Game-Based Learning Across the Lifespan: Cross-Generational and Age-Oriented Topics PDF
Preview Game-Based Learning Across the Lifespan: Cross-Generational and Age-Oriented Topics
Advances in Game-Based Learning Margarida Romero Kimberly Sawchuk Josep Blat Sergio Sayago Hubert Ouellet Editors Game-Based Learning Across the Lifespan Cross-Generational and Age-Oriented Topics Advances in Game-Based Learning Series Editors Dirk Ifenthaler Scott Joseph Warren Deniz Eseryel More information about this series at h ttp://www.springer.com/series/13094 Margarida Romero (cid:129) Kimberly Sawchuk Josep Blat (cid:129) Sergio Sayago (cid:129) Hubert Ouellet Editors Game-Based Learning Across the Lifespan Cross-Generational and Age-Oriented Topics Editors Margarida Romero Kimberly Sawchuk Université Laval Concordia University Québec , Canada Montréal , Canada Josep Blat Sergio Sayago Universitat Pompeu Fabra Universitat de Lleida Barcelona , Spain Lleida , Spain Hubert Ouellet Université Laval Québec , Canada Advances in Game-Based Learning ISBN 978-3-319-41795-0 ISBN 978-3-319-41797-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41797-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016951847 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 T his work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. T he publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland Fore word I n 2015, I published Players and their Pets: Gaming communities from beta to sun- set , which I co-wrote with Jason Begy. In the book, we recounted our experiences studying the players of a short-lived casual MMO (massively multiplayer online) game called F aunasphere . The game was launched in 2009 by Big Fish Games, known mainly for its single player hidden object games—but they were trying something new. Players entered the world as “Caretakers” of fauna, where small creatures could be cross-bred, hatched, raised, and played with by players around the world, throughout the changing world of Faunasphere. The game didn’t last long—the core group of players engaged with the game loved it, but the company decided to shut it down for largely unexplained reasons in 2011. You can read more about the game itself and the players in our book. But the reason I bring up the game and its players is because of their uniqueness as well as their very commonness. Faunasphere’s core player base was composed of women—and in particular adult women over the age of 40. Older women—and retired women especially— made up a key element of the game’s audience. When we conducted surveys and requested interviews of players, it was normal to have the vast majority of respon- dents be women, and not those who could be considered “young.” Yet in another way, the players of Faunasphere were not at all unique. Many of them loved play- ing the game and played the game a lot. Despite it being a free to play game, lots of the women we surveyed told us they spent money (sometimes hundreds of dollars) on the game. And they considered it money well spent. When the game was announced as slated for closure, some of them also suggested doubling subscription costs for premium accounts—they were ready and willing to pay more to continue playing the game they enjoyed so much. And after the game did close, some of them went on to try other games together (a group migrated to G litch, which fl our- ished and then died a couple of years later) and others gathered on Facebook where they could swap stories and lament the game’s loss. Some still post there, 5 years after the game’s closure. Such accounts would not sound out of place in discussing almost any other game, and any other group of players—some are fi ercely commit- ted, some spend lots of money, and some get very upset if a game they adore ceases to exist. v vi Foreword What does this say about players, and older players in particular? To me it says that we need to think about them as players fi rst, and as “older” second, if at all. The players I talked with for that research were a varied group—some of them admitted to playing games for hours at a time, every day of the week. Some had long histories of gameplay and loved to try lots of different games. For others, F aunasphere was their fi rst foray into an MMO, but they were excited about the experience and deter- mined to fi gure the game out. Some people talked about getting new computers so they could play the game without lag, and others were much more casual about the experience and didn’t commit much to it beyond a surface interest. Experiences like those demonstrate just how important it is to keep in mind older adults when designing games. Whether for serious games or entertainment-f ocused games, older players are a diverse and enthusiastic group of individuals. As the contributors in this volume demonstrate, they are not interested in a “narrative of decline” related to their age; instead, they want game experiences that are engaging and enjoyable and that will differ more than they will be the same. That means exploring design principles and techniques such as those presented in this volume. Game-Based Learning Across the Lifespan is useful for both what it does and what it doesn’t do. It does give us thoughtful and tested techniques and principles for creating games that will appeal to a wide range of players. And it doesn’t reduce older players to a stereotype or design f or them without talking and testing game designs w ith them. In those ways, it is an extremely useful and inspiring volume to help all of us think about making games for everyone, in well-considered, well- researched ways. Mia Consalvo Contents Expanding the Game Design Play and Experience Framework for Game-Based Lifelong Learning (GD-LLL-PE) ..................................... 1 Margarida Romero , Hubert Ouellet , and Kimberly Sawchuk Miami Six-O: Lessons Learned From an Intergenerational Game Design Workshop ................................................................................. 13 Bob De Schutter , Amy Restorick Roberts , and Kelley Franks Online Educational Games: Guidelines for Intergenerational Use ............ 29 Louise Sauvé Blurring the Lines of Age: Intergenerational Collaboration in Alternate Reality Games ............................................................................ 47 Simone Hausknecht , Carman Neustaedter , and David Kaufman Implementing Maker Spaces to Promote Cross-Generational Sharing and Learning ..................................................................................... 65 Sylvie Barma , Margarida Romero , and R ollande Deslandes Promoting Intergenerational Participation Through Game Creation Activities ........................................................................................... 79 Hubert Ouellet , Margarida Romero , and Kimberly Sawchuk Designing Enhanced Learning Environments in Physics: An Interdisciplinary Collaborative Approach Producing an Instrument for School Success .................................................................. 91 Sylvie Barma and Sylvie Daniel Learning in Later Life While Engaging in Cross-Generational Digital Content Creation and Playful Educational Activities ..................... 115 Susan M. Ferreira , Sergio Sayago , and Josep Blat vii viii Contents Digital Games as a Means of Raising Awareness About Ageism and Gender Discrimination: Three Principles for Teachers and Game Developers ..................................................................................... 131 Andreas Schuch Index ................................................................................................................. 151 Contributors Sylvie Barma Université Laval , Quebec City , QC , Canada Josep Blat Universitat Pompeu Fabra , Barcelona , Spain Sylvie Daniel Université Laval , Quebec City , QC , Canada Rollande Deslandes Quebec University at Trois-Rivière , Trois-Rivière , QC , Canada Susan M. Ferreira Télé-Université du Québec , Montreal , Canada Kelley Franks Family Studies and Social Work , Miami University , Ohio , USA Simone Hausknecht Sessional Instructor, Simon Fraser University , British Columbia , Canada David Kaufman Professor, Simon Fraser University , British Columbia , Canada Carman Neustaedter A ssociate Professor, Simon Fraser University, B ritish Columbia , Canada Hubert Ouellet Université Laval , Québec , Canada Amy Restorick Roberts Assistant Professor, Family Studies and Social Work, Miami University , Ohio , USA Margarida Romero Université Laval , Québec , Canada Louise Sauvé Professor in Educational Technology, Education Department , Télé- université , Quebec City , QC , Canada Kimberly Sawchuk Concordia University , Montréal , Canada Sergio Sayago Universitat de Lleida , Lleida , Spain Andreas Schuch Department of English Studies , University of Graz , Graz , Austria Bob D e Schutter Professor, Miami University , Ohio , USA ix Expanding the Game Design Play and Experience Framework for Game-Based Lifelong Learning (GD-LLL-PE) Margarida Romero , Hubert Ouellet , and Kimberly Sawchuk Abstract D igital games open new opportunities for engaging people from differ- ent ages and backgrounds in ludic activities. Sometimes, digital games are just played with players as the sole objective. In other cases, the game experience is combined with some other intentional purposes such as lifelong learning. We desig- nate the use of digital games for Lifelong Learning (LLL) under the term Digital Game-Based Lifelong Learning (DGBLLL). In this chapter we introduce the Game Design for Lifelong Learning Playful Experience (GD-LLL-PE) including four per- spectives (learning, storytelling, gameplay and user experience) and fi ve phases (context and learner analysis, game design, pedagogical integration, play and expe- rience) to study the pedagogical use of digital games across the lifespan. Keywords Digital games • Game based learning • Lifelong learning • Game design • Gameplay • Game experience Introduction D igital games open new opportunities for engaging people from different ages and backgrounds in ludic activities. Sometimes, digital games are just played with play- ers as the sole objective (Brown and De Schutter 2 016 ). In other cases, the game experience is combined with some other intentional purposes such as lifelong learn- ing. This book articulates two ideas, exploring their interconnection and their poten- tial: the idea of lifelong learning (LLL) within the game-based learning (GBL) studies. For this reason, we designate the use of digital games for this purpose as an approach that we call Digital Game-Based Lifelong Learning (DGBLLL) (Romero 2 015a , b ). The goal of this collection of essays is to provide an overview of current M. Romero (*) • H. Ouellet Université Laval , 2320 rue des Bibliothèques , Québec , Canada e-mail: [email protected] K. Sawchuk Concordia University , 7141 Sherbrooke W., H4b 1R6 , Montréal , Canada © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 1 M. Romero et al. (eds.), Game-Based Learning Across the Lifespan, Advances in Game-Based Learning, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41797-4_1
The list of books you might like
