This workshop will be defined a bit more by the paper which will be presented tomorrow.
Clara Fernandez Vara (MIT) & Scot Osterweil (MIT)
The presenters proposed a 3 - 4 hour workshop, but were allocated 1 hour. Had planned more hands on, but to facilitate time, much of it has been removed.
Focus is on puzzle solving and its application in learning.
Zoombinis was used to show a coordinate puzzle game. The game teaches using a coordinate model, but that is never defined. Basically, the players form hypothesis to figure out what the puzzle is, then they start experimenting.
The choose a level in Zoombinis starts at "Not so easy", then progresses to "Very, Very Hard". doesn't degrade trying the easier levels.
Puzzles in a sense are the only true solitaire game. The rules are consistent and fair, and it's up to the player to solve it. What you can do with a computer that you can't do with a tactile puzzle is "feedback". This is a critical component to digital puzzle games.
From what I've seen, this would be an amazingly fun little game that Nathaniel would really enjoy...and me for that matter.
Insight is what is needed to figure out puzzles. It's not something magical. The insight is in the person, not in the puzzle.
Book show: The Canterbury Puzzles; Captivating Lateral Thinking Puzzles
If you want the puzzle to be clear, you have to make sure that the language is concise and clear to state the expectations. Fog is not good. All the clues should be in clear sight, but difficult.
Most bad educational puzzles/games are just quizzes.
It seems to be important to make sure that all the information is there. However, there could be the inclusion of information outside the "game environment"...for instance a puzzle that relies on specific knowledge of content (puzzle about water pressure).
What is the role of "flow" in a game. Can you have flow when you are totally stumped by a puzzle? There is also a flow from puzzle to puzzle.
Speaker: I think we under sell the role of observation in learning.
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