Transcript CS Education Ideas 1.03 - Computer Science

Integrating Web Technology and
Simulation-Games with K12 Lessons in
Mathematics and Physical Science
Dean L. Zeller
Dr. Paul Wang, advisor
Department of Computer Science
Kent State University
“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide
the conditions in which they can learn.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
German/U.S. physicist
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“Science can be introduced to children well or poorly. If
poorly, children can be turned away from science; they can
develop a lifelong antipathy; they will be in a far worse
condition than if they had never been introduced to science
at all.”
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
US science fiction novelist and scholar
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Outline
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Experience and background
Testing lessons on K12 students
SitePal talking characters
Simulation Games
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Education Experience
• My Background
• Challenge of Education
• Active Learning Lessons
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My Background
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Both parents college professors (statistics, early childhood education)
4 years computer science instructor at Bowling Green State University
3 years computer science assistant professor at Park University
2 years mathematics high school teacher at Kansas City Missouri
school district
• Currently in Computer Science PhD program at Kent State University,
teaching classes on computer science and educational technology.
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Challenge of K12 Education
• High school teaching proved to be very
stressful
• Inner-city environment
• High percentage of behavior problems
• Quality control of administration and
faculty
• Used active learning methods to allow me
to deal with discipline
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Active Learning
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Polyhedron Models
Algorithmic Art
Logic Games
Critical Thinking
Puzzles
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Polyhedron Models
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Polyhedron Models
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Testing Technology
• Testing is part of any software development process.
• Software developers test programs on actual users.
• K12 educational software, in any form, must be tested
on actual teachers and students in a classroom
environment.
• Improvements must be made for usability, enjoyment,
and understandability.
• Collect data through:
– Observation
– Surveys
– Program statistics
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SitePal Talking Characters
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Characters
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Character Variations
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SitePal Educational Benefits
• Instructions and results can be read out loud to viewers
• Helpful for a learning environment where low reading
skills are blocking progress in other areas
• Multiple inputs (sound, visual, text) aid in learning to read
• Give a more personal feel to web pages
• Choose own character(s) and can record own voice
• Animation quality (1970’s cartoon animations)
• Implement for different languages
• Artificial intelligence
• Roleplaying
• Potential to read aloud complex mathematical formulas
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SitePal Costs
Bronze plan
• Silver plan
• Gold plan
• Gold-Educ plan
$ 9.95/mo
$19.95/mo (more characters)
$49.95/mo (artificial intelligence)
$349.65/yr (30% discount)
Alternatives?
• Open source
• Alice
• In-house program
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Caveats
• Not a “silver bullet.”
• Underlying lessons and instructions must
still be taken seriously.
• A poorly designed lesson with talking
characters will still be poorly designed.
• Be a integral part of lesson and material, not
just “thrown in”
• Not a replacement for a human teacher
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Eliza Program with SitePal
• Goal: The student will create an artificial
intelligence personality using sentence
patterns with multiple responses.
• Previously tested Lisp implementation of
Eliza program on CS305 (Artificial
Intelligence) class at Park University.
• Choose a visual and voice in addition to
conversation rules to create personality.
• Appropriate for artificial intelligence or
psychology classes.
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Mad Libs Program with SitePal
• Goal: The student will create a Mad Lib
story to be read aloud by a SitePal character.
• Currently working on Mad Libs Markup
Language proposal for eventual
development.
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Simulation-Games
• Many games are simulations of real world systems
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Grand Theft Auto
First person shooters (Doom, Quake, etc…)
Warcraft
Massive multiplayer virtual reality games
• Integration of games into education
– Teacher must be knowledgeable and trained in the simulation
pedagogical style
– Teachers must integrate the simulated aspects of the program into
meaningful lessons requiring complex analysis.
– Students must take the lesson seriously. It’s not just “game time.”
– Game must be active, but not “too” active.
– If the lessons are conducted incorrectly, all the students will learn
is how to play games.
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Definitions
• Simulation:
Any training activity designed to
reflect reality.
• Game:
A learning activity governed by rules,
entailing a competitive situation, and having
winners and losers.
• Simulation-game:
A reality-based game
wherein the participants experience what happens
in a real-world system.
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Benefits
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Concrete learning objectives
Structure provided by the trainer
High participant involvement
Internal motivation
Generation of data
Analysis of completed results
Allows for student creation of new
problems
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Why Use Simulation-Games?
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Experiential learning
Heightens participant awareness, interest, and curiosity
Fully immersing participants in tasks
Provides a degree of reality
High motivational value
Participation for everyone
Emphasizes peer/collaborative learning
Learning is rapid
Safe atmosphere, permitting the learning of costs, benefits, and effects
of decisions without risking costly resources of the real world.
• Aids in skill development
• “Taps the right brain,” thereby stimulating the intuitive, creative,
emotional, and spontaneous side of participants
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Caveats
• Simulation games may not work well if the game
is not in sync with learning objectives.
• Participants may get hooked on winning and may
thus overlook learning goals.
• Must be constructed so that winners and losers
learn equally.
• Keep complexity level low
– Few objects
– Short learning curve
– Easy creation of new levels and problems
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Examples
• Line Rider
• Doom Funnel Chasers
• Aargon
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Line Rider
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Movies
Escape from Heaven, by scion
Jump Down, by tgrub1
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Line Rider Lesson
• Goal: Create an entertaining arena for the line rider.
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Originality
Variety of tricks
Artistic quality
Timing with music
• Technical requirements:
– Flash
– Screen capture utility
– Movie editing software
• Improvements to program
– Speed and direction indicators
– Improved interface for editing
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Line Rider Lesson
• Simulated aspects of the physical world
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Speed
Acceleration
Gravity
Inertia
Impact
Wind resistance
• Sites
– www.official-linerider.com/play.html
– www.linerider.org
– YouTube.com (search for line rider)
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Doom Funnel Chasers
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Doom Funnel Chasers
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Doom Funnel Chasers
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Doom Funnel Chasers
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Doom Funnel Chasers
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Doom Funnel Chasers
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Doom Funnel Chasers Lesson
• Goal: Find the angle and initial velocity for the
duct tape ball to maximize travel distance
(including flag bonuses) and hit the vortex.
• Finding the best angle and velocity
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Eyeball
Random shots
Tracking results to correct errors
Educated predictions
Experimentation
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Doom Funnel Chasers Lesson
• Simulated aspects of physical universe
– Gravity
– Inertia
– Orbits and orbital paths
• Technical requirements
– Flash
• Improvements to program
– Better interface for precise measurements
– Record previous attempts
• Site
– www.bigideafun.com/penguins/arcade/doom_funnel/
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Aargon
• Goal: Solve a logic puzzle incorporating
concepts of reflection, refraction, and
prisms.
• Logic
– Multiple solutions vs. Single solutions
– Pilot tested on 9th grade mathematics students
with interesting anecdotal results.
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Aargon Lesson
• Simulated aspects of optical science
– Reflection
– Refraction
– Prisms
• Creative
– Students can create their own boards
– Class competitions
– Boards must recognize when a board is unsolvable
• Sites
– www.twilightgames.com/aargondeluxe/aargondeluxe_info.htm
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Other Ideas
addictinggames.com
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50 States
Jelly Blocks
Stick Trampoline
Avalanche
Simpsons Wrecking Ball
Territory War
Draw Play
Samurai Defense
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bigideafun.com
– Spaced Penguin
– Light Brigade
– Ship Lander
sodaplay.com
– Soda Straws
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References
The Winning Trainer, by Julius Eitington, ©2002
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