Harrisburg University faculty develop interactive learning game for education conference

Computer games have long been used as teaching tools – just ask anyone with fond childhood memories of playing The Oregon Trail or Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? And they’re not just for kids. Faculty members at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology designed a computer game that debuted at a recent conference for technological educators.

The game, I Love Trees, is designed to teach educators about the ideas behind Powerful Learning Practice, a year-long method of teaching those in education about how technology can enhance teaching and learning. In the game, players take on the role of a newly hired high school principal. Their goal is to fill in branches and leaves on a tree by filling in codes, which they find out by answering questions about Powerful Learning Practice. For example, the answers to some questions can be found in educational leaders’ blogs.

I Love Trees was integrated into the Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference, which took place in Hershey and just wrapped up. Characters in the game had Twitter feeds updated during the event. Petroski hoped for 50 players, but 151 ended up registering. Even though the conference is over, anyone can still play.

Andy Petroski, Harrisburg University’s director of learning technologies, says I Love Trees is an example of his research into alternate reality games, which are interactive and require finding clues. (Its name is a reference to ilovebees, an alternate reality game used to promote the Xbox game Halo 2.) Petroski is exploring the possibility of building extensive games for colleges as a way of teaching skills like teamwork and critical thinking.

Source: Andy Petroski, Harrisburg University
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen