VIRTUAL 4T CONFERENCETeachers Teaching Teachers about Technology

ARG ACADEMYK-12

ALTERNATE REALITY GAME

RABBITHOLE

PUPPETMASTER

CURTAIN

TINAG

What is an ARG?

An unfamiliar term for a familiar concept?

ARGs consist of case studies, role play, or scenario based instruction that may or may not use mobile technologies.

Key Attributes

Movement

An essential part of the ARG

Players must move around game (your classroom, hallway, school or even websites) to collect data and clues as they progress through the game.

The ARG Family of Games

Augmented Reality Game Augmented Reality Simulation Pervasive Game Location-Based Game Murder Mystery

A “real” ARG also has:

Fiction Interactive Narrative – player actions

change the game Claim to be real Alter the World…don’t step into the

Magic Circle Transmedia

Basics

Subject Students Purpose

What do you want them to learn? Skills or knowledge?

What is the conflict/challenge?

Lesson plan or Instructor notes

Unit Goals Learning Objectives Objectives & Standards from your

Common Course Curriculum Technology requirements Field trip permissions Accessibility

Rabbithole

Structure the Door

Door for students/educators

First artifact that draws the player in…….. instead may be the first bit of information

Immersion

ARG Design

Narrative

Game Design

Challenges

Transmedia

Tech Tools

CHALLENGES

Challenges

Flow/Fiero Solving a puzzle Picking up clues to a mystery

Dealing with a character

Challenge

Puzzle

Mathematical Formula

Message to Decipher

Problem to Solve

ARG’S IN K-12 EDUCATION

ARG’s are an integral part of a well differentiated classroom that provides all students an individualized learning opportunity at their current level of mastery and understanding.

ARG’s in K-12 Education

Some commonly used ARG’s in the K-12 curriculum include Scavenger Hunts, Virtual Field trips, Learning Centers and Independent Study Projects.

ARG’s in K-12 – Scavenger HuntsScavenger Hunts can be a fun and educational experience for the student and the teacher. While there are many ways to design a scavenger hunt, there are a few things that you must consider when designing and implementing the hunt that will ensure success for the student and the teacher.

1. Make sure your information and facts are current and up-to-date. This would include ensuring that all url’s and web-links are active and current if you are using an Internet Scavenger Hunt.

2. Make sure your directions are simple, but comprehensive. Do not expect the students to read you mind, but a the same time do not make the directions so easy that the students are not challenged to determine the clues and in the end the goal.

3. Make sure you have a sufficient amount of clues to challenge the students without giving away the goal object or location.

ARG’s in K-12 – Virtual Field-TripsVirtual Field –Trip have become a staple of the

21st Century classroom. With the phenomenal rate at which technology is changing and shaping the world around us, and the budgetary constraints hitting public education many teachers and districts are employing Virtual Field-Trips to provide their students with a vast array of educational opportunities and experiences.

Again, it is vital when using the internet to ensure that the URL’S and web-links are current and active before assigning the Virtual Field-Trip to the students.

There are many excellent Virtual Field-Trips to be found at reputable site on the web. Some of these include Scholastic, Discovery Channel, Renzulli Learning, The History Channel, Science Discovery, NASA.gov and NOAA.gov.

ARG’s in K-12 – Learning Centers

Learning centers have predominantly been used in early childhood and elementary education classrooms and are an excellent way to encourage students to make choices. The centers enable students to learn to work independently as well as cooperatively. Centers give the student more control over what they do and offer teachers an excellent medium to address student’s individual learning styles.

ARG’s in K-12 – Learning Centers

While EC-5 educators have embraced the Learning Center, there are still many ways in which 6-12 educator can and do incorporate centers into a diverse learning environment in the secondary classroom.

Learning Centers can function as an opportunity to explore and develop a theme or concept, a progression of processes and challenges in an academic area or subject, or as multi-sensory, differentiated learning that engages all students.

ARG’s in K-12 – Independent Study Projects

The objective of the Independent Study Project (ISP) is to provide you with an opportunity for an in-depth exploration of an area of study that greatly interests the student. Students will acquire the skills needed to conduct an in-depth investigation following a specifically guided research process that will help prepare them for future studies. An ISP gives students a special chance to utilize their talents and abilities in a uniquely productive manner.

ARG’s in K-12 – Independent Study ProjectsThe major objectives of an ISP are to obtain, process, construct, provide and deliver content/subject specific information using various forms/mediums of communication, to learn and effectively utilize multiple components of the research process, to develop motivation, curiosity, and the ability to undertake risks in a structured environment; a sense of self-sufficiency in learning, and the capability to make and accept consequences of independent decisions, and to increase each student’s capacity to think CRITICALLY and CREATIVELY, integrating and analyzing information from a variety of primary and secondary sources.

MORE EXAMPLES OF ARGS IN EDUCATION

Our ARGs

Setting the Table Restaurant Analysis

D.B. Cooper Accounting Practices and Techniques

Examples to reference

Ecomuve http://ecomuve.gse.harvard.edu/

HARPS projects http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=harp&pageid=icb.page69587

Mentira http://www.mentira.org/

Place Based Learning http://website.education.wisc.edu/kdsquire/tenure-files/16-squire-shelton-book.pdf

7 Things You Should Know about Alternate Reality Games http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7045.pdf

TECH TOOLS & WHY WE USE THEM

NARRATIVE &PROJECT MANAGEMENT

And Google ….Google Docs…Gmail…Presenter….

STORYBOARD IT OUT

QR CODES

SCVNGR.COM

RABBITHOLE

INVITE TO PLAY ARG PRIME

http://bit.ly/4Trabbithole