The following: http://elearning-examples.s3.amazonaws.com/MissionTurfgrass/player.html (Thorn, 2010) was mentioned on the LD Lounge listserv, so I thought that I’d take a look and reflect a bit.
Summary of the game: This game is about lawn care. It provides the player with the setting of being on a recon mission to protect lawns. There are 4 objectives:
- Types of Grass
- Types of Weeds
- Tools and Equipment
- Lawn Care and Maintenance
Before the player goes through each section, they receive some sort of item for his/her rucksack. Then, it’s time to go through a training. The types of grass section has different types of grass with characteristics and properties included. The types of weeds section requires the player to select the correct weed from its name. The tools and equipment includes images of floating items with their description. The lawn care and maintenance section covers a few tips on how best to take care of a lawn. Upon completion of the training, there is a review section that allows for the printing out of a certificate of completion.
Reflection: The overall functionality of the training was great but there were a few items that I would adjust to make the game better. After going through each section, I automatically was given praise even though I was reading and not doing anything or making any decisions. Also I didn’t find a strong purpose for the items in my ruck sack. If I were to revise this activity, I would make an activity as the center of the training rather than making the training the center of the learning. If the player has the opportunity to make decisions, they will have a stronger sense of how knowledge about each of the categories applies to lawn care and maintenance.
To see other thoughts about this game go to this blog post: http://www.articulate.com/blog/find-out-why-kevin-thorn-earned-the-2010-silver-guru-award/
Nuggethead Studios (2010). “Mission: Turfgrass (online course).” Thorn.