Rapid Creation of Innovative
Online Role Play
Two Case Studies
Albert Ip - Fablusi P/L
Melbourne, Australia
Mary Noggle - Caldwell Community College
North Carolina, USA
What is Role Play?
a dynamic artificial environment
in which human 'agents' interact by
playing roles with semi-defined
characteristics, objectives and relations
(social rules) to one another and within a
specified scenario (set of conditions).
Why Role Play?
• Live through the experience
•
•
•
•
•
•
Fun, motivation
Interaction, collaboration
Problem-solving constructivist approach
Dynamic goal-based learning
Associative
Non-threatening environment
Quiz Time
Case One: The Scarlet Letter
William Bradford
Thomas Morton
John Winthrop
Roger Williams
week
1
Simulation
begins
Edward Taylor
Michael Wigglesworth
Cotton Mather
Jonathan Edwards
Bay Psalm Book
The New England Primer
The Scarlet Letter
Ann Bradstreet
2
3
4
5
Letters
Letters from Pearl and John Hathorne
Chat
Task: Write Profile
If thou hast inquiries
towards my nature, I
plead with you not to
place blame against
the scarlet bosom of
my mother, but
rather to stare into
mine eyes to gaze
into a world beyond
your own “pure”
ideals.
The literature
studied in class
proved very useful
in characterization
and
understanding the
motives of Puritan
America.
Collaboration
Working with a partner was helpful…[It] was good to
have somebody to say, "hey,
what do you
think," instead of having all this pressure of
developing this character on your own.
Tiffany
Collaboration
…we made a specific meeting time nightly on AIM and
tried to share
the responsibility more by
assigning a particular person to posts for the night. For
the most part, no one posted without having the posts
proofed by at least one other group member.
Amanda
Collaboration
I enjoyed working with another person on the role of
John Wilson. We were able to talk and plan what
we would do, and what we would say. And, my team
member was so proficient in the language
and
voice that it really helped inspire me.
Jordan
Evaluation
I felt as though I
was living in Boston
in part one of the simulation, walking the streets
with the Wilsons, the Hathornes, and Mistress Hibbins.
Amanda
Evaluation
• This was definitely a very different experience for me!
I have learned more about one book and time
period than I ever have in any of my English classes.
Toni
• I really do thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this. I
learned a lot from this simulation and realize that I probably did learn
more from this than I would have from
writing a paper.
Jennifer
Evaluation
When this simulation started, everyone was shy, and the
characters were a bit foggy, but, after a
while, when everyone got the hang of it and opened up,
the characters
became REAL!...
Evaluation
I wasn't just reading the story, I
was the
story and I could change the plot however I wanted
to.
Stephanie
Quiz Time
Case Two: The Holocaust
Setting and iSpaces
1. Prewar (1933-1939)
Katowice, Poland, and
Berlin, Germany
2. Beginning of the war
(1939-1941)
3. Train to Auschwitz
(Sept 26, 1942)
4. First day at Auschwitz
(Sept 27, 1942)
5. Spring in Auschwitz
(1943)
6. Winter in Auschwitz
(1944)
7. Liberation (1945+)
Holocaust Sim Characters
German Family
Polish Family
•
•
•
•
Adrianna Dankowski-Sister
Anka Dankowski-Grandmother
Marek Dankowski-Brother
Pawel Dankowski-Brother
• Julius Streicher-Newsman
• Franz Streicher-Doctor
• Elsa Streicher-Wife, Artist
Neighbors
Jewish Family
•
•
•
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•
Yosef Cohen-Father, Brushmaker
Rachel Cohen-Mother
Jacob Cohen-Brother
Miriam Cohen-Sister
Renana Yadinovik-Aunt
•
•
•
•
Andriy Petrenko- Ukrainian Guard
Bruns Shulmann-German Shopkeeper
Jerzy Levine-Jewish Butcher
Robert Johnson-British Salesman
Letters
Changing Stationery
Changing Role
Elsa and
Bruns at
the shop
Elsa and Franz at the Streicher Home
Letter from a student
As a military reservist, I have been waiting 5 years for my
call up to the Middle East and have seriously wrestled
with my anger towards Moslems over 9-11,etc; I used to
think that any of them who got hurt by U.S. forces mostly
deserved it and many of my shipmates think "the only
good Moslem is a dead Moslem." I have been immersed
in that environment and it is only through your
class that I have come to realize that that
attitude is a mistake, part of our American "empire"
mindset. On thinking it over, my mind and eyes are
much more open to what's really going on in the
Middle East. It is because of your class that I am
actually trying to separate the guilty from the
innocent…
Lissa
Quiz Time
Indications of Success
quality and quantity
• Understanding of course material evident in
transcript
• Immersed in imagination apparent in quality of
postings (value-add, in character)
• Engagement with peers observed through
behavior and continuity of role
The Scarlet
Letter
The
Holocaust
• Collaboration with 2-3
students per role
• Some students
worked in isolation of
1 student per role
• 10 characters
• 16 characters
• Established developed
characters
• Newly developed
characters
• Encouragement from
moderator
• Little contact with
moderator
The Scarlet
Letter
• Static location
The
Holocaust
• Dynamic location with
changing scenes
• 2 episodes in a 5
week period
• 7 episodes in a 5
week period
• Inherently
communicative
setting/atmosphere
(communal)
• Inherently
non-communicative
with limited access
to discussion
Holocaust Improvement
• more background for role to encourage
deeper character building
• More news feeds
• diary during concentration camp
• Eliminate some characters
• Real characters or representations of real
people
• Increase the time allocated for simulation
Quiz Time
Suggested Use of Role Play
?
Quiz Time
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