are not capable of sitting still and listen, but that the traditional style lecture is not stimulating enough to maintain their interest and attention.

Games can certainly demand and maintain attention. In fact, learners can sometimes become so engrossed in a game that they lose track of time, forget that they are learning something, and most importantly from the educational perspective become engaged and invested in what they are doing. On the other hand, not all games teach useful and necessary information or skills.

When it comes to learning, it is essential that one always revisits the objectives prior to determining the methodology used. Games may be the best way to teach one thing, but not another. I think what is most important for teaching the “Net” or “Games” generation, is that the method being used will maintain their interest and get them engaged with what is being learned…

Gaming in Education

Gaming in education and training…not a new concept and yet, not something I had previously considered. I used to think of games in terms of board games, sports, and other forms of play, not as a form of learning. After several readings on the topic, I am beginning to understand the value and potential use of games in education and training. David Shaffer discusses the use of gaming in education from the perspective that the educational system in the US was designed and implemented during a specific time to teach the masses necessary skills of the time, and that those skills no longer meet the requirements of today’s society. The basic skills; reading, writing, computation, etc.; that are taught in the US public education system are certainly skills that will always be required, however the Information Age requires additional skills that are not as fully addressed. It is this other set of skills that need more attention, and these other skills for which gaming can be used to develop: creative solutions, innovative thinking, development of knowledge, etc.

Gaming in education and training can take place both with technology and without. What makes a game a game, are the rules that must be followed. My understanding is that the most important aspects of a game are the rules, roles, and outcomes. Games can have a winner and a loser, but do not have to. The point of a game can be to achieve a specific outcome or complete a specific task. Games require that players take on a certain role, be it themselves, or that of a professional such as a judge, jury member, scientist, biologist, warrior, etc. It is through the playing of the role that learning really takes place. Players may be required to apply the skills of a specific profession, thus increasing their proficiency in performing said skills, as well as understanding how to think in the way of a that specific profession. It is these professional skills that learners in the Information Age truly need to develop, and which help to prepare them to enter the workforce. As James Paul Gee reflects, the application of professional skills requires the use of the basic skills that the education system have been focusing on, however it is now time to take the emphasis off of the basic skills and put the emphasis on the skills that will prepare today’s learners for their place in the workforce tomorrow. Thus, games can be considered a form of outcomes based learning, as well as a method for providing learners with real-world problem-solving opportunities which learners may view as relevant to themselves, or the goals they have set for themselves…something I have desired many times as a learner…and has provided me with the motivation to put my best effort into...