DigiPlay 4: Teaching with, Learning from Computer Games

Friday 28th January 2005
London Knowledge Lab
23-29 Emerald Street
London

Learning Games, Pedagogy and User Led Design

Ben Williamson, Richard Sandford, Mary Ulicsak and Caroline Pelletier

This presentation discusses the user's role in the game development process in Futurelab research. We will focus on the role of students in the development of three different projects: Astroversity, Racing Academy and Savannah. Astroversity was constructed iteratively to create an environment with the same engagement as mainstream games but supports the development of collaborative and scientific enquiry skills. Racing Academy is intended as a massively multi-user online automotive engineering academy based on leading-edge computer games technology. In the Savannah children "become lions"; it is a strategy-based adventure game where a virtual space is mapped directly onto a real space.

Respondent: Caroline Pelletier and ‘Making Games’
Abstract: this presentation will provide some thoughts on Nesta's experience of user led design by drawing on experiences from the research project 'Making Games: developing games authoring software for creative and educational use'. The project is a collaboration between the Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media and Immersive Education, an educational software company. Over the next two years, Immersive Education will release successive prototypes of a game-authoring tool, which researchers will take into schools and summer camps to research its design and benefits. Our aim is to develop a model of 'game literacy' as well as a software tool which can be used to teach it.

Ben Williamson is a learning researcher at NESTA Futurelab. His particular research interests are in the effects of digital technologies on literacy practices, the potential of videogames in learning, and participative approaches to new technology design with learners.

Richard Sandford is seconded to Futurelab as a learning researcher from the BBC's Learning and Interactive department. Richard's interests are the relationship between games and learning, the ability of technology to enhance collaboration and the ways in which successful online communities can grow and be encouraged.

Mary Ulicsak’s work as a learning researcher at Futurelab has involved investigating collaboration and group work, digital literacies, i.e. what skills/knowledge does one need to interact with technology and transform understanding, and the design process (co-designing with teachers/students, rapid prototyping, iterative development, structuring reflection into activities etc.).

Caroline Pelletier is project manager of 'Making Games: developing games authoring software for creative and educational use', based at the London Knowledge Lab.

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