Mark Suter - Warcraft et al:A Cross-CurricularApproach to MMO’s
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Warcraft et al: A Cross-Curricular Approach to MMO’s By Mark Suter Image (Waters, 2007)
description
Presented by Mark Suter at eTech Ohio in 2011.
Transcript of Mark Suter - Warcraft et al:A Cross-CurricularApproach to MMO’s
Warcraft et al:A Cross-Curricular
Approach to MMO’s
By Mark Suter
Image (Waters, 2007)
Overview
• + and – of using VW/MMO's• My Projects• Others' Projects• Implement your cross-curricular
project– Choices of VW's and MMO’s– Getting Funded– Project Central (Keeping it together!)
The +’s
• Student Motivation– As part of a reward system (Pavlovian)– Appeals to existing interests– hard to reach students (The “Go ahead and fail
me” students)
• Alternative Assessment (definition)– Performance – Observing the student– Authentic – Connecting to the real world, real
meetings– Portfolio – Pick the best, could be done in the
VW
The +’s (cont’d)
• Project Based Learning (George Lucas' Education Foundation-Edutopia)
– Real-World Problems (using VW)– Small Collaborative Groups…or
independant– Edutopia: “Students more likely to retain
info”
The –’s
• Restrictions– EULA's (teen-SL gone, WoW 13+ with parent)
• Student Safety-– “...the worst ethical stance we could take is to
turn our heads away as if these environments didn’t exist. It appears we better get busy in schools figuring out how to educate kids on safe and appropriate use, and learn how to use them to our advantage for educational purposes.”
-Lisa Dawley on her blog
The –’s (cont’d)
• Cost–WoW $15/mo per account– Initial Software purchase only
(Everquest2, Lord of the Rings)
• Learning Curves• Supplemental project or full time? All
students or some?– Student to student jealousy
World of Warcraft: 1st Try, 2007
• student funded• exploratory– Cross-Cultural? Article 2 (forum
attempts)–Machinima -built in to Mac WoW
(w/ 3 players, one as cameraman)
• Student discontent at level caps (they paid for it)– Unbalanced experiences in-game
World of Warcraft: 2nd Try, 2008
World of Warcraft: 2nd Try, 2008
• Grant Funded (Martha Holden Jennings Foundation) $900 for 12 students
• ½ Traditional students, ½ IEP students• Getting other teachers involved (with little
extra work for them)– motivated students = receptive teachers– Language arts (Blog, Story writing for
machinima)– Math (individual tutoring, “I want to know my
average DPS with different weapons and armor.”
World of Warcraft (cont’d)• Potpourri of Topics:– Gov't (Money
experience)–Machinima,-acting out
a story they wrote, narrated.
– Economy• Inflation? Farmers…• Cornering a market• Resellers…
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World of Warcraft (cont’d)• Catherine Parsons Arti
cle– Cognitive Dissonance
Guild• K-12 + Higher Ed
– Asst. Superintendent for curriculum for Pine Plains Central School District, NY
Second Life: Boise State UniversityPart of the
EdTech Master’s Program
Second Life: Boise State Class
• Learning Curve• Physical distance mitigated• Real relationships• meta-communication during
“class”.• In-world simulations vary in
quality– Health students on an arterial
roller coaster15
Lord of The Rings Online
• Machinima, International Players• LOTRO: Music Composition – GREAT
supplemental/cross-curricular– Now Free! http://www.lotro.com/– Player Music System (manual in-game
play:– ABC music notation:(in ASCII format)
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LoTRO Music System
Avatar Storytellers (site)
• Pay only• Create custom characters to use in
machinima-like storytelling• Geared for 5th - 7th grades. Can be
adapted up or down.
SecretBuilders (ages 5-14)
• Interact with historical figures (AG Bell, Thomas Edison, visit their house, chat with figures by choosing questions, character profiles. Simulates talking to a friend in a VW)
• Write Newspaper articles (reflections) • Safe for kids• Free, option of pay subscription to be a builder• Teacher console to create student accounts
(geared for education)• Interview with teacher using it here on Chris
Haskell’s blog (Boise State University)
How to implement your own
• Unlimited $$$ and the best graphics will still fail without a comprehensive plan.– Plan your objectives FIRST.– Start looking at worlds SECOND.
• Commercial off-the-shelf vs. Education
• Places to start looking…28
Choosing a VW/MMO• Youth-oriented MMO's matrix by cost,
target age, and dev status: link (2008)
Choosing a VW/MMO• Kzero -Virtual Worlds Statistics (2010)– Chart of VW's by age (Q2, 2010) – Ideas for Worlds to check out
Choosing a VW/MMO• MMORPG.com gamelist – reviews
any/all MMO's, sort by cost, release year, etc.
Project Central: What to Include
• About the project/Security Measures• Objectives• Timeline (1 week? 3 months?)• Opportunity for constant feedback,
documented– Blog? Wiki? Written? Podcast Friday
Summary show?
Project Central: Getting Permission
• From Administration– Align to standards– Letter to present at a board meeting
pointing out motivation, cross-curricular projects, PBL
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Project Central: Getting Permission
• From Parents: Letter sent home
Questions?
• If Time Permits...–WoW Auction House Demo–WoW Machinima Demo
• This PPT and other files available at www.marksuter.com
Works Cited
1. Waters, J. K. (2007). On a quest for english. Technological Horizons in Education, 10(07),
