This past week our gaming department at Web Courseworks has posted a new blog entry on Games Can Teach, about an intriguing experimental game that the University of Michigan Institute of Museum and Library Studies has been using to tackle a trending problem in today’s academic world: bad research habits. This game, called BiblioBouts, aims to teach students how to properly research subjects for their academic needs. With all the chatter about social learning and widely available information sources like Wikipedia, our students have been somewhat misguided at times about where to gather trustworthy information for research projects. Because I am a firm believer in using games to teach real-world skills, I immediately found myself absorbed in the article, and think that game has earned some well-deserved attention.
Some of the great points that it touches on:
- Augmented reality experience
- Teaches real world skills
- Results can be utilized on real projects afterward
- Scoring is based on player feedback – no grading rubric
- Social gaming encourages informal learning
- Provides motivation to do work:
- Badge awards for progress
- High-score leader board
- Utilizing the frame of mind that young generations can relate to
- Incorporates hip trends of competitions and badges (similar to FourSquare)
If you have a few minutes, please check out the post here.