I am an art teacher on special assignment for E4TN, Tennessee’s online and blended learning program for secondary students. A few months ago, someone from the E4TN curriculum department emailed the link to a TEDx video about game-layers. Since watching that video, I have been paying particular attention to the games integrated into our daily lives and multimedia. The thought of a Game Layer On Top of the World motivated me to research Game Design and it’s intersection with Instructional Design. All this ties back to my interests in creativity and quality teaching (yes I am still an artist and teacher at heart).
Richard Van Eck, Ph.D
While reading about this IDT leader, I had hoped to create a game to present information about Van Eck. After thinking about it, I realized that a game format may not be the best "presentation" tool - it is better suited to developing knowledge and skills in situated contexts and problem solving. Hence, I created a cartoon :) Enjoy!
Richard Van Eck is Associate Professor and Graduate Director of the Instructional Design & Technology program at the University of North Dakota. Van Eck completed a Ph.D in Instructional Design and Development from the University of Alabama and subsequently taught Instructional Design and Technology for five years at the University of Memphis.
While serving as an IDT faculty member at the U of M, Dr. Van Eck was also a member of the Institute for Intelligent Systems and the committee chair for the Center for Multimedia Arts in the FedEx Institute of Technology. He has published at length in the area of digital game-based learning (DGBL) and has numerous keynote and speaking engagements to his vita. In 2006 and 2007, Van Eck called for Institutional Support for faculty development and research in the area of DGBL and challenged instructional design scholars to focus on three key areas DGBL study: 1) Generating and Validating DGBL Theories and Models, 2) Generating Guidelines for Practice, and 3) Generating a Body of high-quality DGBL (Van Eck, 2007). As a result of Van Eck’s challenge and corresponding ten critical tasks, the body of research in DGBL has grown. Current research is focusing not just on how games work, but also how different types of games work. In addition, researchers are investigating questions about culture, age, gender, preferences, interaction, etc. in relation to DGBL.
Van Eck is a self described gamer, his first being Cave/Adventure in 1976. Van Eck also suggests that games are preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s workplace (Van Eck, ELI Spring, 2007). In my estimation, Van Eck is a significant figure in the fields of education, Instructional Design, and Digital Game-Based Learning. His research and theories are paving the way for the collaboration of instructional designers and game designers, and thereby perhaps changing the face of future instruction.
While serving as an IDT faculty member at the U of M, Dr. Van Eck was also a member of the Institute for Intelligent Systems and the committee chair for the Center for Multimedia Arts in the FedEx Institute of Technology. He has published at length in the area of digital game-based learning (DGBL) and has numerous keynote and speaking engagements to his vita. In 2006 and 2007, Van Eck called for Institutional Support for faculty development and research in the area of DGBL and challenged instructional design scholars to focus on three key areas DGBL study: 1) Generating and Validating DGBL Theories and Models, 2) Generating Guidelines for Practice, and 3) Generating a Body of high-quality DGBL (Van Eck, 2007). As a result of Van Eck’s challenge and corresponding ten critical tasks, the body of research in DGBL has grown. Current research is focusing not just on how games work, but also how different types of games work. In addition, researchers are investigating questions about culture, age, gender, preferences, interaction, etc. in relation to DGBL.
Van Eck is a self described gamer, his first being Cave/Adventure in 1976. Van Eck also suggests that games are preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s workplace (Van Eck, ELI Spring, 2007). In my estimation, Van Eck is a significant figure in the fields of education, Instructional Design, and Digital Game-Based Learning. His research and theories are paving the way for the collaboration of instructional designers and game designers, and thereby perhaps changing the face of future instruction.
Van Eck Podcast
To learn more, listen to Dr. Van Eck's 2007 presentation at EduCause: Generation G and the 21st Century
References
Click here to download a PDF version of this blog and resources.
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