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Summer 2015聽| By Susan Frith

An adventurous boy was playing in the laboratory when an explosion shrank him to the size of a Bunsen burner. Now he bounds through the air, picking up molecules and combining them into chemical compounds to put out a fire or blow up a wall 麻豆精品 S� all part of his quest to get through the lab and return to his normal size.

That 麻豆精品 S檚 the premise behind 麻豆精品 S淐ompounded, 麻豆精品 S� an educational video game for eighth- graders designed by students at . 麻豆精品 S淐ompounded 麻豆精品 S� is different from the entertainment games the graduate students typically learn to make during their time at FIEA. 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e all here because we want to make the next 麻豆精品 S楬alo, 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� says programmer Lia Cuella, but this assignment to create an educational game relevant to current state curriculum took extra research. 麻豆精品 S淲e started looking up the [for education], 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淭hen we had to make sure our great idea would actually teach something to the kids instead of just being a game. 麻豆精品 S�

According to Tom Carbone, FIEA 麻豆精品 S檚 technical director and the instructor for Game Lab, which gives students the opportunity to develop nontraditional games, 麻豆精品 S淲e wanted to open students 麻豆精品 S� eyes to the notion that the steps they 麻豆精品 S檙e learning about entertainment games directly apply to educational games. 麻豆精品 S�

As video games become more ingrained in American culture 麻豆精品 S� 97 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds play video games, and Americans spent more than $15 billion on them in 2013, according to market information company NPD Group in its Games Market Dynamics report 麻豆精品 S� businesses and the military have latched on to the technology as a motivational and training tool. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 just a natural outgrowth that it would start spilling over into the educational field for kids, 麻豆精品 S� says Kent Gritton, co-founder of the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge, which recognizes educational game development.

Technology forecaster Daniel Burrus calls the 麻豆精品 S済amification 麻豆精品 S� of education one of the 25 麻豆精品 S済ame- changing hard trends that will create disruption and opportunity 麻豆精品 S� over the next five years. Popular games like 麻豆精品 S淢inecraft 麻豆精品 S� have been modified for the classroom and used to teach everything from geometry to world cultures, while schools devoted to game-based learning, such as Quest to Learn in New York and the PlayMaker School in Los Angeles, have sprung up along the educational landscape. But significant game use remains the exception rather than the rule in American schools.

麻豆精品 S淚f people are engaged, they 麻豆精品 S檙e more likely to learn, 麻豆精品 S� says Atsusi 麻豆精品 S�2c 麻豆精品 S� Hirumi, UCF associate professor of instructional technology and editor of Playing Games in School: Video Games and Simulations for Primary and Secondary Education. 麻豆精品 S淚t makes sense to try to utilize [game] concepts to improve education, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淏ut if we want to make lasting significant changes, we have to reinvent the whole system. 麻豆精品 S�

UCF experts agree on the potential of gamification, a buzzword that vexes many game designers because it has come to mean everything from using game mechanics like leaderboards and badges in nongaming situations to the physical act of playing video games. But as scholars and producers ramp up their efforts to create and bring to market new educational games, the question on many of their minds is: Are schools going to level up with game-based learning, or will the trend eventually go the way of Atari?

Powering Up Education

Cuella has been entranced with video games since she discovered the role-playing game 麻豆精品 S淜ingdom Hearts 麻豆精品 S� in fifth grade. Now she 麻豆精品 S檚 learning how to make her own games, but 麻豆精品 S淐ompounded 麻豆精品 S� required a different mindset. Her team of eight classmates (four programmers, three producers and one artist) began with an ambitious list of the chemical compounds they wanted to include 麻豆精品 S� from rocket fuel and Windex to glucose to make their animated character run faster 麻豆精品 S� but had to scale back their ideas. 麻豆精品 S淚 don 麻豆精品 S檛 know any kids who would remember that C6H1206 equals glucose, 麻豆精品 S� Cuella explains. Eventually, they settled for simpler compounds. Dealing with the factual demands of educational games can frustrate designers 麻豆精品 S� creative urges, Carbone says. But the most cutting-edge games manage to slip in educational content without being obvious. 麻豆精品 S淟earning without trying to learn 麻豆精品 S� that 麻豆精品 S檚 the highest-level goal, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 more difficult than it sounds. 麻豆精品 S�

麻豆精品 S淗ow do you present that content without breaking the flow of the game? 麻豆精品 S� asks Hirumi, who studies how to integrate games into the curriculum. 麻豆精品 S淵ou can 麻豆精品 S檛 just say, 麻豆精品 S榊ou 麻豆精品 S檝e finished your homework. You can go play this game. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� This is the type of question he confronts with his work in the .

Hirumi 麻豆精品 S檚 students learn to collaborate effectively with game designers as part of their training. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e found that if game designers lead the game development process, the game can be fun, [but] not very effective educationally, 麻豆精品 S� he says, 麻豆精品 S渁nd if instructional designers lead the game, it can be educational but not very entertaining. 麻豆精品 S� True collaboration brings the best results, but for this to happen, says Hirumi, 麻豆精品 S淧eople have to come up with a viable business model to get companies to generate [educational] games that are fun, engaging and cost-effective. 麻豆精品 S�

While most FIEA students want to develop the kind of popular games their friends play, Carbone encourages them to consider alternative ways to use their degrees. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 the difference between making a blockbuster and making an indie movie, 麻豆精品 S� he says, noting that careers in educational games can be good choices and involve fewer grueling hours. Still, it 麻豆精品 S檚 hard to ignore the economics of educational game design. 麻豆精品 S淭he government isn 麻豆精品 S檛 paying Blizzard [Entertainment] millions of dollars to make 麻豆精品 S楾he World of Chemistry. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�

Even if it did, most schools couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 keep up with the hardware needed to run games with the same level of sophistication many students play at home, Carbone says. 麻豆精品 S淣ow our students 麻豆精品 S� bar for a good game is set by Xbox One or PlayStation 4. 麻豆精品 S�

Shawn Young, a Canadian high school teacher and creator of 麻豆精品 S淐lasscraft, 麻豆精品 S� argues that it is possible to transform a classroom with gameplay using basic technology. In the program he created for his own physics classroom (and has so far sold to 3,500 other teachers in 75 countries), students take on the roles of warriors, healers or mages. They work together as teams, and gain or lose powers through their classroom behaviors, reaping real-life benefits, such as permission to eat in class, and consequences like detention. 麻豆精品 S淐lasscraft 麻豆精品 S� requires only a single laptop and a projector; a basic version is available for free, and a premium version sells for $1 per student.

Although the education market can be difficult to break into, Young says, 麻豆精品 S淐lasscraft 麻豆精品 S� helps address 麻豆精品 S渉uman problems 麻豆精品 S� that concern educators, such as suspensions, fights and truancy. 麻豆精品 S淲e have kids in really poor districts where just getting them to come to school is an issue, 麻豆精品 S� he adds. But for Detroit area teachers who have started using 麻豆精品 S淐lasscraft, 麻豆精品 S� for example, Young says, 麻豆精品 S淎ttendance has shot way up. Kids want to find out what the random event of the day is going to be. … All of a sudden we 麻豆精品 S檙e totally rewiring the social dynamics within the classroom. 麻豆精品 S�

League of Learners

Janis Cannon-Bowers and , co-directors and founders of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Recent and Emerging Technologies Research Organization (RETRO) Lab, use their expertise in psychology to develop video games and simulations for training and teaching. They 麻豆精品 S檝e found the military and business worlds to be more open to adopting these tools.

麻豆精品 S淚n education, we have a distribution problem, 麻豆精品 S� Cannon-Bowers says. 麻豆精品 S淗ow do you get these things into the hands of kids? [The problem is] partly cost, partly politics. 麻豆精品 S� With the strong focus on standardized test scores across Florida and the United States, schools 麻豆精品 S渄on 麻豆精品 S檛 have the time to try something that might work, 麻豆精品 S� adds Bowers. 麻豆精品 S淭here are not a lot of risk takers out there now. It 麻豆精品 S檚 almost a chicken-and-egg problem. [Schools] say, 麻豆精品 S楶rove it works before I use it. 麻豆精品 S� Well, I can 麻豆精品 S檛 prove it works until you use it. 麻豆精品 S�

According to Hirumi, 麻豆精品 S淵ou 麻豆精品 S檙e going to have your educational heroes who go above and beyond doing innovative things to make learning fun and engaging and productive, but in general, the way the system is designed really constrains innovation. If you change one aspect of the system, then you 麻豆精品 S檝e got to change other aspects 麻豆精品 S� like curriculum, assessment and professional development 麻豆精品 S� to support that change. 麻豆精品 S� Until the system changes, he expects only an incremental spread of gameplay in schools. These odds haven 麻豆精品 S檛 deterred Lucas 麻豆精品 S� Blair, 麻豆精品 S�11, who used his experience working on games at RETRO Lab to co-found Little Bird Games with his wife Danielle 麻豆精品 S–helles, 麻豆精品 S�08. One of their recent projects, an educational e-book called The Lost Bee, has games built into the pages. As readers learn how honeybees create static electricity when they fly, helping them to collect pollen, they can play a game where they zip from flower to flower, trying not to bump into anything that makes the bees lose their static charge.

Besides designing educational games, Blair is even more excited about teaching students how to design their own games and simulations around a topic they 麻豆精品 S檙e studying. He also conducts game jams, which challenge teams of players to develop a game from scratch in a short period of time. According to Blair, this type of teaching encourages students to develop a sense of ownership about their learning, plus they gain experience working in teams and dealing with deadlines.

Another RETRO Lab alumnus, assistant professor at Peter Smith, 麻豆精品 S�05, co-founded the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge (SGSC) 10 years ago to recognize games that promote learning, training or the greater good. More recently, SGSC organizers began offering Orange County (Florida) middle and high schools free access to the educational games selected as SGSC finalists. 麻豆精品 S淲e put them right in the hands of the kids, 麻豆精品 S� Smith says. This year, Orange County student game-testers traveled back to the 19th century to seek freedom along the Underground Railroad, studied the effects of hurricane forces and learned about natural selection. Students evaluated the games and voted on their favorite, giving feedback to developers.

麻豆精品 S淸Three years ago], when we started talking to educators, we realized that there wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 a lot of use of games in the schools, 麻豆精品 S� says Showcase co-founder Gritton. 麻豆精品 S淭he administrators didn 麻豆精品 S檛 really understand how to bring them into the system … and the teachers themselves weren 麻豆精品 S檛 comfortable with how to integrate them into the curriculum and use them effectively for teaching and assessing students. 麻豆精品 S� Buoyed by recent success, SGSC organizers are trying to convince other area school districts to test the games. Partnering with schools has worked for game-makers in the Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab (METIL) at . Director David Metcalf has found most educators to be receptive. 麻豆精品 S淵ou have to be full-service and talk to them about how it integrates into their curriculum and help them manage the program, 麻豆精品 S� he says.

In METIL 麻豆精品 S檚 麻豆精品 S淪uper Nutrition! 麻豆精品 S� game, players must eat the right foods to collect energy to solve neighborhood missions and build their superpowers. Another, 麻豆精品 S淢y Sports Pulse, 麻豆精品 S� challenges students to discover the importance of math and science in sports, solving problems sent to their smartphones. Middle school students who played the latter game showed a 16 percent increase in interest in math and science careers and a 10 percent increase in learning outcomes, according to one study.

While the initial run of 麻豆精品 S淢y Sports Pulse 麻豆精品 S� only involved about 2,500 students, the sports agency Huddle Up Group plans to distribute the game across the country as part of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education program that brings NBA players and BMX athletes into schools to teach physics and engineering concepts. 麻豆精品 S淭hat gives it a national footprint, 麻豆精品 S� Metcalf says.

RETRO Lab 麻豆精品 S檚 Cannon-Bowers thinks more support for educational games may emerge from the commercial sector 麻豆精品 S� either from textbook makers wanting to stay relevant or from high-tech companies concerned about the STEM skills of their future workforce. METIL has found matching grants and corporate sponsorships for their educational games, and money raised through marathons and a benefit concert helped take 麻豆精品 S淢y Sports Pulse 麻豆精品 S� to schools in Uganda and Haiti. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 only as sustainable as the grants and sponsorships [we get], but it 麻豆精品 S檚 pretty sustainable, 麻豆精品 S� Metcalf says.

Winning the Game

When Cuella and her teammates at FIEA first began working on 麻豆精品 S淐ompounded, 麻豆精品 S� they had a pipe dream of selling it on the Apple App Store. With the busy demands of grad school, she 麻豆精品 S檚 not sure how far they 麻豆精品 S檒l take it now. But she 麻豆精品 S檚 considering making educational games in the future to touch kids 麻豆精品 S� lives and change their attitudes toward school. 麻豆精品 S淚 have a 13-year-old brother, and I know the struggle of getting him to learn something, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淓very time I ask him, he 麻豆精品 S檚 doing video games, not doing his homework. 麻豆精品 S�

麻豆精品 S淭here 麻豆精品 S檚 no doubt in my mind we have to make education more engaging, 麻豆精品 S� says Hirumi. 麻豆精品 S淗ollywood is going to continue, and the gaming industry is going to continue, and those are competitors for our children 麻豆精品 S檚 time. 麻豆精品 S�

While Gritton agrees that educational games will never approach the success of the entertainment industry, he believes their quality will keep improving as classrooms utilize more digital technology. 麻豆精品 S淭his is how students think and learn, 麻豆精品 S� adds Metcalf, 麻豆精品 S渁nd to put it in their language and their context is something that 麻豆精品 S檚 going to continue to happen, especially as more teachers have grown up learning with games. 麻豆精品 S�