IDE.735#7: Clark's Classification of Simulation Genres

This is the first one I played: a McDonald's game that is an example of interactive spreadsheets. I can't figure out why the word spreadsheets is used but according to Clark, it's because some form of statistical feedback is given through numbers, charts or graphs.

Here's a mini-game I played - Howard Dean's Recruitment Campaign. Quite fun and addictive.


Another mini game. Was quite difficult to play though. I kept not being able to serve the right beer to the customer.

This one is a branching story sim. I wasn't too patient with this one because there were long narrations and a lot of text. Wait time was too long for me and on first impressions, it wasn't fun. I probably have the hypertext mind that Prensky talks about.

IDE.735#6: An emerging mindmap

My brain synapses are not connecting very well; isolated ideas roam helter-skelter looking for a node to connect. All the readings I've done - not enough I'd venture to say - have been so random, not in order. Instead of moving from core to optional, I've been desperately trying to put out bush fires to cope with the numerous discussion forums (fora?). I realize I'm just bombarding my poor brain with all sorts of ideas about games, simulations and all the new vocabulary and nothing is getting ordered in any schemata. I have little islands of expertise looking to form a large continent of expertise.

I've read some chapters of Shaffer, flipped through Prensky & Alessi; read Dorner, Sterman, some Gredler, some on modeling - Seel, etc... explored some gaming, modeling and simulation platforms, been to SecondLife numerous times (finally getting to the point where I can teleport to some places), and now I'm frantically trying to understand Clark Aldrich's ideas about simulations.

I want to badly be able to consolidate and synthesize these disparate ideas.

I enjoy Shaffer and realize his idea of epistemic games is very broad: games that are about learning to think in innovative ways (p. 10). And then he mentions how every game has at its core a simulation (p. 69). Later, on reading and listening to Clark Aldrich's podcasts, I'm beginning to link Aldrich's teaching of cyclical content to Shaffer's epistemic games. Systems and cyclical content must be present in simulations to create epistemic games. And Shaffer mentions Dewey's idea of the kind of learning that harnesses the power of authentic activities. So the kind of learning that takes place as students develop the Digital Zoo helps them develop knowledge that is contextualized in a particular professional setting. And Shafffer claims this kind of learning of professional knowledge, the ability to use specialized language is the biggest predictor of success in school. As in performance in tests and exams?

This really had me thinking. To what extent is this true? I am thinking of how far this is true in this course. There are so many new words, new jargon relating to games, modeling and simulations. The more I understand them, the more concepts I clarify and link together in my neural map, it appears the more sensemaking is created.

When I first entered Clark Aldrich's blog, I was overwhelmed by all the terms there. What was it all about? How can I respond to a list of terms. Then slowly as I read them and began to connect the professional knowledge, the more I felt I had a grip on the subject. Phew!

IDE 735#3: Gaming in Education

I was desperately squeezing time in today during work to prepare my presentation for tonight. I could only do one anyway. There's no time to do anything when one has a full schedule at work. This course really ought to be more spread out. There is hardly time to read and reflect on all the good stuff. Are they thinking only fulltime students should take this course? Better planning next time please, IDDE.

My boss saw me struggling to prepare my presentation. Thankfully he was understanding and showed me how SimCity Classic is played. Phew! He brought his tablet and even showed me how Civilizations looked on it. It looks cool.

After researching SimCity, I think I'm curious to go get either The Sims or Sims 2 about virtual people. I want to test how this might allow me to simulate some learning conditions: like how people might struggle with learning new technologies, the decisions they have to make, the complex conditions, and variables involved.

IDE 735 #1: Reflection on Major Concepts

I began the course with the need to clarify the major concepts of the study; questions about modeling, simulations, and games. So this post is me thinking aloud and clarifying my thoughts.

I skimmed through various texts and readings and this is what I'm getting:

1. Modeling and simulations are NOT synonymous. A model can be a real or modeled environment, cause-effect or time-space systems or expert behavior. These models are assumed to consist of 2 parts- a set of abstractions of time-space or cause-effect sequence, and a media representation of the abstractions. (Gibbons 2001 pp.511-515)

Gibbons 2001 (pp 511-512): "The central premise of model-centered instruction is that the most effective and efficient instruction take place through experiencing realia or models in the presence of a variety of instructional augmentations designed to facilitate learning from the experience." The emphasis for this type of instruction is on experience and problem-solving.

OK. Some examples/illustrations might clarify this.

Norbert Seel (2003) mentions 2 types: Reproduction and symbolic models. He mentions how modeling involves interactions between 3 types of systems:

1. internal conceptual systems of a model building person

2. representational systems that function both as externalizations of the internal conceptual system and as internalizations of external systems

3. external systems that are experienced in nature or that are artifacts that were constructed by humans.

OK, this is getting me just a tad closer to understanding the concept. Again, I need to come across some more examples other than static models like artifacts (globe, display exhibits in museums). I'm thinking information kiosks would also be examples of expert systems...

*To be continued after dinner.*

*Back.*

2. I think I'm more secure about the concept of simulations. I flipped through Alessi & Trollip and they have a chapter on that. I discovered that I have actually created 'How to do' simulations for my job! - procedural simulations on how to use Blackboard, PowerPoint, SU pilot blog and how to install SPSS14. It would be interesting to have a go at creating other types of simulations.

3. The concept of games. Tension arises as my brain struggles to come to terms with the new association with the concept. Shaffer (2006) mentions how fun is NOT the defining characteristic of a game (p.21) - I'd always thought of games as being fun. But Prensky emphasizes how games are fun and not boring throughout his book (p.106, 128). From Shaffer, I learned that the significance of digital games is its power to produce deep and authentic learning - it is "a bridge from learning in the world that matters to learning in games that matter" (p. 29).

That is for me probably the most important lesson this week.

More about microworlds, VR later...