Augmented Learning Research and Design of Mobile Educational Games Eric Klopfer The MIT Press Cambridge, Massaschusetts London, England ( 2008 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any elec- tronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. For information about special quantity discounts, please email hspecial_sales@ mitpress.mit.edui. This book was set in Stone Serif and Stone Sans on 3B2 by Asco Typesetters, Hong Kong. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Klopfer, Eric. Augmented learning : research and design of mobile educational games / Eric Klopfer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-262-11315-1 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Educational games—Data processing. 2. Educational games—Design and construction. 3. Simulation games in education—Design and construction. 4. Mobile computing. 5. Pocket computers—Programming. I. Title. LB1029.G3K585 2008 371.3307—dc22 2007032260 10987654321 Index AAAS. See American Association for the core engine for, 158, 171 Advancement of Science future of, 171 Access issues, 134, 222 heavy and light augmentation, 91–94, Adventure quests, 49 224 Age groups outdoor-based, 133, 158 flexibility of games across, 79–81 Augmented reality experiences, 176– AGPS. See Assisted GPS 177 Alien Contact, 126 discussion, 177–181 Alternate reality games (ARGs), 51–52, Augmented reality handheld games 56 (ARHGs), 94 ‘‘puppetmasters’’ in, 52 Augmented virtuality, 92 American Association for the Advance- Authenticity, 95, 103–107, 123–125, ment of Science (AAAS), 163 129–146 America’s Army, 29 amplifying, 224 Animal Crossing, 49 for diverse audiences, 138–141 Appeal of mobile gaming, 54 Outbreak @ the Institute, 133–138, Apple IIs, 23 168–170 AR. See Augmented reality games quantifiable outcomes, 130–133, Area Code, 52 146 ARGs. See Alternate reality games verifying, 141 ARHGs. See Augmented reality handheld Avatars, 60 games becoming more realistic, 107 ARQuake, 93 designing, 105 Assisted GPS (AGPS), 48–49 programmed, 89 Atari, 40 virtual worlds based on, 100 Kids, 27 Audio cues, 94, 107 Baby boomer generation, 54 Augmented reality (AR) games, 49, 100– education of, 3 101, 105–106, 109–127, 133, 176– Backstory, 115–116 181 Badge platform, 177–181 collaborative learning in, 149–153 Bandai, 197–198, 203 240 Index Beast, The, 51, 57 Children. See Early childhood games Being Fluent with Information Technology, ‘‘Chocolate covered broccoli,’’ 24, 26, 219 6 Classroom Bejeweled, 46 technology in, 68–71 Benford, Steven, 50 time in, 26 Big Brain Academy, 55 Client-server architecture, 133, 228 ‘‘Big Games,’’ 52 Cloudmakers, 51, 56–57 Biology instruction, 1–3, 73–75 Code cracking, 57–58 Blades of Magic, 47 Colella, Vanessa, 59 Blast Theory, 50 Collaboration, 7, 11, 40, 227. See also Blogs, 12, 58 Team approach Bluetooth, 227 designing for, 147–171 Boston Museum of Science, 163, 165, tools for, 12 182 Collaborative learning BotFighters, 49 in augmented reality games, 149–153, Brain Age, 42, 54–55 170 Bulletin boards, 228 components of, 151 training in, 153–157 ‘‘Can You See Me Now,’’ 50 Comfort zone, taking players out of, Cascading events, 159 139–141 Case studies Command and control structure, biology instruction, 1–3, 73–75 reconstructing, 140 cross-disciplinary instruction, 76–77 Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) games, environmental protection, 87–100 17, 83, 92, 95 evolution of Darwin’s finches, 203– Communication skills. See also Complex 220 communication genetics class, 64–69 natural, 222–223 grouping students, 77–81 necessity of, 6, 144 outbreak scenario, 129–141, 158–162, promoting diverse forms of, 225 185–186 specialized, 39 physics classes, 19–21 with varied audiences, 7, 11 problem solving, 147–148 Communities siting a level-4 biosafety laboratory, knowledge-building, 156 182–196 of practice, 224 using computer rooms, 61–64 Competencies Casual experiences, creating deep, 225 in ‘‘higher order’’ thinking, 4, 225 Cell phones, mobile gaming on, 10, 45– minimum, 4 48, 92 Competitiveness, of America, 3–5 Change factors Complementary information, jigsawing anticipating, 227 of, 137 schools’ resistance to, 70 Complex communication, a skill Charles River City (CRC), 158–162 demanded in today’s world, 6, 8, 11, Cheok, Adrian, 50 173–174, 179 Index 241 Complexity Data beaming, 159–160, 165 managing, 7–8, 10, 227 Decisions, making well-informed, 101– stochastic nature of, 82 102, 106, 205, 212 Computer labs Dede, Chris, 158 maintaining, 69 Design problems with, 61–64, 71 of avatars, 105 Computers. See Handheld computers; of ‘‘lightweight’’ technologies, 71 Personal digital assistants (PDAs); minimalist, 35 individual computers of mobile learning games, 60, 223–225 Computing platforms, 9, 33 Didactic teaching, place in learning Com2uS, 47 theory, 19 Connectivity, 95 ‘‘Digital natives,’’ 31 Constructivist theory, 12, 139 Documents, 126 Content electronic, 96, 183–184, 185, 193 ‘‘as cover,’’ 19, 21 Dormant gamers, 42 changes in, 1–2 D-pad controller, 33, 54 in educational games, 18–21 Drill-and-practice activities, disguised as importance in applications, 109, 225 games, 26 relocating, 114–117 Durrant, John, 182 ‘‘tyranny of,’’ 18, 26 Content-based learning goals, shifting E-learning. See Learning away from, 141–143 EA. See Electronic Arts Context sensitivity, 95 Early childhood games, persistent Conversation, 99–100. See also Face-to- market for, 26–27 face interactions Edge Awards, 54 Cooties, 58–59 Education. See also Remedial education Core engine, for AR games, 158, 171 calls for reforming, 3–5 Costa, Barbara, 182 modern, 5–8, 70–71 COTS. See Commercial off-the-shelf Education Arcade, The, 30 games Educational games CreateAScape, 59 biggest initiative in, 31 Credibility, 190–191 content and process in, 18–21 Crisis situations, 139–140 defining, 16–18 Cross-platform gaming, 47. See also exceptional, 26–28 Platforms message about the value of, 17 Customization, 39, 105 next generation, 31–32 of games, 82–83, 110 other names for, 15–16 Cyberskills, 57–58 poor, 25, 55, 220 research on, 17–18 Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), 48 skepticism about, 13–21, 62 Dance Star, 48 studying in college, 23–32 Darwin, Charles, 204 superiority over didactic approaches for Darwin’s finches, evolution of, 203–220 teaching process skills, 19 242 Index Educational system FITness. See Fluency with Information expanded mission of, 3–4 Technologies harsh criticism of, 5–6 Flash Lite, 46 new challenges to, 3–4 Floodgate Studios, 45–47 ‘‘Edutainment’’ games, 24 ‘‘Flow,’’ activities leading to, 83 Efficient learning, 120–121 Fluency with Information Technologies Ekahau, 134 (FITness), 6–8, 10, 19, 98 Electronic Arts (EA), 31, 33, 46, 51, 54 Football, 34–36 Employers, needing to provide remedial Freddie the Fish, 27 education, 4, 30 Frequency 1550, 59 Engaging students, in their own Friedman, Thomas, 5 learning, 9, 83–86, 95, 217–219, Full Spectrum Warrior, 28–29 225 Furby, 198, 202 Environmental Detectives (ED), 87– Future 100, 110–127, 152–157, 163, 227 of ‘‘augmented reality’’ games, 171 Environments, immersive, 12 of mobile learning games, 228 Epistemic games, 123–124 of research, 127 EverQuest Online Adventures, 151 Future learning, preparation for, 20 Evolution learning about, 213–217 Game board, using the real world as, 94 role of mutations in, 214–215 Game Boy platform, 10, 60 stabilizing selection, 215 Link cable for, 39 Expecting the unexpected, 7, 11 successors to, 40–42 Experience Music Project, 162 Game creation Expert skills demanded in today’s world CreateAScape, 59 creating games that stress particular, MediaScapes, 59 19–20 Game families expert thinking, 6, 8, 11, 175 FIFA, 54 Exploratorium, 162–163 Freddie the Fish, 27 JumpStart, 27 Face-to-face interactions, 35, 107, 218– Madden, 33, 46, 54 219 Mario, 24, 37–38, 54 technology-enabled, 70, 223, 225 Math Blaster, 27 Far transfer, 56 Mendel’s Lab, 62 Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Putt Putt, 27 31 Reader Rabbit, 27 Feedback Touch! Generations, 55 from other players, 187, 189 Zelda, 36–37, 54 from a system model, 143 Game items, 137 Fermi questions, 181 Game-to-person interaction, 36 Field trip model, 127 Game play FIFA, 54 asynchronous, 218–219 Fishlabs, 47 enhancements to, 228 Index 243 Game players. See also Multiplayer games fictionalized, more or less, 126 attachment to their virtual pets, 217– Football, 34–36 219 Frequency 1550, 59 categories of, 42 Full Spectrum Warrior, 28–29 dormant gamers, 42 Grand Theft Auto, 54 learning from and teaching each other, Halo 2, 51 39 Harvest Moon, 49 leisure gamers, 42 Human Pacman, 50, 93 power gamers, 42 I Love Bees, 51 social gamers, 42 IMO: The World of Magic, 47 synchronized in real time, 133 The Incredible Machine, 24–25 taking out of their comfort zone, 139– Into the Blue, 40 141 The Island of Dr. Brain, 24–25 Gamers. See Game players Juggler, 37 Games. See also Educational games; LeapPad, 27 Mini-games Leapster, 27 adapting to different styles, 39 Live Long and Prosper, 65–68, 73, 83– Alien Contact, 126 84 America’s Army, 29 location-based, 48–50, 59, 93, 95 Animal Crossing, 49 The Logical Journey of the Zoombinis, ARQuake, 93 24–25, 55 The Beast, 51, 57 Mad Countdown, 50 Bejeweled, 46 Majestic, 51 Big Brain Academy, 55 Making History, 31 Blades of Magic, 47 Math Blaster, 23–24, 26, 32 BotFighters, 49 MobileGame, 59 Brain Age, 42, 54–55 MoPets, 45 ‘‘Can You See Me