My Foray into Machinima

Image from http://gtmachinimablog.lmc.gatech.edu/?p=291

This summer I had the opportunity to learn about and create my very first Machinima during 3dGameLab's Teachercamp.  Machinima is essentially a form of film making that is often in the form of 'fan art' as it tends to be a production comprised of in game video footage or video that relates to popular characters.  Generally speaking, it consists of video footage accompanied with audio, call outs, etc.  Creating machinima utilizes video capture, sound engineering, and video editing software.

As an educator, I see great value in the use of Machinima for a number of reasons.  My appreciation became very evident as I created my own as it put me in the role of the learner and I was amazed at how much I learned in terms of technology.  This is coming from a techie who is pretty adept when it comes to the use of the associated tools. 

I worked with several classmates and guildmates.  I soon realized the great collaborative possibilities inherent in creating a Machinima.  My main partner in crime was @trishcloud (Cloudesque in WoW).  We had a lot of fun, but definitely worked hard to complete our project.  Trish and I met in WoW and started talking about ideas for collaborating on a project for the Machinima strand of our TeacherCamp.  We immediately realized that we had one thing in common when it comes to WoW.  We both seem to ALWAYS get 'lost in stormwind'.  I am notorious for my bad sense of direction and perhaps Trish has the same affliction.  We quickly realized that a Machinima called "Lost in Stormwind" was definitely our calling.  As we started talking about it in the Guild Chat a number of our Cognitive Dissonance guild mates expressed interest in helping us.  We all met in our favorite in game pub (The Pig and Whistle) and on twitter #lostinstormwind to plan our approach.  The idea evolved to having many of the guildies hanging out in the Pig And Whistle and Trish and I having a difficult time finding them.  The idea is that they would be having a jolly good time and by the time we got there the party would be breaking up as it would take us so long to find the Pig and Whistle.

So, what was involved???

We needed to determine just how we would go about recording the in game footage.  People recommended FRAPS for recording.  This product would probably have worked fine, but I believe the free version is limited to 5 minutes.  We also tried Jing and Camtasia Studio.  I am a  big fan of Screencast-o-matic and wanted to use it.  My first issue was that screencast-o-matic would not record World of WarCraft if it was in full screen mode.  I didn't realize that was the issue, so I figured screencast-o-matic wouldn't work for recording in game footage.  Fortunately, my guildmates were able to explain how I could change the screen settings.  Once I did that, it worked like a charm.  In addition to our recording, we wanted to add music and Trish found a GREAT free song on Partners In Rhyme.  She added the sound to a file in Camtasia Studio and then shared the Camtasia recording with me.  We both took a stab at creating a final product with Camtasia Studio by incorporating call outs and editing the Machinima.  Camtasia Studio is a wonderful product and I would say the best tool for the final editing job.  I was only able to use the trial version as it is not in my budget at the moment. 

Oh, you'd like to see the final productions.... But, of course :)



	
Machinima by @mr_isaacs	Machinima by @trishcloud

Special thanks to @trishcloud, @imagiraven, #3dgamelab, The Cognitive Dissonance Guild, and all the other people who supported us in one way or another during our mis-adventures.

Gamification Continued... 3dGameLab Teacher Camp

Teacher Camp has begun and I am a happy camper!  TeacherCamp takes place within #3dGameLab, a learning management built on gamification principles.  The project was developed by Lisa Dawley (@lisadawley) and Chris Haskell (@haskell).  So, this post will discuss my experience as a student in a gamified learning environment.

3d Game Lab presents students with quests to participate in that lead to experience points (XP), badges, achievements and awards.  As you complete quests, your XP bar increases ultimately leading you to leveling up within the system.  Quest strands are designed in a manner (and the system supports this functionality) where each strand can have prerequisite quests so that students must participate in required quests before 'unlocking' additional quests in the strand.  This helps from a standpoint of not overwhelming the student with a huge list of quests.  Rather, students stay focused based on what quests have been unlocked.  Students do have choice in terms of completing any of the unlocked quests and receiving XP, and other awards based on completion.

What does this mean for the learner?  the teacher?

As a learner, I will say that I find myself looking through and choosing quests that seem 'manageable' and possibly easier to achieve quite often.  You can see how long the quests will take.  Often, I sit down with a finite amount of time available, so I might try to choose a quest that I can finish in one sitting.  This is something to be mindful of as a course designer.  I realize that I will have to scaffold quests in a way that my students won't be discouraged by how long a quest might take.  Depending on your students, this might mean having many small quests that serve as check points along the path to completing a project.  I raise this point as I can see that the gamification components of a course might lead someone to want to just 'complete quests' that can be completed easily and avoid quests that might seem too time consuming.  The fact that I see myself doing that was just a small hint :)

I am learning so much and enjoying the different strands available.  This is a definite plug for differentiated instruction within a gamified learning environment as choice really allows a student to choose a path that is of particular interest, allowing for a variety of learning opportunities.

So far, I am most engaged in the following strands:

Machinima - I hadn't heard of machinima as a term, but I guess I am not a complete stranger to the art form as it encompasses a lot of areas including video production of gameplay videos, walkthroughs, cartoons based on fan fiction, etc.  I have completed a few basic quests, but have not created my own yet.  I think that is one of those longer quests that I'm waiting for the right time to tackle.

Android App Inventor - Oh my!  I've created my first two android apps.  I must be particularly drawn to this quest strand as I have trudged through some of the quests that took quite a bit of time.  I guess creating an app and seeing it function in my phone is intrinsically motivating to me.  I see great application for my students as I teach Video Game Design and could see adding a course in app development or an optional game design project that involves students in creating a mobile game using app inventor.

Feel free to download my apps:

• Paint Pot
• Pet the Kitty

Minecraft - I've been hearing so much about minecraft from my students and then started following discussions related to minecraft in education .  I'm a gamer and wanted to see what all the hype is about.  I have some ideas about how I could integrate minecraft in my classes, so this has been of particular interest.  During camp, I have been able to participate in several in game sessions where I was able to learn from and discuss ideas with Lucas Gillispe (@pcstech) as well as the other participants.  I have begun the quest strand as well and REALLY enjoyed the videos that are the beginning of a documentary on Notch (Minecraft's creator) and Mojang (the company he founded).  One of the other quests had me in the game building and yet another (I haven't completed it yet, but will shortly) has you 'surviving the night'.  All in all, this has been a FUN and engaging learning opportunity and a great overview of Minecraft and how it can be used in the classroom.

Mobile Learning - Liz Kolb, author of the book (and blog), "From Toy to Tool: Cellphones in Learning" is guiding us through a strand on using mobile devices in the classroom.  We have covered polling apps and tools, wiifiti and other tools.  I was able to participate in a live session with Liz which was most helpful as well.

So, I am learning tons and enjoying the sense of 'blissful productivity' (if I could borrow the term from Jane McGonigal) that I feel with each quest completed and each level or achievement gained.  My goal is to start to schedule my time so that I can begin to tackle some of the longer quests as I do notice that I often shy away from them in favor of working on something that I can complete in one sitting.

I'm open to your thoughts on 3d Game Lab, gamification, games in learning, and differentiated instruction.