Featured Session RML: This is Not an Orientation: Gameful Layers for the Freshman Experience

The transition to college is a difficult experience for many young people, marked by rapid 

change as well as social, emotional and intellectual challenges. Additionally, today's 

students may feel disconnected from traditional university classroom materials and 

structures, spending the majority of their out of class time interacting via text and web.

 

This session will look at two very different experimental games which attempt 

to scaffold that freshman experience, allowing digital natives to bring their existing 

communication and media skills to bear on the building of college-level social groups and 

21st century skills such as team-building, problem-solving, creative and critical thinking, brainstorming, experimentation, etc.

 

The two case studies were both launched in Fall of 2011 and each team has worked to assess and 

evaluate the outcomes so far. Just Press Play, from the Rochester Institute of Technology, is 

funded by Microsoft Research, and is an achievement-based system that encourages 

students to think of the obstacles in their path as part of a narrative of their educational 

development. Reality Ends Here, from the University of Southern California, is an internally 

funded project from the School of Cinematic Arts. Structured as an alternate reality game, 

the experience introduces students to the culture and history of the school, encouraging 

them to become part of that tradition from day one. Designers and evaluators from each 

project will discuss learning goals, design strategies, assessment approaches, preliminary 

outcomes and next steps for these innovative digital learning environments.