EDU624: Blog 3
- Rosa Conti
- Oct 15, 2022
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 16, 2022
Gameplay & Mobile Learning
In the last two blogs of this series about the creation of e-Learning, I talked about three things: how Absorb activities deliver the learning content, Do activities allow the learner to practice and reinforce their knowledge and skills, and Connect activities enable students to create a link between something newly learned and already known (Horton, 2012).
This article looks at using games and mobile design in an e-Learning environment.
GAMES FOR LEARNING
I wasn't a big fan of games growing up, and I don't recall my teachers using them in any way in my classrooms. Although, to their credit, besides lacking the Internet, in the 70s, we likely didn't have psychology-minded curriculum designers who understood the many ways games benefit learners. By the time my son was born in the late 90s, his generation had games like Roller Coaster Tycoon, which encouraged kids to explore forces and motion in physics, and Minecraft, which taught them the fundamentals of programming skills, problem-solving, teamwork, and more.
Therefore, Horton's (2012) concept of the "purposeful" use of games to allow learners to practice tasks, apply knowledge and underline principles was subconsciously new to me. In other words, I hadn't considered the numerous times I've already been exposed to learning games or gamification.
For example, look at the TV show the Wheel of Fortune. Have you ever noticed how this game show is great for teaching vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation? Another example is the Jeopardy-like game we created for employees at my work years ago to learn facts about our company. Similarly, a game of Two Truths & A Lie during an all-hands monthly town hall enabled warehouse and office workers to know each other better.
Also, I am pretty sure that all of my electronic devices and apps – from my Peloton bike and Hydrow rower to my Fitbit sleep watch and water-tracking app – offer me a badge, affirmation, or, in some cases, gifts, like water bottles and clothing as a way to "gamify" my physical learning experience. This last example may not seem like education as we define it, but according to Horton (2012), creating environments that encourage and excite learners to practice and apply knowledge (such as games do) are key to designing Connect and Do activities. Further, he recommends designing the game so that "winning requires accomplishing the learning objective" (Horton, 2012, p. 398). In the example situation of creating healthy habits, a gamification approach wins at this.
APPROPRIATE TIMES FOR GAMES
A key takeaway from studying gameplay in education for me was that not all gameplay and gamification are created equal or with purpose, and this should be considered before deciding to insert it into an e-Learning course. Ask yourself: Does it add value? What is its purpose?
Also, games do not work well during the delivery of content (Absorb) activities. They work best for applying the skills and knowledge after the teaching occurs, during the subsequent Do and Connect activities. Imagine that you ask someone for directions to get to a store across town. Would you rather they give you a quick transfer of information or make you engage in a game? Wouldn't it be easier and more applicable to test/gameplay your knowledge after you learned the information, if at all?
When I began to draft my Storyline course for this class, we hadn't yet discussed gameplay. Therefore, I didn't realize that I included a game in my course by framing the learning experience with a "back story."
For example, my mock PowerPoint Basics course targets middle school students. To keep them interested, I began with a story about 15-year-old "Alex," who wants to start a lawn-mowing business to save money for a car and needs to learn PowerPoint to pitch the idea to his neighborhood. Hence, students will learn along with Alex. I never thought of this as a game. Yet, I learned that creating a character with a backstory and offering users a unifying challenge adds a gaming element to the learning course (Horton, 2012).
Listed below in bold are a few more appropriate times to incorporate game concepts into e-Learning, according to Horton (2012).
Boring compliance training – Adding gameplay to starchy, fact-driven training can engage the learner and make them think. Better said; it can wake them up.
Costs of failure are high – With training cases involving learners such as NASA astronauts, medical students, and safety workers, it's easy to argue that failure in real-time is not an option. Here, practice does not make perfect in these situations unless the exercise is done through simulated gameplay to avoid potential real-life disastrous outcomes.
Skills to be taught are subtle and complex – A course like Ethics, where a skill or competency test cannot measure personal values, would fare well using gaming concepts in its design.
MOBILE LEARNING
My biggest takeaway this past week was to learn a different and contradictory definition of "mobile learning" than what I've been taught in this program or have otherwise seen. I have known that mobile learning (or m-learning) involves mobile phones and digital apps. In other words, my previous learning taught me that mobile learning is an avenue for people to access courses "anytime, anywhere, via their mobile devices," even "from their home, while commuting, or during breaks" (Brown, 2021, para. 5).
However, Horton (2022) describes mobile learning not as an experience solely stemming from a mobile or digital device but one which involves learning from anything in the world around us, such as objects, places, and people. For example, using a telescope and visiting a park or museum can constitute mobile learning if the interaction allows for a teachable moment.
In other words, contrary to what most of the world probably believes and writes about, Horton does not limit mobile learning to digital devices, such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, or VR equipment. I see that Horton is leaning on the word "mobile" in the Merriam-Webster definition of "capable of moving or being moved." I'm not fond of this. I believe the terms "mobile learning" and "m-learning" are more widely known and better suited to be used in the sense of digital devices and not as learning while "moving around." I agree with Horton that there is a myriad of learning moments, opportunities, and conduits in the world, such as objects, locations, environments, experts, fellow learners, and the Internet (Horton, 2012); but I think there could be a more suitable name for the kind of fluid learning he describes.
PROACTIVE PLANNING
Another focus of attention for me was around the prescriptive planning required for building a successful mobile-friendly learning course. Before this week, my primary concern when thinking about mobile-friendly learning (on a smartphone or tablet) was the importance of responsive design, which is ensuring the website's screen size and orientation don't skew the viewing appearance.
However, there are many more areas besides screen display to consider and examine when creating a mobile-friendly course. These include audio and video playback, wireless networking, pointing devices, browser support, course length, and interactive activities, to name a few notable ones. There is also the digital divide and related nuances to consider: Will the course abandon learners who don't have a mobile device, high-speed internet, or savvy technical skill? What other ways might specific learner audiences be neglected or forgotten during the design phase? And how can this be prevented?
In closing, it's crucial to be proactive versus reactive when conceptualizing, designing, and building an e-Learning course. Having the upfront foresight to think through and plan the components of a future e-Learning course benefit the learner because it dramatically improves their chances of success. For example, it's necessary to construct appropriate (and hopefully enjoyable) Absorb, Do, and Connect activities tied to learning objectives. Another judgment is how, when, or if tests and games are included. Lastly, the decision to make an e-Learning course mobile-friendly unquestionably needs to be made at the project's helm to prevent and avoid significant redesign or reworking of content.
In this video, educator Mary Montag talks about the importance of mobile use in learning environments.
In this video, Brookings Institution hosted a panel to discuss how advances in mobile technology are changing education and improving student engagement and assessment.
References
Brown, D. (2021, October 20). Importance of mobile learning. https://www.edapp.com/blog/importance-of-mobile-learning
Horton, W. (2012). E-Learning by design. (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
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