Description:

It seems that, at their best, "edugames" may enrich learning and the pedagogical use of technology. Although integrating learning and games provides tempting possibilities, it also contains many challenges. Especially in vocational education, attention should be paid not only to the use of new technological solutions but also to learning processes in such environments. This study attempts to combine the technological possibilities of game environments and the theoretical knowledge of CSCL (Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning) (Koschmann, 1996). The study is part of a larger project, PEDAGAMES, which investigates the possibilities and limitations of pedagogical games in vocational education. There were two research tasks in this study. The first research task was to develop a game environment to simulate the vocational context of work safety in a work process and to describe the game and design process by means of scripted tasks. The second research task was to answer the following questions on the basis of empirical study: 1) What kind of learning results did the students achieve after the game? 2) What kind of effects did the 3D game environment have on the students' collaborative learning processes?

Methodology or methods/research instruments or sources used:

The present study involves a design experiment, which comprises the design process of the Secure game, as well as an empirical study with multiple data collection methods, data analysis, results and conclusions for further work (Collins, Joseph, & Bielaczyc, 2004). The development of the game and the related empirical study was a joint effort between three parties (educational research, vocational education and programming expertise).The Secure game is expected to offer learners some added value. The use of online simulations and educational games, in particular, is justified by catering for such aspects of the curriculum and learning tasks that have traditionally been difficult to teach or demonstrate in the classroom (Charles & McAlister, 2004). Secure is a virtual 3D online game for four players and it aims at epistemic problem-solving relative to work safety in the field of construction. The aim is to use scripts (Dillenbourg, 2002) and different game levels in a way that supports pedagogical goals (Hämäläinen, 2005). Due to the limited duration of the experiment, the content of the game caters for approximately 60 minutes of goal-oriented activities. Role management and player-to-player communication are supported by chat or voice-over-IP speech systems.The study includes an empirical experiment conducted in authentic educational settings. The experiment was organised among vocational students (N = 60) divided into 15 groups of four persons. A specific laboratory environment was constructed in order to capture all the required data from the experimental game sessions. During the experiment the students played the game session, took a test measuring their learning results immediately after the game. After the game session selected groups were also interviewed. Data were gathered by various means such as an electronic survey, video tapings, audio recorded interwiews and discussions and/or logged chat conversations and player activities during the game, and by taking observation notes about the game sessions.

Conclusions or expected outcomes or findings:

The data analysis was partly theory-driven (King, 1999) and partly data-driven. After the game experiment, all data were verified, interviews and conversations during gameplay were transcribed, observation notes were sorted into relevant categories. This study uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Firstly, the test results were examined using quantitative analysis. This was followed by a qualitative analysis across the whole variety of data and resorting to data classifications. Cross-comparisons of sets of research materials collected by various methods were performed to improve the reliability of the findings (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2001). In this presentation we will first discuss the basic findings concerning the effects of the scripted 3D game environment on students' learning process, added values and problems of Secure-game and then go on to describe students' collaboration processes during the experiment.The project PedaGames has been supported by the EU Structural Funds and nationally by the State Provincial Office of Western Finland with reference to the administrative sector of the Ministry of Education

References:

• Hämäläinen, (2005) Scripted game environment as an aid in vocational learning concerning surface treatment. In Ruokamo, Hyvönen, Lehtonen & Tella (Eds.) Teaching-Studying-Learning (TSL) Processes and Mobile Technologies - Multi-,Inter-,and Transdisciplinary (MIT) Research ApproachesHämäläinen, Manninen, Järvelä &
• Häkkinen (2006) Learning to collaborate: Designing collaboration in 3D Game Environment. The Internet and Higher Education