2. What bridges?
Digital immigrants Digital Natives (Prensky
2001)
Teaching styles
Learning styles (Becker
Formal learning 2006)
Surface Learning Informal learning
Extrinsic motivation Deep learning
Direct instruction Intrinsic motivation
Linear modes Inductive teaching style
Inclusive, collaborative
modes
No single theory, different ways of learning & teaching
3. In a nutshell (Jonnassen, Wilson & grabinger,
1993)
Behaviourist game design Constructivist game design
No extraneous information Natural complexity and
content of language
Simplifies comprehensibility
Avoids oversimplification
Reconstructs/replicates
knowledge Present multiple
representation /
Abstracts instruction perspectives
experience Real world contexts
Focuses on acquiring skills Engages reflective
Prescriptive sequences of practice
instruction Offer open learning
Supports individual learning environments
4. The situated perspective tenets
Knowledge not an object, memory not a location
Social interaction and negotiation in new
situations
Learning happens in authentic contexts
Bridges the artificiality of classroom learning to
real-life situations
Knowledge construction through participation
In given communities with specific
Culture, Language (jargon included) & Tools
5. MUVEs & MMORPGS
Multi-User Virtual Environments
Massive Multi-user Online Role Play Games
Add the 3d Component ( 2D cards, chess)
Users
evolve through an avatar (presence)
Interact with the environment & often with other
MUVEs avatars MMORPGs
Freedom Objectives, rules and rewards
Social (Special Interest Groups = Competitive (individual, teams, guilds)
SIGs)
Creative
Creative Communities of Practice
6. Some MMORPGs used in Edu
MinecraftEdu widely used in
primary, secondary
SecondLife soft and hard sciences
WoW Both Secondary & Higher Ed
Atlantis Remixed 9-16 y-o
Civilization V
7. Gees Affordances (foreword in Reinders
2012)
A good game design include:
Well-ordered problems
Tools (and other players) to solve problems
Learning by negotiating, building, sharing,
Copious feedback to prepare for next stages, higher
level
Next stages have new challenges (ZPD cycle of
expertise)
Playing & Learning through social interaction and
mentoring
Two way narratives
Reach standards in different ways
Easy design so gamers can become designers
(See Jonassen 1994)
8. Challenges for educators
Opportunity or disruption? mechanics of
gameplay
Learning to play versus learning language
Requirements (hardware and human
resources, time)
Institutional buy-in
Curriculum Integration (alignment goals-
assessment)
feedback, on-going assessment, formative vs
summative
Needs more research & practice, check
livebinders
See Stephen Thornes IATEFL 2012 Keynote
Read this post of teacher of German using WoW
9. Further Readings:
Becker, K., (2006) Games and Learning Styles, Academia.Edu [online]
Brown, J.S., Collins, A. & Duguid, S. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture
of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.
Jonassen, D.H., Wilson, B.G., Wang, S., & Grabinger, R.S. (1993).
Constructivist uses of expert systems to support learning. Journal of Computer-
Based Instruction, 20(3), 86-94.
Kkorthagen F.A.J., (2010) Situate Learning Theory and the Pedagogy of
Teacher Education: Towards an integrative View of Teacher Behaviour and
Teacher Learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26 (pp98-106) [online]
Lave, J., & Wenger, E., (1990). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral
Participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
Prensky M.,(2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, MCB
University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001
Reeve J. K. (2010) . Constructivism and Its Application to Game-Based
Learning [online]
Reinders, H. (2012) Digital Games in Language Learning and Teaching, New
Language Learning & Teaching Environments. Basingtoke, England: Palgrave
MacMillan
Young, F. Y. (1993). Instructional Design for Situated Learning. Educational
Technology Research and Development, 41 (1), 43-57.
10. Second Life Platform
3d MUVE, not a game
Role Play is more than half of users activities
Artists also promote their work
Learning Higher Ed for simulation
Language learning - CoPs & Slanguages
symposium
Edunation, Virtlantis, Cypris Chat, Instituto
espa単ol, etc
Simulation, explorations and treasure hunts
French FL and VUW language program