Arcadia: The Next Generation - Transforming STEM Learning through Transmedia Games

TERC教育游戏环境小组（EdGE）的设计师和研究人员正在研究设计功能（例如，工具，媒体平台，便利化）的实验游戏环境称为阿卡迪亚：下一代。这种游戏环境支持在多样化的公众观众中建立高质量的科学知识。EdGE及其合作伙伴GameGurus正在将基于网络的社交网络，增强现实和智能手机上的数据共享应用程序集成到Arcadia中，并与一组正式和非正式的教育工作者合作，研究Arcadia中的科学探究与STEM学习之间的联系。EdGE还在研究各种经济模型，这些模型可以支持STEM游戏环境的长期可持续性，这些环境连接了家庭、社区以及正式和非正式学习。该项目提供了一个动态和不断发展的地方，玩家，教育工作者，家长和公民科学家可以聚集在一起，通过各种有趣的科学探究游戏分享，评价和构建知识。与Arcadia相关的研究特别关注游戏设计（工具，环境，故事情节，奖励系统）如何支持和维持科学探究。研究人员将把这些设计特点与阿卡迪亚科学探究的程度和性质、游戏体验对玩家科学认同感和行为的影响以及不同类型玩家的差异联系起来。研究人员正在使用来自网络图（Kozanov，2002，Hine 2000）的方法，其中将化身活动的数字记录与参与者的观察，调查和访谈相结合。一组通过非正式和正式科学教育环境中的同事项目招募的玩家是一个较小的子研究的对象，该研究着眼于如何帮助将社交游戏中获得的科学技能和知识转移到课堂和其他形式的科学教育中。EdGE有两个小型咨询小组：一个由正式和非正式教育工作者组成的小组，帮助进行形成性评价;一个由研究领域的专家组成的小组，帮助指导对研究结果的解释。阿卡迪亚：下一代是朝着未来的学习环境，跨越学校，家庭，社区设置和社交娱乐网站，跨媒体学习网络整合现实生活中的组件，如室内和室外教室与自由选择的互联网体验和公民科学计划的愿景工作的重要一步。《阿卡迪亚：下一代》的主要交付成果是一个模型游戏环境，吸引并留住玩家观众，让他们参与高质量的科学探究。相关的研究告诉该领域如何利用公众在社交数字游戏中花费的大量时间，以及如何将这些时间用于生产性科学学习。EdGE正在与非正式和公民科学中心的青年和成人项目合作，招募和选择代表美国人口的研究样本，包括少数民族青年和成年人，以便研究人员能够学习如何维持对广泛而多样化的社交游戏玩家群体的调查。

Designers and researchers from the Educational Gaming Environments group (EdGE) at TERC are studying the design features (e.g., tools, media platforms, facilitation) of an experimental gaming environment called Arcadia: The Next Generation. This gaming environment supports high-quality scientific knowledge building in a diverse, public audience. EdGE and its partner, GameGurus are integrating web-based social networking, augmented reality, and data sharing apps on smartphones into Arcadia and are working with a group of formal and informal educators to study the connections between scientific inquiry in Arcadia and STEM learning. EdGE is also examining various economic models that can support the long-term sustainability of STEM gaming environments that bridge home, community, and formal and informal learning. The project provides a dynamic and evolving place where gamers, educators, parents, and citizen scientists can come together to share, rate, and build knowledge through a variety of fun science inquiry games. The research associated with Arcadia looks specifically at how game design (tools, environment, storyline, reward system) can support and sustain scientific inquiry. Researchers will relate these design features to the extent and nature of scientific inquiry in Arcadia, the impact the gaming experience has on players' sense of science identity and behaviors, and how this varies for different types of players. Researchers are using methods from netnography (Kozinets, 2002, Hine 2000) where digital records of avatar activity are incorporated along with participant observations, surveys, and interviews. A group of players recruited through colleagues' programs in informal and formal science education settings are the subjects for a smaller sub-study that looks at how to help transfer the science skills and knowledge gained in social games to classroom and other forms of science education. EdGE has two small advisory groups: a group of formal and informal educators to help with formative evaluation and a group of experts in the areas of research to help guide the interpretation of the research findings. Arcadia: The Next Generation is an important step in working towards a vision of future learning environments that span schools, homes, community settings, and social entertainment sites where transmedia learning networks integrate real-life components such as indoor and outdoor classrooms with free-choice Internet experiences and citizen science programs. The primary deliverable of Arcadia: The Next Generation is a model game environment that attracts and retains a player audience and engages them in high quality scientific inquiry. The associated research informs the field on how to leverage the tremendous amount of time the public spends in social digital games, and how to direct that time towards productive science learning. EdGE is partnering with youth and adult programs at informal and citizen science centers to recruit and select the research sample that is representative of the US population, including minority youth and adults, so that researchers can learn how to sustain inquiry for a broad and diverse population of social game players.