What's special about gaming on handhelds

Summary

1) Affordances

-   Different devices have particular affordances and barriers to uptake (technical skills and technical specifications)

2) Engagement & Accessibility

-   web-based / access

3) Learning Outcomes

-   collaboration / competition with self and others.  Collegiate support

-   ownership: sharing what you know.  Device.  Gender.  Easier when handheld (mobility, physical barrier)

4) Credibility in Education

-   market ownership (I.P.R.) software licenses

-   visibility of mobile devices in traditional education environment

5) HE.  More sophisticated gaming/Sims/Virtual fieldtrips

-   Strategy and scenarios

6) Personalised learning

-   Building on existing knowledge, Gender issues, customisation

Devices and their affordances

Smartphones, iPods, PDAs

-   clunky’, old fashioned games e.g.Tetris, Solitaire. Not strategy

-   content heavy memory an issue

-   cost of connectivity

-   accessibility → ease of use & skill sets

            ↓

ubiquity of devices + student (cohort) engagement

-   sole devices/specified devices → to web-based games  → playing games on all not only on dedicated devices

Collaboration

-   collaboration & competition – possible change from self-competition + collegiate atmosphere if group’s playing online

-   individual devices & self support; plus sharing skills – ‘peer support’ (with individual devices)

-   ownership & sharing what you know – new things – by student / innovator

-   mobile devices – ease of mobility and ability to share/show

-   physical affordances and collaboration → laptop screen as barrier – cf. pda + increased collaborative possibilities / outcomes

-   use of informal / social devices   ↓ education

-   not accepted – suppliers – change of  ↓ view

-   not accepted – educationalists – ‘it’s a game’

-   immersive environments and mobile devices  ? Can the technology render these?

-   immersive environments → cf. handheld device-based games with  “Instant on” no delay

Collaboration vs. self-test

 → do we want both?  - for different outcomes

Barriers

-  barriers to uptake

        -   tech skills

        -   tech specs

    →  therefore  should we provide devices?

-  software / games licences + being device specific

-  visibility & use of mobile devices in ‘traditional’ teaching environments

(What about Electronic Voting Systems? Use as gaming device  ie. Where the Zombiinis should go.)

Skills & HE

“Games” → using to develop skills – what’s its role in HE?

Simulations          - Chem Labs

                              - Medicine

                              - Flight simulators

Virtual fieldtrips

? Strategy-based: learning skills / strategies for more complex situations

+ Integration of gaming activities into learning → is it an integral part of learning activities cf. separate act.

Personalisation

-   individual gaming as way of personalising learning (building on existing knowledge, setting pace, etc.)

-   would game creation and its use to develop a wider / more transferable / more persisting set of learning outcomes, would this have different impact on ….

            ?gender: multi-tasking

            ?gender and ‘use of device – possession of …’.

            ?gender and outcomes?

            ?gender and prior knowledge + more pervading confidence – ie. if the boys know more ‘tekkie’ stuff                  

-  customisation + personalisation of devices → very important motivator for engagement.  (+ loaning / giving out mobile devices)

 Whole Workshop Discussion followed

• Sophisticated games – barriers as teachers often don’t understand them.
• Engagement / Accessibility
• Issued like textbooks?

-  Or children come ready equipped?

Web-based resources are perhaps the answer.

• Collaborative games
• Bring own devices into school – however ‘trends’ can cause problems.

Comment regarding peer support with handhelds – boys were more inclined to share learning using devices

Comment that children love to share things they know.  With handhelds collaborative/supportive learning was greatly enhanced.

With low achievers, both boys and girls, handhelds give them greater esteem.

Why do handhelds make people want to share?

-    You feel you have achieved something.

 -   On the big screen, people can see your mistakes

With the ‘Syncroneyes’ system, teachers try not to use right and wrong.

Comment that a lot of games, feedback your progress.  A partnership with gamer and game.

Comment that some games were ‘sugar-coated’ ie. educational primary games gave encouragement.  The older type games will tell you if you are wrong.