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In fulfillment of the requirements for EDUC 5863
TASK:
TASK:
This production requires you to play a ‘good game’, dedicate some time to playing, and (as you are playing) reflect upon play using Gee’s article/video and Fullteron’s Chapter.
First, this means selecting and playing the kind of ‘good game’ Gee is talking about in terms of ‘good tools’ and ‘well-designed’ problem spaces. It can be an online MMORPG; a console-based game or a game-like Minecraft (sandbox, exploratory, world-building); or a simulation-based game or a competitive game that requires some kind of in-game skilled practice. Minecraft might be a good ‘default’ game if you are not an avid game player. Or you might take an analytic approach to how Minecraft and Minecraft.edu operate differently in relation to Gee’s prinicples.
You will have to spend time, in any case, in the game environment, exploring the environment, and playing (in whatever way the game supports varieties of play and challenge spaces).
Second, after you have explored the game environment, and played the game, connect your game play experience to the reading/s. Again, you should take ‘field notes’ now and then and document your experiences — using screen grabs or video capture. Some games have built-in camera or video-making tools.
For the post-play essay, you need to examine how you played, how you learned, and/or how your mode(s) of play and engagement enacted or in some way spoke to some of Gee’s ‘learning principles’ and/or aspects of the Fullerton chapter. This is not about examining the educational ‘outcomes’ of games, (e.g., ‘I learned certain facts, or gained some ‘content’ knowledge’, though if good ‘incidental learning’ emerged in relation to play, that is good to note, too). Rather, I am more interested in how game play experience connects to the readings.
LEARNING PRINCIPLES
LEARNING PRINCIPLES
Over the past few weeks, I’ve taken the time to learn how to play Fortnite with my son. Fortnite is more than just a first-person survival game where the winner survives the storm and eliminates all competitors. The player is forced to practice and implement the development of a character; understand weaponry and ballistics; communicate with squad members when working together; construct models and structures; and simulate survival situations.
In addition to connecting the gameplay in Fortnite to Gee’s six features of a “good game”, this essay will also look at the strands of the 2020 Mathematics Curriculum and connect how Fortnite helps to reinforce or apply some of the concepts found in the curriculum.
Gee's Six Features of Good Video Games
Gee's Six Features of Good Video Games
1. Video games can create an embodied empathy for a complex system.
The world-creation simulation in Fortnite allows the player to be flexible in discovering a multitude of decisions. Players respect the boundaries of the game: the physical boundaries of the map, the damage-inducing effects of the storm, the affordances and limitations surrounding equipment, and the complexity of simultaneous multiplayer narratives. In playing this game, I have found myself astounded by saying to my son, “You can do that?” out loud because of the freedom permitted by the game. Even though my son mentioned the presence of hackers who try to circumvent much of the game system for their benefit, the reporting function allows players to provide mutual surveillance over the integrity of the game.
2. They are simulations of embodied experience and preparations for action.
The most interesting development in Fortnite is the evolution of the terrain and the opportunities for the player to interact with these elements. From icy, friction-less mountain tops to riding on dirt bikes, the game combines unique terrain with maze features to allow players to interact with more than the goal for individual survival. Because players can choose to launch their character from anywhere on the map, the round is designed for exploration and collection at the start. Then through the gradual shrinking of the territory, the game favours those who have completed challenges by providing more powerful weapons or advantages to win that round.
3. They involve distributed intelligence via the creation of smart tools.
Smart tools are the creative, functional elements found in the game which are consistent among the players, where the player gains competence through trial, error and feedback, rather than having to follow instructions or a set construct of rules. The built-in communication tools between players allows for a shared understanding of how to collect, upgrade, scavenge, participate, and strategize without an instruction manual. My son was an unwritten wealth of information and mentorship as we guided ourselves through the different parts of the map, uncovered different weapons, and completed several sidequests.
4. They create opportunities for cross-functional affiliation.
Of course, being an absolute newbie to the game, I had to rely on my son’s abilities to help me get forward in the game. Despite being on two different devices, we were able to function as a pair, getting through challenges and opponents for each round. He has also built a community of players online that he would connect with throughout the day. Due to the shared passion for playing the game, the interactions developed in context and allowed for a variety of conversations related to the game. He exercised self-regulation when engaging in these conversations, allowing for a back and forth exchange that developed his listening and communication skills.
5. They allow meanings to be situated.
The use of language (oral and on-screen) and mathematical concepts that are applied through the game allowed us to practice some of the essential literacy and numeracy skills that are introduced in elementary school. By practicing these skills in repetition, my son grew in his competence and confidence when I would craft education-style questions to him. I had to ensure not to ask too many questions that brought him out of the context, since he started to catch on that my curiosity evolved into testing. Some of the topics that we discussed included rates, probability, spatial sense, logic, cause and effect, and negotiation. Many of these skills would not be developed through alternate means, so I am particularly interested in how a variety of situated contexts could provide students with these opportunities to grow in their learning at the elementary and secondary level.
6. They can be open-ended in ways that encourage a melding of personal and social goals.
Playing games allowed my son and me to share some quality time together. I hope that it made him feel good to show me something that he was better at than I was. Although I understand the addictive nature of a game with repetitive elements and the lack of diversity of the learning, I am now more conscious of the skills that he is practicing with this kind of game. We had to exercise negotiation, concession, and compromise as we worked through a game together, and he tried to set me up with goals so that I could improve faster too. Unfortunately, life got in the way, and I had to hang up my controller for the rest of the night.
Connection to the Ontario 2020 Mathematics Curriculum
Connection to the Ontario 2020 Mathematics Curriculum
Strand A: Social-Emotional Learning
My son had to apply a variety of social-emotional learning skills as we navigated through each round. He expressed and managed his feelings, test out a variety of approaches, and worked collaboratively as he listened to my opinions. Even though we had some moments of heated discussion, we always ended on a good note that allowed us to think about the next time we were going to play together.
Strand B: Number
The health bar and ammunition are the most prevalent examples of number sense in the game. Whereas my son had problems with multiplicative thinking at school, he was able to tell me how many shields, ammo boxes, or shots it would take to perform a certain task. He would round numbers quickly to the nearest benchmark, and he would talk about percentages without much effort.
Strand C: Algebra
There are some curious patterns that occur in the game, but the most interesting one is the pattern of the storm that closes in on the players every few minutes. He knew from experience when a storm would be a calm one, or a “5-tick” storm that killed your character faster. He could predict elements in the mazes based on his awareness of the markings on the walls. I tried to engage him in more inquiry, but unfortunately, he realized that was trying to bring the game beyond the context of the game and I had to quell that curiosity right away.
Strand D: Data
After each match, the statistics would appear on the screen, so sometimes I would ask what some of the data would mean. I would have wanted the game to provide more analytical data (line graphs or bar graphs) that we could have studied, but perhaps that’s an addition that developers could consider to make it more educational. We also exercised probability when we bought items from the vending machines scattered around the map. Even though we did not know the exact odds with our in-game purchases, we used the words “likely” or “unlikely” to describe the likelihood of a particular item.
Strand E: Spatial Sense
This strand is most exercised in the game when having to navigate the map and build forts for protection or recovering. He became incredibly dextrous with building walls, floors, doors, and roofs, and he could aim his weapon despite the distance because he understood trajectory and ballistics. He could describe to me where he was going using a variety of directional words and instructions, and he could drive any of the vehicles (cars, trucks, or motorcycles) with extreme facility. Of all the strands that were touched upon in this game, spatial sense was the most difficult for me to master because of all the buttons and sequences to make the character move, build, and shoot.
Strand F: Financial Literacy
Because Epic Games needs to see revenue from the gaming experience, there are many opportunities to see how money is made from a free game like Fortnite. Despite being free to download in the app store, Fortnite uses an in-game currency called V-Bucks to purchase upgrades, skins (characters), weapon designs, and more. Players exchange real money for V-Bucks at a rate that is currently 1000 V-Bucks for 11.99$ Canadian. My son and I had several discussions about wanting to purchase a certain character for 2400 V-Bucks, and that he would save up his allowance to be able to afford the character. There are many instances where children would be using their parents’ credit card to impulse purchase V-Bucks, racking up thousands of dollars of debt. These conversations about saving, spending, and decision making help to bring the Ontario curriculum into life and a context that students can tangibly experience.
How can this kind of learning translate into positive experiences for our world and society? Gee’s principles talk about empowering the learner to help them feel important, engaging the learning in a sense of flow, and providing a sense of purpose and context for the learning. I hope that these principles can extend into the classroom to provide learners with engaging platforms; it’s up to developers, publishers, and education professionals to leverage these opportunities for relevant and impactful learning.
References:
References:
Gee, J.P. (2007). Are Video Games Good for Learning? In Worlds in Play: International Perspectives on Digital Game Research. New York.
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