Pre-Thesis Week 6 research week 02
Microworlds: Transforming Education
This reading that I found was pretty interesting but I’m not too sure it fit my topic too much but I think it could lead to something. It was mainly about how they used computers to better teach kids and about how we have these things called Microworlds where that we use to help us understand things. The ways that we learn with computers is through tutorials which are most widespread and well known, kind of like having a mechanical instructor. Another way is to use them as tools like calculators, word processors, or simulation predictors. The last way is Microworlds. When kids learn things like language, a micro world is created by manipulating pieces of the larger whole to master them with baby talk. Another example would be something like money, using different combinations, kids learn how to make amounts when buying things with coins. It goes on to talk about LOGO the coding language for teaching kids logic. For example with Logo turtle, it lets kids say forward 50 or right 90 as an example to control a drawing. A child can learn by exploring and manipulating this world, it’s a safe space and no one is there to criticize you. Other examples include setting speed, or changing the color, it makes the user see what they can do and combine things in certain ways. At first, a lot of kids wouldn’t know really what 90 degrees or something was but when inputting it in, they learn this sort of secret code or Microworld.Challenging games help students learn: An empirical study on engagement, flow, and immersion in game-based learning
This was probably the best paper I found on my topic so far. It starts off by talking about a good learning setting, students learn how to solve complex problems, they start off easy and progressively get more difficult. “In a good computer or video game, you're always playing on the very edge of your skill level, always on the brink of falling off. When you do fall off, you feel the urge to climb back on. That's because there is virtually nothing as engaging as this state of working at the very limits of your ability.” It goes on to talk about layered learning, it’s a method to optimize learning elements consistent with interrelated principles of challenge, skills, engagement, and immersion. More importantly, it talks about flow state which is very related to playing a hard game. Flow state is the state of mind characterized by focused concentration and elevated enjoyment during intrinsically interesting activities. Utilizing high degrees of skill in challenging tasks results in deep concentration, absorption, or immersion. Its also related to learning, talent development, academic achievement, and creative accomplishment. With a difficult VR game setting, you get that immersion. They then go on to talk about the perfect zone of difficulty you need to keep that flow state going. “The most central condition for flow experiences to occur is that the individual uses a high level of skill to meet a significant challenge. The activity is therefore not too easy for one's skills, nor is it impossibly difficult. Reaching the goal is doable: one has a reasonable chance of success with sincere and concerted effort. “ Based on different combinations of difficulty and skill level you get different emotional responses. “The various combinations of high or low challenges and skills predict distinct psychological states: (a) apathy, resulting from a low challenge and low skill; (b) relaxation, resulting from high skill but low challenge; (c) anxiety, resulting from a high challenge but low skill; and (d) flow, resulting from high challenge combined with high skill. This challenge-skill dynamic introduces a growth principle that is also inherently related to learning. When learning a new skill, the challenge of even a basic task may exceed a student's beginning level of ability, and hence one may feel overwhelmed. To reach flow, the level of skill must increase to match the challenge. Sufficient practice may be needed until the skill is mastered. Once mastered, a higher level of challenge is needed for one's skill level to increase yet again. Thus, individuals may progress through increasingly difficult challenges at ever-higher levels of skill.” This study contributes to the literature on game-based learning by demonstrating that educational video games may be an effective means of posing learning challenges that are perceived as interesting and enjoyable, resulting in engagement and immersion in the game-based learning task. Thus, the challenge created by the game appears to be an important antecedent for engagement, and essential for learning through the game. These findings suggest that game designers should emphasize challenge and engagement while considering players' skills, which we found also to contribute to engagement and immersion. Games afford a great deal of individualized customization in terms of matching the challenges of the learning activity to a players’ skills as they progress. Results imply that the challenge of effective educational game design is for games to keep pace with the learner's growing abilities in order to facilitate continued learning in game-based learning environments.” So the basic idea is that video games are a great way to stimulate that challenge since they are pretty flexible but it is also the game developers’ job to try to figure out the perfect balance in order to keep the players engaged. Without that nice balance, you can get bored players or frustrated ones, either one not really desirable.
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while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
print 'Iteration ' + i;
deck.shuffle();
i++;
}
print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';