Educational Games
Assignments

Due dates for all assignments are indicated in the course schedule.

Project #1

Create an instructive Branching Interactive Graphic Story that encourages people to practice decision making in a topic of your choice. This simulation must focus on a specific topic or concept, and be targeted to a specified audience. You are expected to deliver the following for this project:

• Lesson Plan - Use Comic-BEE to define the Topic, Audience, Learning objectives and Real life scenarios. Then, from the main screen listing projects, choose to Export the Lesson Plan. Upload the resulting .zip file to https://tinyurl.com/ydcq26f5.
• Script - Use Comic-BEE to create the Title & Characters, and Write script. Your script should have a Start, at least 2 Ending scenes, and at least 3 Normal scenes. Be sure to indicate Choice Quality for each choice. Export the Lesson Plan & Script. Upload the resulting .zip file to https://tinyurl.com/ydcq26f5.
• Storyboard - Use Comic-BEE to Layout storyboard for your script. Export the Lesson Plan, Script, & Storyboard. Upload the resulting .zip file to https://tinyurl.com/ydcq26f5. Be prepared to show the Storyboard Preview in class for the Design Review.
• Final Comic - Use Comic-BEE to complete your comic. From the Create Final Comic page, choose to Publish Comic as a .zip file on your local computer. Upload the resulting .zip file to https://tinyurl.com/ydcq26f5. Be prepared to show your Final Comic in class for the Project Presentation.

Project #2

Create a Mobile Game that either (a) teaches a new concept, (b) provides practice of skills learned previously, (c)provides supplemental information, or (d) gives students a new way of "seeing" the information. In any case, the game must focus on a specific topic or concept, and be targeted to a specified audience. Over the development period you will use AppInventor to create an Android app. Your finished game should be in a state where anyone can play it. You are expected to deliver the following for this project:

• Game Overview - Write a 1-page proposal for you game, and upload the document to https://tinyurl.com/ydcq26f5. This proposal should describe:
  • The topic your game helps to teach;
  • The audience for the game;
  • What your audience would be doing in the game (core mechanic);
  • Where your audience would likely play it; and
  • How the game is supposed to help people learn.
• Wireframes - Sketch the layouts for the major screens. Create a single file containing all of them (e.g. a single .docx file or a .zip file) and upload it to https://tinyurl.com/ydcq26f5.
• Design Review - Using AppInventor, create all of the scenes needed in your application. Be prepared to show these scenes (in the AppInventor workspace) to the class.
• Project Presentation - Complete a working prototype using AppInventor*. Under Projects, use "Export selected projet (.aia) to my computer" to save the resulting project. Upload the resulting file to https://tinyurl.com/ydcq26f5. Be prepared to show your final project in class for the Project Presentation.

* Although this is not expected to be a finished game, I do expect you to present something that represents what gameplay would look and feel like.

Mid-Term Paper

You are to write a paper that presents a plan for using Comic-BEE as a tool in the classroom, for helping students to explore and reinforce their understanding of a particular topic. Your paper should contain the sections below. Bring a hard-copy of this paper to class on the due date, and present your plan to the class. Late submissions will be penalized with a reduction in the grade for the paper.

1. Introduction: Briefly describe your topic, and how some aspect of decision making is important to that topic.
2. Scenario: Briefly describe the audience and setting for your plan (e.g. in the classroom or some informal setting).
3. Lesson plan: Present a day-by-day plan describing what you would present to the audience, and what you would have them do. Be sure to indicate the amount of time you intend for them to work on each activity.
4. Evaluation plan: Explain how you would evaluate the students' learning from this lesson. What data would you collect, and how would you evaluate it?