Rudy McDaniel

The role teachers' expectations and value assessments of video games play in their adopting and integrating them into their classrooms

Video games have become an essential part of the way people play and learn. While an increasing number of people are using games to learn in informal environments, their acceptance in the classroom as an instructional activity has been mixed. Successes in informal learning have caused supporters to falsely believe that implementing them into the classroom would be a relatively easy transition and have the potential to revolutionise the entire educational system. In spite of all the hype, many are puzzled as to why more teachers have not yet incorporated them into their teaching. The literature is littered with reports that point to a variety of reasons. One of the reasons, we believe, is that very little has been done to convince teachers that the effort to change their curriculum to integrate video games and other forms of technology is worthy of the effort. Not until policy makers realise the importance of professional development and training as an important use of funds will positive changes in thinking and perceptions come about, which will allow these various forms of technology to reach their potential. The authors have hypothesised that the major impediments to useful technology integration include the general lack of institutional infrastructure, poor teacher training, and overly-complicated technologies. Overcoming these obstacles requires both a top-down and a bottom-up approach. This paper presents the results of a pilot study with a group of preservice teachers to determine whether our hypotheses regarding potential negativity surrounding video games was valid and whether a wider scale study is warranted. The results of this study are discussed along with suggestions for further research and potential changes in teacher training programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using badges for shaping interactions in online learning environments

In this paper, we describe an online course management system (titled Adventures in Emerging Media) designed to allow students to choose their own pathways through learning content (a choose-your-own-adventure online course). In addition to providing students with additional agency and narrative prompts, we also used badges, or achievements, to promote specific types of student behaviors. This study provides data collected from approximately 200 students enrolled in this online digital media course in which badges were used to incentivize targeted student behaviors, such as taking an exam within a certain timeframe or responding to student work with especially helpful feedback. In addition to a brief analysis of relevant achievement assessment data, we also describe our approach to the mechanics of achievement design and show some of the elements of design and layout used to incorporate the achievements into a learning management system.

Narrative-Based Collaboration Systems for Distributed Teams: Nine Research Questions for Information Managers

Abstract We propose a framework to explore how narrative can support distributed teams. Although information technologies enable distributed teamwork, they may increase the level of abstraction forced upon teams by the absence of co-location. To counter these effects, we explore how elements of narrative may be useful through their ability to convey team-related information. Nine research questions are presented that examine ways in which we can explore narrative information systems as tools for studying distributed teamwork.

Individual Differences in Digital Badging: Do Learner Characteristics Matter?

Badge use has rapidly expanded in recent years and has benefited a variety of applications. However, a large portion of the research has applied a binary useful or not useful approach to badging. Few studies examine the characteristics of the user and the impact of those characteristics on the effectiveness of the badging system. This study takes preliminary steps toward that cause, examining the effectiveness of a badging system across two web-based university courses in relation to the individual differences of the learners. Individual differences are examined through the lens of Long–Dziuban reactive behavior types and traits. Results revealed differences in badge effectiveness that were dependent upon students’ Long–Dziuban categorization. Student engagement, intrinsic motivation, reflective and integrative learning, and higher order learning were the constructs most dependent upon categorization. Additional results and their implications are discussed within.

Building Better Digital Badges

Background. Digital badges are used in games and simulations for purposes such as incentivizing learning, identifying progress, increasing time on task, and credentialing. Designing effective badges is complicated by psychological factors mediating the processes of recognizing, orienting toward, and acquiring badges. Aim. This article analyzes digital badges through mechanics and psychology. This approach involves understanding the underlying logics of badges as well as the experiential nature of badges-in-use. The proposed model provides additional insight about badges and recommends design strategies to complement existing scholarship. Procedure. This article examines an existing model of completion logic for digital badges. This model is expanded upon by pairing these formal mechanics with relevant psychological theory, summarizing key principles that pertain to how people interact with badges. It then considers three dimensions of badges-in-use—social, cognitive, and affective—reviewing examples and analyzing the relationship of badging to debriefing. Outcome. Understanding the relationships between formal completion logics and the psychological experience of badging allows designers to better design, deploy, and critique badging systems, leading to more effective implementations within simulation and gaming contexts. A design matrix and a series of design recommendations for badging are derived from the presented perspectives.

Applying the Narrative form and XML Metadata to Debriefing Simulation-Based Exercises

We suggest that narrative techniques can be used in conjunction with debriefing tools to aid in the framing of complex distributed team activities. We suggest that modified narrator perspectives (points of view) can be useful in debriefs for individuals and teams to improve interpositional knowledge (IPK) on a post-process level, and can be used in place of, or in conjunction with, more traditional types of pre-task training which occur through techniques such as cross-training. We conclude with an example framework for modified narrative perspective debriefing that is created using the extensible Markup Language.

Understanding digital badges through feedback, reward, and narrative: a multidisciplinary approach to building better badges in social environments

Digital badges are studied and implemented for a variety of purposes. Regardless of the specific application, all badges have one thing in common: they contain explicitly designed information meant to motivate users. This information is created by the badges developer, transferred using the badge as a vessel, and assimilated by the user. In other words, badges are devices for communication. This article examines this communication process within social environments from three different perspectives---badges as rewards, feedback mechanisms, and narrative. For each of these perspectives, this article provides examples and discusses the type of information that can be communicated as well as the design considerations required for successful communication.

A digital badging dataset focused on performance, engagement and behavior-related variables from observations in web-based university courses

This dataset contains participant data related to the use of badging (achievement) feedback in pedagogical design. Two sections each of web-based graphic design and web design undergraduate courses were offered at the University of Central Florida. A badging system for achievements was included in one section of each. Performance, engagement and behavior-related data were collected. The dataset comprises complete data from 44 undergraduate students. This paper includes a justification for data collection, methodology and preexisting usage of the data. It also discusses limitations of the dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developer Discourse: Exploring Technical Communication Practices within Video Game Development

ABSTRACT This study examines the discourse style of managers, developers, engineers, and artists working for an independent game development studio. Fourteen employees were interviewed, and then the results were coded and analyzed using an exploratory, single-case case study methodology. The authors argue that the texts, tactics, and technologies used by these professionals reveal insights into the practical, outcome-oriented dimensions of technical communication within the games industry as well as deeper cultural characteristics of this community.

Creative Content Management: Importance, Novelty, and Affect as Design Heuristics for Learning Management Systems

<roman><bold>Background</bold></roman>: <italic>This paper examines creativity in content management (CM) by presenting a case study analysis of an original, open-source, web-based learning-management system (LMS). It explores existing literature and suggests new ideas about creativity and CM</italic>. <roman><bold>Research questions</bold> </roman>: <italic>How can we conceptualize creativity in relation to CM? How can creativity be operationalized into specific design practices within CM? What dimensions of creativity should be considered when designing or evaluating creative CM systems?</italic> <roman><bold>Situating the case</bold></roman>: <italic>Theoretical research in content-management systems (CMSs) and LMSs has revealed a gap in our fields current understanding of how creativity relates to CM. Research studies related to the measurement of creativity have provided insight into characteristics and methodologies that could be adopted and adapted to evaluate creativity in CM. Studies from the learning sciences have investigated where LMSs fall short and suggested where new opportunities exist to better facilitate the informational needs of users. These works have pointed to a need for research on integrating creativity and CM, both in content and in the systems that manage content, and have laid the groundwork for this study</italic>. <roman><bold>Methodology</bold></roman>: <italic>This research investigates theories of creativity as they relate to CM by conducting a case study analysis of unique instructional software designed to deliver content to students enrolled in a university course. The primary evidence is taken from notes about the design and evaluation of the software and from survey data illustrating students’ user experiences</italic>. <roman><bold>About the case</bold></roman>: <italic>We developed a classification strategy for exploring creativity along three dimensions—importance, novelty, and affect—and then used this strategy to explore a unique systems approach to deal with content challenges in each of those areas. User experience impressions provide evidence of successes and failures of experimental CM in these domains</italic>. <roman><bold>Conclusions</bold></roman>: <italic>The study finds that this original LMS design did contain features that exhibited novelty, importance, and affect, and that such features can be used to identify creativity in product design as well as to assess the design of complex software systems such as CMSs and LMSs. This detailed analysis of an original design for an LMS suggests new ideas for implementing and using CMSs and LMSs in technical communication. The study concludes by presenting a rubric for evaluating creativity in CMSs and LMSs, or for designing such systems with creativity in mind.</italic>