Training Teachers for the Future - workshop conducted by Assoc Prof Dr. Nurulhuda

I was attracted by a workshop titled "Training Teachers for the Future" two weeks ago. I started to think about how teachers for the future would be like when I did my PhD in Warwick Institute of Education. I self-brainstormed to conceptualize the characteristics of technology-enabled teachers (see Tan, Johnston-Wilder & Neill). Herewith the characteristics that I conceptualised:

With these mindset, I enrolled myself into the course. The course is conducted by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nurulhuda. 

TBD...

How to prepare interactive lecture notes?

This morning, during my invigilation of exam, I received an invitation from HRD to run a workshop on “Interactive Lecture Notes”. I am grateful for this invitation because I have been thinking about how to prepare an interactive lecture recently. At the end of the current semester, I gave my MRE3014 Design Aesthetic students an opportunity to criticize and improve my lecture notes. These students did not do well in their mid-term test and they requested to “make-good” of their score, hence the idea of challenging them to criticize and revise my lecture notes. Herewith the selected feedback, suggestion and revision I received from them:

• Survey the language competency and expectation of students at the beginning of semester 
• Dual-language notes 
• Colourful slides 
• Background music and appropriate sound effects 
• In-lecture reflexion plus Q&A session 
• Include physical activity as intermission, e.g. debate, discussion in small groups 
• Enrich the lecture notes with relevant or provocative graphics or images as examples 
• Include relevant animation or video 
• Insert hyperlink to every slide for self-pace learning after class 

Their suggestion and views are genuine because they went through the lesson and sufferred from the use of non-interactive lecture notes—although all of them enjoyed my lecture which filled with a lot of interesting stories. In a word, they need an interactive lecture note, at least for after class revision.

To me, Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction is still applicable, and I am going to revise all my lecture notes to make them interactive using Gagne’s approach and ADDIE instructional design model.

Before diving into revising the notes, I need to study the nature of “interactive lecture notes”. I believe that in the context of student-centred learning, lecture notes are interactive if they are embedded with educational technology or media that empowers students:

• to engage with the lecture in classroom or in e-learning environment; 
• to retain memory of events happened during lecture (interaction between lecturer and students or between lecturer and lecture note); 
• to conduct post-lesson self-pace learning or revision (remedial of learning); 
• to initiate post-lesson discovery learning (enhancement of learning); 
• to prepare for upcoming lesson. 

In other words, the interactivity of lecture notes can be grouped into three phases of a lesson, i.e. pre-lesson, during the lesson, and post-lesson. Both pre- and post-lesson are off-class or beyond class period; while during the lesson is in-class or during the conduct of lecture, which could be conducted in a physical classroom or in e-learning environment.

After clarifying my thought, now I have set the learning outcomes for the two-day workshop, that is “upon the completion of the workshop, the participants should be able to make interactive lecture notes”. And the lecture notes should enable students to:

• engage with the lecture when it is being delivered either in a classroom or through e-learning environment; 
• recall events happened during lecture that can become memory cues of learning content; 
• conduct revision of the lesson at their own pace; 
• explore materials beyond the given learning contents; and 
• prepare for upcoming lesson or lecture. 

Having thought through the intended learning outcomes of the workshop, I need to prepare the contents of the workshop. Since an interactive lecture note should achieve five learning outcomes, I decided to break the contents of the workshop into five parts.

Part 1: How to prepare an interactive lecture note that engages students in the lesson? 

To answer this question (the title), I decided to use Prezi. First of all, I registered myself for a Edu Account, and then downloaded Prezi Desktop for Windows.

The use of Prezi resolved the issues highlighted by my students as I turned one of my PowerPoint slides, titled "Effective Presentation" from a monotonous colour scheme slide into a colourful presentation with animated transitions. Herewith the Prezi:

Effective Presentation

Apart from Prezi, I also used Socrative to conduct in-class quizzes and survey. As the answers given by individual students can be recorded in Excel file, I can keep track of students' performance over time.

Part 2: How to prepare an interactive lecture note using mnemonics?

I came across the Supermemo Model developed by Dr. Piotr Wozniak, SuperMemo Research, Poland. Herewith an interesting chart called "forgetting index".



Source: http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1605/ff_wozniak_graph_f.jpg

I also tried his Supermemo 2004 software and discovered the 20 rules of formulating knowledge:

1. Do not learn if you do not understand 
2. Learn before you memorize 
3. Build upon the basics 
4. Stick to the minimum information principle: (simple is easy & repetitions of simple items are easier to schedule) 
5. Cloze deletion is simple and effective 
6. Use imagery 
7. Use mnemonic techniques 
8. Graphic deletion is as good as cloze deletion 
9. Avoid sets 
10. Avoid enumerations (列举；细目) 
11. Combat interference 
12. Optimize wording 
13. Refer to other memories 
14. Personalize and provide other examples 
15. Rely on emotional states 
16. Context cues simplify wording 
17. Redundancy does not contradict minimum information principle 
18. Provide sources 
19. Provide date stamping 
20. Prioritize 

Herewith the website if you intend to discover more about the supermemo model.

http://www.supermemo.com/


Part 3: How to prepare an interactive lecture note that facilitates self-pace revision?

Part 4: How to prepare an interactive lecture note that encourages discovery learning?

Part 5: How to prepare an interactive lecture note that motivates preparation for upcoming lesson?

Why digital GBL is not practical in Malaysia yet

I conducted a training in UPSI today. The theme of the training course is "Aplikasi Teknologi Inovatif Dalam P&P" or "Application of Innovative Technologies in Teaching and Learning". I knew the participants would be my colleagues in UPSI, whom I believe should have been well-verse in conventional technologies in teaching and learning activities. Towards the end of the course, one of the colleagues questioned me the relevance of the content I delivered with the theme set by BSM.

Saya nampak tajuk training ni, ingat ia berkaitan dengan pendedahan pelbagai teknologi pendidikan, bukan guna games sahaja..."

At heart, I was stunned by this question. And then I had a long chat with a senior colleague after the training session, herewith the comments and questions (not actual quotes):

"Guna komputer tu kira advanced la..."

"Apakah ciri-ciri utama GBL berbanding dengan lain-lain kaedah P&P?"

"UPSI perlu ada guideline dan teori-teori GBL yang tersendiri."

"Kursus macam ni perlukan dua hari: hari pertama tu mula dengan Game Design for GBL; hari kedua kena ada hands on, di mana perserta diminta untuk bawa RI atau lesson plan sendiri, dan cuba jadikan ia GBL. Lepas tu ada presentation, yang mana you comment samada peserta buat dengan betul ke tidak."

"Kebanyakan sekolah di Malaysia, komputer pun tak de, so nak guna kaedah digital GBL tu susah. So kita perlukan GBL yang bukan digital. Contohnya, macam guna board game..."

"Saya masih tercari-cari keunikan GBL berbanding dengan kaedah lain."

-------------------------------
I am a proponent of digital GBL, in UK and US. And I am trying to promote digital GBL in Malaysia now. It seems like digital GBL has been perceived as something "very advanced" to all the participants, and they wish to practice non-digital GBL.

I asked the colleague what would be seen advanced? She said anything that requires computer is considered as advanced; and digital GBL can only be practiced successfully in universities or colleges, instead of schools. Most of the schools have limited computers that is available for teaching and learning--this view was conflicting with another colleague whom I  spoke to after lunch break. Perhaps they were talking about different school types.

Now I am in a dilemma: should I continue focusing on digital GBL or moving backward to establish non-digital GBL here in UPSI? The ideal scenario would be covering both in one shot. Like what the senior colleague suggested, that is to start with designing games for GBL practice, and then specializing in two sub-types: non-digital GBL and then digital GBL. The scope of coverage should be comprehensive, i.e. starting from induction setting and informing LOs, and ending with various forms of GBL assessments.

It would be great if there are case studies of how non-digital and digital GBL were practiced in Malaysia, and guidelines for teachers or educators to follow in designing and developing their own games for their own GBL practices. From these case studies, UPSI would be able to establish teaching and learning principles and theories for use in Malaysia, using Robert Yin's (2009) analytical generalization theory development approach.

To achieve this ideal scenario, I need to first come out with some guidelines for GBL practice, probably in the form of module or a book. Next, the guidelines must be implemented and tested in actual classrooms across different subject matters, and each practice would be documented and studied as a case. And the end of the studies, cross-case analysis would be carried out to develop theories and principles, as opposed to the initial guidelines, for non-digital and digital GBL practice in Malaysia. Hence UPSI's theories and principles for GBL.

To write or not to write, that is the question...

I have been thinking, and actually drafting the book titled "Game Design Methods". I started one chapter in early 2012, but stopped until now--the end of 2012.

Before I restarted to write this book, I was curious about how many books on “game design” have been published and sold in Amazon.com. My search showed 151,350 results. So why bother to write another book on game design? I should be focusing on writing journal articles or academic book chapters that will contribute to my academic credential. But when I flashed back the experience of reading books on game design, I remembered how difficult it was to comprehend books written by foreigners—I mean non-Malaysian—before having the experience of staying in the UK and the US. When the lack of vision on how people design games in Western world might provide enormous space for imagination, the need to  comprehend without understanding the socio-cultural contexts in the Western world could become a barrier to exellent game design.

I am fortunate to have the opportunity to study and work in Western countries, but the opportunity came only after I reached the age of 27. My world view prior to 27 years old was pretty narrow, and I believe most if not all of my young students in Malaysia share the similar world view like mine. I sensed the lack of vision among my students, which prompted me to write this book for them. Therefore, I tried to include examples and concepts which I think suitable for Malaysian students who study game design. 

Perhaps, I should write it in Malay...

Juiciness as the visceral design manifestation in games

Juul (2010) highlighted the component of juiciness in games and related it to Norman's visceral level of emotional design.

Juiciness occurred in both hardcore game and casual game, but in different conditions:

…hardcore game design has diegetic juiciness, which is juiciness within the game world, but casual game design is characterized by nondiegetic juiciness, which is juiciness that take place outside the game world. Hardcore juiciness takes place in the 3-D space of the game; casual juiciness takes place in screen space, but addresses the player in player space (Juul, 2010, p50)

Casual game design commonly features excessive positive feedback for every successful action the player performs. Casual game design is very juicy. 

Apart from juiciness, herewith the other four components of casual game design:

1. Fiction: The player is introduced to the game by way of screenshot, a logo on a web page, or the physical game box. Casual games are generally set in pleasant environments. Casual game design has emotionally positive fictions as opposed to the mostly emotionally negative, “vampires and war” settings of traditional video games.

2.       Usability. The player tries to play the game, and may or may not have trouble understanding how to play. Casual games presuppose little knowledge of video game conventions. Casual game design is very usable (for educational purpose as well).

3.       Interuptibility. A game demands a certain time commitment from the player. It is not that casual games can only be played for short periods of time, but that casual game design allows the player to play a game in brief bursts. Casual game design is very interruptible. 

4.       Difficulty and punishment. A game challenges and punishes the player for failing. Casual games often become very difficult during the playing of a game, but they do not force the player to replay large parts of the game. Single-player casual game design has lenient punishments for failing. The experience of punishment in multiplayer casual game design depends on who plays. 

References:

Donald Norman. (2004). Emotional design: why we love (or hate) everyday things. New York: Basic Books.

Jespal Juul. (2010). A Casual Revolution: Reinventing video games and their players. Cambridge: The MIT Press. 

Game Goal vs. Design Goal

My students who are studying MMD1033 Game Design Principles always mix up two different matters--the game goal and the design goal when they write their game design document (GDD).

Game goal is what the player or avatar that represents the player intends to achieve in the game world. In most games, that would mean winning the game. In this sense, the designer should put himself / herself in the player's shoes when setting the game goal and any associated objectives.

Design goal is what the game designer intends to challenge players in the game world. Game challenges are formed by setting the game rules (what players can and cannot do) and the game goal, after considering the level of skills, knowledge and progress of the players.

To contrast the game goal and design goal, herewith an example that involves both of them:

• Game goal: Mario to rescue the Princess Peach from Bowser and save the Mushroom Kingdom.
• Design goal: to challenge the speed, accuracy and consistency of player's hand-eye coordination in controlling a game character (Mario) in a 2D or 3D game world.  

To players, they might not be able (or needed) to differentiate the above mentioned differences, especially when they play through first-person perspective. But it is important for game designers, and those who intend to re-purpose games (e.g. GBL teachers) to understand and take advantage of the differences.

The differences are obvious in games that feature background story or narrative (e.g. God of War, Super Mario Bro, etc). However, in games that were constructed with the three classical elements (rule-based, goal-oriented and feedback-driven), the delineation becomes implicit or blurred. Still, it is essential to separate game goal and design goal, particularly in diagnosing the success or failure of a game.

Goal and rules setting might be easy to game designers, but balancing the goal and rules with players' progressive enhancement and accumulation of knowledge and skills is tricky, because it involves tracking the learning progress of players, and learning happens in games through feedback mechanism. In other words, measuring players' learning progress over their in-game achievement is the key to get the game goal fits with the design goal. And this is very important to GBL or LBG practices--the design goal has been tuned towards education. 

In a word, game designers should be well-versed with the structural elements of games. By well-verse, I mean not only knowing what they are, but also knowing what they are not.

Gamification: Turning Activities in Daily Living into Games

Gamification is a term I heard of alongside with "edufication". Herewith my understanding of these two concepts:

Gamification is a process of turning non-game playing activities in daily living into game-like activities. The root word, gamify, means turning something into games.
In contrast, edufication is a process of turning non-education matters--mainly formal and semi-formal--into educational matters. The root word, edufy, means turning something into education matters.
The relationship between gamification, edufication and game-based learning (GBL) could be explained in a funnel diagram:



Both gamification and edufication need subject matter contents, and they can complement or even support each other. For example, car driving activity can be gamified into a car driving game, and the game can then be edufied to be used in a GBL practice. The subject matter contents of the car driving activity, including fundamental car mechanics (knowledge), manuvearing a car (skills), and driving etiquette (attitudes), can be restructured to form the six structural elements of games, as shown in the following diagram:

How to gamify and edufy? Different game experts would take different approaches. To me, I will first deconstruct the subject matter contents into measurable or operationable units, and then classify these units into the six elements of games. To achieve these tasks, one may need the knowledge and skills of instructional systems design (ISD) for the deconstruction, and game design and development (GDD) knowledge and skills for the reconstruction. In other words, this involves two fields of studies.

Once the game is ready for playing, then it can either be used for teacher-less GBL practice or teacher-led GBL practice. And GBL would be a field of study that combines ISD and GDD.

Matt in Knowledge Nation Inc. introduced me to a fantastic gadget for gamification--the FitBit, in which it claims to be able to fit (read as gamify here) fitness into your day.

Prior my trip to San Francisco, I've signed up for a free online Gamification course, offered by Prof Kevin Werbach from University of Pennsylvania. The course will be started on 27 Aug 2012. I am eager to learn about Werbach's views on gamification.