Although this action maze is based on a Higher Education situation it can be applied to any educational setting.

The game interface

The main objective

The time scale/the currency is time

Measuring progress

Options for action

Important information

Anne Fox Project Coordinator www.vitae-project.eu

www.vitae-project.eu From this

www.vitae-project.eu To this Based on an original by Michael Coghlan

Add your ideas to the chat. www.vitae-project.eu

Gaming skills Fantasy Rules/goals Sensory stimuli Challenge Mystery Control Flow www.vitae-project.eu

Digital literacies Risk-taking Critical reflection Collaboration Meaning creation Non-linear navigation Problem-solving and problem definition Innovation Gaming skills Fantasy rules/goals sensory stimuli Challenge Mystery control www.vitae-project.eu

Mentoring Miss Montfort Diffusion of Innovation The Social Web Game www.vitae-project.eu

Mentoring Miss Montfort Diffusion of Innovation The Social Web Game www.vitae-project.eu

Mentoring Miss Montfort Diffusion of Innovation The Social Web Game www.vitae-project.eu

Mentoring Miss Montfort Diffusion of Innovation The Social Web Game www.vitae-project.eu

Add to chat www.vitae-project.eu

Action Mazes “On the pages which follow, you will find a crude specimen of a decision (or action) maze, based on the scenario of acting as a mentor to a new member of lecturing staff in higher education, and taking you through the equivalent of about an hour of discussion with her.” ATHERTON J S (2002) Exercise: Mentoring Ms Montfort: Introduction to Action Maze [On-line] UK; Available: http://www.doceo.co.uk/mentmaze_web/index.html Accessed: 20 May 2009 www.vitae-project.eu

Simone starts telling you about a seminar group she took yesterday, which did not go at all well. She came out of the session "all steamed up" because the students seemed so disengaged and downright thick. The content had been pretty straightforward, and she had never had any difficulty with it, so what was wrong with them? Add your suggested options to the chat. www.vitae-project.eu

Simone starts telling you about a seminar group she took yesterday, which did not go at all well. She came out of the session "all steamed up" because the students seemed so disengaged and downright thick. The content had been pretty straightforward, and she had never had any difficulty with it, so what was wrong with them? Do you: 1.1 Go into the background of the course and explain what may have made them like that? 1.2 Point out, as gently as you can, that if a session doesn't go well, it's down to the lecturer? 1.3 Get her to explain in more detail what it was she felt went wrong? 1.4 Explore her feelings and why she left feeling "steamed up"? www.vitae-project.eu

  1.3 Get her to explain in more detail what it was she felt went wrong? Simone says, "The students just don't want to know: or if they do, they want me to tell them everything so they can write it down in their little books. It's pathetic ask them a question and they just sit there and look at you as if... I don't know!“ What do you say next? www.vitae-project.eu

  Do you:   4.1 Ask her if she's really being fair?   4.2 Suggest that she should not collude with them: she should try to engage them in discussion? 4.3 Point out the students' anxieties and that they may not yet know how to study properly? Simone says, "The students just don't want to know: or if they do, they want me to tell them everything so they can write it down in their little books. It's pathetic ask them a question and they just sit there and look at you as if... I don't know!" www.vitae-project.eu

Kick-off Asynchronous online Follow up forum discussions www.vitae-project.eu

My strategy was to avoid too emotional discussions and to avoid to be seen as "the expert", a role which I am not able to fulfill. The mode of "lets try to find a way out together" (which means both partners have to work - on a product as e.g. exercises, lesson plans? - and the help comes with the joint reflection/thinking through of strategies) seemed to work well - according to the maze, but also in practice? I must say that I am very pleased and surprised that I managed to have a useful session. When I first started I thought that this woman was going to react badly to every suggestion that I made but we managed to have a fruitful session even if it was not the best outcome. www.vitae-project.eu

www.vitae-project.eu Your Objective In this simulation you will be playing the role of a change agent in a hypothetical school. Your objective is to persuade as many of the staff members as possible to adopt a particular innovation –peer-tutoring. You have two years to get as much adoption as you can. http://www.indiana.edu/~istdemo/

www.vitae-project.eu Your Objective In this simulation you will be playing the role of a change agent in a hypothetical school. Your objective is to persuade as many of the staff members as possible to adopt a particular innovation –peer-tutoring. You have two years to get as much adoption as you can. What would you do? Add ideas to the chat

www.vitae-project.eu The Game Interface

www.vitae-project.eu The Game Objective

www.vitae-project.eu The Game Currency

www.vitae-project.eu How Progress is measured

www.vitae-project.eu Action Options

www.vitae-project.eu Critical Information

Local knowledge Communication And…? www.vitae-project.eu

The purpose is to trigger conversations about what social media tools may be appropriate in different situations www.vitae-project.eu http://usefulgames.co.uk/e_learning_web_2_0_and_games_as_mud_maps

www.vitae-project.eu http://www.anecdote.com.au/archives/2007/04/knowledge_strat_2.html#comments

www.vitae-project.eu Playing through the journey • Share an understanding of where we are • Cards give options for approach, designing,and building • Choose and organise within 15 point budget • Tell stories - pathways - for students, staff, administration

www.vitae-project.eu Mentoring Ms Montfort – one to one Diffusion of Innovation – school as system Social Web Game – massively multiplayer offline roleplaying game?

Many thanks! Anne Fox See you at the free VITAE online conference September 11, 2009 The conversation continues at http://webheadsinaction.ning.com/forum/topics/fun-and-games-in-professional