Games and simulations in distance learning: the AIDLET Model

This chapter discusses the selection and potential use of electronic games and simulations in distance learning supported by an operational model called AIDLET. After analyzing the different approaches to the use of games and simulations in education, and discussing their benefits and shortcomings, a framework was developed to facilitate the selection, repurposing, design and implementation of games and simulations, with focus on the practical aspects of the processes used in Open and Distance Learning (ODL). Whereas traditional learning is based on knowledge memorization and the comple- tion of carefully graded assignments, today, games, simulations and virtual environments turn out to be safe platforms for trial and error experimentation, i.e. learning by doing/playing. New instructional models may require that rich interactive processes of communication are supported, that assignments are structured as game-like projects, and that a culture of interaction, collaboration, and enablement drives learning and personal development. In this context, the AIDLET model was set out and verified against a taxonomy representing the main categories and genres of games to meet the requirements of distance education teachers, instructional designers and decision-makers

Book review: From N00b to Community Organizer: A Review of Kurt Squire's 'Video Games and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital Age (review by Michelle A. Hoyle)

Can we learn socially and academically valuable concepts and skills from video games?  How can we best teach the "gamer generation"?  This accessible book describes how educators and curriculum designers can harness the participatory nature of digital media and play.  The author presents a comprehensive model of games and learning that integrates analyses of games, game culture, and educational game design.  Building on more than 10 years of research, Kurt Squire tells the story of the emerging field of immersive, digitally mediated learning environments (or games) and outlines the future of education. Featuring engaging stories from the author's experiences as a game researcher, this book:Explores the intersections between commercial game design for entertainment and design-based research conducted in schoolsHighlights the importance of social interactions around games at home, at school, and in online communitiesEngages readers with a user-friendly presentation, including personal narratives, sidebars, screenshots, and annotations.Offers a forward-looking vision of the changing audience for educational video games.Kurt Squire is an associate professor of Educational Communications and Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and associate co-director for educational research and development at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery

Learning Local Immigration History In and Out of the Museum

In this article we utilize three case studies from the US as models for structuring historical inquiry in museum education programs focused on local immigration history. We focus on how models of practice from museums can be utilized as part of authentic history education pedagogy – in particular conducting historical inquiry with archival material and creating engaging exhibits. The three cases we draw from are the Tenement Museum (New York City), the Open House exhibit at the Minnesota History Center (St Paul, Minnesota), and a middle grades project in the Greenbush neighborhood (Madison, Wisconsin)

In and out domains. Playful principles to in-form urban solutions

The implementation of games in architecture and urban planning has a long history since the 1960s and is still a preferential tool to foster public participation and address contemporary spatial – and social - conflicts within the urban fabric. Moreover, in the last decade, we have seen the rise of urban play as a tool for community building, and city-making and Western society is actively focusing on play/playfulness – together with ludic dynamics and mechanics - as an applied methodology to deal with complex challenges, and deeper comprehend emergent situations. In this paper, we aim to initiate a dialogue between game scholars and architects through the use of the PLEX/CIVIC framework. Like many creative professions, we believe that architectural practice may benefit significantly from having more design methodologies at hand, thus improving lateral thinking. We aim at providing new conceptual and operative tools to discuss and reflect on how games facilitate long-term planning processes and help to solve migration issues, allowing citizens themselves to take their responsibility and contribute to durable solutions

Plasma Dynamics

Contains table of contents for Section 2 and reports on four research projects.Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Subcontract 6264005)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS 84-13173)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS 85-14517)U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientifc Research (Contract AFOSR 84-0026)U.S. Army - Harry Diamond Laboratories (Contract DAAL02-86-C-0050)U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (Contract N00014-87-K-2001)U.S. Department of Energy (Contract DE-AC02-78-ET-51013)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS 85-1 5032

Plasma Dynamics

Contains table of contents for Section 2 and reports on four research projects.Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Subcontract 6264005National Science Foundation Grant ECS 84-13173National Science Foundation Grant ECS 85-14517U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Contract AFOSR 84-0026U.S. Army - Harry Diamond Laboratories Contract DAAL02-86-C-0050U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-87-K-2001National Science Foundation Grant ECS 85-15032National Science Foundation Grant ECS 88-22475U.S. Department of Energy Contract DE-AC02-ET-5101

Changing the game: What happens when video games enter the classroom? Innovate

Over the past few years, games have gone from social pariahs to the darlings of the media, technology, and now educational industries. E-learning educators in particular stand to learn a lot about building next-generation learning environments from games (Dalesio 2004). While online courses are usually little more than "online course notes, " games offer entire worlds to explore. While educators wonder if it is possible to create good online learning communities, game designers create virtual societies with their own cultures, languages, political systems, and economies (Kolbert 2001; Steinkuehler, forthcoming). While completion rates for online courses barely reach 50%, gamers spend hundreds of hours mastering games, writing lengthy texts, and even setting up their own virtual "universities " to teach others to play games (Squire, forthcoming). In short, while e-learning has a reputation for being dull and ineffective, games have developed a reputation for being fun, engaging, and immersive, requiring deep thinking and complex problem solving (Gee 2003). Given emerging research on how video games and associated pedagogies work in designed settings (Shaffer 2005), it seems the important question is not whether educators can use games to support learning, but how we can use games most effectively as educational tools. The explosion of research initiatives, conferences, books, and software focused on educational games suggests that computer and video games will have some part in education, just as all media before them have been used for learning. However, the history of educational technology also suggests that educators wil

Squire, Kurt, From Content to Context: Videogames as Designed Experience, Educational Researcher, 35(November, 2006), 19-29.

Discusses the impact of videogames in education and their potential for conducting research on learning and on designing educational experiences; gives concrete illustrations