Learning Objects - Shu Liu

a learning object is an online tool that includes a learning objective, a learning process, and a means of assessment to help learns digest a specific piece of knowledge, or master how to complete a specific task

charactersistics of learning objects - digital, individual, interactive, reusable

teaching as a pyramid
courses on the bottom
units
lessons
learning activities
learning objects ó> objective, process, assessment circle

Wisc-Online (Wisconsin Online Resource Center) free repository of learning objects
showed her favorite exampleexample ñ ì12 cranial nervesî about the human brain
animated learning with a quiz at the end

MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resrouce for Learning and Online Teaching)
a continually growing catalog of online learning materials to help faculty enhance instruction
showed example of ìphotography through the eyes of immigrantsî

Microsoft Office Online Training (would have shown example ìGet to know Excel: Enter formulas)

Apple Learning Interchange 2006

Game On! : Developing a Game for Library Instruction - Tammy Allgood

"Quarantined" game

discussed the numbers behind ìwhy gamesî

learning objectives for freshmen (who the university just started serving five years ago)
ñ library as a physical and virtual place
- liubrary srevices
ñ types of resources

started the project with a board games, even though they wanted to start with a video game
wanted to take a step back and do something they could do easily
the board game has become really, really popular
doing this was very successful and was a great way to start
introduced fall 2005
helped them with introducing gaming as an instructional tool

"Information Pursuit" is the name of the board game
lots of interactive, question squares, which ask about library resources or services
if you land at ASU, you have to spin ìthe wheel of fateî
ìbook wormholesî
experimented a lot with this game

student comments:
- "it was fun! I didnít fall asleep or anything"

professors liked it because the students were interacting with each other

tried to work assessment into it, but just used basic assessment "what did you learn from the game"
learned from this, too, though, so will try to measure more based on task

computer game development began spring 2006
group of five people
web development, flash development, databvase design, lower division instruction expertise, extensive research in gaming as an educational tool
had funding from library dean to hire an outside programmer
used flash as their platform because itís fairly universal with no extra downloads, no blocked ports

documentation
- project plan
ñ high concept document "Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design" book
- game treatment document
- game script

example game script at http://www.designersnotebook.com/Wanna-be/ctaylordesign.zip

timeline applications
- game play design, storyline decisions, documentation = 5 months
- design = 2 months
- character interactions = one month
- information retrieval = 2 weeks
- sound creation = 2 weeks
- animations = 2 weeks
- bug tracking and documentation = 1 month

make sure you get documentation from your programmer

finding programmers
- consulted with Game Design Instructor at the Art Institute International in Phoenix - possible student project? decided no
- posted on local Tech ListServ
- Flash Game Programming Wiki
- game creation websites

hiring programmers
- asked for portfolios from top 3 candidates
- chose candidate with the most edugaming experience
- top candidate was able to recommend game designer

deliverables
- game logo
- game design (map, isometric tiles, building interiors, characters, icons)
- game skeleton (character walking paths)
- character interactions
- information retrieval systems
- animations

story is that a virus is loose on Any State University (ASU) and the campus has been quarantined because of this
canít use any external resources/websites - only internal resources
"virus outbreak agents" who capture you moving around campus and put you in a holding cell
have to save your friend, a computer geek hacker; he has contracted the virus and he has 30 minutes to live
talked to the students and the violence didnít both them at all
administration wanted them to cut it down a little bit, but people do die in the game
interaction screens pop up when you need to talk to a character

essential sources
- "Games, Learning, and Society Conference" (JL - yay!)
- 3 other titles

http://www.west.asu.edu/libcontribgame/website/

words of wisdom:
- do your research
- think about starting small
- don't underestimate time needed for design
- keep the development group small
- project manager should have some understanding of game development
- follow document requirements found in Rollings and Adams on Game Design
- don't underestimate time needed for design
- hire a professional

game is still under development

to win the game, you have to get the right combination of three books, two articles, and a tissue sample from the dead mule at the dig on campus that you ultimately find out is causing the outbreak

can bribe VOA agents to get out of the holding cell with candy bars you can accumulate
get candy bars in the lunch room at the vending machine
will be able to walk up to terminals in the library to do your research

il2006