Toward a Framework for the Analysis and Design of Educational Games

Speaker
Vincent Aleven
Associate Professor, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

When
-

Where
Newell-Simon Hall 1305 (Michael Mauldin Auditorium)

Description

We describe and illustrate the beginnings of a general framework for the design and analysis of educational games. Our students have used it to analyze existing educational games and to create prototype educational games. The framework is built on existing components: a method for precisely specifying educational objectives, a framework for relating a game’s mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics, and principles for instructional design grounded in empirical research in the learning sciences. The power of the framework comes from the components themselves, as well as from considering these components in concert and making connections between them. The framework coordinates the many levels at which an educational game must succeed in order to be effective. We illustrate the framework by using it to analyze Zombie Division, an educational game developed at the University of Nottingham for elementary-level mathematics (whole-number division) and to generate some redesign ideas for this game.

Speaker's Bio

Dr. Vincent Aleven is an Associate Professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. He has 20 years of experience in research and development of educational software based on cognitive science theory, with much of his work addressing learning for middle-school and high-school mathematics. His research has been published in journals such as Cognitive Science, Educational Psychology Review, Educational Psychologist, Learning and Instruction, the International Journal on Artificial Intelligence and Education, and Artificial Intelligence. Recently, Aleven became interested in the use of game-like elements to enhance more traditional learning technologies such as tutors. Together with Eben Myers (alumn of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center) and together with his (then) students Matt Easterday and Amy Ogan, he put together the course Design of Educational Games. Aleven is a member of the Executive Committee of the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center (PSLC). He has served on the program committee of major conferences in intelligent tutoring systems, and has organized numerous workshops during these conferences. He was the Program Committee Co-Chair of the 2010 International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, and is Program Committee Co-Chair of the 2012 4th IEEE Conference on Digital Game and Intelligent Toy-Enhanced Learning, Digitel 2012. He is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education. He has been or is PI on 5 major research grants and co-PI on 7 others.