For the past several years, I've been kicking around an idea for a multi-year game that you could start playing as a prospective PSU student, continue playing during your time at PSU, and optionally continue as an alumni.

The main problem is conceptualizing a game of this scope. How do you build a game that has such a long life? We can take clues from several existing casual games out there that do have an infinite play life, like Kingdom of Loathing or Shakes and Fidget. In both examples, you have limited play time per day, dictated via a limited number of turns or adventures per day. For KoL, you can finish the game, "ascend," and play again. And again, And again. Each time you ascend you get to keep one skill you learned in that game run. This, in turn, enables you to accomplish things in later ascensions that you simply could not do earlier.

So, there are ways to conceptualize a game with a very long play life. Now, what about content? Do we have a game area for each college? How do we populate it? How do we bring in people from each college to build out that area? How do we maintain that area, change it over time to both reflect changes in the college itself and to increase replay-ability? This is a tougher challenge. Maybe badges are part of the solution.

My colleague Ken Layng and I are investigating Mozilla's Open Badges for possible use in ITS Training Services. A badge is a symbol or indicator of an accomplishment, skill, quality or interest. Badges can be used to represent achievements, communicate successes, set goals, and motivate behaviors,. They can  support learning that happens in new ways and new spaces beyond the  traditional classroom. These include online courses, after-school  programs, work and life experiences. By providing a more complete  picture of learners' skills and competencies, badges can signal  achievement to a variety of communities and institutions including  potential employers, educational organizations and social groups. One opts to display their earned badges via the web.


The work we're doing on badges led me to think how they might fit into Discover PSU! Suppose we worked with colleges to develop a set of badges at both the major and overall college level. These badges would be earned via traditional coursework, so we wouldn't be asking for a retooling of any curriculum. Then, in the game, a player who had one of these badges would have access to a new area, gain a new skill, etc. The incentive to earn badges would come both from the desire to build up your curriculum badges for an online e-Portfolio-like display of abilities, and to better play the game. Better game play, in turn, could feed back into a more holistic understanding of your major, your college, and the entire PSU system. It would also be an incentive to continue playing the game beyond graduation and could lead to increased involvement in the future of PSU via a strong alumni base.

So how do we start? What if we reverse engineer this game? In most games, the game comes first, then a community springs up around it. What if we built the community FIRST, encouraged active participation in conceptualizing the game via tools such as Wikis, and then built the game when we reached a point where we all felt further conceptualization should wait until the game went live and run for some time?

What are your thoughts on all this? I really need some input on this concept.

Sponsored by the e-Learning Guild, this is the first time I've attend this conf. It seems to be aimed at business and industry - I was one of a handful of higher ed attendees.

Things I liked:

The Timing of Sessions
They staggered sessions of different lengths, so if you were in one and decided it wasn't for you, you could often find another one just starting.

Vendor Showcase
Vendors had opportunities to do a presentation within the showcase area, drawing people into the area and giving them the spotlight for an hour or so. Very nice.

The Art of... Keynotes
This was the theme for the keynotes - The Art of Leadership, The Art of Vision, The Art of Choosing. All keynotes were good. Eric Wahl was AMAZING. His was the best keynote I've ever seen, no contest.  We simply have to get him to PSU. He would be great as a Symposium keynote.

Morning Buzzes
These were birds-of-a-feather early morning optional meetings. Informal and discussion oriented, it was a great way to start the day. Most often I see these as an add-on, at the end of the day or in the evenings. I like the morning approach better. If it's something you are passionate about, attending such a session energizes you for the entire day.

Things I disliked:

The Page-turner Metaphor
We are still stuck in developing instruction in a paged environment. Hard to believe, isn't it? Most of the new tools I saw work under this model. Is it truly the best way to approach learning online, or is it just an easy sell? One developer, Kaspar Spiro of EasyGenerator, writes:

"eLearning courses still use the book metaphor as a standard, and that is really beginning to hinder progress because eLearning is not linear like a book ... it demands a structure that allows for more dynamic interaction. We need to find a new metaphor for eLearning that is more flexible, more engaging, and less structured. One possible solution is Learning Maps: a geographical representation of eLearning content. "

His easyGenerator tool holds promise, but he needs to beef up his web site so you can see the tool in action. Think of it as a combination concept mapper and content generator.

Learning Designers need to continue to look for alternatives like this. Page-turning for online learning is not optimal!

Lunches
The provided box lunches were adequate, just. For the price of the conference, they should have done better. People remember poor meals.

Spotty Understanding of Accessibility by the Vendors
Some get it and address accessibility, some don't. One tool I've been following for some time - ZebraZapps by Allen Interactions - is an awesome development tool, just as Authorware was at one time. They've yet to consider accessibility, so off my list it goes! Sigh.

In conclusion - a pricy conference, but worth attending every three years or so.

Wow - would I love to see this happen at Penn State!

For the University of Pennsylvania, the 2011-2012 academic year has been dubbed "The Year of the Game." The University's various departments are all encouraged to weave games into curricula. The folks at Penn Nursing School have designed several games, and have an open demo scheduled on April 19, from 3 - 5 PM.

My favorite line in the interview of Professor Nancy Hanrahan?

What are the incentives for the students to participate?

These students were just waiting for something like this.

 Read more...

I used to be quite the font buff - even to the point of reading research on the instructional affordances of font choice. While nothing ever truly came of that research that I know of, I recently read about font choice and cost savings in the January 2012 issue for Campus Technology (v.24, issue 5).

Accordingg to the Green Flash article, you can save big bucks by switching from your default font to one that is "thinner." The example they cite is a switch from Arial to Century Gothic. Here's a quick and dirty example:

Short version: The White House has an Office of Science and Technology Policy. Since September, Constance Steinkuehler has been a senior policy analyst for this office, where she's shaping the Obama administration's policies around games that improve health, education, civic engagement and the environment, among other areas.

Longer story - with pictures!

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-01-26/edcuational-video-games-white-house/52908052/1

This is great news! I've met Constance, and IMO she is perfect for the job. I'm also thrilled that the President is doing some serious investigation in this area.

I've been interested in Augmented Reality and Gaming for some time now. Augmented Reality is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. AR for games is cool,  but as Karl Kapp recently pointed out, the uses for training may be astounding.

One of the earliest examples I saw of this was from the 1990 movie Total Recall. If you saw that movie, remember when Sharon Stone (in her debut screen role) was practicing tennis? She had a hologram instructor upon which she could model her swing. Neat stuff. Or as Arnold would say, "Auuggghhhh!" She needs to raise her elbow a bit more, however.


But what can we actually do right now, or at least in the near future? We don't have viable holograms, so we're forced to look through something like a computer, smart phone, iPad, or glasses to "get augmented."

BMW has a great example of how this might work. Heck, even I might be able to do car repairs with something like this!


For something like cars, this makes great sense. You can't bring a car into a computer lab and run a training module beside the car while you work on it. You can take a laptop to a car, but it's less than ideal. You've have to stop what you were doing, tap the keyboard (greasy!), etc. Glasses, augmented reality, a voice over, and perhaps voice-activated commands ("Show me that last step again.") would be of great benefit to anyone.

For the types of training many of us do around computer-related applications, would we need AR? I don't see the benefit, but maybe I'm missing something. What do you think?

The other day I downloaded a beta version of Adobe Edge. Edge is a simple animation tool that uses HTML5, JavaScript, etc. to produce and play web animations. Here's what I was able to do in 45 minutes with no prior experience.

This kinda reminds me of Flash 1.0. Simple, easy to use.  I hope Adobe keeps Edge simple. If it does, lunkheads like me that need to show simple, non-interactive animations to strengthen an instructional point might actually be able to do so ourselves!

At the Penn State Network of Trainers Summer 2011 Event, I decided to try something a little different with my poster titled "Adding Game-like Elements to Your Course." I created a billboard and added over 25 game mechanics to it with the idea that folks would come up to me, pull up a flap with a picture on it and read what that game mechanic was.


It was somewhat of a success, but I'm not sure I would do it again. Many folks were too shy to engage me in that manner, and to fit all the game mechanics on the billboard I had to make each mechanic small and thus hard to read. Still, it was great fun!

In another month I'll be guest lecturing in Comm 190 at Penn State, Games and Interactive Media. I decided to take the game mechanics and images and turn them into a card game.

The game consists of Game Mechanic cards:



and Discipline cards:




Here are the rules:

1. Challenge another player for one of their Game Mechanic cards by choosing and presenting a Game Mechanic card and a Discipline card from your deck.
2. If the other player accepts the challenge, s/he must choose a Game Mechanic card from his/her deck.
3. Find a third (or more), non-playing judge(s).
4. Read aloud your Game Mechanic card.
5. Opponent must read aloud his/her chosen Game Mechanic card.
6. Give an example of how to use your game mechanic in the discipline listed on the Discipline card.
7. Your opponent must give an example of how to use his/her game mechanic in the discipline listed on his/her Discipline card.
8. Judge picks a winner - who gave the best example? Winner takes one randomly chosen Game Mechanic card from the loser.

At the end of game play, the player with the most card wins!

I do have to tip my hat to Metagames for the format of all this. I played a similar game by them recently. I can't wait to try this out. My hope is this will introduce the students to the idea of game mechanics and how they might be used in instructional situations. I also hope the post-game debrief will lead to some interesting conversations.

From 1997 to 2005, I was very active in writing role-playing scenarios for the Blades of Exile game engine. At that time, BoE was cross platform. Now, it runs only on Windows machines. Still, if you are interested in going very retro and don't mind a small screen, you can find dozens of scenarios for BoE. You can find mind there, and also on my BoE web site.

I was digging through my hard drive today, and came across my BoE stuff, and also one story I wrote for my Baba Yaga scenario. Baba Yaga is a legendary witch from Russian folklore. A trickster with a dual nature and also a cannibal, there are dozens of Baba Yaga stories in existence, many of them on the web. Here's mine:



Baba Yaga and the Lost Girl

by Brett Bixler

One time, not so long ago, a little girl named Natalia wandered into the woods and soon lost her way. She had only her cloak, an apple and an onion, and her pet chicken, Stalin.

Night fell quickly, and Natalia was scared and cold. She huddled down in the crook of a nearby tree and covered herself with her cloak. "Come Stalin. Come huddle here with me," she called to the chicken. Stalin, a smart and stalwart chicken, did as she asked.

In the middle of the night, Natalia was awakened by a soft noise nearby. "Swish-swish, swish-swish," went the sound. Coming towards her was a warty old witch in a giant, floating kettle! In one hand the witch held a giant mortar, in the other a broom. The witch used the mortar to push off the ground and correct her passage through the trees. The "swish-swish" came from the broom as the witch furiously moved it back and forth on the ground behind her, effectively covering the mortar marks. Natalia had heard of this witch before. She was Baba Yaga, the tusked witch who ate up to a dozen men a day!

Baba Yaga floated up to her and crooned, "Little girl, why do you huddle here in the woods at night? Are you lost?" Grinning wide, Baba Yaga revealed a row of razor-sharp teeth. Now Natalia was scared, but she kept her wits about her. Refusing to admit the truth, she whispered, "No Little Grandmother. I am just resting."

"Then perhaps you could share some food with me," grinned Baba Yaga, opening her mouth even wider. "For I am, as you know, always hungry!"

Natalia thought quickly. The apple! "Here you are, Little Grandmother," offered the young girl. "Take this shiny, ripe apple. Enjoy it well." Baba Yaga frowned at the appearance of the shiny ripe apple, but replied, "Very well, little girl. Thank you. Enjoy your rest." Baba Yaga took the apple and swallowed it in a single gulp. Then she paddled away into the night. Natalia held her breath until the "swish-swish" sound faded to nothing, then she let out an explosive sigh. What a close call she just had!

Natalia and Stalin wandered the woods the next day, eating some tiny berries, but did not find their way out. That night, she once again huddled with her chicken in the crook of an old tree, using her cloak as a blanket. In the early part of the night, the "swish-swish" sound announced another visit from Baba Yaga.

"Little girl, why do you huddle here in the woods at night? Are you lost?" asked Baba Yaga, grinning wide and revealing her razor-sharp teeth again. Once more, Natalia refused to admit the truth. "No Little Grandmother. I am just resting."

"Then perhaps you could share some food with me," grinned Baba Yaga, opening her mouth even wider. "For I am always hungry!"

This time Natalia tossed Baba Yaga her onion. "Take this sweet onion and enjoy it well." Baba Yaga frowned at the appearance of the onion, but replied, "Very well, little girl. Thank you once again. Enjoy your rest." Baba Yaga took the onion and swallowed it in a single gulp. Then she paddled away into the night.

Natalia and Stalin wandered the woods for a third day, finding some tiny things to eat, but did not find a way out. Now Natalia was worried. What if she NEVER found her way out of the woods? What would happen to her and Stalin? That night, she once again huddled down to wait for morning, her cloak scant comfort. Before very long at all, the telltale "swish-swish" sound announced a third visit from Baba Yaga. The kettle weaved its way between the trees in a deliberate manner, leaving little doubt in Natalia's mind that Baba Yaga sought her. The kettle slowed, then stopped scant inches from Natalia's shivering form. "Little girl, my hunger is as large as this kettle tonight! Why are you still huddled here in the woods? Are you still resting?" Baba Yaga asked yet again. Now Natalia had nothing left to offer Baba Yaga except Stalin, and she refused to sacrifice him! The time had come for Natalia to admit the truth. "Little Grandmother, I am not resting. I am lost. Please, can you help me?"

"Oh, you poor dear!" cackled Baba Yaga. "Of course I will help you!" With that, she swept Natalia and Stalin up in her kettle, and quick as a wink deposited them on Natalia's front doorstep!

As Baba Yaga faded into the night, she called back to Natalia, "Remember, little girl. Those who wander, though lost, may eventually reach their goal. Those who only rest will eventually be swallowed by the events of the world!" And with a final "swish-swish," Baba Yaga was gone.

Well, I hoped you enjoyed this!

Bob Avanzato is an Information Sciences and Technology (IST) professor at Penn State Abington, located northeast of Philadelphia, PA. For the past several years, he's used space on Penn State Isle 2 in Second Life for several IST courses. If you have the Second Life application, visit

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Penn%20State%20Isle%202/138/36/26

to see all the cool stuff he and his students have created. Don't  forget to fly straight up to see more stuff as well!

One of Bob's (Plato Pizzicato in SL) recent ventures was the robotics challenge sponsored by IEEE for National Robotics Week that was held April 14-17, 2011.


Bob has a few pictures of the event at

https://picasaweb.google.com/bob.avanzato/SLNRWIEEEVirtualTourAndRobotChallenge?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKeitYyrppPyRQ&feat=directlink

In a recent email to to me, Bob stated, "I gave a virtual  tour of my Penn State  HRI lab (living space)  with my roomba-like robot demo and our robot maze interactive exhibit, and also our smart home model.  Additionally, we held an open robot design contest in Second Life for a home robot prototype and a rover.  Some of the robots were 3D models only and some were scripted.  One robot project used voice recognition and the designer was able to use his cell phone to command a robot to move in the SL environment -- it was a great demo.   I was involved in setting up the rules for the home robot contest and I was also a judge.  A team of judges interviewed each contestant using text and voice and there were spectators from around the world.  There were other events and leaders as well -- it was all run by volunteers.   We also held an award ceremony in SL and awarded cash prizes sponsored from some companies, organizations and individuals.  Overall, it was a very successful event and an excellent use of virtual world technology to promote robotics and robotics education in a global setting."

So, in a time of uncertainty for virtual worlds in education, here's a great example of what can be accomplished. Go Bob!