1. Gamification
How gaming is being used in education
Information Culture
October 8, 2012

2. Online Simulations at UMUC
In 2007 the University of Maryland University College started exploring
the online simulated world of Second Life to see if it could bring value to
educational courses.
Through a partnership with New Media Consortium, the Center for
Support of Instruction at UMUC were able to access and use many Second
Life resources. These included collaborative presentation
venues, instruction on development of SL learning objects and other
interactive educational themes.
The University also used a series of
gaming simulations based on the fictional
city of San Luis Ray. These simulations
included decision point scenarios as well
as 3d immersive models.
• Networking and Information Security
Hands-On Online Labs.
• Crime Scene Investigation – set scene
for students to collect, preserve and
document evidence.
• Homeland Security Simulation: City of
San Luis Rey – simulated vulnerability
assessment tool.
http://polaris.umuc.edu/de/csi/nmc/sim
http://sl.nmc.org/2007/07/20/interview-with-umuc-on-simulations-for-online-learning/ ulations.html
Information Culture
Oct 8, 2012

3. Other places Educational Gaming is being Noticed
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Constance Steinkuehler is on an 18-month assignment at the White House, studying the
civic potential of video games.
• Researchers are finding that, for all the bad press, video games make exceptional
teaching machines.
• "It has basically shown that it is possible to create experts in a particular domain
purely through game play,"
Source: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-01-26/edcuational-video-games-
white-house/52908052/1
Portal entering the Curriculum
• At Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, a new syllabus has been created. It
consists of classics such as William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Aristotle’s
Politics, Gilgamesh, and of course Valve’s Portal….
• Students taking this mandatory course will collectively play through Portal and study
the “fundamental questions of humanity,” as well as read through many works of Erving
Goffman
Source: http://fronttowardsgamer.com/2010/08/26/video-games-helping-the-world-24-education/
Information Culture
Oct 8, 2012

4. Thank You!
Questions