Game Based Learning AnalysisApplied to: Emergency Room- Life or Death

Integrating Gaming Elements into Simulations

I took this course (Educational Games and Simulations) primarily for the “simulation” component. I had a great deal of interest in developing and creating medical simulations but little (or no?) interest in true gaming. I have played sports for much of my life but have never been much of a gamer. The one game I do currently play is Wii Fit which brings gaming into my workout so I don’t have to feel guilty about the time spent. Chapter 8 in Digital Game-Based Learning talks about the relationship of games and simulations. Simulations are not games because they do not have all of the required elements of rules, goals and objectives, outcomes and feedback, conflict/competition/challenge/opposition, interaction, and a story (p. 119). The problem with simulations is that they can quickly become boring once the novelty has worn off. If I am going to create engaging simulations I will need to integrate aspects of gaming into these simulations.

I was chatting yesterday with one of my older colleagues about what I was doing in class. He mentioned a game he used to play called Life and Death and talked about how much he enjoyed this game and wished that he still had the equipment to play it on. As I was reading today I found the same game mentioned in Prensky (p. 215). Prensky mentions that Life and Death is the game that got him into the field of gaming. The game takes place in a hospital and you are the doctor. You start the game by conducting history and examinations on patients with various symptoms. You have to perform the correct procedures and ask the right questions to arrive at a diagnosis. When you finally get a diagnosis of appendicitis you get to go to the operating room. If you miss a step such as scrubbing up you kill your patient and get sent to medical school (a tutorial) to learn what went wrong. I think that this is the type of activity that I need to bring into any simulations that I create. I could set up a similar learning activity related to chiropractic rather than an operating room. Students would have to follow the same history and examination steps mentioned above and if they got the diagnosis correct, they are then allowed to adjust the patient (rather than operate). If they then perform the adjustment correctly, they get the positive reinforcement of the cracking sound of joint cavitation, a smile and sigh of relief from the patient, and money ($$$chingchingching) builds up in their bank account. If they do it wrong, the patient walks out the door and they are sent back to chiropractic school. This would add most or all of the required elements of gaming to what could have been a boring simulation. My only concern is actually being able to create such a game by myself. Much of Prensky’s book talks about the teams of people required creating a new video game and I do not have the luxury of working in such a team.

Learn more about Life and Death at this link: http://www.classic-pc-games.com/pc/simulations/life_and_death.html

Game/Simulation/Pedagogy

Based on chapters 6, 7, and 8 in the Aldrich textbook there is a rather overwhelming number of details to keep in mind when developing a new game or simulation. You really need to understand what the end goal of the project is. Using linear content that moves along a specific path from start to finish is probably the best choice for a new designer as it is less costly, faster to develop, and is less frustrating to students. Instructor-supported dynamic learning would likely be the most effective means of teaching clinical skills to future doctors but this can be complex and costly. I am currently conducting a beta test of a patient interview experience for chiropractic students in Second Life. I believe that this would be categorized as a dynamic instructor-supported learning experience but there is also a significant stand-alone component. It is definitely resource intensive to create and offer. The basic structure of this experience involves a linear path that closely simulates real life. The student is presented with patient intake forms via the Moodle course management system prior to meeting with the patient in Second Life. They conduct the interview and then enter Second Life again to complete follow-up documentation and paperwork. However, the patient interview portion of the project is quite dynamic and unpredictable.

One important concept that I learned in chapter 8 was that the appropriate blend of the three elements of simulations, games, and pedagogy will result in the best educational experience. It is important that the simulation be accurate and the performance situation has to be similar to the learning situation. The virtual chiropractic clinic I created for a Second Life virtual interviewing experience has been designed to recreate a real-life clinic and the patient avatar is operated by a real-life geriatric patient with real-life aches and pains and has been built to look as geriatric as SL allows. Game elements bring fun into an experience but need to be used judiciously as they typically increase the time on task. I might be able to introduce a gaming element into my SL experience by having the students play a “who wants to be a millionaire chiropractor” with questions taken from the patient history. If they missed something during their interview with the patient, they will not be able to answer a question. Another gaming element in this experience involves the students (and the instructors!) creating their doctor avatars and names. This may be time consuming and really not necessary but I have found that there is a tendency to take a great deal of time creating this avatar. There is a definite pedagogical base to this SL educational experience and many of these pedagogical elements are the same as they would be in the real world. The students view background material on the patient in the form of intake paperwork and they are able to discuss their experience with other students via a Moodle discussion forum.

I am finding that there is a reason that games and simulations are often lumped together in discussion due to the many potentially overlapping elements involved.