GPS game with runners and surfers

Yes, it is pretty exiting to walk around with a GPS receiver, towards waypoints to collect some new clues. This week we went with a big group of Stoas to a very nice town called Deventer.

The game was a nice mix of activities. In total we had 4 timeslots of 30 minutes. In the 30 minutes we divided our team in two sub team: 'Runners' walked through the city with a GPS receiver to search for predefined 'waypoints' At certain coordinates there was an object we needed. Via the mobile phone we stayed in contact with our team mates who played the role 'surfers'. The surfers sat behind a laptop and had different assignments. The surfers needed to solve online puzzles and had to answer certain questions. They could use internet to solve things. If they answered a question not correctly, the pages were blocked for a minute. The surfers had to provide the runners with questions that were related to the certain spots in the city. This way the tasks were involving and not boring at all. The runners needed to be back at the base (a warm and nice café of course) on time.

I could imagine that you can turn this quite easily into an educational game e.g. for new hires to explore the company (at least from the outside). You only would like to do a bit more at certain locations so I would prefer to use a GPS enables PDA or iPhone. With that you can do different assignments and use the web for additional info and to enter the answers. But the way we did it (with a collaborative task and a simple receiver) was also challenging and fun. It is motivating to team up with people at a different location and to put together the pieces of the puzzle.

The Surfers are working very hard!

If you want to set up games like this you can use free available software tools, one example: http://www.mscapers.com/

Thesis: "Learning environments for Net-generation learners"

Last week Joost, a colleague of mine, got his masters degree. If you are interested in Net-generation learning, this thesis will be useful for you.



Based on a written questionnaire among 224 students of preliminary vocational education in The Netherlands, the paper explores the use of digital media and web technology and the characteristics of Net-generation learners as being the next generation of workers. Two developments in digital media and web technology have been taken into account: 1) virtual social networks and 2) multi-user virtual environments.

Although it was a scientific research the approach was very practical. And we can use a bit insight in these field because you cannot project the US based research findings that easy on a Dutch situation.

For me what was new to hear was the penetration of the use of instant messaging amongst this target group, it was almost 100%. The target group comes from a lower socio-economic background (below average) and you could expect a lower use of PC's at home. This was not true.

I think Joost did some nice research and he answered some interesting and relevant questions. For me the remaining questions are:

1. What will happen if we use the Net-gen methods within a corporate learning environment? Will it lose its positive impact?
   
2. What is the importance of the learner as an active creator?
   

Maybe some new research questions?

Congratulations Joost!

Check his research: Learning environments for Net-generation learners

Check his presentation:



For more, please visit his blog.

Game based learning seminar

Stoas is organizing free seminars for quite a long time. During several years we had interesting sessions, mostly about developing e-Learning content. In about 3 hours we presented cases from customers (and by customers) and explained all kind of didactical models and methods and we discussed it with the participants. It is always a great opportunity to meet other professionals and discuss all aspects. Only in interaction you are changing and 'upgrading' your own mental model. Every time it is with a small group of people (20-25) and we are closing the sessions with an informal lunch. For the participants it is interesting to get some information and to meet other people to hear their experiences with e-Learning (especially during the breaks and lunch). They are always rating the event positively. And for us it is a great opportunity to hear what the wishes, dreams and concerns are from our (potential) customers.

Now we are starting with a seminar about game based learning. Many times the term GBL or serious gaming is misleading and is just an excuse to cover up a bad designed e-Learning product. That’s why we started this seminar, to evaluate this phenomenon and to talk with people about the positive and negative aspects. I will also talk about the ingredients of a good and usable educational game and how to implement it in your environment. From a critical, educational point of view. Other colleagues of mine are presenting research results about GBL.

If you are interested to join us on for this free event on Friday the 13th. Do you dare?

To subscribe please go to the website

Click To Play

Video impression of our GBL seminar.