Resilient Planet: A Partnership of Games and Curriculum

Bill Jewell · Dan White · Dan Norton · Marjee Chmiel

The JASON Project, a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Geographic Society, has delivered award-winning, inquiry-rich science curriculum for nearly 20 years. JASON’s theory of science education is based on lighting the spark of inspiration through sustained connections with “great explorers and great events”. These connections are delivered through print as well as video, podcasts and webcasts, interactive computer games, and live chat sessions with explorers and researchers from National Geographic, NASA, and NOAA. Rather than simply providing a basal textbook with supplementary videos, the JASON Project’s media offerings are fully integrated into the scope and sequence of a standards-based core science curriculum unit. The result is deeper student engagement, increased motivation, and higher achievement.

Filament Games is a game design and development company based in Madison, Wisconsin. Filament focuses on the creation of educational games that embrace contemporary games and learning theory. Filament is dedicated to making games that broaden how gaming and education are defined.

This year, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is funding a partnership between Filament Games and the JASON Project to develop a 3D videogame in support of the JASON Project’s ecology curriculum. In the game, students go on underwater expeditions to solve ecological problems identical to the ones being examined by scientists in the curriculum.

The game allows students to replicate the methods and tools employed by the scientists and gather the same data the scientists garner in their own ongoing work. Students will use authentic science tools like ROVs and Greg Marshall’s Crittercam to assemble their own body of data. Using the game’s unique “Com Center” students will analyze the evidence they gather to develop theories and make real-life decisions with measurable consequences.

Unlike easily outdated textbooks, students may even uncover scientific theories that have only recently emerged in scientific journals. To add to the authenticity, players will see real footage of the scientists in the field conducting the same missions the students are performing.

This session explores a host of issues that arise when trying to develop a powerful standalone educational game that is also designed as a true extension of a fully integrated science curriculum. How can you bring a dynamic print curriculum to life in an interactive 3D game? How do you convert the collection of data and development of hypotheses into a game? How do you ensure that the game addresses the needs of education systems by actually aligning the content to learning standards? What do teachers need in order to make a game like this work in their classroom? How do you address the obvious technical concerns schools will have with this type of activity? How do you do all this while keeping middle schoolers interested and excited? We will discuss our approach to these problems, how learning theories from various educational games researchers informed our design, and report on our user testing data.