Want To Play A Game: So, I’m sitting on the 18th floor of my hotel room in Honolulu typing this blog. Wow, technology is cool. I can see a submarine taking tourists around the bay. I can see wind surfers jumping high in the air and crashing into white, frothy waves. And there are a group of vacationing children playing Marco Polo in the lagoon below.
Games are an interesting part of our culture, aren’t they? I was raised a game player. I can remember playing Scrabble with my dad late into the night on more than one occasion, my mom finally stopping play to make me go to bed. I played UNO with my grandparents as a kid. And to this day, I try to make a game out of my workouts because stair climbing and eliptical training with no purpose is also no fun.
But I’m not the only one with a game propensity. Just about everyone likes to play games of one sort or another. Maybe not organized sports, but mental games, psychological games, and unfortunately even emotional games…but that’s another blog 
And games have finally started to work themselves into the way we learn and teach. Check out the Serious Games Initiative sometime. Or better yet, take a look at River City, Discover Babylon, or any other number of simulated, first person, educational games.
But I’d like to propose yet another, new twist to gaming. I realize that gaming is very new to education and some educators think it’s “silly” – just like people thought computers were “silly” thirty years ago….the afraid will be gone soon enough! But, to those who are really into creativity, integration, and interactivty – to people who want students to be enveloped by their subject matter, I propose the inclusion of another game element into our arsenal. It’s called ARG: Alternative Reality Games.
Basically, ARGs are used in marketing right now. There are probably 50 – 100 ARGs going on right now around the world (and the world wide web). The idea is that a marketer hides clues (like Easter Eggs) in the world. This can be a flash drive left on park bench, a YouTube video with a secret message, or various letters of a page highlighted to send a message. These clues come together to form a game that is absolutely enveloping to people. There is a sense of mystery, with small successes coming throughout the game as each clue is uncovered and understood. There is a wonderful sense of community that develops as people use personal skills to help the group solve each clue. And all along the way, there is tremendous opportunity for teaching moments!
Imagine trying to train your employees to learn a new software. But, the way to learn that software is to hide clues that can only be solved using the software. Suddenly it’s not training…it’s a game. (But it IS training, isn’t it?) Or what if your students need to fully understand various theorums in order to solve clues leading to a prize or extra credit? Suddenly it’s not math – it’s a game! And if a teacher were to include curriculum integration in the experience, allowing students to incorporate math, history, science, language…now we’re talking about innovation. This is the kind of education that our students are craving and this could be powerful when organized by a school, a college, a department, etc.
In two weeks, I’ll be leading a Serious Game meets an ARG at our CiTE conference. I’ll let you know how it goes. But, more imporant is a question for you. Do you want to play a game? Your employees, students, trainees, and children do…
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CLUE #5 For the CiTE ARG / Serious Games Session:
Adjunct Instructor Frieda Jones, Stewart’s Freshman English Comp teacher had this to say about Stew, “He was a solid student for me. Not outstanding, but not bad by any means. He turned his assignments in on time and successfully. He got a high B in my class. He was your average blue eyed, blonde haired, American student and I thought he did a nice job.”
Professor Mic Brevin, Shirley’s Freshman Geology teacher had this to say, “Quite frankly I don’t remember Shirley. I had to look at her homework history which I found to be quite proficient. While I didn’t have essays in my class, she always turned her work in on time and it was always high B / low A work.” |
(If you would like a speaker for your conference on gaming, serious games, ARGs – or if you’d like help setting up a game for your organization’s teaching / training needs, contact Jeff at jborden@jeffpresents.com)
