Friday, February 07, 2014

A Different Type of Reflection

As a part of my own learning about quest design, I created a GoAnimate video about pedagogical considerations and quest attractiveness.

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Designing My First Quest

"Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another."
~ John Dewey, Democracy and Education

After carefully planning my first quest 'roadmap' to use in 3D Game Lab, I was very keen to get started and develop the actual quests my students would explore. Then I began to learn more about quest attractiveness and the impact this will have on the success of the quest and student learning, and I realised that I have much more to consider.

Dr. Chris Haskell defines this attractiveness as, "...the operational relationship of three components: capturing one's interest, sustaining one's effort, and ... a meaningful, personally relevant (highly rated) learning experience (2012). Thinking about this definition, I immediately slowed down to consider what this means for my design process.

  • What can I do to catch students' attention? 
  • What will appeal to them? 
  • Once I have their attention, how will I sustain it? 
  • What will I build into to the tasks to ensure students will be able to complete them once started? 
  • How can I provide enough flexibility within the quest to support the different needs of different learners?
One of things I so appreciate about learning about quest-based learning in a quest-based environment, is that it allows me to think at my own pace; to stop and reflect at a time when it will be most meaningful to me. This was certainly one of those times.

I now feel better prepared to create a quest that will consider the student experience from beginning to end. Considering the three components of quest attractiveness will enable me to collect data on their effectiveness and to make revisions to the quests as I learn more from student feedback.


photo credit: tvancort via photopin cc

Monday, February 03, 2014

Whoo Hoo! Now the real learning begins!


"The journey is the reward."
~ Chinese Proverb

I've been exploring the world of quest-based learning through 3D Game Lab for the past few weeks and I cannot remember a time when I have felt so driven to learn and energised by what I am discovering. This type of buzz - the excitement of mastering new skills and striving to unlock the next quest, is exactly what I hope to provide for students.

Having teachers participate in this quest-based learning platform before being able to design their own quests for students is an excellent idea. By becoming a true learner myself, I now have a greater appreciation of the student experience in such an environment and I believe this is critical when designing curriculum. The tasks and reflections that were a part of the initial teacher training have prepared me to tackle the writing of my first quest ~ something that seemed rather overwhelming when I first began.

This is a short and sweet post - I want to get back to the game and begin designing my students' first quest!