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Article Information:
Title:
Designing and testing a web-based board game for teaching information literacy skills and concepts
Author(s):
Karen Markey, Fritz Swanson, Andrea Jenkins, Brian J. Jennings, Beth St. Jean, Victor Rosenberg, Xingxing Yao, Robert L. Frost
Journal:
Year:
2008
Volume:
Issue:
Page:
663 - 681
DOI:
10.1108/07378830810920978
Publisher:
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Acknowledgements:
The authors thank the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and Trustee David H. Stam who provided the support that enabled them to develop the Defense of Hidgeon game, sponsor and evaluate game play, and give monetary awards to game winners.
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Abstract:
Purpose – This paper seeks to focus on the design and testing of a web-based online board game for teaching undergraduate students information literacy skills and concepts.
Design/methodology/approach – Project team members with expertise in game play, creative writing, programming, library research, graphic design and information seeking developed a web-based board game in which students used digital library resources to answer substantive questions on a scholarly topic. The project team hosted game play in a class of 75 undergraduate students. The instructor offered an extra-credit incentive to boost participation resulting in 49 students on 13 teams playing the game. Post-game focus group interviews revealed problematic features and redesign priorities.
Findings – A total of six teams were successful meeting the criteria for the instructor's grade incentive achieving a 53.1 percent accuracy rate on their answers to substantive questions about the black death; 35.7 percent was the accuracy rate for the seven unsuccessful teams. Discussed in detail are needed improvements to problematic game features such as offline tasks, feedback, challenge functionality, and the game's black death theme.
Originality/value – Information literacy games test what players already know. Because this project's successful teams answered substantive questions about the black death at accuracy rates 20 points higher than the estimated probability of guessing, students did the research during game play which demonstrates that games have merit for teaching students information literacy skills and concepts.
Keywords:
Design and development,
Information literacy,
Library instruction,
Reference services,
Video games
Article Type:
Research paper
References:
Article URL:
www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/07378830810920978