Design is of central importance in the process of developing any
technology-enhanced learning resource. This is particularly true when
considering game development. However, the design process is difficult:
in order to develop pedagogically sound and innovative games, expertise
is required from many different participants including researchers,
teachers, students and game developers.
This workshop is intended
as an interactive forum in which to discuss the important issues and
challenges that arise when attempting to capture the knowledge sharing
process involved in the design and development of game environments for
learning. It will offer new perspectives on the range of expertise
required for undertaking this process, based primarily on the work of
the ongoing Learning patterns for the design and deployment of mathematical games project. The workshop will focus on motivating the use of a design pattern approach, drawing on the project's literature review,typologies, and evolving sets of case studies and patterns.
To this end participants will engage in the hands-on development of
design patterns, facilitated by experts in the field. The aim is to
disseminate the use of patterns as an enabling tool for sharing good
practice through pattern-specific communication and knowledge sharing.
Format
The workgroup will run for half a day. We will initiate the
discussions by short presentations from participants and organisers.
After that, we will split into small groups of participants from mixed
backgrounds. The goal is to have participants examine critically the
process of distilling design patterns as an enabling tool for
communication and knowledge sharing.
The groupwork
will be divided into two main sessions: brainstorming and hands-on
experimentation. In the brainstorming session, each group will provide
cases of their design and development processes. Each group will work
these into a typology, mapping out major issues of interest and concern
to them. This will be followed by a hands-on experimentation session
which will concentrate on the development of a small set of design
patterns, which participants feel would help them in their own
practices.
The day will end with an assembly
session where each group will provide feedback on what they achieved
and present their patterns. Ample time will be allocated for
inter-group discussion and sharing of ideas. Overall, the guiding
factors are creativity, interaction and discussion.
The workshop
will be supported by a web site, where the outcomes will be published
and participants will have an opportunity to further develop designs,
products and connections established on the day.
Outcomes
Participants will gain both a
theoretical perspective and a pragmatic understanding of how to apply
design patterns in their own work.
Participants
will network with colleagues with common interests from a diverse range
of fields, and will have a chance to form new work relationships.
The patterns developed will be made available and continuously refined through the learning patterns site.
The research and activities presented during this workshop are
supported under the Kaleidoscope Network of Excellence. For more
information about Kaleidoscope, visit the Kaleidoscope web site http://www.noe-kaleidoscope.org/
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