From Bronwyn Stuckey:
I have worked for the past 4 years on a 3D multi-user game environment developed for kids out of Indiana University - Quest Atlantis built on the ActiveWorlds platform - working for Sasha Barab. I have a great interest in MMORPG as potential spaces for community and identity building, as my main area of research and practice is in Internet-mediated community of practice development. I manage online Professional Development Workshops for teachers Quest Atlantis and support schools using QA across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Europe (new workshops starting mid April).
I was a guest blogger a in February on the 21st Century Organisation Blog where I raised a few issues about games and virtual worlds.
Offered by Dierdre Bonnycastle:
Participants might be interested in downloading the Federation of American Scientists report on gaming from this site http://fas.org/gamesummit/
People might be interested in two posts on my Blog http://blogs.usask.ca/medical_education/ One is about the new generation of learners, the other is called The times they are a changing exponentially and consists of a video about change.
http://groups.google.com/group/gaming-and-learning-in-sl
Some other helpful discussion lists are Ben Sawyer's discussions which can be found at http://seriousgames.org
Serious Games
Games For Health
Games For Change
There is no archive of the second set of lists, at least I haven't found one so you'll need to sign up to get in the loop.
More later - nite all.
Here are some medical game sites. Many of them are for a high school audience. (Sorry I cut and paste from my Wiki and the font face won't change.)
Ben's Game about cancer is a game for young cancer patients to learn about and fight cancer http://www.makewish.org/site/pp.asp?c=bdJLITMAE&b=81934
Blood typing is part of the Nobel Prize winner site. In this game, you have to blood type each patient and give him or her a blood transfusion. There are fourteen other medical games at this site http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
EdHeads now has two games: Virtual knee surgery and choose the prosthetic http://www.edheads.org/activities/knee/
Immune Attack is an educational video game funded by the National Science Foundation and jointly developed by the Federation of American Scientists, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Brown University, and the University of Southern California. It teaches immunology in a fun and engaging way that is different from the traditional classroom setting. http://fas.org/immuneattack/index.html
So far I have killed a few patients with blood transfusions and operated on the wrong knee!
Hi I've been lurking here for a few weeks enjoying the world of virtual reality open up. Unfortunately my reality is a bit too busy to allow me to do much exploring but I have to mention that I am having a knee replacement on Thursday of this week. When I first explored the possibility of having the op I googled "knee replacement" and found the edheads site. It's been great and knowing what is going to happen has been a comfort. Therese, I'm just so glad you won't be operating on the wrong knee for me! :-) Yes, there are times when serious games definitely have their place. Perhaps during my convalesence I'll have time to explore other serious games.
These games do take a long time to become familiar with. Cross posting this Resource to the Social Impact Games List.
Does anyone know of other handy lists of games
-------------------------
If you want to dabble this weekend, Social Impact Games Has a nice categorized list of games to explore. Come back and tell us what you found interesting.
http://www.socialimpactgames.com
Public Policy Games
Political + Social Games
Health + Wellness Games
Business Games
Military Games
Advergames
Commercial (COTS) Games
Projected + Upcoming
Stating the obvious.
Here are some wikipedia links
- Wikipedia List of Serious Games http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serious_game#List_of_serious_games
- Wikipedia List of Freeware Games http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_freeware_games
and social bookmarking sites are a handy way to keep a pulse on what's hot.
del.icio.us Links
Serious Games
http://del.icio.us/search/?fr=del_icio_us&p=serious+games&type=all
Serious Games People
http://del.icio.us/search/?fr=del_icio_us&p=serious+games+people&type=all
Serious Games Tools
http://del.icio.us/search/?fr=del_icio_us&p=serious+games+tools&type=all
Serious Games Education Study Launched In The UK[03.19.07]Educational serious games provider Caspian Learning has announced a partnership with Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) to investigate the use and impact of serious games in up to 400 SSAT ICT Register schools in the UK. The research study will last until January 2008. These findings will be presented to policy makers including the DfES and BECTA.
“We expect this UK-wide study to identify just how beneficial teaching through games and game development can be. It is sure to have a wide-reaching influence on new policy in this area,” explained Caspian Learning COO Graeme Duncan.
.....
The games will be used during lessons as part of the project’s assessment. Research and assessment will also be carried out through questionnaires completed by teachers and students, participation in project forums and site visits to the schools by the partner groups. In addition, every game edited or created by the schools will be uploaded to Caspian Learning's Thinking Worlds community site and made available to a global community of gamers.
https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=36940&sessionid=1&key=90B09CA7681A546DE76706D8D0F6F297&sourcepage=register&tr=y&auid=2356945
As for links to Serious Games:
www.foodforce.com is a great game on Food resource management sponsored by the UN
http://www.mcvideogame.com/ is also an interesting concept
As for reading, I can't say enough how much I enjoyed 'What videogames have to teach about literacy and learning', by Jim Paul Gee. Probably already read by most here but a fantastic overview of the potential for games as well as where current school systems are falling short.
Jim
Here is my wiki about technology tools http://wiki.usask.ca/db/index.php/Technology_Tools
There are some game creators listed that might be of interest. I'd appreciate any suggestions for additional tools.
- An excellent Learning Times Green room overview article on kinds of games, how games function in learning contexts, and games that are currently making news in education.
- The articles includes a with me about Clarify and the Game of Games, which are game shells for people looking to clarify and accomplish goals.
- Future Lab Literature Review on Games in Learning.
- Thiagi's site, virtual home of a true pioneer of serious gaming.