Playing Games to Learn

On Thursday, September 14, 2006, the University of Cincinnati Library Faculty Learning Community, comprised of librarians from throughout UC Libraries, sponsored a symposium on gaming as a pedagogical tool. “Playing Games: Using Gaming Technology to Foster Student Learning” explored ways computer-based games can be used as a teaching tool both inside and out of the classroom. Eighty-five professors and librarians from UC and other universities around Ohio participated in the day-long symposium.

The day’s first speaker, George Needham, Vice President for Media Services at the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), spoke on how people who play online games can influence librarians and educators. He told the audience that librarians should rethink how they deliver services, including creating multiple pathways to information, incorporating users’ contributions and suggestions, and redesigning physical spaces to include more group study and leisure areas. He related some insights from the gaming world that could assist librarians and professors with instruction. For example, he suggested that they adobt gaming terminology to relate better to students, such as giving students “short cuts” to finding library resources.

The second speaker was Matthew Eastin, Assistant Professor in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. Professor Eastin spoke about research related to gaming and gaming behavior. He discussed educational game creation and aspects needed to design the ideal game. He described “flow,” a state where unconscious learning occurs. Professor Eastin suggests that to achieve the highest level of flow, a game should balance skill level with degree of challenge. The best games should also include a good script that has repetition of the concepts, salient action, and immersion into the game itself. Professor Eastin ended his talk by stating that the public’s opinion of gaming – that its only purpose is for entertainment and that gaming has no educational benefit to students past third grade – needs to change if educational games aimed at college students are to succeed.

The symposium concluded with a panel presentation by the members of the Library Faculty Learning Community and Sujata Prakash, UCit Instructional Designer. The panel presented an overview of the history and mission of the Learning Community and demonstrated a new interactive game they created to teach students about plagiarism and how to avoid it. Participants in the game interact with fictional characters who demonstrate how to identify plagiarism and how to cite sources properly. While still in development, the Learning Community’s game was well received by the symposium’s audience, many of whom thought it would serve as an excellent tool for every UC student as a baseline for learning about plagiarism. The Library Faculty Learning Community is now working to fine-tune their game and to plan how to make it available for use – or for play.

For more information on the Library Faculty Learning Community’s game or the gaming symposium, contact Debbie Tenofsky, Head of Reference and Instructional Services, at (513) 556-1888 or at deborah.tenofsky@uc.edu.

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