Just building a virtual world where you can learn Fluid Dynamics is not enough. It should be fun and immersive. Like most games, flow is a key factor for success.
In my master thesis I made a list of design principles which can contribute to gamification and an immersive 3D world.
Thoughts on levels / scaffolding
The list is based on:
Kapp, K. M., & O’Driscoll, T. (2010). Learning in 3D adding a new dimension to enterprise learning and collaboration. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kapp, K. M. (2012). The gamification of learning and instruction: game-based methods and strategies for training and education. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.
For each main topic of the following list a separate post will be made discussing how topics are dealt with in the virtual world.
| Instructionally grounded. |
| 1. Is the learning intervention addressing a educational need? |
| 2. Are the learning objectives optimized to address the educational need? |
| 3. Is a 3DLE the most efficient and effective mechanism for transferring the learning? |
| Reflectively Synthesized. |
| 4. How is personal reflection accommodated in the design? |
| 5. How are team after-action reviews accommodated in the design? |
| The Experiential Principles. |
| 6. How can participants experiment in the the learning environment? |
| Participant Centered. |
| 7. Does the design place the participants in the center of the experience? |
| 8. What roles do the participants play in the experience? |
| 9. What actions and interactions can the participants take to encounter teachable moments within the experience? |
| Contextually Situated / Authentic Environment. |
| 10. What situational contexts best accommodate the learning objectives of the intervention? |
| 11. What is the role of the facilitator, other participants, and the environment itself in creating an authentic situational context for learning? |
| Discovery Driven. |
| 12. What is the minimum set of guidelines that need to be established to catalyze action within the learning experience? |
| 13. What information of incentives can be selectively revealed within the learning experience to motivate engagement and collaborative action within the experience? |
| Action Oriented. |
| 14. What is the set of episodic activities that will immerse the participants in the learning experience? |
| 15. What are the key actions and interactions within these episodes that trigger teachable moments for the participants? |
| Consequentially Experienced. |
| 16. How will participants be required to demonstrate their ability to perfom? |
| 17. How is iterative trail and error and feedback built into the learning experience? |
| 18. What are the consequences of failure for the participant? |
| Collaboratively Motivated. |
| 19. How will collaborative and co-creation action on the part of the teams be incented and rewarded? |
| 20. Is the reward intrinsic or extrinsic? |
| 21. How is personal reflection accommodated in the design? |
| Lifelike Avatars en Third-Person Perspective. |
| 22. Are there enough opportunities to get used to using the avatar? |
| 23. Is the third-person perspective used? |
| 24. Does the avatar looks like the real person?? |
| Archetype Role Play, Assume a Role (Participant Centered) |
| 25. Are there different roles? |
| 26. Is the environment according these roles? |
| 27. Are teacher and student at the same time present in the virtual world? |
| Archetype Scavenger Hunt (Discovery Driven) |
| 28. Is the scavenger hunt meant to let the participants explore the virtual world? |
| 29. Is the scavenger hunt not to difficult? |
| Archetype Guided Tour (Discovery Driven) |
| 30. Is there a tour by the teacher? |
| 31. Is there a tour, without the teacher, were the objects are explained? |
| Archetype Operational Application (Action Oriented) |
| 32. Are real-world psychics rules applied? |
| Archetype Conceptual Orienteering (Action Oriented) |
| 33. Are concepts visualized? |
| Archetype Critical Incident (Consequentially Experienced) |
| 33. Do critical incidents occur? |
| Archetype Co-Creation (Collaboratively Motivated) |
| 34. Does co-creation happens? |
| Archetype Small Group Work (Collaboratively Motivated) |
| 35. Word ter in kleine groepen gewerkt? |
| Archetype Group Forums (Collaboratively Motivated) |
| 36. Are large group-meetings held? |
| Archetype Social Networking (Collaboratively Motivated) |
| 37. Do participants get enough time and space to communicate with each other? |
| Meaningful Dialogue (Collaboratively Motivated) |
| 38. Do meaningful dialogues take place between avatars (participant, teacher)? |
| 39. Do meaningful dialogues take place between avatars and objects? |
| Complex Story-line (Consequentially Experienced) |
| 40. Is the story-line sufficiently challenging, interesting and complex? |
| Challenges the Learner (Discovery Driven) Challenge / Skill Balance (Pavlas) |
| 41. Are there enough challenges for the participant? How is scaffolding included? |
| Immediate Immersion (Gamification) |
| 42. Are participants immersed directly into the story? No boring theory |
| Manipulating Variables (Discovery Driven) |
| 43. Do participants have the opportunity to manipulate different variables, which make different outcomes possible? |
| Interaction with Game Environment (Contextually Situated) |
| 44. Does interaction with objects take place? |
| Synthesis of Knowledge (Instructionally grounded) |
| 45. Does integration of different educational theories take place? |
| Replayable with Different Results (Consequentially Experienced) |
| 46. Can the game be replayed with different variables and outcomes? |
