This document discusses similarities between online gaming communities like World of Warcraft and higher education institutions. It notes both involve communities of practice where members interact regularly to learn and improve. Motivation is key, with gaming appealing to intrinsic motivations like social interaction and skill development. The document outlines lessons from gaming like reducing barriers, providing metrics and feedback, and rewarding new behaviors. It proposes further research on social knowledge construction and motivation in gaming and education.

1. WoW!
Roberts & Susans
Game Learning
June 19, 2009
Michelle A. Hoyle
IDEAs Lab
eingang@sussex.ac.uk

2. Big
Questions
• How is the “Robert
and Susan”
!"#
$%%&'()* metaphor W
en
ge
r,
*,-(* ./0*0,/1, 4+/*(&5, 89:0*;, <*,-%;*,
applicable? E.
(2
00
8,
2'3( 6*7&/( 8:90';*:0 =**>*:0 p.
73
)
• How does the
@ A*:?&%%&/( 8/'% 4+/*(&5 2':@,B&(0 social structure
!*'?0
resemble a
community of
practice?
• What encourages
game players to
persist?

3. Robertpupil
Biggs, J. & Tang, C. (2007) ‘Chapter 1: The Changing
Scene in University Teaching’, in Teaching for Quality
Susanlearner
Learning At University, 3rd edition, Maidenhead, UK,
Open University Press. pp. 1-14.
Are you
Robert or Susan?

4. Robertpupil
“I tend to do the
minimum to get by.”
Are you
Robert or Susan?

5. Robertpupil
“If I just read the
notes, I hope I’ll
remember enough to
pass the exam.”
Are you
Robert or Susan?

6. “This is really
interesting. I
wonder how it
applies to that
article by Brown I
read last term?”
Susanlearner
Are you
Robert or Susan?

7. Robertpupil
Churches, A. (2008); Krathwohl, D.R. (2002)
Susanlearner
Are you
Robert or Susan?

8. Robertpupil
Prof Bailey, Queen Mary
“The most important change in exams… is
that… A mathematics A-level… is more like
using a sat-nav system than reading a map.
If you read a map to get from A to B, you
remember the route and learn about other
things on the way. If you use a sat-nav, you
do neither of those things.
The questions… are heavily structured in
this way and the result is that students will
retain very little knowledge and develop
very little understanding.”
Seligren, K. (2009) A-Levels 'Too Much Like Sat-Nav', [online] BBC. Available from: http://
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8103274.stm (Accessed June 17, 2009).
Are you
Robert or Susan?

9. World of Warcraft

10. How Is World of
Warcraft Like
Higher Education?
2005: WoW Demographics
12-19
16.30%
20-
83.70%
Lenhart, A. et al. (2008) Teens, Video Games, and Civics, Pew Internet & American Yee, N. (2008) The Daedulus Project, [online]. Available from:
Life Project. Available from: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Teens- http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/docs/shared-data.php
Video-Games-and-Civics.aspx (Accessed June 17, 2009). (Accessed June 18, 2009).

11. Communities
of Practice
“…are groups of
people who share a
concern or a passion
for something they
do and learn how to
do it better as they
interact regularly.”
Wenger (c2007)
Wenger, E. (2007) Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction,
Wenger, E. (2008) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning,
[online] web page. Available from: http://www.ewenger.com/
and Identity, New York. USA, Cambridge University Press, p. 73.
theory/index.htm (Accessed June 18, 2009).

12. Similar to Communities
Warcraft? of Practice
• Membership “…are groups of
• Cohesion Basis people who share a
concern or a passion
• Duration for something they
!"#
do and learn how to
$%%&'()*
do it better as they
./0*0,/1, 4+/*(&5, 89:0*;, <*,-%;*,
interact regularly.”
!+*,-(* 2'3( 6*7&/( 8:90';*:0 =**>*:0
Wenger (c2007)
4&(@ A*:?&%%&/( 8/'% 4+/*(&5 2':@,B&(0
!*'?0
Wenger, E. (2007) Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction,
[online] web page. Available from: http://www.ewenger.com/
theory/index.htm (Accessed June 18, 2009).

13. Similar to Communities
E-Learning? of Practice
• Study Groups “…are groups of
• Social Cafés people who share a
concern or a passion
• Facebook Groups for something they
do and learn how to
do it better as they
interact regularly.”
Wenger (c2007)
Wenger, E. (2007) Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction,
[online] web page. Available from: http://www.ewenger.com/
theory/index.htm (Accessed June 18, 2009).

14. Similar to Communities
E-Learning? of Practice
• Study Groups “…are groups of
• Social Cafés people who share a
concern or a passion
• Facebook Groups for something they
do and learn how to
do it better as they
interact regularly.”
Wenger (c2007)
Conner, M. (2009) Introducing Informal Learning, Wenger, E. (2007) Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction,
[online]. Available from: http://marciaconner.com/ [online] web page. Available from: http://www.ewenger.com/
intros/informal.html (Accessed June 11, 2009). theory/index.htm (Accessed June 18, 2009).

15. Social
Knowing
“Our understanding
of content is
socially constructed
through
conversations about
that content…”
Brown, J.S. & Adler, R.P. (2008) ‘Minds on Fire: Open Education, the
Long Tail, and Learning 2.0’ Educause Review, 43 (1), [online]
Available from: http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE
+Review/MindsonFireOpenEducationt/45823 (Accessed August 22,
2008).

16. 8 Lessons to learn from
WoW
1.Reduce barriers
2.Provide rich metrics
3.Raise the bar
4.Account & use intrinsic
motivations
5.Provide opportunities to
share
6.Create opportunities for
self-organization
7.Encourage Feedback
8.Reward new dispositions
Hagel, J. & Brown, J.S. (2009) ‘How World of Warcraft Promotes Innovation’ Business Week
Online, January 14 [online] Available from: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/
content/jan2009/id20090114_362962.htm (Accessed January 19, 2009).

17. How Does It All
Fit Together?
1.How is the “Robert and
Susan” metaphor applicable?
2.How does the social
structure resemble a
community of practice?
3.What encourages game
players to persist?

18. How Does It All
Fit Together?
Motivation is the Key.
extrinsic
intrinsic

19. Where Next?
• Data collection:
social knowledge
construction &
Motivation.
• Rewards undermine
intrinsic
motivation? (Deci et
al., 2001)
• Finding Roberts
and susans. Elsheindra (me)
• Types of studies?

20. Thanks To
The One, The Roses of Judith Good, Blay
Dawn, & the Whitby, & Graham
Honourbound Alliance mcCallister at Sussex
on EU-Thunderhorn. (thesis committee).
@lizit, @MaddyLou, Basil (AKA Mr. IBM)
@RobB, & @Misetak on for everything.
Plurk.

21. References
Biggs, J. & Tang, C. (2007) ‘Chapter 2: Teaching According to How Students Krathwohl, D.R. (2002) ‘A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy: An Overview’ Theory
Learn’, in Teaching for Quality Learning At University, 3rd edition, into Practice, 41 (4), [online] Available from: http://www.informaworld.com/
Maidenhead, UK, Open University Press. pp. 15-30. smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1207/s15430421tip4104_2 (Accessed January
12, 2009).
Biggs, J. & Tang, C. (2007) ‘Chapter 1: The Changing Scene in University
Teaching’, in Teaching for Quality Learning At University, 3rd edition, Lenhart, A. et al. (2008) Teens, Video Games, and Civics, Pew Internet & American
Maidenhead, UK, Open University Press. pp. 1-14. Life Project. Available from: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Teens-
Video-Games-and-Civics.aspx (Accessed June 17, 2009).
Brown, J.S. & Adler, R.P. (2008) ‘Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and
Learning 2.0’ Educause Review, 43 (1), [online] Available from: http:// Seligren, K. (2009) A-Levels 'Too Much Like Sat-Nav', [online] BBC. Available from:
connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/MindsonFireOpenEducationt/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8103274.stm (Accessed June 17, 2009).
45823 (Accessed August 22, 2008).
Wenger, E. (2008) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity, New
Churches, A. (2008) Bloom's Digital Taxonomy, [online] PDF. Available from: York. USA, Cambridge University Press.
http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom's%20Digital%20Taxonomy (Accessed
January 20, 2009). Wenger, E. (2007) Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction, [online] web
page. Available from: http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm (Accessed June
Conner, M. (2009) Introducing Informal Learning, [online]. Available from: http:// 18, 2009).
marciaconner.com/intros/informal.html (Accessed June 11, 2009).
Yee, N. (2004) Player Demographics, [online] The Daedalus Project. Available
Deci, E.L., Koestner, R. & Ryan, R.M. (2001) ‘Extrinsic Rewards and Intrinsic from: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/gateway_demographics.html (Accessed
Motivation in Education: Reconsidered Once Again’, Review of Educational March 9, 2009).
Research, 71 (1), pp:1-27.
Yee, N. (2008) The Daedulus Project, [online]. Available from: http://
Gee, J.P. (2007) What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, www.nickyee.com/daedalus/docs/shared-data.php (Accessed June 18, 2009).
2nd Edition edition, New York, USA, Palgrave Macmillan.
Yee, N. (2005) ‘WoW Basic Demographics’, The Daedalus Project, blog entry
Hagel, J. & Brown, J.S. (2009) ‘How World of Warcraft Promotes Innovation’ posted July 28, 2005. Available from: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/
Business Week Online, January 14 [online] Available from: http:// archives/001365.php (Accessed March 9, 2009).
www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jan2009/id20090114_362962.htm
(Accessed January 19, 2009).