Utilizing Educational ARGs:
A Review of Current Models
We are in the middle of a technological revolution: Today, estimates from Nielsen Reports show the average American consumes over 11 hours of electronic media via TV, radio, smartphones, and more (Richter). According to the United States Department of Transportation, the total number of registered vehicles on the road has tripled from 74,431,800 in 1960, to a whopping 253,639,386 as of 2013 (National Transportation). Hospitals and research centers are utilizing technological methods that citizens from the twentieth century could not have even imagined. From stem cell research to designing high-functioning prosthetic limbs, we are on the fast track to creating longer, more enhanced living.
The best part is that we are not even close to reaching our capacity for growth in the field of technology. We have plans for bigger, even greater shifts toward enhanced living. One of the up-and-coming technologies worth analyzing is alternate reality games (ARGs). These, for example, are intentionally designed to improve the quality of our lives. One author, Jane McGonical, in her book titled, “Reality is Broken,” asserts that ARGs aid in the generation of “the four intrinsic rewards we crave—more satisfying work, better hope of success, stronger social connectivity, and more meaning” (ch. 7). Interestingly enough, ARGs might have functions that go beyond video game entertainment. Due to their inherent ability to increase motivation by providing these intrinsic rewards, they very well indeed may become successfully integrated into our education system in the future. And while we can only envision the how this may look, we can certainly investigate current examples of ARGs in the classroom to get a clearer understanding of what future models might look like.
In his paper, “Practical Considerations for Integrating Alternate Reality Gaming into Science Education,” Alberto Bellocchi shares his experience using ARGs to engage his pre-service teachers in tackling STEM related issues, and to discuss scenarios where ARGs would be effective in secondary education (pg. 44). To begin, Bellocchi designed a rabbithole, the introductory point where players are drawn-in and the game narrative is addressed, on Blackboard. The players (i.e. the pre-service teachers) learn about the STEM crisis and are tasked with participating in an online discussion to present possible solutions to the issue at hand based on their research (a series of links and articles provided by Bellocchi). From there, students are challenged to race to the library, photograph a useful STEM education book, and upload it to the Blackboard website. Later in the challenge, players utilize “Web 2.0 ICT (i.e. blogs, Wikis, and screen capture software)” to further their involvement in analyzing an educational issue (pg. 44).
At this point in the game, the players have considered solutions to a real-world problem, read current research on the topic, presented their analysis and discussed solutions with peers, located useful resources for their future teaching career, utilized media through the lens of education, and built their repertoire for the use of ARGs with their own students —all under the guise of play. While Bellocchi could have simply lectured his students on ways to solve the STEM crisis, or methods for implementing learning games in the classroom, he instead provided them with meaningful context and the opportunity to take part in the discussion; he gave them a way to experience their learning. In accordance with McGonical’s list of intrinsic rewards, Bellocchi’s ARG likely hit all four bases.
Another look into a successful ARG in the classroom can be found in the European Union Project, a project to “promote the motivation of language learning in secondary school students” (Josephson). Much like Bellocchi’s model, the European Union Project utilized an ARG called The Tower of Babel which utilized components such as a video introductory (the rabbithole), team collaboration (in the form of guilds), individual challenges (called quests), and forums for peer-to-peer discussions. The difference, however, was the scale of participation. For this project, 328 students and 95 teachers from 28 schools in 17 different countries came together in an online space. A total of 862 files were uploaded, 9,135 answers were submitted in quests, and 160 messages were posted to Moodle, their online venue (Josephson).
Responses from the teachers proved the project was useful in motivating students. One teacher from Spain says, “I can tell you that my students seem to be in a dream. They keep telling me all the time how happy they are with the game. Their interest towards learning English has increased in just two days [of] playing” (Josephson). Another teacher from Greece says, “[My students and I] were very much motivated during the game, and having many ideas in our mind[s], we have already started to implement some of them on a piloting basis” (Josephson).
Between the two samples, we can see that ARGs can be successful in more than one type of setting. Most importantly, they can be articulated to fit different types of technology such as phones, digital cameras, tablets, and more; they do not require any one particular set of devices. Challenges can include as much or as little technology to be successful as long as it has the key components: the venue and a captivating rabbithole. Moodle, Blackboard, or any similar program can be utilized as long as it allows students and instructors to collaborate through forums and shared files. In essence, there are unlimited ways an instructor can design ARGs to supplement or even teach course content. This flexibility paired with the motivational enhancement makes ARGs ideal tools for the classroom. But what, exactly, does this mean for the future?
First, the acceptance of ARGs in the classroom will require a shift in our cultural mindset. ARGs are seen as being more for entertainment and less for educational purposes. They are, after all, still games. There seems to be a deeply ingrained belief that learning is meant to be lecture-based—something similar to the banking model that most Americans grew up with. In order to make that shift, we will need both time and proof of ARG success in classrooms much like we saw with Bellocchi’s and with the many who participated in The Tower of Babel.
After ARGs can be proven to be useful teaching tools, there is the question of financing the technology and making sure all students involved have access to the necessary tools. While the ARG model can be fairly simple, it does require that students have access to at least a computer and the Internet. And though our country is booming in the technology sector, schools are fairly behind in this area. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, as of 2009, the average student to computer ratio was 5.3 to 1. This is, ironically enough, the most recent data provided by the US Department of Education. As technology in the field of education catches up to the rest of the world, we may have access to more current data, and students may be more likely to have one-on-one access to a computer at school.
Clearly, alternate reality games can be effective in the classroom, but may still have a few hurdles to jump before they can become more widely used. As technology continues to rapidly flourish throughout our era, we will likely see its influence on the methods used for educating our children. It seems the US and countries alike are constantly on the lookout for ways to improve the standard of living—hopefully highly effective learning environments will continue to be on the docket for growth, and ARGs will be among the list of preferential options.
*This essay was an assignment completed for ED 507, "Game Based Learning," during Spring Term of 2015.
*Image Credit: Neibauer, Adrian. "Game Based Learning." 2 August 2012. Web. 12 June 2015.
The best part is that we are not even close to reaching our capacity for growth in the field of technology. We have plans for bigger, even greater shifts toward enhanced living. One of the up-and-coming technologies worth analyzing is alternate reality games (ARGs). These, for example, are intentionally designed to improve the quality of our lives. One author, Jane McGonical, in her book titled, “Reality is Broken,” asserts that ARGs aid in the generation of “the four intrinsic rewards we crave—more satisfying work, better hope of success, stronger social connectivity, and more meaning” (ch. 7). Interestingly enough, ARGs might have functions that go beyond video game entertainment. Due to their inherent ability to increase motivation by providing these intrinsic rewards, they very well indeed may become successfully integrated into our education system in the future. And while we can only envision the how this may look, we can certainly investigate current examples of ARGs in the classroom to get a clearer understanding of what future models might look like.
In his paper, “Practical Considerations for Integrating Alternate Reality Gaming into Science Education,” Alberto Bellocchi shares his experience using ARGs to engage his pre-service teachers in tackling STEM related issues, and to discuss scenarios where ARGs would be effective in secondary education (pg. 44). To begin, Bellocchi designed a rabbithole, the introductory point where players are drawn-in and the game narrative is addressed, on Blackboard. The players (i.e. the pre-service teachers) learn about the STEM crisis and are tasked with participating in an online discussion to present possible solutions to the issue at hand based on their research (a series of links and articles provided by Bellocchi). From there, students are challenged to race to the library, photograph a useful STEM education book, and upload it to the Blackboard website. Later in the challenge, players utilize “Web 2.0 ICT (i.e. blogs, Wikis, and screen capture software)” to further their involvement in analyzing an educational issue (pg. 44).
At this point in the game, the players have considered solutions to a real-world problem, read current research on the topic, presented their analysis and discussed solutions with peers, located useful resources for their future teaching career, utilized media through the lens of education, and built their repertoire for the use of ARGs with their own students —all under the guise of play. While Bellocchi could have simply lectured his students on ways to solve the STEM crisis, or methods for implementing learning games in the classroom, he instead provided them with meaningful context and the opportunity to take part in the discussion; he gave them a way to experience their learning. In accordance with McGonical’s list of intrinsic rewards, Bellocchi’s ARG likely hit all four bases.
Another look into a successful ARG in the classroom can be found in the European Union Project, a project to “promote the motivation of language learning in secondary school students” (Josephson). Much like Bellocchi’s model, the European Union Project utilized an ARG called The Tower of Babel which utilized components such as a video introductory (the rabbithole), team collaboration (in the form of guilds), individual challenges (called quests), and forums for peer-to-peer discussions. The difference, however, was the scale of participation. For this project, 328 students and 95 teachers from 28 schools in 17 different countries came together in an online space. A total of 862 files were uploaded, 9,135 answers were submitted in quests, and 160 messages were posted to Moodle, their online venue (Josephson).
Responses from the teachers proved the project was useful in motivating students. One teacher from Spain says, “I can tell you that my students seem to be in a dream. They keep telling me all the time how happy they are with the game. Their interest towards learning English has increased in just two days [of] playing” (Josephson). Another teacher from Greece says, “[My students and I] were very much motivated during the game, and having many ideas in our mind[s], we have already started to implement some of them on a piloting basis” (Josephson).
Between the two samples, we can see that ARGs can be successful in more than one type of setting. Most importantly, they can be articulated to fit different types of technology such as phones, digital cameras, tablets, and more; they do not require any one particular set of devices. Challenges can include as much or as little technology to be successful as long as it has the key components: the venue and a captivating rabbithole. Moodle, Blackboard, or any similar program can be utilized as long as it allows students and instructors to collaborate through forums and shared files. In essence, there are unlimited ways an instructor can design ARGs to supplement or even teach course content. This flexibility paired with the motivational enhancement makes ARGs ideal tools for the classroom. But what, exactly, does this mean for the future?
First, the acceptance of ARGs in the classroom will require a shift in our cultural mindset. ARGs are seen as being more for entertainment and less for educational purposes. They are, after all, still games. There seems to be a deeply ingrained belief that learning is meant to be lecture-based—something similar to the banking model that most Americans grew up with. In order to make that shift, we will need both time and proof of ARG success in classrooms much like we saw with Bellocchi’s and with the many who participated in The Tower of Babel.
After ARGs can be proven to be useful teaching tools, there is the question of financing the technology and making sure all students involved have access to the necessary tools. While the ARG model can be fairly simple, it does require that students have access to at least a computer and the Internet. And though our country is booming in the technology sector, schools are fairly behind in this area. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, as of 2009, the average student to computer ratio was 5.3 to 1. This is, ironically enough, the most recent data provided by the US Department of Education. As technology in the field of education catches up to the rest of the world, we may have access to more current data, and students may be more likely to have one-on-one access to a computer at school.
Clearly, alternate reality games can be effective in the classroom, but may still have a few hurdles to jump before they can become more widely used. As technology continues to rapidly flourish throughout our era, we will likely see its influence on the methods used for educating our children. It seems the US and countries alike are constantly on the lookout for ways to improve the standard of living—hopefully highly effective learning environments will continue to be on the docket for growth, and ARGs will be among the list of preferential options.
*This essay was an assignment completed for ED 507, "Game Based Learning," during Spring Term of 2015.
*Image Credit: Neibauer, Adrian. "Game Based Learning." 2 August 2012. Web. 12 June 2015.