Games and Virtual Worlds: Custom Training Materials with Standard Desktop Tools

Abstract:

Despite much publicity surrounding the use of computer games in education, most applications have involved either expensive games for high-end users or force-fitting of commercial games to the academic environment. There have been few controlled studies to find the ‘active ingredients’, let alone account for placebo. The success of non-games such as The Sims and Second Life suggests that it is the virtual world interactivity rather than game elements which is creating the addictive interest.

What is well-established, however, is a demand for learning objects which can be dis-aggregated, customised, and adapted to curricula, rather than vice-versa. The theme is ‘make your own resource’. This requires low cost resources with flexibility, attractiveness, and a quick learning curve. Such materials have been sitting under our noses for some years in the form of the later additions to spreadsheets. The venerable spreadsheet can now serve as a presentation (ie- like PowerPoint) storyboard, quasi-animation tool, and game hub.

This presentation draws together the recent advances in Control Box form tools, clip art human characters, special fonts, and modified Charts (ie- graphs) to produce the look and feel of virtual worlds without special programming, macro’s, or plug-ins.

Subject:

Arts, Business, Humanities, Mathematics and Statistics, Science and Technology, Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Secondary, Post-secondary