A Flash game designed to support undergraduate and postgraduate

students in understanding issues in relation to referencing, the construction

of bibliographies and plagiarism.

http://www.biblioland.org

The Secrets of Biblioland Project team

Elena Moschini (team leader) is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Media and the MA Digital Media course leader at London Metropolitan University, Department of Applied Social Sciences.

Vanda Corrigan is the course leader for BA Game Studies at the Department of Humanities, Arts and Languages, London Metropolitan University.

Enrico Benco is currently a part-time lecturer at Middlesex University.

Che-Guevara John is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Media at London Metropolitan University, Department of Applied Social Sciences.

The Secrets of Biblioland Project team

The Secrets of Biblioland project has been supported by:

ESCalate, The Higher Education Academy: Subject Centre for Education. The project has been awarded an ESCalate Development Grant.

and

Learning & Teaching Projects Fund - The Centre for Academic Professional Development (CAPD) - London Metropolitan University.

http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/capd/home.cfm

The Secrets of Biblioland The problem

Students are more accustomed to digital and online tools Libraries and books are not often used There is no clear understanding of the rationale for referencing There is no real awareness of plagiarism issuesInternational students - different traditionsThere is no identification with the academic community/experience

The Secrets of Biblioland Learning outcomes

Evaluate the role and history of libraries and bibliographic resources Identify the various types of academic resources Appreciate the relevance of researching literature and construct bibliographies Gain awareness of plagiarism issues

The Secrets of Biblioland

Engage the player as part of the academic community Use narrative to demonstrate the historical journey of libraries and repositories of knowledge Highlight the rationale for referencing and the historical perspectives on plagiarism Referencing and the preservation and construction of knowledge as a mission Join the Followship of the Seekers, create a community

The Secrets of Biblioland

The Secrets of Biblioland

The Secrets of Biblioland In game-learning materials

The Secrets of Biblioland Quiz

The Secrets of Biblioland Mini-games

The Secrets of Biblioland The mission

Find the “Lost Reference” by tracing the influence of an ancient author throughout the libraries of Biblioland – a mysterious land of ancient and future knowledge

Follow the lead of the members of the "Fellowship of the Seekers" – a society devoted to the research and preservation of literary and scientific sources

An adventure game that leads the players across a variety of ancient and contemporary libraries The player/learner navigates the Biblioland environment to find the “Lost Reference”At each game level the player/learner has to solve mini-games, acquire information via the learning materials and solve a quiz

The Secrets of Biblioland gameGameplay

The Secrets of Biblioland Game characters

Fantasy librarians and members of the "Fellowship of the

Seekers" give players precious hints, help and

information during they journey

The Secrets of Biblioland Game levels

Ancient Greece – Socrates Lost library of Alexandria Middle Ages - Benedictine Abbey Gutenberg and the invention of the press British Library – referencing systems The Plagiarism Cellar FutureLibrary

The Plagiarism Cellar Dave the Deluded

The Plagiarism Cellar Pamela from Plagiarism Control

The Secrets of BibliolandUser-centred design

Involving users since the beginning of the project

Evaluate interface design, character design and education content with the end users

Evaluate the learning outcomes

The Secrets of BibliolandResearch questions/1

In relation to academic staff

Perception of educational value of games

Engagement of players with game

Game design usability issues

Appeal of game to mature students

Appeal of game to female/male student groups

Appropriateness of game learning outcomes

The Secrets of BibliolandResearch questions/2

In relation to academic staff

Appropriateness of game learning outcomes

Academic staff perception of educational value of games for HE

Awareness of game-based learning methods and theories

Attitude towards implementing game-based learning in their teaching

The Secrets of BibliolandOutcome of focus groups

Focus groups with academic staff

Interested in trying the tool as part of their traditional teaching

Reservations/doubts about the value of game-based learning in HE

What about reading books and getting information from books?

How to embed the game in face-to-face teaching?

The Secrets of BibliolandOutcome of focus groups

Focus groups with students

Find games very appropriate for HE

Find the game idea very interesting and useful to grasp the concept of/rationale for referencing

Claim that the rationale for referencing is usually totally misunderstood by students

Find the game a useful addition to other learning tools

The Secrets of BibliolandDissemination

Moschini, E. (2008) 'The “Secrets of Biblioland” Interactive Game: An Innovative Approach to Information Literacy'. International Journal of the Book. Volume 5, Issue 3, pp.1-6.

Moschini, E. (2006) “Designing for the Smart Player. Usability design and user-centred design in game-based learning”, in Digital Creativity, Vol. 17, Issue 3, Routledge

2007 “The Secrets of Biblioland Interactive Game: An Innovative Approach to Information Literacy”. 5th International Conference on the Book – Madrid.

The Secrets of BibliolandFuture developments

A larger scale evaluation and further development of the blog/community elements

An increased presence in Second Life –elements of the game as an adventure in SL

A mobile phone application as quick reference guide

A mix-reality game involving visits to real libraries and use of OPAC catalogues

The Secrets of Bibliolandin Second Life