Category: Serious Games

HTML 5 Treasure Hunt game framework

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I’m working on an HTML version of a Flash Treasure Hunt training game I built a couple of years ago. When it’s done, this will be more of a flexible framework than a specific game, capable of being used for any of the many situations in healthcare that require finding the right tool, part or medication quickly and accurately. Searchable anesthesia carts, cardiac arrest team “crash carts”, cardiac catheterization tubing racks, operating rooms, and even patient rooms are just some of the possible settings that could be portrayed in the game.

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Serious Games: Edutainment Examples

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Example “Edutainment” games

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These are a few of the medically-oriented “Edutainment”-style serious games that have been used in my institution. Although Edutainment is sometimes thought of as the poor stepchild of the Serious Games world, we’ve found these to be an inexpensive way to add some variety and interest to certain types of training.

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Serious Games: The relationship of game attributes to learning outcomes

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The relationship of game attributes to learning outcomes

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A group of researchers headed by Katherine Wilson has done a review of the literature about the effectiveness of serious games. They found that very hard evidence is available: most is anecdotal and suggestive, particularly with respect to which game elements promote which outcomes in learning. However the existing research is suggestive of relationships that could be the subject of future research. Wilson’s group listed fourteen proposals for such research, which could be very useful as guidelines in designing learning games, even if they aren’t scientifically proven.

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Serious Games: Keys to Success

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Keys to Success

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Know your target audience.
If some learners might benefit more from alternatives, provide them. Different learners will like different types of games, so you may need to provide more than one game, targeted to different audiences.

Choose a game that supports the learning objectives and content, but balance this with the requirements of game play. Focus in on specific objectives and outcomes as much as possible.

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Serious Games: Potential problems with using serious games

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Potential problems with using serious games

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“Although games can be effective learning environments, not all games are effective, nor are all games educational. Similarly, not all games are good for all learners or for all learning outcomes.”

– Diana Oblinger, 2006

      When deciding to use a game for training, it’s important to clearly state your learning objectives and to determine exactly what advantages the game will provide. If the game is too easy or too hard, or does not focus on the objectives, it may simply waste the learners’ time. Depending on the type of game you intend to use, you may need to go through a substantial testing phase to ensure success.

      Some of the possible issues to watch out for:

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    Serious Games: Why use games for training?

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    Why use games for training?

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    “Without motivation there is no learning”

    -James Paul Gee

    “If a learner is motivated, there’s no stopping him [or her]”

    -Will Wright

    Why is there so much excitement around the idea of using games for
    workplace training? Simply put, games have some advantages that make
    them exceptionally suited for training in certain situations.

    One word: Engagement!

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    Serious Games: discussion of the Virtual Knee Surgery game

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    The Virtual Knee Surgery game as a window onto some gaming concepts

    Virtual Knee Surgery is designed to teach high school students some of the
    concepts and steps in a knee replacement procedure. It is fairly simplistic but demonstrates some typical game structures and objectives well. You can try the real Virtual Knee Surgery game here, or just follow along with some of the screenshots below.

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