Playing the Poverty Simulation Game: A Course in Analysis and Revision in advance

There is a general need to facilitate citizens’ understanding of the global sustainability problem with the dual purpose of raising their awareness of the seriousness of the problem and helping them get closer to understanding the complexity of the solutions. Here, the design and application of the participatory simulation game Global Sustainability Crossroads is described, based on a global state-of-the-art energy–economy–environment model, which creates a virtual scenario where the participants are confronted with the design of climate mitigation strategies as well as the social, economic, and environmental consequences of decisions. The novelty of the game rests on the global scope and the representation of the drivers of anthropogenic emissions within the MEDEAS-World model, combined with a participatory simulation group dynamic flexible enough to be adapted to a diversity of contexts and participants. The performance of 13 game workshops with ~420 players has shown it has a significant pedagogical potential: the game is able to generate discussions on crucial topics which are usually outside the public realm such as the relationship between economic growth and sustainability, the role of technology, how human desires are limited by biophysical constraints or the possibility of climate tipping points.

Download Full-text

Does Scientific Evaluation Matter? Improving Digital Simulation Games by Design-Based Research

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci9090155 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 155 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sven Ivens ◽

Monika Oberle

Keyword(s):

Civic Education ◽

Game Design ◽

Digital Simulation ◽

Educational Interventions ◽

Simulation Game ◽

Research Approach ◽

Scientific Evaluation ◽

Simulation Games ◽

Design Based Research ◽

Term Evaluation

Grounded in a design-based research approach, the aim of this article is to determine whether scientific evaluations help to (a) identify and fix problems in educational interventions and (b) eventually foster a more effective and positive evaluated intervention. Therefore, data from a longer-term evaluation of short digital simulation games about the European Parliament for civic education in schools were used. The data included three cycles of interventions with pre- and post-evaluations starting with the first prototype in 2015/2016 (n = 209), the second cycle in 2017/18 (n = 97), and the last one in 2019/20 (n = 222). After each evaluation, major problems and critiques regarding the simulation game were discussed with the developers, and changes were implemented in the game design. The four most important problems, the processes by which they were improved and the reactions of the participants in the following evaluations are pointed out in the article. A comparison of the last and first evaluation cycle showed an overall improvement of the simulation game regarding its effectiveness in transferring EU knowledge and the participants’ general satisfaction with the simulation game. This study underlines the value of the design-based research approach for developing educational interventions and can be useful for further work on civic education measures and the implementation of digital simulation games.

Download Full-text

Rapid Development of a COVID-19 Assessment and PPE Virtual Simulation Game

Clinical Simulation in Nursing ◽

10.1016/j.ecns.2021.03.002 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jane Tyerman ◽

Marian Luctkar-Flude ◽

Cynthia Baker

Keyword(s):

Rapid Development ◽

Virtual Simulation ◽

Simulation Game

Download Full-text

Spationomy Simulation Game—Playful Learning in Spatial Economy Higher Education

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information ◽

10.3390/ijgi10020074 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 74

Author(s):

Vít Pászto ◽

Jiří Pánek ◽

René Glas ◽

Jasper van Vught

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Production ◽

Interdisciplinary Collaboration ◽

Simulation Game ◽

Cultural Backgrounds ◽

Real World Data ◽

Simulation Games ◽

Future Directions ◽

Interdisciplinary Field ◽

Interdisciplinary Knowledge ◽

Interdisciplinary Problems

Simulation games, as a method of playful learning, have been used for more than 70 years in various disciplines with the economy as a leading application field. Their development has been tied with advances in computer science, and nowadays, hundreds of simulation games exist. However, simulation games are not just useful for encouraging disciplinary knowledge production; they also promise to be effective tools for interdisciplinary collaboration. To further explore these promises, we report on the design and playing of a simulation game on the boundary of geoinformatics and business and economics; an interdisciplinary field we have termed Spationomy. Within this game, students from different disciplinary (and cultural) backgrounds applied their knowledge and skills to tackle interdisciplinary problems. In this paper, we also analyze students’ feedback on the game to complement this aspect. The main goal is to discuss the design process that went into creating the game as well as experiences from play sessions in relation to this increase of interdisciplinary knowledge among students. In the end, we present a new gaming concept based on real-world data that can be played in other interdisciplinary situations. Here, students´ feedback on individual features of the game helped to identify future directions in the development of our simulation game.

Download Full-text