It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: Developing Place-Based, Augmented Reality Games for Language Learning

Christopher Holden · Julie Sykes

Thu., June 11, 2:00–3:00, Old Madison (3rd floor, East/Southeast)

This project seeks to build on the emerging body of research (e.g., Horst & Miller, 2006; Roschelle & Pea, 2002; Squire & Klopfer, 2007; Squire et al., 2008) aimed at understanding and developing the educational capacity of mobile gaming technologies. Specifically, we focus on the design, implementation, and evaluation of the first place–based, augmented reality games for the learning of Spanish in traditionally Hispanic neighborhoods in the United States, with the intention of creating a model that can be expanded to other languages and learning contexts. With the explosion of the use of mobile technologies (e.g., hand–held PDAs, the iPod Touch, the iPhone, global positioning systems) for professional and social purposes, a profound shift has occurred in the ways people access, create, and disseminate knowledge (e.g., Brown & Adler, 2008; Chinnery, 2006; Thorne, 2008). Maps, resources, social communities, multimedia, and games are now available outside of bounded spaces such as offices, classrooms, and libraries. In response to this shift in behaviors, language educators have made an attempt to adapt materials to mobile devices by repurposing traditional forms of content: podcasting lectures, providing mobile flashcards and glossaries, and grammar drilling (Godwin–Jones, 2008). Nevertheless, the majority of these projects do not take full advantage of the potential of mobile devices to extended learning beyond the walls of the classroom to other areas of students’ daily activities (Levin et al, 2002). Especially relevant to language learning is the possibility of using mobile games to create hands-on, situated learning experiences, related to individual students’ linguistic backgrounds and interests. These can include exploration, practice, language production, and collaboration in a variety of learning contexts. Participation in such diverse contexts has long been lauded as a powerful means of developing language proficiency (as well as an end in and of itself), but has proven a difficult experience to effectively produce or reference within the confines of a classroom (Thorne, 2008; Sykes, in press; Sykes, Oskoz, & Thorne, 2008).

In this presentation, we will first present a brief overview of the two phases of the project in which learners participate in, and create their own, handheld, place–based game. We will then draw on pilot data to discuss four key questions which are critical to further understanding the role of place–based, augmented reality games for language learning. Each question specifically address one of four chief affordances unique to mobile devices (i.e., portability, sociability, context sensitivity, and individuality): (1) How does the portability of resources and information impact language learners’ participation in the game?, (2) How do learners utilize the possibilities for communication and interaction via (and as a result of) the mobile devices?, (3) What impact does “context sensitive” (i.e., real–time locational data) material have on the learning experience?, (4) How do learners engage the design of their own place–based game to create their own individualized learning experience? Finally, we will conclude with a synopsis of the outlook for the project, as well as ways our findings might be applied to other learning contexts.

References

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Sykes, J. (in press). Learner requests in Spanish: Examining the potential of multiuser virtual environments for L2 pragmatic acquisition. In L. Lomika and G. Lord (Eds.), The second generation: Online collaboration and social networking in CALL. San Marco, TX: CALICO Monograph Series.

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