2. WHO AM I?
• Tim Hart
• Instructional Technologist for
UMaine
• www.edutim.com
• Gamer
3. GAMER?
• Played Video Games all my life
• Some systems I’ve owned:
• Commodore 64, Atari 2600, NES, Gameboy, SNES,
Genesis, Virtual Boy, N64, Playstation, Gamecube,
Playstation 2, XBOX, Nintendo DS, Wii, XBox 360
• XBox Live account ID = Hartix
• Currently playing: Resident Evil 5
24. WHO IS THIS?
• Niko Bellic
• BonusPoints -
Cousin’s name?
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
25. WHO IS THIS?
• Niko Bellic
• BonusPoints -
Cousin’s name?
• Roman Bellic
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
26. GAMER FACTS
source: entertainment software association
27. GAMER FACTS
1. The average gamer is 35 years old.
source: entertainment software association
28. GAMER FACTS
1. The average gamer is 35 years old.
2. More than one-third of gamers are women .
source: entertainment software association
29. GAMER FACTS
1. The average gamer is 35 years old.
2. More than one-third of gamers are women .
3. More than one in four gamers is over 50.
source: entertainment software association
30. GAMER FACTS
1. The average gamer is 35 years old.
2. More than one-third of gamers are women .
3. More than one in four gamers is over 50.
4. The average game purchaser is 40 years old.
source: entertainment software association
31. GAMER FACTS
1. The average gamer is 35 years old.
2. More than one-third of gamers are women .
3. More than one in four gamers is over 50.
4. The average game purchaser is 40 years old.
5. Sixty-three percent of parents believe games are a positive
part of their children’s lives.
source: entertainment software association
32. GAMER FACTS
1. The average gamer is 35 years old.
2. More than one-third of gamers are women .
3. More than one in four gamers is over 50.
4. The average game purchaser is 40 years old.
5. Sixty-three percent of parents believe games are a positive
part of their children’s lives.
6. Sales of quot;family entertainmentquot; video games more than
doubled in 2007, making it the fastest growing segment of
the video game market. source: entertainment software association
33. THE NUMBERS
Game sales in 2007 - $9.5 billion.
source: entertainment software association
34. THE NUMBERS
Game sales in 2007 - $9.5 billion.
That is nine games sold every second of every day in 2007.
source: entertainment software association
35. THE NUMBERS
Game sales in 2007 - $9.5 billion.
That is nine games sold every second of every day in 2007.
Halo 3, the best-selling title of 2007, took in more revenue
in its first day of sales than the biggest opening weekend
ever for a movie (quot;Spider-Man 3quot;) and the final quot;Harry
Potterquot; book's first day sales
source: entertainment software association
36. SALES BY RATING
E (Everyone)
16% T (Teen)
M (Mature)
28% 57%
source: entertainment software association
48. CHALLENGES FOR GAME
DESIGNERS
• Creating an activity that allows for a “in the zone” experience
• Allowing
a wide array of skill levels to initially enjoy and be
immersed in the game
• Sustaining “in the zone” throughout the experience
49. CHALLENGES FOR TEACHERS
• Creating an activity that allows for a “in the zone” experience
• Allowing
a wide array of skill levels to initially enjoy and be
immersed in the lesson
• Sustaining “in the zone” throughout the experience
54. STUDENTS AT RISK
Kids who don’t play video games
are at risk!
They get in trouble more often!
55. STUDENTS AT RISK
Kids who don’t play video games
are at risk!
They get in trouble more often!
Lawrence Kutner, PhD, and his wife Cheryl K. Olson, ScD
56. SOME RESEARCH
• Lawrence Kutner, PhD, and his wife
Cheryl K. Olson, ScD
• Research was funded with $1.5
million by the U.S. Dept. of Justice
• Findings
reported in Grand Theft
Childhood: The Surprising Truth
About Violent Video Games and
What Parents Can Do.
• Hereare some of the myths
debunked
57. MYTH #1
• The growth in violent video game sales is
linked to the growth in youth violence —
especially school violence — throughout the
US.
58. FACT
• Violent
Crime in Schools fell 44%
from 1994-2001
• We have the lowest juvenile
arrest rate for violent crimes since
1983.
• Murder Arrests in 1993 = 3,800
• Murder Arrests in 2001 = 1,400
59. MYTH #2
•Girls
don’t play violent video games like
Grand Theft Auto.
60. FACT
• 29% of girls say they play at least one M-rated game a
lot
• One in five listed Grand Theft Auto
• Grand Theft Auto was second only to the Sims in
popularity.
70. HOW?
• Don’tBother Me Mom - I’m
Learning
• Marc Prensky
• Internationally acclaimed speaker,
writer, consultant, and designer in
the critical areas of education and
learning.
• Here is his book in a nutshell...
71. 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
•“The true secret of why kids spend
so much time on their games is that
they’re learning things they need for
their twenty-first century lives”
72. FOR THE DOCTORS
• “I use the same hand-eye coordination to play video games as
I use for surgery.
• Dr. James Rosser, Beth Israel Hospital
• Doctors that played games earlier in life made 40% less
mistakes during surgery.
• Playing video games before surgery also lowers error rates.
74. RULES
•Gamers figure things out on their own
better than non-gamers
•Probetheir environment for
understanding
75. RISK TAKING
•Gamers are risk takers
•Gamers are more likely to try
different strategies
•Enlightened trial and error
76. GAMES TEACH STRATEGY
• Cause and effect
• Long term winning versus short term gains
• Order from seeming chaos
• Complex system behaviors
• Counter-intuitive results
• Using obstacles as motivation
• The value of persistence
77. 10 YEAR OLD GAMERS
LEARNED.
• Everyone can save the world if they try
• Two against one isn’t fair
• Don’t shoot people
• Have patience
• The good guys always win
• Don’t trust everyone you meet
• Help your friends
78. SOME OF MY GAME PROJECTS
• Black Bear Island
• VirtualIsland for studying
virtual worlds for teaching
and learning.
• Offered courses on the
island
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/
Black%20Bear%20Island/
144/100/31
79. SOME OF MY GAME PROJECTS
• UMaine OpenSim
• Virtual
Island Server that is
free and open source
• Planto offer free, private,
virtual space to Maine schools
• http://
opensim.umeedu.maine.edu
80. SOME OF MY GAME PROJECTS
• OS X Virtual World App
• Virtual World
software for
your computer
• Can load different worlds -
like the Matrix
• http://www.edutim.com/
opensim-app
81. FOUR QUESTIONS
1.Why are you doing what you're doing to beat the game?
2.What aspects of the game lead you to that approach?
3.Where are you taking risks, and where are you playing it safe?
4.What skills do you need to develop to get better at this game?