Holiday Play

By: Lauren Savinelli (aka Strawbernelli)

Learning theories:

Constructivism: A learner is able to “construct” their own subjective representations of objective reality (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2012).

The ability to experience all things is ideal in theory, but falls short in reality. The wealth of information made accessible through technology has changed the way people live and learn. It is impossible to know everything, but through the right connections, information can be secured in seconds. This brings into focus a new-era learning theory called Connectivism.

Connectivism is a theory based upon sharing the experiences of others with learners. This is the goal of Holiday Play.

The Problem:

The name of my game is HOLIDAY PLAY. I teach 5th grade in a public school. It seems that celebrating holidays is becoming increasingly controversial. For example, in December we have a "winter celebration" instead of a Christmas party. We can't carve pumpkins for Halloween, but we can disguise the same activity as a "fall harvest celebration." I have been thinking of a way to "play" holidays in a virtual world. This game would be most appropriate for a geography or social studies class.

The Objectives:

● Players travel the globe, visiting different countries to "celebrate" the local holiday.

● While in each country, players would be able to speak with residents and learn about holiday traditions, etc.

● Players will partake in activities such as decorating homes, watching parades, etc.

● Players will "visit" local libraries and research origins.● Players will take "digital pictures" using a virtual tablet as evidence and

store them in a holiday photo e-book.● Players can travel with friends, or solo.● Each of these (above) will be rewarded with XP.● To move between countries, player will take an all-terrain hovercraft. The

hovercraft can only be refueled through the answering of questions or completion of tasks.

Who can play?

This game will teach cultural awareness while reinforcing geography. The audience could honestly range from early childhood through adulthood. I hope to see several "levels" of play available, varying in difficulty. This will allow the students to progress through the game while being appropriately challenged.

The Toys!

Toy 1: Transcontinental, all-terrain hovercraft

In my game, players will travel to different countries to experience international holiday festivities. Since they will be crossing terrain of all sorts, they will need a vehicle to do so. I thought about oceans, deserts, mountains, cities, etc. and decided the perfect solution would be an extreme, all-terrain hovercraft. Similar to possessions in Second Life, players will be able to "activate" it when they are ready to travel, Since most of the game is played while exploring a country on foot, this toy would mainly come out when moving between locations.

Trans-continental hovercraft

The Toys!

Toy 2: Virtual Tablet

Since players will need some way to document their travels, I thought it would be perfect to give them virtual tablets. Travelers will be able to use the tablet to take pictures and videos, download resources, research holiday traditions, download maps, "purchase" holiday gifts, etc. Using the tablet to organize all of this will help students compile information for a final scrapbook. When I envision my fifth graders playing Holiday Play, I think about how they are already accustomed to collecting/organizing information using technology. I believe it would be relatively easy for them to implement the virtual tablet to be used by the avatar.

Virtual Tablet

The Puzzles

One issue I can foresee with this game would be students rushing through the "quests" in each country to see more places rather than learn in depth. As a 5th grade teacher, I can imagine my students' favorite part would be traveling in the all-terrain hovercraft. I believe I have a feasible solution to this problem:

"Fuel" for Thought

When the all-terrain hovercraft runs out of fuel, players can "fill up" by answering trivia questions or completing tasks about the country they are leaving. This motivates students to explore each country to the fullest before moving on to the next. If they are unable to answer, the players can teleport back to the location where the answer can be discovered. This promotes inquiry-based learning which has been proven to be more effective for retention. The more fuel they have, the farther they can travel. The questions and tasks to earn fuel will vary in difficulty/fuel credit. Simple trivia questions may be worth just one point where more difficult exploratory tasks could be worth ten.

Puzzle Treasures

Collect puzzle piece "treasures" at each stop. These pieces would fit together, revealing a more complete picture as pieces are gathered.

Ready to Win?

Since there are so many countries to explore, this game is nearly limitless within the constraints of a semester, year, etc. It can also be adapted to fit the needs of different courses. For example, an Italian teacher could limit students to exploring the Mediterranean, focusing on the specifics of that culture. In fifth grade we teach American History. The game could be modified to journey through America's history and discover how holidays have developed and changed. Teachers will be able to set XP benchmarks which earn letter grades, much like EdTech 532 does with 3D GameLab.

Assessment

Students will be assessed several ways. For summative evaluation, instructors will monitor XP gains. As for formative assessment, teacher can monitor the virtual tablet for evidence of travel progression. Students will be able to use the tablet to collect resources and take pictures from each country they visit. Another way to track progress would be to perform random "odometer checks" on the hovercraft. Students who are traveling the furthest are the ones earning the most fuel credits by answering questions and completing tasks.

Speaking of Assessment...

How did I do? I'd really appreciate some feedback. Be gentle... I'm not very good at this stuff.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PZGNV2M

Thanks!!