Game Description and Overview

The Superior North Digital Race (SNDR) game mimics Amazing Race Canada. Each team will be created by students based on their individual strengths and be comprised of two students. Students will create a team name that accurately depicts them as a team. This planning will support problem-solving and decision making throughout the game. Teams begin with a clue; players decode and solve the problem to navigate to their next clue. Teams cannot progress to the next stage of the game without resolving each obstacle. If unable to complete a challenge, a 10-minute penalty is added and they continue their game. A hint from their teacher or another team adds a 5-minute penalty. Players continue the process until the first team wins by reaching the final pitstop. Penalties are added to the team’s final time. Teams encounter obstacles in the form of roadblocks and detours. At a roadblock, only one team player can complete the challenge- players will need to decide who will best conquer the roadblock. Detours allow teams to choose which challenge they would like to complete based on the description. As noted, students can request a hint from the teacher.

Benefits of  Digital Game-Based Learning

Game-based learning is an application of game design principles into the classroom to engage students (Adams, 2009). Students enjoy learning through immersive digital platforms, collaboratively with their peers and learn through trial and error (Liu, Cheng, & Huang, 2011). Digital games engage students with short attention spans by quickly moving from one challenge to the next (Latham & Hollister, 2013). Active learning methods increase student overall engagement and retention of information (Meegen & Limpens, 2010). Game-based learning promotes students’ ability to think and act creatively while acquiring knowledge in a motivational learning environment (Adams, 2009)(Lacovides, McAndrew, Scanlon, & Aczel, 2014). Students are both extrinsically and intrinsically motivated through educational games (Liu, Cheng, & Huang, 2011). They apply logic, memory, visualization and problem-solving skills while completing an authentic task that is both collaborative and competitive (Meegen & Limpens, 2010). Students will have meaningful discussions and discourse exploring digital resources to solve problems to complete the race (Lacovides, McAndrew, Scanlon, & Aczel, 2014). Constructivism learning theory highlights the importance of students learning through play and doing. Students construct knowledge as they actively engage in hands-on authentic learning tasks (Lacovides, McAndrew, Scanlon, & Aczel, 2014). Players who engage in games have an environment to make connections from their current knowledge and create new knowledge through collaboration with teammates and skillfully scaffolded questions and challenges (St-Pierre, 2011). The key to game design is to facilitate learning within the player’s zone of proximal development. The goal of SNDR is to provide a learning medium that engages students in a flow learning experience. Research suggests that student learning, persistence, and strategy development are improved through flow experience (Liu, Cheng, & Huang, 2011).  Students play in an immersive and interactive learning environment that captures and holds their attention with an urgency to be the first to complete the race (St-Pierre, 2011) (Veach, 2019).  This race allows teams to find the best way to balance the challenges and clues to student’s skills and abilities.

Desired Learning Outcome

SNDR targets elementary students in Grade 4 to 6 and supports the development of students’ spatial skills and spatial literacy. The Ontario Social Studies Curriculum 2013, outlines the importance of students’ “spatial skills as they underpin spatial literacy enabling students to develop and communicate a sense of place” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013, p.24). This concept naturally embeds literacy, mathematical literacy and technology. Students will extract information and analyse data from maps and graph and hone information literacy skills as they engage in real-world problem solving by completing the roadblock and detour challenges. Students will develop 21st-century learning competencies, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, character and creativity, solve problems, communicate their thinking and work as a team to achieve optimal results (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2016). SNDR uses digital tools such as Google Maps, Slides, Forms, Read and Write, Kahoot and GeoGuessr. These applications are readily accessible to students. Through gameplay, players will practice media literacy, engage in information-seeking through exploring and extracting information from maps, graphs and various digital resources to deduce answers to solve clues (St-Pierre, 2011)(Latham & Hollister, 2013). Information literacy skills will be refined as the game demands students to select relevant information quickly and apply the information to the context of clues and challenges (Robinson & Robinson, 2013).

Classroom Implementation

Each team will require a device such as an iPad or Chromebook to navigate the game. The game will take 60 minutes to complete and each team must have time to complete the entire game. Students who may require accommodations to fully engage in the game will benefit from a peer buddy and assistive technology. Working as a team to access digital tools and assist with reading clues and inputting answers into the Google Form (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013). Additional support is accessed through the Google Read and Write a program that engages students’ senses by reading and tagging the text in the clues (Veach, 2019) (St-Pierre, 2011).

Assessment 

SNDR can be used as a diagnostic assessment or a minds-on task. The assessment data gathered through observations and assessing the challenge responses will support educators’ understanding of students’ spatial and literacy skills (Menezes, & De Bortolli, 2016). The game also serves as a  template for students to develop their own Amazing Race Canada type game as a final assessment task (O’Brien, 2011). The role of the classroom teacher during the game will be to observe and record anecdotal assessment comments. A rubric is included as a template. Teachers will also serve as a coach for all teams, supporting students by questioning or troubleshooting technical questions. As a coach, teachers can ask students to open-ended questions to help guide problem-solving. The teacher will also be the game’s commentator and announce the winning team. Google Forms is the program that students will use to input their responses to successfully obtain their next clue or challenge. Incorrect answers immediately cause students to revisit the clue and submit a new answer. Trial and error will direct student exploration and discovery through instant feedback (O’Brien, 2011). Additional assessment data will be gathered through the answer input into the Google Form. Kahoot responses are collected instantaneously for further review. By the end of the SNDR teachers will have the Google Form responses, the Kahoot results and data from students engaging in Geoguessr which can be utilized to direct student’s next steps (Menezes, & De Bortolli, 2016).

Emerging Trends

SNDR provides an immersive learning environment for students to roleplay their favourite team from Amazing Race Canada or take on the persona of their team name (Adams, 2009). The competitive and strategic gameplay with the moment by moment quest to complete clues and challenges first tactically and strategically immerses players (Adams, 2004). Clues will provide students with answers they can quickly answer within seconds and seek and plan what challenges, detours and roadblocks the team will best be able to complete quickly (Veach, 2019). The game is interactive, providing students with choice throughout the game. Universal design for learning and differentiated instruction are achieved through game mechanics. Players have options while participating in roadblocks and detours which allows for differentiated content, process and product (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013). Students as players have the opportunity to affect their learning environment by choosing their teammate (Mena, 2012). Player persistence positively correlates with agency (Veach, 2019) (Extra Credits: Gamifying Education, 2012, May 13). SNDR provides students with a choice from the beginning to end, allowing players to strategically select options that suit the team’s strengths (Adams, 2004)(Meegen & Limpens, 2010).

References

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