Using game-based technologies to support learning - Mission Maker

Background:

The use of game-based technologies to support learning in New Zealand schools is in its infancy. This group of software is being used routinely in the business sector for training and simulations with excellent results, but is not yet widely established in a schooling environment. The potential benefits of using games based approaches are increasingly being acknowledged and recognised in education at large, however what actually makes games popular, engaging and motivating is far less well understood.

In 2007 the Ministry of Education initiated a trial of the use of Mission Maker game authoring software in five selected schools. The purpose of the trial was to provide information and research on the education potential this type of software may offer when embedded in authentic learning experiences. Of particular interest were findings that provide a deeper understanding about the learning potential of this genre of educational software in a New Zealand educational context and also information that can support practitioners in their adoption and use of gaming technologies to support learning.

The intention of this report is to present data gathered from schools, teachers and facilitators involved in a trial of Mission Maker software and to use these as a basis to make recommendations for the Ministry of Education and a teacher audience on the role of game-based technologies in a New Zealand context. In addition, it is anticipated that the scope of these recommendations that might further inform:

• The future or potential research agenda around the use of computer-based games and gamescreationsoftware in education and

• The policy developments current and future around the use of computer-based games andgames-creation software in education.

Description:

Five schools were selected for inclusion in the Mission Maker software trial, as well as four e-Learning facilitators who were working with individual teachers in other schools. These facilitators were selfselected as having an interest in this area. These schools, facilitators, and teachers made up the group for the in-school interviews and observations section of this report and recommendations.

The in-school research reported in this paper was completed using a multi-method case study approach. Ethical advice on the research was obtained through the CORE Education ethical advisory group prior to the commencement of the research.

Data on schools' use of the Mission Maker software was gathered from participating teachers and students mainly by face-to-face semi-structured interviews, using focus questions based on the research questions given above.

Following discussion with the MoE, the focus of the research was directed towards providing insights into the perceived benefits and barriers to implementation of the Mission Maker pilot in the five schools involved. This has been done through interviews with teachers that focused on their experiences of the pilot, the organizational issues they faced and the educational value of games and gaming as reported by them.

Data from the interviews was coded with reference to the research questions, and analysed for trends across the schools involved in the Mission Maker pilot.

In addition to the in-school interviews and observations, two further dimensions were added to the research in order to provide a broader context within which to position the findings of this research.

• a scan of international and national research literature that is used to provide a broader contextwithin which the recommendations of this report are made.

• an online survey which was advertised among teachers involved in the ICT ProfessionalDevelopment Cluster project and other professional development networks to determine currentteacher use of, and attitudes to, gaming software in the classroom.

Key findings:
Five themes emerged in the discussions with teachers about the organisational issues involved with introducing the Mission Maker software into their classrooms:

• Pedagogical approaches
• The use of teaching and learning spaces
• Technical/infrastructural issues
• Software usability (features, intuitiveness)
• Support

Of these the technical and infrastructural issues received most comment, and included experiences with hardware that was not powerful enough to run the software, difficulties with having versions to use on their personal laptops at home, lack of facility for exporting finished products to run-time versions, coping with version updates that occurred during the pilot and the lack of ability to import graphics from other applications.