[arg_discuss] Commercial ARGs with learning outcomes

[Nathan Mishler]

It's possible.

There's a problem with the thought that there are Games and then there are
Educational Games. Many people think that only learning comes out of games
that are specifically designed to teach. The thing is, ALL games teach.
Granted, much of what entertainment games teach is not useful or applicable
in any form in the real world. Okay, you learned how to avoid the alien's
attacks on level 8. That is very specialized knowledge.

ARGs on the other hand tend to involve more "real world" knowledge, using
things that people already know (or can learn) as part of their puzzles.
They also tend to encourage players to go out into the world and doing this
learning on their own. Of course now I'm treading into a lot of things
discussed in Dave S's book about the differences between formal gaming and
the sort of hybrid game / storytelling systems that are in ARGs. And that's
a looooong discussion.

I'd say go for it, but recognize that they might not care that they make
"learning" functions. Learning is part and parcel with the game, but they
might not be interested tuning their marketing args towards a "benefit of
all mankind" sort of thing. There's still a belief in some circles that
games are "just entertainment" and any attempt to "shoehorn" learning into
them will make the games unpopular. I think that's silly, seeing as games
are nothing BUT learning systems, but not everyone recognizes it.

On the other hand, Mc Donalds for instance is part of the whole "Children's
Hospital" scene so it's not like they are entirely against the public good.
If you can get their backing you could do a bunch of cool stuff.

On Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 2:03 PM, Steve Vosloo <
steve.vosloo at shuttleworthfoundation.org> wrote:


> The Foundation for which I work tries to innovate within the space of

> education (formal and informal) (amongst other spaces). I've suggested ARGs

> as an innovative way for youth to develop certain skills whilst they employ

> social media -- sometimes in a pop culture-based story context.

>

> The way that we work is that usually we pilot demonstration projects and

> then present the results to bigger stakeholders who can scale these

> projects, e.g. the Department of Education in South Africa.

>

> After having read Jane McGonical's /Why I Love Bees: A Case Study in

> Collective Intelligence Gaming/ and other pieces on the learning outcomes of

> ARG play, I'm asking this: if commercial companies use ARGs for marketing

> purposes, and players learn from them, then are these companies some of the

> stakeholders that the Shuttleworth Foundation should try to influence? Did I

> Love Bees turn Microsoft's gaming unit into creators of educational

> experiences? Did /The Lost Ring/ mean that McDonalds is not only in the fast

> food business, but in the business of education too?

>

> All thoughts would be much appreciated.

>

> Thanks,

> Steve

>

> --

> Steve Vosloo

> Fellow, Communication and Analytical Skills Development

> The Shuttleworth Foundation

>

> Tel: +27 21 970 1240 | Fax: +27 21 970 1241

> Web: www.shuttleworthfoundation.org

> Blog: www.innovatingeducation.wordpress.com

>

> Email disclaimer: wiki.tsf.org.za/EmailDisclaimer

>

>

>

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