Digital Game-Based Problem Solving

College students may greatly benefit from the use of digital game-based problem solving to break the monotony of instructional activities that threaten student engagement in online courses. Many online courses limit student agency to activities that involve reading the course text, participating in a discussion, taking an objective test, and submitting formal and informal papers. The tedium of these activities does not sustain student engagement over the duration of the online course; however, digital game-based problem solving has demonstrated that the routine nature of activities in an online course can be overcome. One strategy that digital game-based problem solving employs to break the monotony of tasks in online courses is to engage students in real-world problem scenarios where the students have a virtual presence and are a charge to solve one or more complex problems. The scenarios compel students to work together, as deriving a viable solution to the problem is directly tied to the student’s capacity to work together.

Another strategy that digital game-based problem solving employs to reduce the monotony experienced by learners in an online is the delivery of frequent and rapid learner feedback. Providing students just-in-time feedback allows students to make informed decisions when altering their learning approaches, particularly when using prior learning approaches that have been shown to be ineffective. Such feedback is not typically available in the vast majority of contemporary online courses but could potentially have a dramatic impact on student engagement since students do not have to wait a significant amount of time to receive feedback. Learning situations where students have to wait for feedback typically has an adverse affect on student engagement.

Providing learners the capacity to customize their environment is a third strategy that digital game-based problem solving uses to minimize the routine nature of common student tasks in an online course. Customization allows the students to make decisions about their learning environment, unlike the typical online course. Students can select a persona, clothing, an environment, and weapons.

Digital game-based problem solving looks quite promising for college students, but educator adoption of this novel framework, like most innovations, will take time.

I would like to suggest a new motto for distance learning: "It goes as it flows."

Now someone who knows state mottos might very well accuse me of plagiarizing New Mexico's motto ("Crescit Eundo"... "It Grows as it goes."), but I would say that such a person doesn't have enough to do on his hands.

By "flow" I'm not referring to streams and rivers but to psychological experiences in connection with distance learning. In the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, author Li-Ting Huang describes "flow" as a person's total involvement and focused attention on something. During which there is no self-consciousness but one is in full control of her own actions. And also during "flow", one does not notice the passage of time.

In other words, time flies while you're having fun.

Huang suggests that achieving "flow" is a worthy goal for designers of distance learning, and it is accomplished through creating experiences that are colorful, vivid, and contain some attractive multimedia presentation. That experience could simply be reading content, such as this, or it could be engaging others in online discussions, or in collaborative initiatives.

When the topic is "multimedia" that could mean just about anything that isn't simply text. Multimedia could arguably involve the inclusion of images, animations, interactive games or assessments, video clips, and even virtual 3D environments, I suppose.

It does indeed include synchronous forms of distance education, such as webinars or web-conferencing, and it does indeed include something that is daunting for some: your video image.

It's not easy to be in front of a camera. Most people I know don't like it, and shun any attempt to appear before the lens. But conversely, most people I know who see the video image of an instructor like it. Does on-camera content do anything for learning? There are some initial findings in research on synchronous distance education that throw doubt on the question. In Taylor's study (2011), many of those surveyed felt uncomfortable with not being able to make eye contact in one-to-one video communications; or surprisingly to me, not being able to read non-verbal expressions. That could be a result of herky-jerky video images caused by low-quality bandwidth, as well as the awkward experience of looking at a camera lens to simulate eye contact. Still, Taylor did note that video conferencing could be a cost-effective alternative to face-to-face discussions and long distance travel.

There are some way-out solutions being offered to improve the awkwardness of one-on-one video communication. (See "VGo" at http://youtu.be/_7JMVEcqieo).

But, being in front of a camera doesn't necessarily mean doing so in a webinar. You can record video clips for availability on-demand, or asynchronous forms of distance learning.

Whatever you do, with video or without video, the main thing is to create a sense of presence, or "telepresence". The definition of that word, varies, but I like the one that Huang uses "a feeling of connectedness and social belonging".

It will no doubt improve the flow of distance education, especially for learners.

Therefore, Incedo cum flumen. ("It goes as it flows"). That's the best translation I can come up with from an online latin dictionary.

Works Cited

Huang, L.-T. e. (2011). A Comparative Study on the Flow Experience in Web-Based and Text-Based Interaction Environments. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking , 14 (1/2), 3-11.

Taylor, T. (2011, Jul). Video conferencing vs talking face-to-face: is video suitable for supportive dialogue? International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation , 392-403.

Below is a video version of this blog, recorded and produced with Adobe Audio Visual Communicator. (Let me know what you think!)

Pinterest Caught My Interest...

The internet is nothing if not a plethora of information. If you want to know something, you go to the internet – it has become our very own, INFORMATION DESK. Well, the net is a big place and full of good as well as mundane knowledge. Sifting through it all can be time consuming and uninteresting. In this case, more individualized topics, like Food and Drink, or Home and Furniture, Kids, Tech, Apparel… can be found on a cool new bulletin board “pinning” site.

It’s my new obsession called Pinterest

Once registered to this magnificent site, which either has to be done as an invitation from a present user, or a request from you, you have the ability to “pin” things on this virtual bulletin board that interest you.  Of course, you can peruse and share other’s interests as well. It's a great way to interact with your friends, and their interests too.  This is a very visual product, and the colors and information just pop out at you. Never again will surfing the net be a boring task. Referring back to this information is easy, be it for a recipe or idea. 

This site has been recognized by TIME Magazine as one of the 50 Best Sites of 2011. Find out more about Pinterest, and read why Pinterest Appeals to Online Collectors.