What do serious game players think? JC Kinnamon R & D Division ICELW Columbia University June 2014

Who am I? Columbia in “School Psychology”…

Who am I? … computer-based learning

Who am I? … reluctant learners

Who am I? … reluctant learners

Deliver continuing legal education (CLE) 800,000 CLE hours 3,400 live program attendees 40,000 Webcast attendees Fact Sheet

304 live programs 326 live webcasts 112 one-hour audio briefings 1739 hours of webcasts archived for on-demand playback Fact Sheet

R&D Mission: make the learning experience better…

R&D Mission: make the learning experience better… …with little or no staff

R&D Asynchronous E-learning Marketing the firm - (Kaleidoscope Learning) Improving law-firm profitability – (Kaleidoscope Learning) Synchronous Online Courses Effective communication with the legal aid client (MOOC) - 1 week course (Kaleidoscope Learning) Patent preparation – 10 week course (Kaleidoscope Learning)

R&D Live facilitator led simulations Negotiations with other lawyers – 1 hour (Empower the User) Advising clients on trademarks – 20 minutes (Empower the User) Serious Game The Internal Investigation Game (Ranj Serious Games)

What is a serious game?

“A game in which education is the primary goal rather than entertainment”

What is a serious game? “A game in which education is the primary goal rather than entertainment” Whodunit? The Case of the Lost Advantage

Games vs. PRO CON

Games vs. Jane McGonigal PRO CON

Games Richard Mayer John Sweller vs. Jane McGonigal PRO CON

Why this topic? What do serious game players think? Want to share what I heard from users after experiencing a serious game …

Why this topic? What do serious game players think? Did they learn?

Why this topic? Control cognitive load? What do serious game players think?

Why this topic? User acceptance? Desirability? What do serious game players think?

Data Collection Methods

Subjects Observations/ Individual Debriefs 13 Attorneys Individual homework assignment / group /debrief 15 Law students

Game description Just imagine…

Game description Skills Planning Interviewing Gathering information Eliciting cooperation Challenging lies Documenting Reporting out findings

Game sample

So what did they think?

“Serious Game” They had no idea what we were talking about As true for the younger subjects as well as the older ones

Cognitive Load Generally managed (tweaked based on early testing) With a consistent user interface, learners gained speed

Cognitive Load Ramp up time led to criticism “Too easy.” “Too linear” for a few who bailed out early

Motivation Scoring game element was a powerful motivator Restarted seeing they were being scored Grabbed pads of paper to take notes Wanted to get questions right

Story The narrative was a powerful element in the pull of the game Learners recounted details Need for closure

Story Be careful—has to be relevant Younger audience had harder time

Reading on-screen text % of on-screen text read is normally low in compulsory training Startling high level witnessed Read when necessary Little expository text Skipped positive feedback

Engagement Annoyed by technical glitches Little tolerance for distractions “I couldn’t multitask. I had to stop whatever else I was doing.”

Engagement Annoyed by technical glitches Little tolerance for distractions “I couldn’t multitask. I had to stop whatever else I was doing.” Focused on relevant details

Mastering techniques Disclosure Open- ended questions Gaining cooperation General questions before focused questions Planning strategies Challenging lies

Feedback Focused on learning from errors Changed behavior Challenged evaluations

Quotable Quotes “I had never done an internal investigation before. I want to do one now.” “I would pick a sim over a lecture; particularly for a skill topic.” “It was fun. That is not something I thought I would say.” “It is more valuable to do it vs. hear about it.” “It is wonderful to see how it is done. Better than sitting and listening.” “The game throws you in.... gives an associate a taste of how things happen.” “After the first episode I stopped playing a game and I did it like it was real.”

Summary What did they think? Lawyers (serious professionals) embraced the game approach; they preferred it for skill-related content They thought about the content a lot, i.e. “engaged” with it They remembered key aspects-- t least in the short term They strived to finish Trade-off: Cognitive load vs. motivational factors

Thanks for coming! Questions? (212)