e-Learning kit: Gaming

Build your own games or leave the game building up to the learners. Here you will find tools to build games with best practices, as well as already successful games that can be adapted for your library. At the very least, the examples here are time well spent. There are also resources on gamification, the subject of my latest sabbatic leave.

Video: James Paul Gee on learning with video games

Build games

Apart from your everyday website and video production tools, there are these game builders available that are a lot of fun to explore:

• Bitsy: A browser based game creation tool developed by Adam Le Doux.
• Gameblox: A blocks-based programming tool for making and playing games, from MIT Education Arcade (visit for inspiration).
• Scratch: Program games, stories, animations; designed for ages 8 to 16 but used by people of all ages (MIT).
• Kahoot: Create quiz games.
• Unity: 2D and 3D games for multiple platforms (C programming experience a plus). 
• Phaser: HTML5 framework for making desktop and mobile games.
• GameMaker: Studio: Free version from YoYo Games.
• Stencyl: Create games without coding (free publish to web option).
• Twine: Open source tool.
  • Example: Used by Hodges University Library to create the Zombie APA Game.

Also, visit Accessible Player Experiences from AbleGamers Charity. 

Library games

As explained by Snyder Broussard, there are elaborate role playing games (RPG) sending players out on quests, alternate reality games that are affected by player actions in real time, casual and easy to learn games, trivia games, games with a social element and also those that mix the physical world with a virtual component (2012).

Different games are listed here alphabetically by library. They are open for play, unless otherwise indicated.

• McGill Library
  • Raising Spirits
  • Raising Spirits 2
  • Star Trek design patents: A simple game that I created with Google forms for Science Literacy Week.
  • McGill Library Sprint (not currently live): Online scavenger hunt created with Edventure Builder ($) with physical and virtual elements.
• ASU Libraries
  • Quarantined: Axl Wise and the Information Outbreak: RPG (I saved an entire campus from outbreak!)
• Belk Library and Information Commons games, Appalachian State University (game files for download and info on how to adapt them)
  • Virtual Tour/Scavenger Hunt
  • The Information Literacy Game for your Library!
  • The Library Adventure Game (RPG)
  • Jeopardy Game
• Carnegie Mellon Library games
  • I'll Get it!: Be the reference librarian and suggest sources
  • Within Range: Shelve books on a timer (= not for the faint of heart)
• Hodges University Library
  • Zombie APA Game: Zombies have taken over and players must correctly answer questions on APA Style to earn pieces of an antidote.
• Loyola Marymount University Library
  • RADAR Challenge: Evaluate an information source by Relevance, Authority, Date, Accuracy, and Rationale.
• New York Public Library
  • Past game (2011) - Find the Future: The Game was part of NYPL’s Centennial Festival weekend.
• Snowden Library, Lycoming College Library
  • Goblin Threat: Easy to learn and play (my knowledge of plagiarism saved the campus from goblins). 
• University of Florida Libraries past games 
  • Bioactive: Solve puzzles and search resources
  • HvZ (Humans versus Zombies): Combined play with a Zombie survival LibGuide
• Utah Valley University Library games
• Wikipedia (not a library, but still relevant)
  • The Wikipedia Adventure: Learn to edit Wikipedia

Gamification

If you can't make a game, gamify? Gamification, as defined by Deterding et al., is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts (2011). 

You can make use of game mechanics to make your learning objects more interactive and improve engagement. A simplified example is the assignment of points to tasks that lead to achievements, awards (who would say no to a trophy?), badges and leaderboards. Visit the strategies section for more info on gamification.

Digital badges

• Mozilla Open Badges and Badgr for storing and sharing Open Badges (Mozilla is retiring their Backpack)
• OpenBadges.me: Build and issue Open Badges
• LMS badges: Blackboard Achievements; Awards tool in D2L Learning Environment; Native to Moodle; BadgeOS WordPress plugin
• Cost $: Purdue University Passport; Credly
• Examples: 
  • University of Central Florida: Students earn badges for completion of continuing education modules.
  • Delaware County Community College: Students earn badges for attending library workshops online or in person.

Find out much more from ACRL:

• Digital Badges Interest Group
• Keeping Up With... Digital Badges for Instruction

Avatars

You can always decide to use avatars to act as guides in your learning objects. Video and presentation tools have plenty of options. You can also encourage students to create their own avatars.

Here are just a few:

• DoppleMe: Customize an avatar to use anywhere you like. Here is my DoppleMe
• The Mini-Mizer: Make a LEGO you. Here I am a mermaid witch librarian 
• GIFMaker.me: Make animated avatars 

WebQuests

As the name implies, students use web resources to solve problems.

• WebQuest.org
  • Information literacy/library examples (adult or college level)
  • Import and modify shared WebQuests from the QuestGarden.

Action mazes

If you love choose your own adventure books where your choices decide the outcome, why not design an action maze to promote critical thinking in your students? Action mazes can also be created by students to challenge their peers.

• Quandry: Application for Windows from UVictoria, but you could probably create an action maze with html. 
• The evil landlady action maze is the classic example.

---

Bottom of the page bonus: Internet Archive MS-DOS Games

See the full bibliography for works consulted.

Armstrong, A., & Georgas, H. (2006). Using interactive technology to teach information literacy concepts to undergraduate students. Reference Services Review, 34(4), 491-497.

Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., & Nacke, L. (2011). From game design elements to gamefulness: Defining gamification. Proceedings of the 15th international academic MindTrek conference: Envisioning future media environments, ACM, 9-15.

Snyder Broussard, M. J. (2012). Digital games in academic libraries: A review of games and suggested best practices. Reference Services Review, 40(1), 75-89.