Landscape Analysis of Second Language Learning Games
Abstract: Games have the opportunity to provide language learners rich multimodal environments that ground language learning in a situated context. There are now a wide variety of second language learning games in a number of languages for different audiences. In this paper, we examine 68 games across different platforms to evaluate their approaches to pedagogy, proficiency, assessment, skills developed, and complexity. We describe our data collection and analysis procedures and then summarize the major trends in these areas. We found that most games take a didactic pedagogical approach, are targeted toward novices, incorporate assessment systems, focus on vocabulary development, and that average internal rating did not increase with the complexity of the learning within the game. The goal of this analysis is to inform and contextualize future potential efforts in this particular domain.
New Design Principles for Mobile History
Owen Gottlieb
This study draws on design-based research on an ARIS – based mobile augmented reality game for teaching early 20th century history. New design principles derived from the study include the use of supra-reveals, and bias mirroring. Supra-reveals are a kind of foreshadowing event in order to ground historical happenings in the wider enduring historical understanding. Bias mirroring refers to a non-player character echoing back a player’s biased behavior, in order to open the player to listening to alternative perspectives. Supra-reveals engendered discussion of historical themes early in the game experience. The results showed that use of a cluster of NPC bias mirroring techniques enhanced student ability to articulate points of view previously unavailable to them.
[Game]: The Death and Life of an AR game curriculumHolden, Sykes, Thorne
Back in 2009, two of the authors began work on [Game], a design-based research project and game-based curriculum. Several years later, Mentira is gone. In many ways, we would say the project has failed. Looking back, it turns out that success and failure of design-based research (DBR) projects are not as simple as they seem. The metrics and mechanisms of academics do not represent much of the multifaceted lives and deaths of DBR projects. In particular, without work outside academia, it is doubtful that any such project can go from idiosyncratic experiment to meaningful effect on education. In this article, we revisit some of what went wrong in our project and where the silver linings are. We look at why [Game] died and what lives on in its place, with advice for other DBRtists, practitioners, and scholars of educational technology.
