Third Group

Your Group's Name: We're Number 3!

Group Members: Zach, Anne, Steve, Liam, Robyn

Please record your group's thoughts on the following questions below.  Feel free to add additional notes or details about your game-planning discussion.

1. What topics might be appropriate for this type of distributed game?  What educational goals do you hope to achieve?

Anne: Almost any topic would be suitable for a game.

          Three types of topics:

               • knowledge

               • know-how (e.g. how to fix a flat tire)

               • behavior (e.g. first-aid training).

          The type of topic guides the type of game. 

2. What steps would be necessary in the planning and implementation of the game?

Define the audience; peers rather than students, but peers with a variety of backgrounds and experience levels.  Assume that some are ambivalent or even hostile about the notion of games as a teaching/learning tool. Create incentives for engagement by establishing and making clear the learning outcomes.

3. How will you ensure that the game is playful, engaging, and achieves its educational goals?

Make the subgoals of various types: visual, cognitive, planning-orientation to engage a variety of participants' skill levels, learning styles, and levels of experience.

The game must balance challenge with achievable goals.

ARGs typically have a smaller number of players and a larger number of followers.

The game might embody a competitive element, either individually or by teams.  Are players competing with themselves or with others. Provide post-game discussion and follow-up.

4. What challenges and opportunities do you imagine you will encounter in the development and implementation process?

One challenge would be how to assess the learning from playing the game. Resource limitations, people, time, testing, content building.

5. What resources do you anticipate needing?

It will (obviously) depend on the game.

• A card-based game wouldn't require much.

• A distributed game would require that each team had at least one (1) networked computer.

• Usually, time is a key resource.

Content experts, test subjects, game designer, instructional designer