Co-opting Games and Social
Media for Education*
Stephanie E. August, Ph.D.
Allison Neyer Matthew J. Shields James Vales
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
saugust@lmu.edu
Michele Hammers, Ph.D.
Department of Communication Studies
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
* This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No.
093510 and 0942454. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this
material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science
Foundation (NSF).
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The Challenges
• The NSF Cyberlearning initiative calls for engineering
educators to respond to the compelling need for improved
competitiveness in engineering-related fields
• The challenge: to attract
– multi-talented individuals
– who are interested in the study and practice of
engineering
– in socially-aware and collaborative contexts
2
Fun and Games
• The Virtual Engineering Sciences Learning Lab (VESLL)
and the Teaching Artificial Intelligence as a Lab Science
(TAILS) project
– introduce a social element to the learning experience
– incorporate activities that provide the satisfaction of
accomplishment we often associate with game playing
– provide structured labs with exercises that can be
completed before students leave the classroom to build
a sense of accomplishment and confidence
3
VESLL
VESLL Overview
• Interactive learning environment
• Located on an “island” in Second Life
• Built around a functional laboratory designed to introduce
students to engineering concepts through visualization and
collaborative problem solving
• Assessment activities integrated into the in-world experience
• Imagine: a virtual version of a science museum
• e.g., Exploratorium (San Francisco) or Pacific Science
Center (Seattle)
• the opportunity to delve into engineering concepts and
maintain a sense of excitement about the experience
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5
Standard HexWindow
Returns current displayed
value in base 10 in chat
Base of
displayed
number
Toggles carry for tile
increments/decrements
6
Standard HexWindow
Displays current base in
floating text
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When clicked, brings up
dialog to offer choice of
bases to switch between
Welcome to the Crossword Puzzle
Tutorial Guide!
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Crossword puzzle clues: Across
Across
1) FAF5B9698 - 2789BCA = ?
2) FACAEC - E = ?
3) D7B - CCC = ?
4) 10C24 - FF77 = ?
5) ACE + 7 + F418 = ?
6) C0D0 + E = ?
7) BAAC + 32 = ?
(hex)
(hex)
(hex with a leading zero)
(hex)
(hex)
(hex)
(hex)
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Crossword puzzle clues: Down
Down
1) FB2 - 5 = ?
2) FAEE - 20 = ?
3) AD + 52 = ?
4) BC + E = ?
5) FA31 + AD = ?
6) 5F7 + 8009 + ED = ?
7) 1F - 10 = ?
8) C14 - 7 = ?
9) 90E0 + 1C0D = ?
(hex)
(hex)
(hex with a leading zero)
(hex)
(hex)
(hex)
(hex with a leading zero)
(hex)
(hex)
10
Crossword Puzzle Solution
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AND, OR, XOR Logic Gates
Inverter and Circuit Components
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Flip Flop Display
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S/HE Café
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Avatars
Famous Scientists and Engineers
Scientist/Engineer
1. Grace Hopper
2. Elijah McCoy
3. Alexander Graham Bell
4. Henry Bessemer
5. Barbara McClintock
6. Marie Curie
7. Jack Kilby
8. Yuan Cheng Fung
9. Hertha Ayrton
10.Martin Cooper
Engineer
Gracehopper Jules
Elijahmccoy Bizet
Alexanderbell Button
Henrybessemer Artful
Barbaramcclintock Adagio
Mariecurie Curteau
Jackkilby Ixtar
Yuanfung Bakerly
Ayrtonherth Aubin
Martincooper Copperfield
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Preliminary Workshop Results
• 12 students, Intro to Computer Science (for non-majors)
• Characteristics:
– Use email, PowerPoint, Blackboard
– but not voice/video chat, teleconferencing,
photosharing sites, immersive platforms; don’t do web
page development
• Feedback:
– Related to course content
– Helped student understand course content
– Made course material more interesting
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TAILS
TAILS
Teaching Artificial Intelligence
as a Lab Science
Tell a story about each AI Algorithm
• To be fully literate, students must be able to view software
systems at many levels of abstraction
(Rasala, 1997; Crews, 1998; Lethbridge, 2000; Pour, 2000)
• Present algorithms in the context of
– software engineering best practices
– other computer science coursework
– guided exercises that can be completing during class
period
– the software “store”
• For CS undergrads and Systems Engineering MS students
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Components of TAILS Lab Experiments
1. The Idea: Explain what the program segment does without
describing how it is implemented.
2. Applications: Real world applications
3. Sample Input/Process/Output: annotated trace of the
program in execution (con-ops, black-box testing)
4. Implementation-independent Design Description:
functional perspective, top-down manner
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Components of TAILS Lab Experiments
5. Implementation-specific “HINT” File(s): Partial
implementation with HINTs that guide the user in
implementing the remainder of the code
6. Test Suite and Driver(s): One driver for each
implementation-specific HINT file with relevant data in
the test suite
7. Experiments: Implementation-independent set of test
data and expected results, plus ideas for enhancements
and extensions
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Components of TAILS Lab Experiments
8. Source Code: The ending of the tale -- solutions to the
exercise in the HINT files, more extensive
implementations readily available from other sources.
9. Complexity Analysis: Complements the work done in a data
structures or algorithms class; reveals the different ways
to measure complexity
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9-Men’s Morris: Minimax Search
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TAILS Learning Outcomes: Skills
Category Outcome
Objective
Assessment
Skills
Student will
demonstrate
collaboration and
teamwork skills
Students will work in pairs to
complete the lab activities, then:
• Complete a teamwork attitude
questionnaire
• Write a team process log to
record perceptions about
collaboration
Students will
demonstrate
the ability to
solve problems
collaboratively
TAILS Learning Outcomes: Concepts
Category Outcome
Objective
Assessment
Concepts Students will
demonstrate
knowledge of
artificial
intelligence
concepts
Students will
demonstrate recall
and general
understanding of
AI concepts
• Answer exam questions
• Complete pre- and post-tests
• Explain and write software code
• Draw a concept map (Angelo
and Cross 1993, pp.197-202)
Students will
demonstrate a
deep
understanding of
course concepts
• Contrast multiple concepts
Based on (Angelo and Cross
1993, p.168)
• Define and give one example of
a course concept (Angelo and
Cross 1993, p.38)
Students will
demonstrate
proficiency in
software
engineering
practices at
backgroundappropriate
(grade- and majorappropriate) level
• Specify requirements for a
software program
• Complete a domain-level design
for a software program
• Design an algorithm at an
implementation-specific level
• Reverse engineer software for
an algorithm
Students will
demonstrate
knowledge of
software
engineering
practices
TAILS Learning Outcomes: Communication
Category Outcome
Objective
Assessment
Communi Students will be
cation
able to
describe
course
concepts at
multiple levels
of abstraction
Students will be
able to describe
course concepts
clearly and without
technical jargon
•Write an elevator statement
geared toward the student's
grandmother to describe the
concept (Angelo and Cross 1993,
pp.183-187)
Students will be
able to describe
course concepts
for a classmate or
technical manager
•Write an algorithm in
pseudocode to describe the
concept for a technical manager
TAILS Learning Outcomes:
Application and Research
Category Outcome
Applicatio Students will be
n
able to identify
applications of
AI concepts
Objective
Research Students will
demonstrate
curiosity about
course material
Students will
demonstrate the
ability to extend
course concepts
Assessment
Students will be
•Complete application cards
able to identify real (Angelo and Cross 1993, pp.236world applications 239)
for AI concepts
beyond those
provided in course
materials
•Describe one new experiment
that can be used in conjunction
with each algorithm studied;
explain the objective of the
experiment and why this is a
worthwhile objective
•Describe one enhancement to
the algorithm studied and explain
why the enhancement is
worthwhile
Future Work
• VESLL
– Augment environment (e.g. activities, biographies,
salary info)
– Add adventure-based collaborative problem-solving
– Develop automated docents to guide visitors
– Provide a more reactive/reflexive environment
• TAILS
– Plans to complete two “modules” for each of the
next 3 years
– Merge with VESLL?
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Coming back to AI and Fun...
• VESLL and TAILS
– Provide socially oriented activities (games requiring
teamwork and collaboration)
– Facilitate the transformation between the macro- and
micro-level views of algorithms
• Practical issue - platform migration
– Understand problem well enough to design at domain
level, then migrate to specific platforms
– Provide a sustainable and sustained development
environment
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Seeking VESLL Workshop Participants
• Student workshop (10 students)
– 10 August 2010
– Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
– Stipend $ paid!
• Student and faculty workshop (10 students + 3 faculty)
– Summer 2011
– Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
– Stipends for students $ and faculty $$$$!
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References
Angelo, Thomas A. and Cross, K. Patricia. Classroom Assessment Techniques; A Handbook
for College Teachers. 2nd edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.
August, Stephanie E.
CCLI: Enhancing Expertise, Sociability and Literacy through Teaching Artificial
Intelligence as a Lab Science. NSF Grant no.0942454, 2010
August, Stephanie E. and Hammers, Michele L.
IEECI: Encouraging Diversity in Engineering through a Virtual Engineering Sciences
Learning Lab. NSF Proposal no.0935100, 2009
Crews, Thad R. Emphasizing design in the computer science curriculum. Proceedings, 1998
Conference Frontiers in Education Conference, Tempe AZ, 1998. http://fieconference.org/fie98/papers/crews.pdf (last accessed 21 May 2009).
Lethbridge, Timothy C. What knowledge is important to a software professional?
Computer, May 2000, 44-50.
Pour, Gilda; Griss, Martin L.; and Lutz, Michael. The push to make software engineering
respectable. Computer, May 2000, 35-43.
Rasala, R. Design issues in computer science education. SIGCSE Bulletin, 25:4, December
1997, 4-7.
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Thank you!
Stephanie E. August
saugust@lmu.edu
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Number System Exercises
• To complete the conversion, try using the panels to count
up/down in binary or hexadecimal
• Exercises (complete what you can in the allotted time)
• convert decimal 10 to binary
• convert decimal 10 to hexadecimal
• convert binary 1011 to decimal
• convert binary 1011 to hexadecimal
• convert hexadecimal C to decimal
• add 5 (binary 101) to 7 (binary 111)
• subtract 4 (hex 4) from hexadecimal 1E21
• Jot your answers down on the “Problems” workshop
before looking up/retrieving the answers.
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