Wk 11 Personal Reflection: Simulation and Games.

Simulation and Simulation Games
Taking note on simulation and simulation games which provide learners through visual interaction, learners were able to explore real life simulation that challenges individual activities that lead to success or failure.
Games make it possible to lead virtual civilizations and or explore others activities from perspective of educational pedagogies. Either simulation or simulation games are a push “technologies” that has contributed to development in education and the way the students play, interact, and learn. Simulation and the games are power tools, the benefits of using simulations and the games to show the ideas, concepts, and application of games manufacturing tools are well recognized. Other use of simulation application is for problem solving, on piece flow, work balance, and quality improvement.

I enjoy this particular topic because future games will employ deeper simulation in order to achive greater levels of interaction and complexity, while simultaneously simplying the learning curve for new player.
Educational simulation is about life simulation that gives opportunity to learn how people really live in other countries. It brings to life different cultures, political systems, economic opportunities, personal decisions, health issues, family issues, schooling, jobs, religions, geography, war, peace, and a simulation game exploring sustainable management of renewable resources. Each turn you must decide how much effort to devote to fishing. The goal of the game is to find the profit-maximizing level of effort and to end with a sustainable population. The important aspect of game design is the relation between the game goals and the learning goals.

What will future brings on simulation games?
The future of simulation and the games are looking bright, moreover, more research are been conducting for using multiplayer and online games to study the effectiveness of games based training. The environments studied are developed and maintained using an online interactive virtual environment platform. More games are been design to give people a view into future. Designed to stimulate innovation, emotional intelligence and strategic foresight, participants are supported by facilitators and futurist, strategic and creative tools and techniques to meet purposeful outcomes.
Although simulation has been around for some years, collaborative with simulation games provides new model for social organization, and improve the literacy’s in the community. There are many ways people learn through media nowadays, either through simulation or simulation games; Video games are emerging as a new medium for learning. “Advance in molding technologies, graphic libraries, and games editors are making the creation of educational gaming multi-million dollars industries.” The games of the future will rely heavily on much more complex, high fidelity world representations that will allow for more emergent behavior and unforeseen player interactions. Taken together, these next-generation design paradigms are not simply improvements over older models, but represent a fundamentally different approach to simulating real-world physics, handling artificial intelligence and interface usability Havey Smith, (2005).

References:
Designing Game-Based Learning Environments. A series of links to academic publications describing game technology and design tools. Retrieved Nov. 13th, 2007 from http://website.education.wise.edu/kdsquire/research.html

Horn, R. E. (1999) The Convention Game (prepared for the 30th Anniversary issue of Simulations and Games) A keynote speech to the North American Simulation and Gaming Association 30, 4, Dec. 1999, 456-475 (html)

Horn, R. E. (1970-1980) The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training. (Ed) 1970 (with D.W. Zuckerman), Cambridge: I.R.I.; 1973, 2nd edition, Research Media, Inc.1976, 3rd edition, Didactic Systems, Inc.; 1980 4th edition, (with Anne Cleaves). Los Angeles: Sage Publications

Simulation and Advanced Gaming Environments for Learning - A university research consortium exploring the impact of simulation, simulation-games and games in education. Retrieved Nov. 13th, 2007 from http://website.education.wise.edu/kdsquire/research.html

Smith, H., (2001). The future of game design: Moving beyond Deus Ex and other dated paradigms. Multimedia International Market. Retrieved Nov. 20th, 2007 from http://www.igda.org/articles/hsmith.future.php.

Week 11 Walker’s Reflective Response

Simulation and Gaming

I enjoyed sampling the simulations and gaming software we all shared via the URLs. I’m sure we all got to experience that sense of engaged excitement that justifies the use of this type of software with students in the classroom. I find it interesting that the environment one lives in conditions them for a different way of learning. Students today are raised in a more interactive style of learning. They have come to learn by observing and doing while in years past it was learn by simply observing. J.C Hertz, as cited by Jerry Seay (1997) states it best, “But whereas TV turned kids of the fifties and sixties into a nation of screen watchers, videogames have created a cadre of screen manipulators.” Simulations and gaming can be a powerful learning tool when it is properly used. I can definitely empathize with the average primary aged student who has been born into a world of Jillian’s and Dave and Buster’s yet when they get to school they are handed a bland way (in comparison) of learning the curriculum.


References

Alessi, S.M. & Trollip, S.R. (2001). Multimedia for learning: Methods and development. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.

Higgins, G.A. Playing Games to Learn Complex Skills: Computer Simulation for Medic Training. Visions 2020 Report . p. 41 – 44.

Seay, J. (1997). Education and simulation/gaming computers: An eductaor’s encounter. Technology and Education. Retrieved November 14, 2007, from http://www.cofc.edu/~seay/cb/simgames.html

Week 10 Walker’s Reflective Response

Learning Objects and Educational Repositories

When asked to give my own personal definition of a learning object, the first thing I did to assist me was to reflect on what a learning objective is. The truth of the matter is that no agreeable definition has been concluded for a learning object. Even though there is exists opposition the one core definition to maintain some sort of focus I think one must stay in tune with the goal of objects which is to provide useful educational resources available. From what I have read, there was a lot of hype and promise over what learning objects would be able to do within the realm of education. It was soon discovered that the simple reuse feature of learning objects was not that simple because in some cases the learning situation may call for some contextual tweaking. Learning objects are not built for contextual tweaking. The debate rages on.

References

McCord, A. (2003). Institutional repositories: Enhancing teaching, learning, and research. Educause Committee Report. Retrieved November 7, 2007, from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/DEC0303.pdf

Harvey, B. (2005) Learning objects and instructional design. IRRODL (July 2005). (Online Journal). Retrieved November 7, 2007, from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/227/310

Week 9 Walker’s Reflective Response

Learning Management Systems and Content Management Systems

This week’s readings on LMSs and LCMSs were better understood after I saw a connection with them and teachers and school administrators. Now I feel a tad bit better at determining whether a software application can be categorized as an LCMS. The primary indicator would be whether it offers reusability of the material and designed using a learning object model.

References

Greenberg, L. (2002). LMS and LCMS: What’s the difference. Learning Circuits, ASTD. Retrieved October 31, 2007, from http://www.learningcircuits.org/2002/dec2002/greenberg.htm

Stacey, P. (2001). Learning management systems & learning content management systems: e-learning an enterprise application? Retrieved October 31, 2007, from http://www.bctechnology.com/statics/pstacey-oct2601.html

Robbins, S.R. (2002). The evolution of the learning content management system. Retrieved October 31, 2007, from http://www.learningcircuits.org/2002/apr2002/robbins.html

IM

Lori:

Like you I am in motion most of the day and many evenings. I find I am particularly useful in setting up conferences with individuals in different locations. In human services, we can do a case conference and reduce the amount of travel time. In the educational setting I can work with study groups of adult students times that they feel are convenient. My experience with instant messaging in this class is that all of us are busy and at the evening is the best time to connect people. I do agree that the technologies that we have reviewed have many possibilities which will be discovered in an on going way as we move forward.

Frank

Week 7

This week was interesting as the others. There is so much knowledge that I am getting from this class that I don't know what to do. I feel like its information overload. I like the IM. The only downfall is that you don't ever know when someone is going to be online and sometimes I use my laptop and my IM pops up on my desktop. Anyway, I have talked with a few people, but I have not had a chance to chat with Tim yet. I work two jobs and I am in class now, so my life is busy.

Overall, this class has really added to my technonlogy life. There are a lot of ideas that I am trying to bring to my students, so that we can be really with it.