USING A PANORAMICA ADVENTURE GAME AND MULTIMEDIA AS

LEARNING TOOLS IN DEAF EDUCATION

A Dissertation

Presented to

The Faculty of the College of Graduate Studies Lamar University

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Education

in

Deaf Studies/Deaf Education

by

Scott Whitney

May 2002

USING A PANORAMIC ADVENTURE GAME AND MULTIMEDIA AS LEARNING

TOOLS IN DEAF EDUCATION

SCOTT WHITNEY

Approved:

_________________________Gabriel A. Martin

Supervising Professor

_________________________Jean F. Andrews

Committee Member

_________________________

Mary Anne GentryCommittee Member

_________________________Paula Nichols

Committee Member

_________________________James K. Esser

Committee Member_________________________Gabriel A. MartinChair, Dept. CommunicationDisorders and Deaf Education

_________________________Russ A. SchultzDean, College of Fine ArtsAnd Communication

_________________________

Jerry BradleyAssociate Vice President for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies

2002 Scott Whitney

No part of this work can be reproduced without permission except as indicated by the

“Fair Use” clause of the copyright law. Passages, images, or ideas taken from this work

must be properly credited in any written or published materials.

Abstract

The qualitative study examined the development and use of a computer-based

adventure game developed specifically for deaf students. The investigator created and

developed a computer-based adventure as well as a multimedia dictionary. Using action

research methods. Ten high school students in one regional day school program for the deaf

located in Texas were observed and tested as they used the computer adventure game and

traditional multimedia presentation. Two of the ten students provided only partial testing

information that was used in field note data. Students were administered a pre and posttest

to measure the acquisition of both facts and vocabulary. Opinions about the presentations

were also collected with two questionnaires. The results were as follows: 1) the adventure

game treatment appeared beneficial to most, but not all students as evidenced by gains in

vocabulary following the posttest treatments; 2) the multimedia treatment appeared to

provide vocabulary acquisition gains; 3) neither presentation promoted facts acquisition; 4)

students liked the adventure game treatment as well as the multimedia presentation. The

findings are presented to provide information for software designers for deaf students.

Dedication

To

God the Father of Jesus Christ and Creator of all things.

May He find some good use for my work. This dissertation came together in a

miraculous way.

iii

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the dedication and support of his committee, Drs. Gabriel

A. Martin, Jean Andrews, Maryanne Gentry, James Esser, and Paula Nichols. Special

thanks to the committee chair, Dr. Gabriel Martin, for taking over in a time of minor

crisis and providing stability as well as sound advice for keeping the research on track.

For their ASL expertise and video interpretation, I am deeply indebted to Linda

Lugo and Adonia Smith. For moral support within the faculty, I couldn’t name a better

person than Zanthia Smith. Craig Pember provided valuable technical expertise as well

as friendship.

To my family, thanks for putting up with the stressful times and the sacrifices we

had to make to get me through the dissertation.

Thanks to the secretarial staff who provided moral support as well as untold trips to

unlock my office when I lost my key. The administrative assistants also were

instrumental in choosing the best artwork where I came to a crossroads. I also appreciate

all the paperwork they completed on my behalf. I hope to plant a few trees to make up

for it.

To my mother and father, I cannot tell you how much I depended on your lessons

of hard work and quality. Thanks also for having faith in me.

This dissertation was funded by a Department of Education Student Initiated

Research grant (award number H324B980063).

iv

Table of Contents

List of Tables......................................................................................................................ix

List of Figures......................................................................................................................x

Introduction..........................................................................................................................1

The Problem.....................................................................................................................1Background of the Problem..............................................................................................2

Reading Achievement & Deaf Education.....................................................................3Factors Contributing to Reading Levels.......................................................................4

Inadequate reading materials....................................................................................4Lack of language models..........................................................................................4

Potential of Deaf Students................................................................................................6Purpose of the Study.........................................................................................................7Research Questions..........................................................................................................7Added Benefits of the Study.............................................................................................9Definitions........................................................................................................................9Limitations.....................................................................................................................12

Literature Review...............................................................................................................14

The Call for Educational Reform....................................................................................14Reform in Deaf Education..............................................................................................17Effectiveness of CAI with Deaf Learners.......................................................................17Recent Research on CAI with Deaf Children.................................................................20

Multimedia with Deaf Adults.....................................................................................20Multimedia with Deaf Children..................................................................................22An Effective Use of Multimedia with Deaf Children.................................................23Summary of Multimedia with Deaf Learners.............................................................25

Effectiveness of Computers as Teaching Tools with Hearing Students..........................25CAI and Applications for Higher Order Thinking Skills............................................25Games as Teaching Tools...........................................................................................27

Meta-analysis: games and hearing students............................................................27Sparse game research in deaf education.................................................................28Motivation..............................................................................................................29

Theoretical Foundation...................................................................................................31Cognitive Theories and Computers............................................................................31Description of the Theories........................................................................................32

Computer supported intentional learning environments.........................................32Situated Cognition..................................................................................................33Constructivist Theory.............................................................................................33Cognitive Apprenticeship.......................................................................................34

v

Cognitive Flexibility...............................................................................................34Case-Based Learning..............................................................................................35Anchored Instruction..............................................................................................35

Adventure Games as Anchored Instruction Components...........................................36An Example of Anchored Instruction Studies............................................................38

Experimental Design Considerations: Action Research..................................................40Action Research Described........................................................................................40Credibility and Validity of Action Research...............................................................43

Method...............................................................................................................................45

Outline of the Study.......................................................................................................45Experimental Design – Action Research........................................................................48Development of the Treatments......................................................................................49

Game Development....................................................................................................503d modeling............................................................................................................51Character animation...............................................................................................52Videography...........................................................................................................53Programming..........................................................................................................54Graphical user interface..........................................................................................54Panoramic navigation.............................................................................................55Tracking user responses.........................................................................................56

Multimedia Dictionary Development.........................................................................57Background Data Collection..........................................................................................58Experimental Phase........................................................................................................59

Results................................................................................................................................61

Overview of Results.......................................................................................................61Background Data............................................................................................................61

Teacher Interviews.....................................................................................................61Computer Use.............................................................................................................64

Research Question #1: Was the Game or Multimedia Treatment Successful in Teaching Students Vocabulary, Recognition of Faces and the Acquisition of Facts?....................71Acquisition of Facts, Vocabulary, and Face Identification.............................................71

General Vocabulary Acquisition................................................................................71Medical Scene Vocabulary Acquisition......................................................................76

Medical scene field notes and interpretation...........................................................79Blacksmith Scene Vocabulary Acquisition.................................................................81

Blacksmith scene field notes and interpretation......................................................83Blacksmith scene multimedia notes and interpretation...........................................84

Texaco Scene Vocabulary Acquisition.......................................................................85Oil and Gas Company Scene Facts Acquisition.........................................................90Face Recognition........................................................................................................98

Research Question #2: To What Degree was Each Treatment Motivating?....................98vi

Motivation Impact on Game Posttest Scores..............................................................98Motivation Impact on Multimedia Posttest Scores...................................................100

Discussion and Conclusion...............................................................................................102

Overview of the Study..................................................................................................102Conclusions..................................................................................................................103

Experimental Design Modifications.........................................................................103Controlling student progress.................................................................................104Staggered treatments............................................................................................104Larger sample size................................................................................................104Consistency in participation and delivery.............................................................105Programming errors..............................................................................................105Removing editorial errors.....................................................................................105Delayed posttest...................................................................................................106Increasing the number of items.............................................................................106

Game Design Improvements....................................................................................106Exotic vocabulary.................................................................................................106Reading levels......................................................................................................106Removing guess and memorize strategies............................................................107Decreasing similarities.........................................................................................107Increasing distinctive features..............................................................................108Balancing distractors............................................................................................108Measuring impact on higher levels of learning.....................................................109

Research Question #3: Does the data indicate continued efforts in the direction of developing adventure games as educational tools? What modifications on the design would be necessary to better answer this question?......................................................109Summary......................................................................................................................111

References........................................................................................................................112

Appendices.......................................................................................................................120

A...................................................................................................................................120B...................................................................................................................................121C...................................................................................................................................126D...................................................................................................................................127E...................................................................................................................................128F...................................................................................................................................129G...................................................................................................................................130H...................................................................................................................................131I....................................................................................................................................132J....................................................................................................................................133K...................................................................................................................................134L...................................................................................................................................135

vii

M..................................................................................................................................136N...................................................................................................................................137O...................................................................................................................................138P...................................................................................................................................139Q...................................................................................................................................140R...................................................................................................................................141S...................................................................................................................................142T...................................................................................................................................143U...................................................................................................................................144V...................................................................................................................................145W..................................................................................................................................146X...................................................................................................................................148Y...................................................................................................................................149Z...................................................................................................................................152AA................................................................................................................................162BB................................................................................................................................164CC................................................................................................................................166DD................................................................................................................................177

viii

List of Tables

Table 1: Teacher Ratings of Student Language and Cognitive Skills.................................63

Table 2: Student Home Computer Use Frequency.............................................................65

Table 3: Classroom Computer Use in Teacher’s Lessons...................................................70

Table 4: Classroom Computer Use by Category................................................................70

Table 5: Medical Scene Pre and Posttest Responses..........................................................78

Table 6: Blacksmith Scene Responses to Pre and Posttest Questions.................................83

Table 7: Texaco Scene Responses to Pre and Posttest questions........................................86

Table 8: Game Motivation Questionnaire........................................................................100

Table 9: Lesson Motivation Questionnaire.......................................................................101

ix

List of Figures

Figure 1: Student Home Computer Use..............................................................................66

Figure 2: Student Computer Game Experience..................................................................67

Figure 3: Student Experience With Console Games...........................................................68

Figure 4: Growth by Words................................................................................................73

Figure 5: Overall Vocabulary Growth by Individuals........................................................75

Figure 6: Texaco Scene Facts Acquisition.........................................................................91

Figure 7: Texaco Scene Face Identification.......................................................................93

Figure 8: Factual Information Acquisition – Growth by Question.....................................97

x

Whitney 1

Using a Panoramic Adventure Game and Multimedia as Learning Tools in Deaf

Education

Chapter 1

Introduction

The Problem

Special Education teachers frequently experience frustration over a lack of

instructional materials (Billingsley, 1992). Deaf education is no exception. Johnson,

Lidell, and Erting (1989) stated that instructional materials often gave little or no linguistic

access to deaf children. The situation has remained unchanged even with the recent

introduction and growth of multimedia educational materials. One popular educational

multimedia company, The Learning Company, provides materials rich in interaction and

visuals, but with heavy dependence on audio (without captions) for reinforcement,

feedback, and directions – all critical elements in learning. Specialized catalogues for Deaf

children such as the Harris Communication Catalog (1999) offer CD-ROM based

instructional materials designed specifically for Deaf children. Several of the titles in the

Harris Communication Catalog are excellent examples of how multimedia can be

successfully applied to deaf education, but they only cover a very limited number of

lessons. Cost of the materials creates another drawback - usable materials available to deaf

educators often cost more than a teacher can afford to spend on a single item with limited

use in the classroom. The Sign Enhancers catalog (1999) offers a CD ROM with native

Deaf signers and English instruction for $65, whereas typical educational software costs

Whitney 2

between $10 and $45. The popular Reader Rabbit series, for example, costs only $19.95

per grade level.

The lack of materials to teach language, reading and content subjects contributes to

the shortcomings of Deaf Education in the United States and was reported by the Gallaudet

Research Institute (1997) also known as the Center for Assessment and Demographics

(CADS). The CADS reported that the average reading performance of deaf high school

graduates has remained between the 3rd and 4th grade level. In contrast to the dismal failures

of deaf education, however, researchers suggest that deaf students need not graduate high

school with minimal literacy (Bloom, 1984; and Stuckless, 1984). The poor performance

of deaf education (Gallaudet Research Institute 1997) can be attributed to other causes such

as a cycle of low expectations (Johnson, Lidell, & Erting 1989), and unrealistic demands on

teachers (Billingsley, 1992). But this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Background of the Problem

In fact, studies have shown that deaf children’s problems with reading are due in

part to difficulty with words and meanings (LaSasso & Davey, 1987; Paul, 1998; Paul &

Gustason, 1991). Despite years of trials with different teaching and communication

methodologies, little progress has been made in raising the reading levels of Deaf high

school graduates relative to their hearing peers on the Stanford Achievement Test

(Gallaudet Research Institute, 1974, 1984, 1991, 1997). Tracing the problem through the

history of deaf education shows that the deaf high school graduates have lagged behind

hearing peers whether the predominant teaching method was oralism, manualism, or

Whitney 3

some variation of the two (simultaneous communication, for example). Deaf educators

have turned to many techniques in the hopes of overcoming the barriers to acquiring a

phonetic written language in the absence of sound. One such approach is the use of

computers to accelerate reading acquisition.

Some deaf educators have sought not only to use computers to accelerate reading,

but to take full advantage of the rapidly evolving multimedia capabilities in computers

(Andrews & Jordan, 1998; Gentry, 1998; Pollard, 1993; Shumaker 1996). Multimedia

combines text with graphics, animation and sign language movies to immerse students in

a context-rich environment. Multimedia has been tested with deaf learners fluent in sign

language based on the presumption that the students are visual learners. Sign language

glossaries incorporated in multimedia and other interactive media potentially allow the

meaning of words to be accessed through sign language, pictorial representations, or

basic English definitions immediately with the click of a button.

Reading Achievement & Deaf Education

The Center for Assessment and Demographics (CADS) has

conducted three large-scale studies on the academic achievement

levels of deaf students in 1974, 1982, and 1997 using the Stanford

Achievement Test - 9Th edition (SAT-9) – all have shown similarly low

achievement in reading among deaf high school graduates (Gallaudet

Research Institute, 1997). IDEA and state laws have forced schools to

emphasize appropriate placement of all students, including deaf

Whitney 4

students. The results of national testing, however, indicated that the

reality deviates sharply from the ideals outlined in Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)– reading levels of deaf high school

graduates have, on average, remained comparable to the scores of 3rd

and 4th grade hearing peers. Moores (1987) points to the lack of access

to a phonemic code as a primary reason for the failure of deaf students

on reading tests. There are, however, other factors involved, including:

inadequate materials (Billingsley, 1992), lack of sign language models,

high rates of teacher attrition (Billingsley, 1992) and low expectations

(Johnson, Lidell, & Erting, 1989).

Factors Contributing to Reading Levels

Inadequate reading materials.

Frustration of teachers because of lack of resources may be one cause of teacher

attrition. Billingsley (1992) studied migration of special education teachers to regular

education. Three of the most frequently cited reasons for transferring were the lack of

adequate resources, the diversity of student needs, and a sense of little progress for the

amount of time invested. Paul (1998) indicates that the lack of materials may contribute

not only to the high attrition of teachers in special education but also to the low reading

levels of deaf high school graduates. To Johnson, Lidell, and Erting (1989) Paul’s

speculations are familiar as they suggested that teaching practices up to 1989 focused

primarily on an auditory/English system to which Deaf students had little access. Without

Whitney 5

adequate materials teachers must either choose to invest an inordinate amount of time

producing their own, or learn to live with the sense of not sufficiently addressing the needs

of the student. The end result, in either case, is a student taught “just enough” to satisfy

Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals, but rarely enough to keep up with hearing

peers.

Lack of language models.

In addition to the critical lack of materials written at appropriate reading levels, deaf

students may not get quality language models. While deaf students have limited access to

auditory information, the vast majority of their educational materials are written texts that

depend on decoding phonetic codes. Accordingly, deaf students rely on supplemental

visual communication of the ideas contained in the texts they read. Unfortunately, few

teachers of the deaf are competent users of sign language (Andrews & Franklin, 1997) and

many teacher training programs only require one to two sign language classes (Maxwell,

1984). Further, since only 15% of teachers of deaf children are deaf, many deaf children

do not have access to fluent, adult sign language users (Andrews & Jordan, 1993).

The home environment is not much different. The CADS at Gallaudet University

does an annual survey to determine the characteristics of deaf students in the United States.

The 1999-2000 survey results indicated that, of the known families with deaf children, only

69.2% regularly use manual communication at home. The survey did not distinguish

between the types of manual communication (Seeing Essential English (SEE I), Signing

Exact English (SEE II), American Sign Language (ASL), Pidgin Signed English (PSE

Whitney 6

currently referred to as Contact Communication), and others), nor did the survey make an

attempt to evaluate the quality of the manual communication in those homes. The CADS

1987 survey results showed that 83.9% of the students had two hearing parents. Of the

remainder, only 3.6% had two deaf parents. (Gallaudet Research Institute (1999). The

3.6% of students who have deaf parents do not necessarily receive an adequate ASL model.

Jensema and Trybus (1978) surveyed families with one deaf adult. In those homes, the

primary mode of communication is largely auditory/aural. While the Jensema and Trybus

findings lend support to the evidence of poor ASL models for deaf children, researchers

should use caution in applying them liberally – developments within the Deaf community

since 1978 may have changed the balance of ASL in homes with one Deaf parent.

Taking all the research into account shows that the vast majority (97%, probably

more) of parents are not natural users of ASL. Of the students accounted for by the 1999-

2000 Regional and National Survey (Gallaudet Research Institute, 1999) only 49% of

students enrolled in Deaf education programs received instruction with combined speech

and sign language while 5.8% received instruction in sign language only. Inadequate

language input deprives deaf students of a strong language and knowledge base.

Consequently, there is a need to develop materials that provide sign language modeling for

deaf students. A number of researchers have found support for the importance of ASL. Of

the various signed systems, children who had deaf parents were most proficient in ASL

(Bornstein, 1990). Other researchers found, moreover, that deaf students who have deaf

Whitney 7

parents (and superior ASL exposure) outperform deaf children with hearing parents on tests

of both ASL skills and English skills (Geers &Schick, 1988; Strong & Prinz, 1997).

Potential of Deaf Students

Despite all the problems related to the education of deaf children, Bloom (1984),

asserts that all children can perform with high levels of academic success given ideal

conditions. According to Bloom’s meta-analysis of effective teaching variables, the ideal

situation is one-on-one tutoring. The ideal is not realizable in public education, but Bloom

found 19 variables that teachers can easily manipulate in the classroom to closely

approximate the results obtained through one-on-one tutoring. The variables included, but

were not limited to: tutorial instruction, reinforcement, feedback-corrective instruction,

cues and explanations, student class participation, and student time on task. Interestingly,

all of the top six variables mentioned can be addressed to some degree through computer -

based instruction.

More specific to Deaf education, Stuckless (1984) saw computers as a potential ally

in the struggle to improve Deaf education. After discussing the history of computer-based

instruction, he calculated that a mere 2.5% increase in reading levels would result in raising

children’s reading from an average grade equivalent of 4.5 to 5.7 (compounded from 1st

grade through high school graduation). A still modest 5% increase in reading levels would

give even more dramatic results.

Whitney 8

Purpose of the Study

Considering Bloom’s (1984) conclusions regarding learning potential of all

students and Stuckless’ (1984) emphasis on computers to improve reading scores, more

research needs to be done in this area. One way to do this would be to investigate the

effects of multimedia and adventure games on vocabulary acquisition and retention in Deaf

students.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate three research questions. From these

research questions, a determination as to the feasibility of using a panoramic adventure

game and multimedia as learning tools for children who are deaf was established.

Research Questions

In order to evaluate the potential of adventure games as teaching tools with deaf

children, the following questions were addressed:

1. Was the game or multimedia treatment successful in teaching students vocabulary,

recognition of faces and the acquisition of facts?

a. To what degree was each treatment successful?

b. With whom was each treatment successful or not successful?

c. Which parts of each treatment added to or detracted from the achievement

of learning vocabulary, recognition of faces and the acquisition of facts?

d. What variables influenced the degree of success?

e. What modifications would enhance achievement of the learning vocabulary,

recognition of faces, and acquisition of facts?

Whitney 9

2. To what degree was each treatment motivating?

a. With whom was each treatment motivating?

b. Which parts of each treatment proved most motivating and least

motivating?

c. What variables influenced the motivating value of each treatment?

d. What modifications would enhance motivating value of each treatment?

3. Does the data indicate continued efforts in the direction of developing adventure

games as educational tools? What modifications on the design would be necessary

to better answer this question?

Added Benefits of the Study

1. The results of the adventure game/multimedia study primarily benefit deaf

students through improved educational materials using adventure game formats.

They will experience the benefits almost immediately as a product will be ready

for distribution upon completing the research. It will also impact classroom

teachers by enhancing their knowledge on material development, providing them

greater resources for completing their job, and decreasing stress as materials

become more available. Finally, curriculum designers and material developers

can incorporate the results into their products.

2. An increased understanding of the role of adventure games in teaching

vocabulary to Deaf students.

Whitney 10

3. An increased understanding of effects of two computer-based formats –

Adventure Game and Multimedia.

4. Development of materials to train other teachers.

5. A contribution to the research on methods of teaching deaf students reading

vocabulary.

6. A contribution to software developers for deaf students.

Definitions

ASL - American Sign Language, the natural language of the Deaf with its own

unique grammar. It is a visual language with concepts represented by facial expression,

hand shapes, hand motions, hand orientations and spatial relationship of the signs to each

other (Baker & Cokely, 1980)

Authoring tools - Authoring tools are a class of programs designed to simplify the

task of creating programs such as multimedia lessons. In the past, creation of multimedia

has been the job of expert programmers. Authoring Tools allow computer users with little

programming knowledge or skill to create programs. Examples include ToolBook,

Director, and JAVA authoring tools (Nataša Hoić-Božić, 1997).

Deaf - When the word “Deaf” is written in uppercase, it refers to a group of people

with hearing loss who prefer socializing with other Deaf people and use ASL as their

preferred means of communication. The word “deaf” written in lower case refers simply to

Whitney 11

a person with a hearing loss. Among the Deaf community “deaf” means a person who has

a hearing loss, but is not necessarily a part of the Deaf culture.

Hearing - individuals who have no hearing loss. The Deaf community refers to the

non-Deaf community as the “hearing world.”

MCE - A class of signed systems created to represent English signed in an English

syntactic pattern with the intent of making English accessible to Deaf students. Each

English word has an equivalent MCE sign (Lou, 1988).

Multimedia- Alternatively known as Integrated Media (IM). Multimedia refers to

the use of multiple media for presenting a lesson. When referring to computers it typically

includes audio, visual, video, text, and animation forms of information. Multimedia also

has a means of allowing the user to control which parts of the lesson to view and when to

view the parts (Hasselbring, 1994)

Panoramic Viewer/Panorama - From a computer user’s point of view a typical

panoramic image (often called a "pano") is a photograph that appears in a window or on a

web page. In typical Internet and computer-based applications, the user can put the cursor

on the image moving the cursor causes the image to move also similar to the effect of

actually standing at the location from which the image was created and turning the head.

Placing a camera on a tripod and taking several photographs by rotating the camera

between shots most likely produced the image. The resulting collection of images are

"stitched" together to create a single seamless 360-degree panoramic photo.

Whitney 12

Some panoramic imaging systems let software developers map the images onto a

cylinder and some to a sphere. Computer users viewing the images don't have the freedom

to travel anywhere they want - users may only scenes recorded with different tripod

locations. The panorama designer may record, for example, many locations in a real estate

holding that is up for sale, and include "hot spots" in the images to jump from one room to

another with mouse clicks (Ressler, 1999).

Motivation - The desire to perform a task. In the context of the investigation it is

the desire to play the game or complete the multimedia unit.

Total Communication - A philosophy of Deaf Education that ideally provides a

child with whatever communication mode the child needs to succeed, it specifically

employs speechreading, auditory training, fingerspelling and ASL. In practice, Total

Communication is more accurately described as simultaneous speech and signing, the

teacher speaks English and attempts to sign at the same time (Baker, 2002).

Action Research - “Action research combines a substantive act with a research

procedure; it is action disciplined with enquiry, a personal attempt at understanding while

engaged in a process of improvement and reform (Hopkins, 1993).”

Limitations

This study did not lend itself to tightly controlled experimental design. The number

of complete data sets (n=8) limited the ability to generalize results or achieve statistical

significance. The variability among the participants, including language background,

reading level, and academic level all compound the problems of attempting to extract

Whitney 13

statistically meaningful information. The results obtained from the research are useful only

for evaluating the researchers game and multimedia designs in order to suggest future

improvements and establish improved research protocols. The data collected by this action

research project was not intended to support either multimedia or adventure games as

superior learning tools.

The actual delivery of the treatments also precluded statistical significance and

prevented generalizations. The schedules of the participants caused inconsistency in time

between treatments and time within treatments. The investigator’s attention was not evenly

divided amongst the participants and some participants found programming errors that

allowed them to allowed them select items that gave false “correct” evaluations of the

selections.

The data were valuable, nonetheless, for continuing a cycle of improvement,

retesting, and fine-tuning the treatments.

Whitney 14

Chapter 2

Literature Review

Evaluating the best means of designing and implementing computer-based

instruction with deaf children requires the convergence of effectiveness research with both

deaf and hearing students. Although there is research on computer-based instruction with

deaf children, it is sparse. A search of the literature related to computer-based education

turned out a large number of articles – the vast majority of which used hearing children

only. Moores (1987) points out that the means by which deaf children receive their

information requires a different approach to teaching deaf children. Based on the different

means by which deaf children receive their instruction, it would be reasonable to challenge

the validity of results obtained from hearing children when researching computers with

deaf children. The literature does, however, indicate some parallel between the abundant

results obtained from hearing children and the sparse results obtained from deaf children –

studies with both hearing children and deaf children generally yield more positive results

with computer-based education than traditional education.

The Call for Educational Reform

The interest in computers as educational tools has been fueled in part by an ongoing

drive for educational reform in the United States. Educators have focused on educational

reform since the report, A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in

Education, 1983). The report, from the beginning takes a strongly critical stance in regard

to the educational system in the United States.

Whitney 15

The report, often cited as the driving force behind the current educational reform

efforts, lambasted the mass production mentality of schools in the United States.

According to the National Commission on Excellence in Education, the failing of United

States schools was not so much a failure on standardized tests as it was a failure to produce

capable, thinking individuals. The mass production mentality evolved from an educational

system created during the early industrialization of the United States. Thinking skills were

not as critical as basic knowledge of math and reading. Teaching to the masses took

precedence over producing capable thinkers.

Goals 2000, the Educate America Act, put the reform movement into law (1994).

Included in the goals 2000 Act under Title II are provisions for improving educational

technology. The act states that section 231 has the purpose: “to infuse technology and

technology planning into all educational programs and training functions carried out within

school systems at the State local level“ (Section 231). Other parts of the act state clearly

that special educational populations are to benefit equally from all provisions of the act,

including technology. If computers are to play a crucial role, then it becomes necessary to

decide how to best use them.

The Act is not mere rhetoric. Market Data Retrieval (2000) publishes an annual

report on the status of technology in the classroom. The year 2000 showed the following

trends:

More than 75% of schools report that teachers use computers daily compared to

69% just a year earlier. 60% of teachers use the Internet for daily instruction.

Whitney 16

Between the 1995-96 school year and the 1999-2000 school year the student-to-

computer ratio improved from 9.1 to 4.9.

In just a three-year period from 1997 to 2000 the student-to-multimedia computer

ratio improved from 21.2 to 7.9.

To support the burgeoning growth, the Clinton administration helped pass

legislation that promises financial support. Funding from four grant programs promise

continued growth in technology access to schools with over $800 million in grants:

National Challenge Grants For Technology in Education totaling $136 million

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/challenge/index.html

Technology Literacy Challenge Funds Grant totaling $125 million (up from $75

million)

http://www.ed.gov/teachtech/

Star Schools grants totaling $450 million (up from $425 million)

http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/StarSchools/

Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers To Use Technology grants totaling $125 million

(up from $75 million)

With a national initiative underway to improve technology in education, there is

no doubt that computers and other media technology will have a lasting impact on

education. Most importantly, access to technology is critical to the success of students

enrolled in Deaf Education programs.

Whitney 17

Reform in Deaf Education

Deaf Education has experienced cycles of failure and attempted reforms, most of

which have resulted in little or no decrease in the gap between deaf students and their

hearing peers. The gap in reading levels persists to date despite innovations such as

Manually Coded English systems, Total Communication, and other attempts to improve the

English language development of deaf students. A landmark and controversial position

paper, Unlocking the Curriculum set the community of deaf educators in a furor with a

strongly voiced view as to the causes of the persistent gap, including a lack of linguistic

access to the curriculum and a cycle of low expectations (Johnson, Liddel & Erting, 1989).

The position taken in Unlocking the Curriculum has good cause: the critical

academic need of deaf students that has persisted through the years (Gallaudet Research

Institute, 1997). Although reports of lagging performance for deaf and hard of hearing

students have been reported at least since 1965 (Babbidge), deaf educators have made little

progress in improving reading performance regardless of the teacher’s preferred means of

presenting English to the students.

Effectiveness of CAI with Deaf Learners

Computers have been utilized as an instructional tool to aid in the development of

reading skills since the 1970’s. The earliest computers used in classrooms required a

tremendous investment in money, upkeep, and time for programming. Nonetheless,

educators eager to test computers as educational tools began to employ them in computer

assisted instruction (CAI). Despite the excitement over their potential, the promised results

Whitney 18

of CAI did not materialize by the end of the 1980’s prompting a slew of critics to write

computers off as an expensive toy with little educational value (Stuckless, 1983)

Deaf educators such as E. Ross Stuckless (1983) have also challenged the blind use

of computers in Deaf Education. Stuckless titled one article “The microcomputer in the

instruction of Hearing-Impaired students: tool or distraction?” Although Stuckless

communicated optimism in his evaluation of computers as teaching tools, the title of the

article accurately reflects an ongoing strain of pessimism as to the feasibility and

desirability of computers in public classrooms.

An article written by Jeffrey Braden and Steven Shaw (1987) raises similar

questions to those posed by Stuckless (1983). In the spirit of the Stuckless (1983) article,

Shaw and Braden opened their discussion with the title, “Computer assisted instruction

with deaf children: Panacea, placebo or poison?” Their article reviewed 387 references

describing computer applications with deaf children. They found only 16 articles that

reported on the efficacy of the computers. The majority of the literature of the time found

positive outcomes with CAI, but the success was inversely related to methodological rigor

– the better the control, the less dramatic the gains attributed to CAI.

The lack of positive effects found by Braden and Shaw (1987), however, is suspect.

Their study used a 5-point system to assign values of methodological rigor to research

related to the efficacy of computers in Deaf Education classrooms. A careful analysis of

the article reveals that at least one of the criteria for methodological rigor may not apply to

studies of the efficacy of computers as teaching tools. One of the criteria, for example,

Whitney 19

included the use of control groups. Using a control group to evaluate 2 distinct educational

approaches does not guarantee validity. If the control represents an excellent example of

“traditional” education whereas the experimental group represents a mediocre example of

computer-based education, the control is worthless.

Randel (1992) indicated that the variable of game quality needs more attention.

While some research exists to help identify features that make games attractive, little

research identifies the most useful characteristics of the games. Some studies on

effectiveness may show no significant results due to poor quality of game design or use

of ineffective features. Research showing significant gains in favor of games, on the

other hand, may have actually used traditional methods with ineffective features.

Separating the effect of using a computer from the influence of the quality of two

different treatments needs more study.

Control groups with deaf children pose additional problems: since the population of

deaf children is already a very small portion of the general population, finding a suitable

control becomes a daunting task. If, for example, a researcher limits the experimental

group to all deaf fifth graders reading at a second grade level, the total number of subjects

in a given region drops dramatically, possibly to the point where statistical significance

cannot be reached. The variability within the deaf population, including primary language,

home language, onset of deafness, additional special educational needs, and educational

background also renders the quest for control groups one of the most perplexing problems

Whitney 20

in Deaf Education. Braden and Shaw’s process of eliminating some studies may have

prevented the true picture of computer efficacy from surfacing.

Recent Research on CAI with Deaf Children

Braden and Shaw’s (1987) studies were not able to account for some recent studies

done with deaf children using computer-assisted instruction (CAI). Two dissertations,

which focused on the use of Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI), generally support

Shaws’s conclusions that computer-based instruction was equal to, but not superior to

traditional methods.

Despite the dismal results from national reading scores, Deaf Educators have reason

to anticipate improvements through the use of computers. Stuckless’ (1983) estimations of

dramatic gains - with a 2% annual improvement - means that computers need only provide

a small amount of additional instruction. If, for example, the computers keep students on-

task while the teacher addresses individual needs, some gains are to be expected according

to literature indicating time on task as a major factor in the academic performance of

students (Bloom, 1984). Several recent studies not included in the Shaw (1987) article

illustrate the potential of CAI or, more accurately, multimedia.

Multimedia with Deaf Adults

Shumaker (1996) developed a multimedia course to teach work literacy to deaf

seniors at the Alabama School for the Deaf. The students were divided into two groups,

one received work literacy training through the multimedia program, and the other received

the same training from a live teacher. Her results showed that the students who received

Whitney 21

multimedia treatment scored higher than the control on scores of knowledge acquisition

and retention, but not on scores of knowledge application. The Shumaker study implies

that teachers may find computers superior for instruction at the level of knowledge

acquisition whereas live instruction may be necessary for higher-level thinking. Using

computers for lower level academic learning, then, may free the instructor to focus more

heavily on individuals needing higher levels of assistance and then spend more time on

higher level thinking with all students.

Shumaker’s study, however, re-iterates the problems discussed with regards to

Shaw’s meta-analytical study. The students liked the teacher, one student even dropped out

of the study because she could not switch to the control group. The students also rated the

teacher high for her American Sign Language skills – a highly valued characteristic among

deaf signers. Although the multimedia also scored high for ASL use, the Deaf community

highly prizes social interaction with skilled signers – true human interaction is not possible

with a computer.

Braden and Shaw (1983) hold the absence or presence of control groups as the

primary factor for rejecting or accepting a study. In the case of the Shumaker study, the

control was much better than the multimedia. A true comparison of the presentation modes

would have to control for the quality of both the instructor and the multimedia. A mediocre

multimedia presentation could conceivably have less impact on learning than an excellent

traditional teaching approach. Most studies comparing two different modes of teaching are

better interpreted as indicating the skill of the instructor in delivering one type of lesson as

Whitney 22

compared to the other. They may not necessarily measure the superiority of one method

over the other. Although Shumaker’s (1996) study may have satisfied the Braden and

Shaw criteria, it probably would not be wise to cite the results an example of research

supporting either traditional methods or multimedia with deaf students.

Multimedia with Deaf Children

Gentry (1998) conducted another study in which deaf students received one of four

treatments to learn factual information. In treatment 1, students were provided with only

printed versions of the information. In treatment 2, students had access to both the printed

material and supplemental pictorial. In treatment 3, students had access to printed

information and sign language information. In treatment 4, the students were exposed to

print, pictures, and sign language. In each treatment, the information was contained within

a story. Students received 4 different stories through each of the four treatments, and then

were asked to retell the story. The results indicated that the deaf children who participated

in the study scored lowest when retelling the story from print only. Presentation of the

stories with print, pictures and sign language videos (multimedia format) yielded higher

retelling scores than either print only or print with sign language. Stories presented in print

with supplemental pictures also resulted in higher story re-telling scores than print only or

print with sign language.

Gentry noted, with some surprise, that adding sign language to the text had less

influence than adding pictures to the text. She noted that the children in the study were

unaccustomed to using sign language as a means of comprehending text, at least not in

Whitney 23

computer-based instruction. They often became fascinated with the videos, possibly to the

point that the novelty overrode the motivation to extract information.

The Gentry study is not as prone to the problems found in the Shoemaker study.

Gentry did not compare computer-based education to traditional methods, but rather

different ways of supplementing text within a computer-based environment. Clearly, the

computer-based treatments were more effective than printed text only.

The surprising lack of impact from sign language videos does not conclusively

indicate that sign language should not be included in materials developed for deaf students.

Rather, it indicates that we have possibly not yet found the best means of implementing

sign language into the latest technology–based teaching techniques. Multimedia

developers may need, for example, to scaffold the sign language so that students may only

use it as a last resort. Media developers might also want to consider requiring that students

use the signed videos to extract information and apply it to a specific task, thus reinforcing

the need to attend to the information.

An Effective Use of Multimedia with Deaf Children

Another study, done by Voltera (1996) gave a fair idea of how computers might be

used effectively with deaf children. The Voltera Study used a multimedia application

created specifically with deaf children in mind. It incorporated text, Italian Sign Language

(LIS – as translated into Italian), and graphical information. The application provided the

children with access to information about animals in a savannah. The students used the

application for about 9 months in weekly sessions. The software was carefully designed

Whitney 24

for uniformity of graphics, icons, space, and dimensions. The graphics were selected for an

intermediate level of symbolization between written Italian and LIS. Students used a

notebook to store information about the animals and then created cards that were used in

games that tested the students understanding, and their development of syntactic

knowledge.

In both knowledge and syntax, all students achieved high scores during the game.

Some students answered more questions than others, but the overall results were positive.

Interestingly, the students varied widely in their use of text, sign language, and images.

Some preferred text whereas others preferred sign language. Still other students used all

the informational modes equally. More surprisingly, the preference seemed to have little to

do with the student’s exposure to and use of sign language. Some students who relied

primarily on sign language preferred to use text whereas others preferred sign language.

Unfortunately the Voltera study gives no data on the literacy level of students upon

initiating the treatments.

The Voltera study is an excellent example of action research: the study of an

ongoing learning activity within a real-life classroom. It did not use controls, but clearly

documented the effects of the multimedia intervention. It would have failed the Shaw

criteria, but gives excellent information on how a long-term multimedia intervention might

affect deaf students. The length of the experience may have overcome some of the

problems that Gentry (1998) discussed, namely the novelty of seeing sign language in a

Whitney 25

multimedia application, but without comparing the multimedia to some other form, it is

impossible to say how the two studies would compare.

Summary of Multimedia with Deaf Learners

The studies by Shumaker (1996), Voltera (1996), and Gentry (1998), give

compelling evidence that multimedia applications hold some promise for deaf education.

On the side of caution, however, it is not yet possible to determine how that promise

compares to teaching methods that do not involve computers. If the potential of computer-

based instruction also applies to computer games, then investing the time to develop

educational games for deaf students may prove a fruitful undertaking. Unfortunately,

repeated searches of the literature uncovered no references to computer games used as

teaching tools with deaf children.

Effectiveness of Computers as Teaching Tools with Hearing Students

CAI and Applications for Higher Order Thinking Skills

No research has been done on the effectiveness of computer games as teaching

tools with deaf students, but the results obtained from studies of deaf children using CAI

and multimedia closely parallel those obtained with hearing students. Kulik (1987)

analyzed 199 comparative studies with hearing students exposed to computer-based

instruction (CBI). He found that students generally learned more in classes where CBI was

used, learned their lessons in less time, liked the classes with CBI, and had more favorable

attitudes toward computers. Kulik obtained similar results in more recent studies (1994) in

which he analyzed over 500 empirical studies. On average, he found that students scored

Whitney 26

in the 64th percentile on achievement tests compared to scores in the 50th percentile for

students who did not use CBI. It is important to note that Kulik’s studies focused on

tutorials, drill-and-practice, and Integrated Learning Systems, as opposed to other software

that requires higher-order thinking.

Studies of applications requiring higher-order thinking also yield positive results in

favor of computer applications. Harold Wenglinsky (1998) evaluated the effectiveness of

simulations and technologies that supported higher-order thinking skills. His population

included 6,227 fourth graders and 7,146 eighth graders. All results were controlled for

socioeconomic status, class size, and teacher characteristics. Eighth graders who used

primarily simulation games scored up to 15 weeks above grade level on standardized math

tests. Fourth grade students whose teachers received training on computers scored up to 13

weeks above grade level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Students who used drill and practice technology, in contrast, scored worse than students

who did not use drill and practice technology.

The results from meta-analytical studies with both hearing and deaf students yields

generally positive results in favor of computer use, despite the differences in learning

requirements for the two populations. It is hoped that, despite the lack of research with

deaf students, a similar parallel will be found for the use of computer games as teaching

tools.

Whitney 27

Games as Teaching Tools

Meta-analysis: games and hearing students.

Computer-based educational games are one example of successful instructional

methods using computers, but the only evidence comes from hearing students. Meta-

analytical studies of the effectiveness of computer games with hearing students show

positive results. Randel (1992) evaluated the results of research on games in education

over 2 time periods. The first time period (1964-1984) consisted of an indirect analysis of

7 reviews of literature related to games as educational tools. The second time period

(1984-1991) employed direct analysis of literature. After eliminating literature that failed

to use some empirical methods, Randel and his team of researchers found a total of 68

usable references. The overall results showed that (1) 38 of the studies showed no

difference between games and traditional methods of teaching, (2) 22 of the studies favored

games (c) five favored games, but the controls were questionable and (3) three studies

favored conventional methods of teaching. The overall balance suggests that games at least

equal the potential of conventional approaches to education.

Most importantly for the purpose of studying adventure games with deaf students,

Randel et al. (1992) reported a balance in favor of games for language arts upon breaking

down the results into academic subject. Five out of six studies found positive results for

games. One study found no benefits for a gaming approach. Two other studies with

positive results failed to adequately control for time spent on learning. Other content areas,

Whitney 28

including social studies, math, biology and physics showed generally positive results or no

significant differences.

Randel (1992), however, makes an important point in discussing the results.

Several of the studies measuring effectiveness of games included delayed posttest to

measure retention over time. Delays ranged from ten days to eight weeks. Ten of the 14

studies measuring retention showed significant results in favor of games. Four of the

studies found no significant differences between game groups and conventional groups.

Without a delayed posttest, in contrast, the results looked much less positive for

game enthusiasts. Seven of the ten studies showing results in favor of games with delayed

posttests found no significant differences between conventional and game groups at the

immediate posttest. The overall balance in studies of retention is no significant difference

on immediate posttest but a clearly significant difference when using a delayed posttest.

The difference between delayed posttests and immediate posttests cast additional doubt on

the mediocre results in favor of computers found by Braden and Shaw (1987). The reality

of the potential of computers for deaf students may be much more favorable than previous

research has indicated.

Sparse game research in deaf education.

Although there is not enough literature to conduct a meta-analysis, one instance of

computer games in deaf education yielded positive results. Passig (2000) found that

children who played a 3D virtual reality version of Tetris for 15 minutes once weekly over

a period of 3 months improved their flexible thinking scores significantly compared to a

Whitney 29

control group. No other computer-game studies showed up in an ERIC search using the

terms “Deaf” and “Games”. The paucity of research on computer games in Deaf Education

lends additional impetus to developing suitable tools and researching their impact on

learning and thinking skills for deaf children.

Motivation.

In addition to measures of effectiveness, games offer motivating benefits to

students, a critical factor for deaf students who may have experienced frustration in

accessing and learning written language based on an auditory code. Brown (1987)

indicated that negative attitudes about foreign language learning could negatively affect

success in learning the target language. Gardner (1985) found two attitudinal variables that

affect language learning. Integrativeness describes the positive affect toward the

community from which the target language originates. The second variable - attitude

toward the learning situation - strongly influences the acquisition of the language.

If affective variables play such an important role, then it may be that the most

important considerations have more to do with what students consider worthwhile than

what educators deem valuable in a computer program. To educators, flexibility,

individualized education and self-directed learning are all valuable aspects of computer-

based learning. To the student, in contrast, the attraction of computers may be nothing

more than pure and simple fun. Without those elements, which make a game enjoyable,

computer-based materials would probably fail to hold the interest of the students long

enough to master the skills and knowledge which educators desire them to acquire.

Whitney 30

Psychologists have studied characteristics that make video games attractive to

students. They point to characteristics such as control over the computer environment and

competition (Malone, 1981) or violence. In the final analysis most researchers will agree

with one thing: students voluntarily play the games. They need no encouragement from

their teachers, they need no bribes or external reinforces, they ask only for the time, the

equipment and the games.

Funk (1993) supported the observations of motivation to play video games when

his investigations showed children averaged 4.2 hours per week. Even the small group of

15 students that exhibited potentially addictive play patterns gives strength to the idea of

using video games as an educational tool. Video games appear to possess inherent

motivating features that drive sales into the billions, draw youth into voluntary play and

even, in extreme cases, hold their attention so powerfully that they become addicted.

Randel (1992) mentions the interest or motivating characteristics of games. In 12

of 14 studies reporting on student interest, subjects reported more interest in simulation and

game activities than in traditional learning environments. Randel reviewed a dated, but

pertinent article written by Cohen (1969). Cohen specifically measured the effects of

games for junior high students who either showed no interest in or did not benefit from

traditional classrooms. The students attended a special summer program using games as

the teaching tool. Eighty-seven percent of the students indicated higher interest in the

games than traditional teaching methods. Especially in relation to reading and writing,

Whitney 31

motivation alone provides a great deal of justification for using games with deaf and hard

of hearing students.

The ability of video games to hold a student’s attention, even to the point of

addiction, provides considerable incentive for including such games in educational

software. Motivation along with evidence of efficacy of games justifies a study to test the

effect of games in the Deaf Education classroom.

Theoretical Foundation

Cognitive Theories and Computers

The studies done by Randel (1992), focus primarily on drill and practice type

games. The main exception to the emphasis on drill and practice has been the use of

simulation games in the social sciences. Simulation games proved at least moderately

successful in creating stimulating learning environments. Thirty-three of forty-six studies

involving simulation games showed no differences for simulation games over traditional

instruction. Ten studies showed a significant difference in favor of simulation games, 3

studies showed a significant difference in favor of traditional teaching. Simulation games

require a considerably higher level of thinking than drill and practice and, therefore, satisfy

most of the current thought on learning theories.

Cognitive theorists propose, in contrast to drill and practice lessons, which real

learning occurs in an environment that contains more immersion. The learning

environment, they suggest, must require students to use knowledge in constructive ways to

achieve a specific goal. Examples of approaches involving a more cognitive approach

Whitney 32

include project-oriented teaching, case-based learning, and adventure games. Adventure

games, by their nature, require students to extract information from the game in order to

apply the new knowledge and achieve a series of goals, usually increments in abilities or

wealth.

Several current learning theories lend themselves to the study of computers as

educational tools. Chiou (1995) lists 9 theories:

1. Constructionism (Papert, 1993);

2. Situated cognition (Clancey, 1994);

3. Situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991)

4. Case-based reasoning and learning (Kolodner, 1992)

5. . Cognitive apprenticeship (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989)

6. Computer-supported intentional learning environments (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1993)

7. Problem-based learning (Barrow, 1984)

8. Cognitive flexibility theory (Spiro, Feltovich, Jacobson, & Coulson, 1991).

9. Anchored Instruction (Cognition and Technology Group, 1993).

Description of the Theories

Computer supported intentional learning environments.

Computer Supported Intentional Learning Environments (CSILE) function as

collaborative learning environments in which students share information and discuss ideas

using both text and images. Much like concept mapping, CSILE allows students to work

Whitney 33

together to create “nodes” containing concepts and information related to a given topic

(Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1993). CSILE does not really address adventure games unless

the games are intentionally designed to engage students in group discussion and

information sharing. The game designed for the present study does not require

collaborative work. Any collaboration would be incidental – students may decide to

discuss the game and its solutions.

Situated Cognition.

Situated cognition attempts to explain cognition in terms of the relationship

between the learner and the environment. Separation of learning and the situation in which

it occurs, according to Situated Cognition, gives little useful information (Lave & Wenger,

1991). Thus, teaching about an anvil without providing some background experience

would give a different quality of learning compared to teaching about an anvil in a

blacksmith’s shop. Adventure games can provide a richer context within which a student

can learn concepts, facts, and vocabulary – thus providing the “situation” called for by

Situated Cognition.

Constructivist Theory.

Constructivist Theory, on the other hand, fits more closely to the study of adventure

games. Constructivists envision learning as a process by which the learner constructs a

perception of reality through interpreting personal experiences in the world (Duffy &

Jonassen, 1992). Vygotsky, one psychologist often identified as a constructivist,

conceived of a zone of proximal development. The zone of proximal development

Whitney 34

describes a gap between a student’s developmental or independent level and potential level,

or guided learning level. From Vygotsky’s concept, the idea of scaffolding has grown.

When a teacher applies scaffolding, the child initially does little work and much

observation after which the teacher’s support is gradually withdrawn until the student can

work independently. Scaffolding may also work in a complementary way: students are

challenged with a problem. Depending on the type of mistake the student makes, the

teacher provides the lowest level of assistance possible and gradually increases assistance

until finding a level at which the student is able to function independently.

Cognitive Apprenticeship.

In addition to constructivism and situated instruction, Anchored Instruction borrows

most heavily from the idea of Cognitive Apprenticeship (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989).

Cognitive Apprenticeship uses authentic practices to mimic craft apprenticeships. An

adventure game, if exceptionally well designed, can guide a student through a simulated

environment that approaches the characteristics of a craft apprenticeship.

Cognitive Flexibility.

Spiro, Jacobsen, Feltovich, and Coulton (1991) strive to address the complexity of

learning, partially discussed in Situated Cognition. They note for example, that the same

content must be revisited multiple times and through multiple approaches in order for a

concept to become powerful enough that it may be applied in novel or diverse situations.

Knowledge that will have to be used in a large number of ways has to be organized,

taught, and mentally represented in many different ways. Adventure games typically

Whitney 35

require students to solve a problem by trying multiple approaches, thus the information

they acquire will be applied repeatedly until a solution is found. The games also

introduce novel situations in which the player must use the same resources in new ways.

Case-Based Learning.

Though useful theories, Case-Based Learning and Problem Based learning lend

themselves poorly to the study of the adventure game designed for the current study.

Problem solving case-based reasoning is primarily the use of cases to propose solutions to

problems.

Anchored Instruction.

Anchored Instruction, the most suitable theory for the purpose of researching

adventure games in deaf education, builds on several other theories. The basic foundation

of Anchored Instruction includes Constructionism and Constructivism. Papert (1993)

invented the theory of Constructionism to describe the idea that “knowledge is built by the

learner, not supplied by the teacher” and that it happens when the learner is engaged in

constructing something external and sharable. In the case of adventure games, the student

must gain the knowledge through interacting with the environment in order to gain health,

wealth, or solve a puzzle. The external product could be seen as the increase in the ranking

of the character, but the analogy is questionable.

Anchored Instruction borrows most heavily from Constructivist Theory, Situated

Cognition, and Cognitive Apprenticeship. Anchored environments give students a context-

rich knowledge base as well as realistic applications in which to use the knowledge.

Whitney 36

Ideally students would learn in the one-on-one relationship of apprentice and mentor.

Realistically, an apprenticeship is not feasible in modern educational settings.

Instead, the Vanderbilt Group (Hasselbring, 1994) proposes anchoring the

instruction in integrated media. Integrated media essentially refers to multimedia, but

uses the word integrated to emphasize the point that the goal is to present an integrated

orchestration of media that facilitates learning, not just to multiply the amount of media

available to the students.

As an illustration, Hasselbring (1994) used “The Right Stuff” Integrated Media

Project. In the project the movie “The Right Stuff” accompanied narratives in sign

language and captioning. Hasselbring refers to the videos as “Macrocontexts” intended to

stimulate inquiries over extended periods and through various media, including text.

The Vanderbilt group selected video over text based on evidence that appropriately

designed video can help students form a better mental model of the information than they

might otherwise form if using text only. Source material containing only text poses greater

difficulties for students attempting to build mental anchors on subject matter with which

they have little familiarity. Videos, in addition, gave poor and strong readers alike the

opportunity to develop a common knowledge base.

Adventure Games as Anchored Instruction Components

Adventure games generally have several aspects that make them amenable to the

formation of mental models. The games originated as text only versions-which immersed

students in a fantasy environment conveyed through words describing fictional

Whitney 37

surroundings. Students then must decipher the descriptions, usually drawing a map,

analyze the information and decide on a move. Moves can include a limited set of verbs

such as: “go, get, use, jump, eat.” The fictional environment contains a limited number of

items the students may manipulate such as a rope, a window, a torch, or a key. Through

such games, students experience new vocabulary. The students must then assimilate the

vocabulary to the degree that they can use it appropriately to achieve an interesting goal

such as defeating a dragon or discovering riches.

In a rather elegant study of two text-only games (Werewolf Howls at Dawn and

CIA adventure) Sheriff (1987) analyzed the problem solving strategies of 13 adolescents.

Sheriff used a text-based adventure game. Text-based adventure games require players to

interact exclusively through text. Players must read text to extract scene details, determine

the problem, find clues and make a decision as to what action will solve the problem. The

player then types in a command and observes the results displayed on the computer screen

as text (Gardner, 1999)

Sheriff categorized 18 problem-solving strategies and observed the students

playing the games. Sheriff modified the game to automatically track student progress and

found that, of a total of 2263 moves, 1313 (58%) resulted from use of the various problem-

solving strategies. 262 (11.6%) resulted from previous learning and 688 (30.4%) resulted

in inconsequential moves. The most commonly used strategy was guess and check. It is

not possible from the dissertation to determine if the problem solving strategies were the

“best” ones for a given situation. It is possible, nonetheless, to determine that students did

Whitney 38

use a variety of problem solving strategies. At least the two games involved showed an

ability to stimulate problem-solving activities in accordance with Hasselbring’s (1994)

requirements for an effective mental anchor.

Most adventure games, in contrast to the Sheriff study, currently include a rich store

of visual information, the rough equivalent of the video “The Right Stuff” used in the

Vanderbilt study (Hasselbring, 1994). A recent demonstration of adventure games in the

magazine Computer Gaming World (Demonstration CD, 1997) showed five games with

highly developed 3-D graphics. The graphics, combined with captions or signs could

possibly provide the type of environment Hasselbring (1994) recommended for students to

explore and develop their language then use their knowledge to explore other media.

Before investing vast amounts of time, money, and effort to develop such games,

however, educators prefer to know what aspects of the materials are most important,

motivating and effective. The Anchored Instruction model (Hasselbring, 1994) appeals

greatly to designers of educational adventure games, but little hard evidence shows which

parts of educational adventure games have the greatest impact on learning.

An Example of Anchored Instruction Studies

Gildea, Miller, and Wurtenberg (1990) conducted a study that fits well in the

definition of Anchored Instruction. They made note of the problems with a common

practice in elementary education. When students ask for the meaning of a word teachers

often respond, “Look it up in the dictionary.” Teachers assume that by using the

dictionary students will first of all learn independence and secondly, use the dictionary to

Whitney 39

form a concept of how to use a vast number of words. A pilot study, in contrast, showed

that even though the dictionary supplied examples, students often came up with

interesting, but incorrect examples of a word they had to look up. One example shows

how the dictionary definition of chaste (pure) lead to a logical but incorrect sentence:

“The milk is chaste.”

Gildea, Miller, and Wurtenberg (1991) found that using dictionary definitions

alone often resulted in substitution errors. The investigators then set out to test a

contextualized (anchored) learning situation. They first used examples from the New

York Times to see if text-based context yielded any improvement. Interestingly, the

students still demonstrated a high error rate, even if the number of contexts increased to 3

sentences. Finally, the investigators sought to maximally enrich the students’

environment.

The experiment consisted of giving students a pretest to assess which target words

they already knew. Following the pretest, students viewed computerized episodes of the

movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Students then read sequential paragraphs with the target

words highlighted. The students could select the highlighted words for clarification.

Clarification included reviewing specific scenes from the “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Students could also request additional sample sentences or definitions.

With freedom to choose as they pleased, students preferred definitions first (54%),

pictures much less frequently (21% of the time) and sentences only 12% of the time. With

a second round of experiments that restricted the choices, the investigators found that

Whitney 40

students who read only the text scored 58% on tests of vocabulary comprehension.

Students who used text plus sentences scored a mean of 73% correct.

Likewise, use of definitions and sentences yielded identical scores to sentence

examples only (73%). Sentences combined with pictures resulted in 65% correct whereas

definitions plus sentences plus pictures gave a mean of 63% correct. Retesting the students

1 week later showed that the text plus sentence group scored the highest on 3 measures of

vocabulary comprehension (for the target words). Students having access to example

sentences plus pictures also scored reasonably well, but not as well as the sentence-only

group.

The interesting results show that, contrary to common-sense practices, increasing

the number of options for explaining a target word did not produce an additive effect.

Without seeing the actual target words and programs used, it is impossible to determine if

the pictures had confusing information or if the additional media actually interfered with

learning through some type of sensory overload or distraction effect.

The study does, nonetheless demonstrate a means of testing some of the Vanderbilt

group’s (Cognition and Technology group at Vanderbilt, 1991) theoretical premises. The

enriched context of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” provided the mental anchors described by

Hasselbring. The multiple methods of illustrating and explaining the target words represent

various levels of support scaffolding. The question arises as to whether deaf students

would produce the same types of results, especially considering their supposed visual

orientation to learning.

Whitney 41

Experimental Design Considerations: Action Research

Action Research Described

Hopkins (1993) outlines the experimental design used to evaluate the Gladys City

Adventure Game. According to Hopkins, Action Research developed as a response to the

frustration educators experience with traditional research approaches. Academic

institutions traditionally carry out educational research in the psycho-statistical approach of

tightly controlled experiments with subjects randomly assigned to different treatments in

order to assess the effectiveness of the treatments. The psycho-statistical paradigm, also

known as the Fisher paradigm, does not always yield valuable data in the classroom due to

the difficulties of obtaining random samples, controlling contextual variables and

establishing criteria for performance. The fundamental emphasis of the Fisher paradigm,

moreover conflicts with the ideal emphasis of education: maximizing student learning in

order to enhance individual potential. The Fisher paradigm, in contrast, was developed to

improve gross agricultural yield not to evaluate the potential benefits for individuals.

Hopkins (1993) defines Action Research, “Action research combines a substantive act with

a research procedure; it is action disciplined with enquiry, a personal attempt at

understanding while engaged in a process of improvement and reform.”

Action research consists of four major steps outlined by Glanz (1999).

1. Select a focus.

This step involves knowing what to investigate, developing questions, and

establishing a plan to answer the questions.

Whitney 42

2. Collect data.

Data needs to be well organized in order to communicate the answers to the

questions to an audience.

3. Analyze the data.

The purpose of data analysis is threefold:

a. Describe and summarize the data clearly.

b. Search for consistent patterns or themes among the data.

c. Answer the research questions.

Analysis involves comparing the results to pre-specified standards and

noting to what degree the standards were met.

4. Take action.

Based on the data analysis the researcher decides whether the treatment had

the hoped-for effects. The researcher may also have discovered additional

avenues of research.

According to Glanz (1999), action research consists simply of applying traditional

research approaches to real problems. The traditional research approaches include, among

other approaches, ethnographic, descriptive, and quasi-experimental.

Johnson (1995), considers diaries, logs, portfolios, questionnaires, interviews,

audio- and videotapes, photographs, and slides all as viable sources of data. She notes,

furthermore, that most definitions of action research include a cycle of addressing some

question, seeking answers, and reflecting on the research. Action research, as she

Whitney 43

conceptualizes it, allows an educator to respond to a rapid onslaught of changes in order to

improve the educational environment. In the case of the present study, action research

allowed the investigator to take advantage of rapidly developing technology and attempt to

put into a form that is accessible and beneficial to deaf students.

The benefits of action research include:

1. Promoting personal and professional growth.

2. Improving practice to enhance student learning.

3. Constructing new learning and meaning.

4. Advancing the teaching profession.

5. Contributing to the professional literature.

6. Promoting collaboration.

7. Breaking barriers of isolation (Johnson, 1995).

Greenwood and Levin (1998), note that action research generally takes on much

more complex problems than those addressed by traditional research paradigms. Action

research focuses on specific contexts, with their inherent wealth of experience, history,

dynamism and rich interactions.

Credibility and Validity of Action Research

Greenwood and Levin (1998) note that the validity and credibility of action

research is not measured by traditional means. It is measured, instead based on how the

research gives rise to action and enables the participants’ (sometimes the researcher can be

viewed as the participant) control over their situation.

Whitney 44

Greenwood and Levin (1998) extend the definition of credibility for action research

to include internal credibility, external credibility, workability and making sense. Internal

credibility, for action research consists of knowledge that results in altered patterns of

social action. External credibility consists of convincing someone who did not participate

in the research that the results are believable. External credibility is sometimes dismissed

in action research due to the tendency of action research to focus on a limited number of

cases. Even a single case that challenges a theory, nevertheless, can invalidate a theory.

The “workability” measure of credibility consists of measuring whether the actions

taken during the AR process will lead to a solution to the problem. The “making sense”

criteria for credibility consists of asking how the results can be integrated into a process of

constructing new knowledge.

Whitney 45

Chapter 3

Method

Outline of the Study

In the development stage, the investigator created a panoramic game titled “Gladys

City Adventure Game”. The Gladys City Adventure Game and the companion multimedia

dictionary both evolved from the Gladys City Museum, also known as the Spindletop

museum that is affiliated with Lamar University located in Beaumont, Texas. The museum

preserves the history of the Lucas gusher, the first true oil gusher in the United States. Both

the multimedia dictionary and the game expose students to identical target vocabulary and

other key concepts.

The term “Panorama”, used to describe the navigation interface in the game, refers

to such means of presenting images as are found in QuickTime Virtual Reality,

SmoothMoves, and other similar panoramic viewers. All provide a means of

overlapping and joining images (usually sequential images taken ten to twenty degree

intervals) to create a 360-degree panorama. The panorama is then presented as a scrollable

image with hotspots. The scrollable image appears on the computer screen and the

hotspots typically draw attention by means of outlining the area or changing the cursor

when the cursor passes over a specific portion of the panoramic image. Real Estate offices

use panorama viewers, for example, to allow prospective buyers to see a room as if

standing in the center. The customer uses the mouse to control the scrolling of the

Whitney 46

panoramic image then uses the mouse to select a “hotspot” thereby navigating to another

room.

In the game, students start with an introduction (Appendix A). The introduction

lays out the background for the game: A ruthless energy company has decided to change

history in order to gain control of the oil industry. They did so by traveling in time to the

Gladys City boomtown shortly after the discovery of the Lucas Gusher. In the game

students must interact with characters via text with ASL support. All text was written at

the 2nd grade reading level (Appendix B). The students used the text to gain information

about the city and history of Spindletop and, eventually, prevent the energy company from

disrupting history.

Participants had to progress through a sequence of events. First they viewed the

introduction consisting of short video clips and English captions with optional ASL

interpreting. ASL interpreting was limited to ten times. After viewing the introduction,

students proceeded to the main panoramic navigation scene: the center of the Gladys City

Museum 3d model. The main navigation scene has “hotspots” over the doors of each

building. Some of the buildings have not yet been activated for the entire game. If the

cursor passed over an inactive building, blue text appeared over the door with the words,

“There is nothing here yet” (Appendix C).

Dragging the cursor over any spot that is an active hotspot at any point during the

game results in a change in cursor shape from the default arrow cursor to a pointing finger.

Passing over the hotspot also triggers the appearance of a sign, which identifies each

Whitney 47

building (Appendix D). The participants can click on any of the active hotspots. Some of

the hotspots are active for the game, but dormant until participants find certain clues or

items. Clicking on the dormant hotspots resulted in an alert box (Appendix E). The alert

box (commonly used in software applications to report errors) contains text and an “OK”

button. The text informed students that the particular building was not open yet, and why.

Clicking over an active hotspot that is not dormant results in entering into a new

building. The available hotspots include an ice-cream parlor panorama (Appendix F), a

blacksmith shop panorama (Appendix G), a general store panorama (Appendix H), a video

in an apartment (Appendix I), the Gladys City Oil and Gas Company video introduction

(Appendix J), and a dialogue with the boss of the Texaco Oil rig (Appendix K).

Four of the panoramic scenes contain hotspots, which activate dialogues. The ice

cream parlor leads to a dialogue with Doc Thomas (Appendix L). The Blacksmith scene

leads to a dialogue with George Schuldt (Appendix M). The Gladys City Oil and Gas

Company lead to a dialogue with George Washington Carroll, George Washington

O’Brien, and B.F. Lanier (Appendix N). The Texaco rig panorama (Appendix O) appears

only after completing the dialogue with the rig boss.

Each dialogue contains background information that participants can use to solve

challenge scenes. Four of the dialogues lead to challenges. The medical scene, blacksmith

scene, Oil and Gas Company, and Texaco scene all lead to challenges. The medical

challenge (Appendix P) consists of reading text with directions for performing surgery on

the main character (injured in a rig accident). Students must select the correct surgical

Whitney 48

item. Too many mistakes result in the death of the main character - Jimmy (Appendix Q).

The Blacksmith challenge strongly resembles the medical challenge, but more closely

complies with the precepts of Anchored Instruction – the tools are arranged in an actual

image of the blacksmith shop (Appendix R). The Oil and Gas Company challenge requests

students to select which of three characters matches a text clue (Appendix S). Working too

slowly results in a bomb destroying an oilrig.

The multimedia dictionary consisted of a menu (Appendix T) that led to each of the

four scenes covered in the game. The four scenes contain a dropdown list with the target

vocabulary. The vocabulary shows the English definition by Default (Appendix U).

Clicking on a button labeled “ASL” toggles the definition to ASL mode that pulls up a

movie of a Deaf ASL user explaining the meaning of the vocabulary word (Appendix V).

Experimental Design – Action Research

The research undertaken in the current study attempted to evaluate the potential of a

computer-based game as a teaching tool. The game, according to predetermined standards,

would be considered effective if it increased knowledge of vocabulary and facts and/or

motivated the students to engage in learning. Any degree of vocabulary acquisition would

indicate some effectiveness. Any degree or indications of motivation would also indicate

effectiveness. The research should, moreover, begin the process of determining which

portions of the treatments yielded the greatest increases in knowledge and for whom the

treatments were most beneficial. Since this is the first round of development, any

information that leads to improvement was considered valuable data. Whether the

Whitney 49

treatments proved effective or not, the data would help the investigator in future efforts at

developing computer-based learning tools to be used in Deaf Education classrooms.

The goal was not just to see how many students the game benefited, but which

students and to what degree it provided benefits. The research conditions also prevented

uniform treatments and tight controls. Two computers for 12 students with variable

schedules and widely diverse linguistic backgrounds presented insurmountable challenges

to the traditional experimental design. As a result of the insurmountable challenges, Action

Research provided a more valid data collection paradigm.

Background information, game performance and field notes combine to give an

overall picture of what happened. For additional information, the multimedia treatment

helped clarify to what degree the game maximized learning, but it did not allow for a

tightly controlled comparison.

Development of the Treatments

The game development process involved five major activities commonly

recognized by game development and multimedia firms. They included script-writing,

videography, 3d artwork, animation, and programming. Although the Department of

Education grant supported paying a 3d artist/animator, the student hired to do the artwork

proved unreliable, forcing the investigator to learn both 3d modeling and animation as well

as the other aspects of game development. Each part of the game development and

multimedia development will be discussed in detail.

Whitney 50

Game Development

The game posed the greatest challenge to the investigator. The investigator sought

to create an immersive game with panoramas as the main user interface. The first efforts at

creating panoramas involved photographing the Gladys City Boomtown Museum located

in Beaumont Texas. Using a tripod with a ratcheting head, the investigator went into each

room of each building in the museum to take the sequential images necessary to create a

360° panorama.

The ratcheting head had detent discs, which limit the rotation to 20° for each shot.

The individual images were then stitched (joined by matching overlapping portions of the

photographs and blending them into one image) together using QuickTime VR Authoring

Studio™. The results proved unsatisfactory for the purposes of the investigation. Sunlight

coming in through the windows caused uneven lighting for each of the sequential images

and proved exceedingly difficult to correct. The number of items in the rooms also reduced

the control the investigator had over the scenes created by stitching the images together.

After experimenting with actual images for approximately one month, the

investigator decided to experiment with creating a 3d model of the Gladys City Museum.

A 3d model has the advantages of superior lighting control, unlimited control over the

contents of each scene, and the potential of creating multiple formats, including Virtual

Reality Modeling Language (VRML), various panoramic formats, and various video

animations.

Whitney 51

3d modeling.

The investigator used 3d Studio Max™ R2. 3d Studio Max R4 is now sold by

Discreet (Discreet, 2002) to create the bulk of the models, assemble the final 3d model of

the city, and create several of the animations. 3d Studio Max™ is a combined 3d modeling

and animation package that uses frame-based animation. 3d Studio Viz™ R2, a similar

product also produced by Kinetix, specializes in creating architectural models. It proved

instrumental in creating the buildings that made up the bulk of the scenery in the Gladys

City Adventure game.

Although the investigator created most of the models found in the various scenes of

the game, many other models were downloaded as free models distributed at various

Internet sites. Distribution of the game is pending documentation of who created the

various models and until permission to distribute the game has been secured. Character

models were provided either by Poser™ 3.0 or downloaded from the Renderosity

(Renderosity, 1999) web page.

Creating the panorama followed completion of all building other models

incorporated in the city scenery. After all the models were correctly positioned and the

correct textures were placed on them (to allow the program to render or paint them as

desired) the investigator placed “cameras” within each of the rooms that would become an

interactive scene of the game. The investigator located cameras in the city center, ice

cream parlor, doctor’s office, apartment, General Store, blacksmith shop, Oil and Gas

Company, and Texaco oilrig. The cameras were then each set to take sequential “shots” at

Whitney 52

each of the sites at 20-degree intervals. The resultant images were then ready for stitching

into a single panoramic image using QuickTime™ VR Authoring Studio (check this!). The

resulting panoramic image was then ready for importing into Director™ not as a panorama

ready for a viewer such as the QuickTime viewer, but as a jpeg image ready for use in

Director without any external viewers.

Character animation.

The character animations were created in the Poser™ human animation software.

This allows easy manipulation of a human or animal 3d model based on joint rotation with

either manual manipulation of the joints or easily accessed dials to set the exact rotation

angle at a given moment in time. Two of the character animations that show sign language

were provided in part by House of Moves (House of Moves, 2000) motion capture service.

The investigator flew out to California with a native sign language user who performed the

entire script of the game. Eight infrared motion capture cameras recorded the motion of

reflective balls located on the Deaf actors joints. The cameras fed the data to a computer,

which converted the motion into text format. The data was then cleaned by the House of

Moves and delivered to the investigator as a charitable donation. The motion capture came

in BVH format, which drove animations on 3d characters created in Poser™.

Animations created in Poser™ did not easily merge with the models created in 3d

Studio Max. Moving city models into Poser caused problems with rendering the images.

Moving characters into 3d Studio Max™ often caused problems with rendering the

characters properly. In 2001, however, Maximum Pose II (Fielder, 2001) became available

Whitney 53

at Renderosity and provided an easy translation of Poser animations into 3d Studio Max™

files.

Unfortunately, the motion capture animations lacked facial expression and hand

shape features. The investigator had to work the animations extensively to incorporate

both proper ASL handshapes and the proper facial expressions. The results did not

accurately reflect the original performance of the actor. The sign language animations,

therefore, seemed a little odd. They were understandable, but with considerably more

effort than watching a video of a live performer. As a result, the investigator decided to use

video clips for the interpreter portions of the game.

Videography.

The ASL interpreters required extensive use of video clips created by working with

two native ASL users. Both of the native ASL users had been Deaf since birth and

immersed in ASL from childhood. The investigator worked with them extensively

explaining the nuances and meanings of the English text used during the game. The

interpreter and the investigator then arrived at satisfactory interpretations. A digital video

camera recorded the interpretations, with the “stop” button pushed between each line, or

definition. The “stop” button set up the videos for automatic clip creation within Imovie™

on a MacIntosh™ G4.

The videos were transferred to the G4 through IEEE 1394 (firewire) cable. Each

line automatically became a clip, which the investigator then edited to reduce file size as

much as possible without sacrificing too much quality using Imovie™. The movies were

Whitney 54

cropped and compressed using Sorenson™ compression/decompression (codec). Video

clips were exported to QuickTime™ with Expert format settings at a 320 x 240 image

setting. The compression settings were set to 15 frames per second, medium quality, and

key framed every 12 frames. Adobe ™ Premiere then processed the videos to correct

contrast and lighting errors (due mostly to the investigator’s lack of videography

experience). The game originally had approximately 150 video clips, roughly 90 of them

made it into the game used for the study.

Programming.

Completion of the videography, character animations, and 3d models allowed the

investigator to begin the final stage: putting all the elements together into a usable game,

which would respond to user interactions through the mouse or keyboard. The investigator

chose Director™ 8.5 produced by Macromedia (Macromedia, 2002). Director is known as

an authoring tool, a tool that allows media designers to easily put together the various parts

of multimedia applications, web pages, or games. It allows the designer to incorporate and,

to varying degrees, edit text, video, images, audio, and user interactions among other

aspects of multimedia applications.

Graphical user interface.

One aspect of the game development required the creation of a graphical user

interface (GUI). The graphical user interface allows a game player to interact with the

game by clicking on images instead of typing commands. Aspects of the GUI include the

background images, buttons, and framing of the images. The principle navigation buttons

Whitney 55

for the interpreter and for jumping between non-panoramic sections of the game were

created in 3d Studio Max™ with variations on marble textures. The “exit” button was

created using two still images of a hand in Poser™ then importing them into Director™.

The images were linked to a button with “rollover” behaviors that caused the hand to

appear to move in an imitation of the sign for “leave”.

The blacksmith, Texaco, and medical challenge scenes contained items, which the

students could click in response to directions in a text box. The items were still images,

which the student could scroll over with the mouse. As the mouse passed over each image,

the image became a larger, rotating image that showed the item from various angles in

order to give the game player a clearer picture of what each item looked like. The items

were buttons with rollover scripts (included with the Director™ software), which swapped

a sequence of images back and forth in a cyclical fashion, then returned to normal size with

no motion when the mouse left the button area.

Panoramic navigation.

The initial attempts to use QuickTime™ VR as the main navigation interface

caused multiple crashes in the computer, probably due to the complexity. The game had a

large number of “nodes” or spots the user could click on to jump into a new panoramic

scene. It also used several hotspots for jumping to non-panoramic scenes within director

for different kinds of interaction, including videos and text. The size of the QuickTime™

VR files and the complexity and number of links appeared too much for Director to

adequately accommodate. After extensive searching for a solution, the investigator found a

Whitney 56

site explaining a technique used by Director programmers long before QuickTime™ VR

entered the market. Collins (1998) explained a technique that could use Director’s

programming language (Lingo) to scroll the panorama jpeg image created in 3d Studio

Max™ in a fashion almost identical to the QuickTime™ VR viewer. The technique

involves copying a section of the panorama that is equal to the width of the Director viewer

the game players will see. The copied section of the image is then pasted onto the opposite

end of the image. The Lingo commands then cause the image to scroll in response to

mouse movements and jump back to the beginning when the scrolling brings the user to the

end of the image.

At Mediamacros (Mediamacros, 2001), the investigator found Ling scripts that

allowed incorporation of unique “hotspot” alerting techniques directly into the scrolling

panorama. Loren Mork, a contributor to the Mediamacros site, created a behavior titled

“Scroll Sprite by MouseLoc Behavior”. The script could be used to cause a button to

scroll in response to the mouse movements, similar to the panorama behavior. The

investigator took the behaviors created by Collins (1998) and Loren Mork, modified both,

and combined them to suit the game better. With the combined Ling scripts (called

“behaviors” in director) the investigator could use progressively larger images of signs

from the Gladys City Museum to create clear indicators of what building the users where

passing over and which buildings would allow interaction at some point in the game.

Whitney 57

Tracking user responses.

The game required tracking user responses in order to allow users to stop and return

to the same place as where they left off. Each scene sent information to variables that

allowed the game to record the scene entered, the level, and certain items that the player

may or may not have acquired during game play. The level determined whether or not

each building was accessible and what interactions would be supported. The variables

were recorded into and retrieved from pref files – two obscure Lingo commands (setpref

and getpref) allow easy writing to and reading from files. Most director programmers seem

to focus on more complex techniques that may have more power but proved overly

complicated for the purpose of the game. Initially the investigator intended to record how

much time the students spent in each scene and what buttons or items the student clicked

on. Such interaction tracking would allow an analysis of problems solving strategies and,

to some degree frustration or motivation. In the interest of time, however, this option was

not exercised, but recommended for future studies.

Multimedia Dictionary Development

The investigator followed the same basic procedure for the multimedia dictionary

development as outlined in the game with one major exception: the images taken from 3d

models had already been created. In all other respects, the procedure remained the same:

create the images, create the ASL videos, import them into the authoring tool (Director™),

arrange them into a usable interface, and attach scripts to control the interaction.

Experience from developing the game, simpler interaction and interface of the dictionary,

Whitney 58

and re-using game images resulted in a much faster multimedia development than game

development (approximately on quarter of the time). The experience also led to some

improved design features.

The game, the first major Director project attempted by the investigator used a

simple technique for navigating to the interpreter videos. The videos were simply placed

sequentially on the director score. The first video would take up the first ten frames of the

video portion of the score; the second video would take up the second ten frames of the

video portion and so on. The game then employed a simple means of extracting the “scene

entered” data and using that to determine which video to jump to. The organization of the

game became burdensome with nearly 100 videos causing the score to grow to barely

manageable proportions. The investigator determined to find a more effective means of

organizing and navigating to large numbers of videos. The solution lay in creating a list of

videos, a matching list of text, and another matching list of images. The dictionary then

used a scroll bar with a list of vocabulary words. Selecting the vocabulary words sends a

message to Director™ to display the correct text and its corresponding image with a

matching video ready for display. Instead of placing nearly 100 videos on a score (similar

to a timeline), the investigator only needed to create few well-organized sections with

efficient Lingo scripts controlling the display of the various media.

Background Data Collection

The background data collection consisted of giving students questionnaires on prior

computer and adventure game experience (Appendix W). Teachers of the participants

Whitney 59

completed another questionnaire on classroom computer use (Appendix X). Additionally,

the investigator collected information on each participant’s reading level, gender, language

preferences and other possible influences on the results of the treatments (Appendix Y).

Participant’s reading level, language preferences and other possible influences (i.e.

student’s problem solving skills) were obtained through teacher interview. All students

participating in the game evaluation returned parent permission forms – those over 18 years

of age signed on their own recognition (Appendix Z).

Experimental Phase

The actual experiment consisted of exposing a group of students to both

multimedia and game presentations. By exposing students to both treatments, the

investigator hoped to study the degree to which the game lead students to their maximal

learning potential via computer assisted learning for the chosen target words. The

multimedia approach is easier to create, but possibly less engaging. The adventure game

approach required considerably more time and effort, which would have to be justified by

markedly increased performance on vocabulary acquisition and retention and some

approximation of maximizing the learning potential via computer assisted instruction.

There was only one site that was able to participate within the allotted time frame.

Eight high school students completed the study with one additional student providing

partial data on the pretest and posttests and one additional student providing feedback only

on motivation (due to data loss from programming errors). Student grade levels ranged

from 9th grade through 12th grade. Two female students and 6 male students provided

Whitney 60

enough data to analyze. Preferred languages and communication modes included ASL,

Signed English, and spoken English. First languages included Tagalog, spoken English,

Signed English, Spoken Spanish, and ASL. The students ranged in reading level from 3rd

grade through an estimated 9th grade or higher reading level. The names of all students

reported have been changed to protect their privacy.

Students took pretests (Appendix AA) of the vocabulary and facts before playing

the game followed by a posttest to determine vocabulary and fact acquisition from the

game. The pretests and posttests all took the form of a computer-based test in which the

image of the item would appear, along with a question and choices for answers. The

answers were selected by clicking on a button. The pretest and posttests all had identical

questions, but the order of presentation was randomized.

The first posttest was followed by an opportunity to study the multimedia

dictionary and a second posttest. During the experiment, hand written observations

provided some data on how the students interacted with both the multimedia and game

treatments. Due to the limited resources and the number of students, the investigator was

not able to tightly control the time frame during which students participated. Some

students took the pretest, played the game through the first challenge, and then did not start

again until two days later. Other students worked all the way through the pretest, the game,

and the first posttest before stopping. There was no gap between game and Posttest for

them. In the spirit of action research, the investigator made no attempt to stifle discussions

Whitney 61

among the students except during the “challenge” scenes. When students needed to solve a

part of the game, the investigator asked the other students not to give the answers away.

Two brief Likert-scale questionnaires measured motivation. One questionnaire

assessed the game’s motivating value (Appendix BB) and the other assessed the

multimedia presentation’s motivating value (Appendix CC). Finally, the investigator kept

field notes (Appendix DD) to document any problems that occurred and any observations

that might shed light on the results obtained during the game evaluation (the experiment).

Whitney 62

Chapter 4

Results

Overview of Results

Because of the chosen methodology and the nature of the questions under

investigation, the results cannot be generalized. The results are useful only as a descriptive

study of an attempted educational technique. The description may be used to improve

future studies using action research supplemented by more traditional research to give the

clearest possible picture of the value of the Gladys City Adventure game. The results also

guide the investigator in efforts to improve the game and the experimental design. Data

extracted from action research studies do not always determine “success” or “failure” of an

experiment so much as it contributes to the process of developing a treatment, studying the

interaction between the treatment and the classroom, and improving the treatment for new

rounds of observations.

Background Data

Teacher Interviews

Though not a research question in itself, the background variables were important

for partially answering research questions #1 and #2. Both sought to determine for whom

the game was effective. Information about participant problem solving skills, language

background and reading levels were initially considered the most likely variables to

influence the results. Other variables included computer experience. During interviews

with the teacher the investigator collected data on the language background, cognitive

Whitney 63

abilities and other factors that may have affected the outcome of the experiment. All data

were based only on teacher ratings or student responses – no testing instruments were

consulted.

Table 1displays the results of teacher ratings of the participants’, reading levels,

memory and “cognitive skills” (described as problems solving abilities during the

interview). Teacher ratings of reading levels ranged from 3rd grade to”9+”. Teachers rated

the participants’ problem solving skills from 5 to 10 (maximum = 10) with only one

participant (Kristi) rated below 7. The student rated with problem solving skills of 5 only

provided motivation data – all her other data was lost. Similarly, teachers rated the

participants’ memory skills between 6 and “9+” (maximum = 10). Only Kristi was rated

below 7. Again, her pretest/posttest data was lost.

The language background data resulted from teacher interviews and participant

interviews. First languages included oral English, oral Spanish, Signed English, ASL,

unspecified manual communication, and Tagalog. Participants’ preferred languages

included ASL, oral English, oral Spanish, Signed English, Contact Communication (PSE),

and combinations of two languages.

Whitney 64

Table 1

Teacher Ratings of Student Language and Cognitive Skills

Student L1 L2 L3 LP Read level

Memory(max. = 10)

Cog. Skills(max. = 10)

Ariel Engl/MC SL/PSE 4 9 8Sue SE Eng ASL ASL 7 to 8 8 10Daniel Spanish Eng MC Oral Eng 5 8 to 9 9 to 5Frank Eng ASL ASL 9+ 9+ 8Julio Spanish Eng ASL Spanish 4 to 5 8 to 9 8Juan MC Eng ASL 7 to 8 9 10Kristi Tagalog SE SE 4 6 to 7 5Mark Uncertain MC ASL ASL 3 7 to 8 7 to 8Anthony Eng ASL Eng/ASL 5+ 9 10

Note.

MC = Manual communication - unspecified

SE = Signed English

ASL = American Sign Language

Sp = Spanish

Eng = English

PSE = Pidgin Signed English

L1 = Primary language, first language

L2 = Second language

L3 = Third language

Lp = Preferred language

Whitney 65

Computer Use

The surveys of computer use showed generally strong computer experience with a

few exceptions. The data are divided into two charts; one for amount of type spend in

various computer-related activities, and the other for naming types of games with which

students are most familiar (table 2).

Whitney 66

Table 2

Student Home Computer Use Frequency

Computer Experience Questionnaire 1 = 0 to 1; 2 = 1 to 2; 3 = 2 to 3, 4 = 3 to 4; 5 = 4 or more 6 = no response

QU EST ION SAriel Sue Dan Frank Julio Juan Bob Kristi Mark

How many hours per week do you use a computer at home?

5 1 2 5 2 5 1 2 5

How long have you been using computers at home? (years)

1 1 1 5 1 5 No Response

2 3

How many hours do you play games on the computer?

3 6 2 3 2 2 2 2 5

How many hours do you play console games (Sony, Genesis, Sega)?

4 4 3 5 5 No Response

4 2 No Response

Whitney 67

The Computer Use Survey reveals the patterns of computer use by students in their

homes. Most, but not all had access to computers at home (Figure 1).

Ariel Daniel Frank Julio Juan Bob Kristi Mark

I don't use one at home

Uses at friend's house

I use the Internet X X XI use it for e-mail X X XI use it to play games X X X X XI do home work on the computer X X

Other X

Figure 1: Student Home Computer Use

Under the response option of “Other”, Daniel responded that he used the computer

for downloading music and Frank responded that he used it for online chatting.

Whitney 68

Students responded to the question: “Please write the names of your favorite 3

games you play on the computer or circle “None” if you don’t play computer games” as

shown in Figure 2.

Ariel Golf Cards Tetris

DanielJedi Knight: Dark Force II No Response No Response

Frank Baseball - any Fast and Furious

Who wants to be a Millionaire - 2nd sports edition

Julio Star Wars No Response No ResponseJuan Star Craft Red Alert No Response

Bob Oregon trail Doom No ResponseKristi Solitaire Minefield No Response

Mark Counter Strike Cards Pool

Figure 2: Student Computer Game Experience

Students responded to the a similar question, “Please write the names of your

favorite 3 console games. Circle “None” if you don’t play Nintendo type games” as shown

Figure 3.

Whitney 69

Ariel

Plays, no titles

given No Response No Response

Daniel Tomb Raider Soccer FICA 2001 Batman (Original Nintendo)

Frank Parasite - Eve II Resident Evil III Nemesis Silence Hill

Julio

WWF

Smackdown 3 NFL 2k1 NFL 2k

Juan

Silence Hill

(Adventure game) Tomb Raider

Bloody Roar (fighting

game)

Bob None No Response No Response

Kristi Golden Eye Taken II Alone in the Dark

Mark Mario Kart No Response No Response

Figure 3: Student Experience With Console Games

Teachers responded to the Classroom Computer Use survey as shown in table 3 and

in table 4.

Whitney 70

Table 3

Classroom Computer Use in Teacher’s Lessons

Lloyd Galloway

How many hours per week do you use a computer in class? 2 2

How long have you been using computers in class? (years) 5 5

Table 4

Classroom Computer Use by Category

Please rank the top 5 activities in order of highest use to lowest use among your students in school. I is the most common computer activity while 5 is the least. Lloyd GallowayThey don’t use one in school.They use the internet. 2 1They use it for e-mail.They use it to play games.They use presentation software. 3 3They use Word Processing software. 1 2They use educational software. 4 4

They use Spreadsheets and databases.

One student

only

Whitney 71

Research Question #1: Was the Game or Multimedia Treatment Successful in Teaching

Students Vocabulary, Recognition of Faces and the Acquisition of Facts?

The data show some growth in knowledge acquisition for three categories: faces,

facts, and vocabulary. Background data and field notes help explain the results. The faces

data shows how the students matched the faces of people involved in the Gladys City

history to their names. The facts data shows how well the game and dictionary treatments

influenced acquisition of facts related to the people who influenced Gladys City history.

Overall, there appears to be some fact acquisition for a few students, but this appears to be

the weakest part of the game and dictionary treatments. The vocabulary data shows how

well the game and dictionary treatments succeeded in influencing the ability of students to

match pictures of items to their names and (in a few cases) their functions. Both the game

and multimedia dictionary treatments appear to have influenced vocabulary acquisition for

many, but not all students.

The background data measured the potential influencing factors of each student’s

language environment, cognitive variables and other factors that may have contributed to

the student-game interaction.

Acquisition of Facts, Vocabulary, and Face Identification

General Vocabulary Acquisition

The data appears to show a somewhat consistent but not perfect trend to acquire

vocabulary during the entire game phase and additional amounts of vocabulary acquisition

during the multimedia dictionary phase (figure 4). The data for growth by word shows no

Whitney 72

immediately apparent pattern. Figure 1 shows the words in order of presentation, grouped

by game section. “Stock” shows little recognition from the beginning and little growth

throughout the experimental phase. “Bullet Probe”, “Suture”, “Hardie”, “Piston” and

“Casing” show apparently consistent increases in recognition. Other words show

apparently high recognition at the pretest with little decay during the tests and some show

unpredictable patterns of growth and decline in student acquisition. There is no

immediately obvious pattern of growth by order of presentation.

Whitney 73

Figure 4: Growth by Words

Whitney 74

Analysis of vocabulary gains by student (figure 5) shows a general pattern of more

correct responses on the game posttest and multimedia posttest when compared to the

pretest results. The investigator lost Kristi’s pretest and posttest data due to programming

errors that caused confusion. Bob did not complete the multimedia dictionary posttest.

Sue and Mark show no apparent increases in vocabulary. Julio’s posttest scores indicate no

benefit from the game, but some possible benefit from the multimedia treatment.

Whitney 75

Figure 5: Overall Vocabulary Growth by Individuals

Whitney 76

Medical Scene Vocabulary Acquisition.

Figures 4 and 5 show the growth in knowledge by word and by individual. One

additional chart (Table 5) helps bring the patterns of learning into clearer focus. Four of the

seven participants demonstrated positive growth in the number of correct responses.

Daniel and Julio answered two items correctly only after the multimedia treatment.

Frank Anthony, and Juan both answered more items correctly following their

posttests, but their growth patterns were mixed. Some of the items they answered correctly

were correct following the game treatment and stayed correct following the multimedia

treatment. Some of their correct responses were not correct until completing the

multimedia posttest.

The other participants did not show any consistent indications of increased

knowledge of vocabulary as evidenced by either zero increase in correct response or

“reversal” increases – correct responses on the game posttest followed by incorrect

responses on the multimedia posttest (for a total of five “reversal” responses). The over all

balance seems to indicate more learning attributed to the multimedia treatment than to the

game, but the evidence is not conclusive due to the small sample size. The best

interpretation would be that some of the information seemed learnable via the two

treatments, but was not learned following the game treatment. Among all the students, five

responses were correct by the game posttest and stayed stable through the multimedia

posttest. Seven responses were not correct until the multimedia posttest. “Suture” had the

Whitney 77

highest number of correct responses (three) that showed up only following the multimedia

treatment.

Whitney 78

Table 5

Medical Scene Pre and Posttest Responses

1 = correct, 0 = incorrect

Words AntisepticArtery Clamp

Bullet Probe Forceps Suture

Sphygmomano-meter Total

Ariel

Pretest 1 0 1 0 0 1 3Game 0 0 1 1 0 1 3

Multimedia 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Sue

Pretest 1 1 0 1 0 1 4Game 1 0 0 0 0 1 2

Multimedia 1 1 0 1 0 1 4

Daniel

Pretest 1 1 0 1 0 1 4Game 1 1 0 0 0 1 3

Multimedia 1 1 1 0 1 1 5

Frank

Pretest 0 0 0 1 0 0 1Game 1 1 0 0 0 0 2

Multimedia 1 1 0 0 1 0 3

Julio

Pretest 1 1 0 0 0 1 3Game 0 1 0 0 0 1 2

Multimedia 0 1 1 0 1 1 4

Juan

Pretest 1 1 0 0 0 1 3Game 1 1 1 0 1 1 5

Multimedia 1 1 1 1 1 1 6

Mark

Pretest 1 1 0 0 1 1 4Game 1 1 0 1 1 0 4

Multimedia 1 0 0 0 0 1 2

Anthony

Pretest 1 1 0 0 0 1 3Game 1 1 1 0 0 1 4

Multimedia 1 1 1 0 1 1 5

Note: the color-coding and font in tables of responses to test items represents

different patterns of learning. Italicized red represents a “reversal”. Reversals indicate a

correct response on an item followed by in incorrect response on the same item in

subsequent posttests. Reversals may indicate random guessing artifacts. Green

Whitney 79

represents items that were not answered correctly until the multimedia posttest. Bold,

italicized, underlined green may represent learning attributed only to the multimedia (or

practice). Green may also represent random guessing since there is no means of

confirming the stability of the correct responses – the study included no tests following

the multimedia posttest. Bold blue represents items that the participant answered

correctly from pretest through the final posttest. Black represents items that the

participant never answered correctly. Underlined mauve represents items that

participants first answered correctly on the game posttest and continued to answer

correctly in the multimedia posttest. Though not conclusive, the consistent responses

may indicate that the answers were not random guessing artifacts.

Medical scene field notes and interpretation.

The two female participants (Ariel and Sue) either answered fewer items correctly

or showed inconsistent growth. Without a larger sample, it is not possible to make

generalizations, but fewer correct answers and inconsistent growth for the females may be

related to a gender bias in the game. Sadly, the results from two other female participants

could not be used due to either incomplete or lost data.

The one male participant who scored lower on the posttests was the lowest reader.

Although the reading level was adjusted to a second grade reading level, the original script

was closer to a 5th grade reading level. Literature indicates that rewritten texts with lower

reading levels than the original do not support increased comprehension. It may be that

Mark simply did not understand the text. Interestingly, Ariel – one of the other participants

Whitney 80

who did not benefit from the medical scene, also had a low reading level as judged by her

teachers.

The computer use questionnaires do not support any trends based on computer use

at home. Both the females and the male who benefited the least from the medical scene

indicated computer usage patterns consistent with the other participants. The computer use

questionnaires, however are highly suspect. Some of the questions were highly ambiguous.

“How many hours do you play games on the computer?” for example, lacks a time frame.

One student may have answered based on daily usage whereas another may have answered

based on weekly usage.

Field notes indicate possible further explanations fewer correct multimedia posttest

answers for the three participants (Ariel, Sue, and Mark). Mark did not really attend to the

multimedia version. He visited only the blacksmith scene. Mark’s failure to use the

multimedia dictionary to its fullness does not explain the lack of benefit from playing the

game, but it may explain the actual decrease in correct responses following the multimedia

treatment.

The field notes indicated, furthermore, that the investigator paid sparse attention to

the three participants who scored lower on the posttests. Lower posttest scores or lack of

progress could easily have resulted from the participants playing without understanding

what was going on. Notes with other participants indicated a need for explanation and

clarification of various parts of the game.

Whitney 81

Multimedia notes. The general trend in table 5shows gains following the game

treatment with additional gains following the multimedia dictionary treatment. The

consistent but smaller gains following the multimedia treatment may be due to either

learning being nearly maximized during the game or by participant inattention to the

multimedia treatment that had no method of controlling which sections the students visited.

At least one student skipped the majority of the multimedia treatment before proceeding to

the final posttest.

Blacksmith Scene Vocabulary Acquisition

Formed only of complete data sets for vocabulary acquisition, Table 6 gives a

focused picture of the results from the blacksmith scene. It is interesting to note that Juan,

Julio, Ariel, and Mark did not score correctly on some of the items until the multimedia

posttest. The items Daniel, Frank, and Anthony answered correctly, in contrast, were all

correct following the game treatment. The investigator could detect no correlation with

language preferences, teacher ratings of reading levels, or teacher ratings of problem

solving skills. The overall balance of correct responses answered by game to correct

responses answered only following multimedia is 5 to 10. It is important to take into

account that correct responses on the multimedia test may be random – there is no

additional that allows determination of the stability of items answered correctly on the

multimedia posttest. The participants accumulated a total of 5 “reversal” responses in the

blacksmith scene.

Whitney 82

Whitney 83

Table 6

Blacksmith Scene Responses to Pre and Posttest Questions

1 = correct, 0 = incorrect

  Words Stock Anvil Pliers Hardie Tongs Borax Cure Totals

Ariel

Pretest0 0 1 0 1 0 0

2

Game 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2Multimedia 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 5

Sue

Pretest 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 4Game 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 4

Multimedia 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 3

Daniel

Pretest 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 3Game 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 5

Multimedia 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 5

Frank

Pretest 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 4Game 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 5

Multimedia 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 5

Julio

Pretest 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 3Game 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2

Multimedia 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 5

Juan

Pretest 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 5Game 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 5

Multimedia 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7

Mark

Pretest 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1Game 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

Multimedia 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2

Anthony

Pretest 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 4Game 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 5

Multimedia 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 5

Blacksmith scene field notes and interpretation.

The participants in the Gladys City Adventure Game research generally scored

higher in the game posttests than they did in the pretest for the blacksmith scene. Two

students showed an increase of one vocabulary item from pretest to game treatment. One

participant had an increase of two correct responses. Four students showed neither a gain

Whitney 84

nor a decrease in correct responses from pretest to game posttest. Only one showed a

decrease in knowledge – a possible random guessing error. The students with no gain

between pretest and game posttest scored consistently correct on the same items –

indicating a possible foreknowledge of the items. It is highly important to note that the

small sample size may appear to show gains that are really random guessing artifacts.

Blacksmith scene multimedia notes and interpretation.

Four students showed a gain from the game posttest (posttest 1) to the Multimedia

Dictionary posttest (posttest 2). One student showed a loss from posttest 1 to posttest 2.

Both the gains and the losses may be due to random guessing effects. Gains may also be

due to an actual success with the treatments, especially the multimedia treatment.

Overall, from pretest to posttest 2 the results were generally more positive than in

the medical scene with only one participant answering fewer items correct than in the

pretest. While it may be due to random guessing effects, it may also be due to more

familiar items or superior design. The blacksmith scene was more “embedded” than the

medical scene. The tools and items were placed in a picture in which they would naturally

occur whereas the medical instruments had no context – they were placed over a colored

background.

An interesting variable to pursue in future experiments is the “distinctiveness” of

the items. The image of the “stock” item was a simple metal rod with no distinctive

characteristics. It was the item that showed the least increase in learning from pretest to

Whitney 85

posttest 2. “Stock” also had the lowest overall scores in each test. Another feature to

investigate would be familiarity of items.

Texaco Scene Vocabulary Acquisition

The test results for the Texaco Scene of the game and multimedia treatments

become easier to understand in light of Table 7. The students accumulated a total of 5

correct responses that were not correct until the multimedia treatment. Students who

answered items correctly only following the multimedia treatment did so for only one test

item. Ariel, Daniel, Frank, and Anthony all showed patterns of growth that included

correct responses following the game treatment that stayed stable through the multimedia

posttest. Of the four showing stable gains following the game treatment, all had two stable

responses except for Daniel who had one. The word “piston” had the highest number of

stable responses (three). The students accumulated only two reversals.

Whitney 86

Table 7

Texaco Scene Responses to Pre and Posttest questions

1 = correct, 0 = incorrect

WORDS Traveling block Bolt Piston Sprocket Casing Totals

Ariel

Pretest 1 0 0 0 0 1Game 1 0 1 0 1 3Multimedia 1 1 1 0 1 4

Sue

Pretest 0 0 0 1 0 1Game 0 1 0 1 0 2Multimedia 0 0 1 1 0 2

Daniel

Pretest 1 1 0 1 1 4Game 1 1 1 1 1 5Multimedia 1 1 1 1 1 5

Frank

Pretest 0 1 0 0 0 1Game 0 1 0 1 1 3Multimedia 0 1 0 1 1 3

Julio

Pretest 0 1 1 1 1 4Game 0 1 1 0 1 3Multimedia 1 0 1 0 1 3

Juan

Pretest 0 1 0 1 0 2Game 0 1 0 1 0 2Multimedia 0 1 1 1 1 4

Mark

Pretest 0 1 0 0 0 1Game 0 0 0 0 0 0Multimedia 0 0 0 1 0 1

Anthony

Pretest 0 1 0 1 1 3Game 1 1 1 1 1 5Multimedia 1 1 1 1 1 5

Of the eight participants with complete pre and posttest data, six appear to have

made gains in knowledge of the target words following the game version of the Texaco

scene. Two of the positive-gain participants scored 100% following the game treatment

Whitney 87

and one made a gain of only one word – possible due to a random fluctuation from

guessing.

Two participants scored one lower correct response following the game when

compared to the pretest results. One participant scored the same number correct during the

pretest. The participant who scored only one higher following the game treatment (Sue)

answered fewer items correct following the medical scene game treatment than they did on

the corresponding items of the pretest. Mark answered fewer correct in both the medical

and Texaco scenes following the game treatment. Julio, however, had positive gains

during the medical scene but fewer correct items from the Texaco scene. Ariel, in direct

contrast to Julio, had fewer correct items from the medical scene but positive gains in the

Texaco scene.

Sue and Mark may both have scored similarly on the two sections due to a common

motivation factor: teachers commented that the performance of both students in the

classroom was heavily dependant on their desire to perform – it could fluctuate sharply

based on their mood. It may also be that the two sections failed to address their learning

styles. Both the Texaco and Medical scenes required students to read text, attempt to guess

which item matched the request in the text, and then choose the correct item based on

context and feedback.

The reversal for Ariel may be due to the embedded nature of the Texaco scene.

Much as Hasselbring suggested for Anchored Instruction, the Texaco scene occurs more

“on-site” than the medical scene, but less so than the blacksmith scene. The additional

Whitney 88

environmental cues may have been enough to elicit a higher degree of vocabulary

acquisition from Ariel. It may also be attributed to either the practice effect (prior scenes

may have helped Ariel to understand the game play) or random guessing. Ariel may also

have gotten more attention from the investigator in the Texaco scene when compared to the

medical scene.

The reversal for Julio may be due to frustration over bugs in the game or a dislike

for the panoramic navigation – both items he scored low on the Game Motivation

Questionnaire.

It may also be that Julio did not get sufficient attention from the investigator. While

the field notes reflect considerable observation of Julio’s activities during the other scenes,

only one sentence records that Julio was reading the background information for the

Texaco scene.

The Texaco section may also not have matched Julio’s learning style. The Texaco

scene differed from the medical and blacksmith scenes in that the participants had an

inventory of three items. They were then required figure out which character they needed

to give the item to. In the other scenes the participants read the hint, then clicked on the

item that could perform the action described in the hint. The organization of the hints may

have been disjointed from Julio’s perspective.

In addition, the Texaco scene did not have any risk of “termination” of the

participant’s main character. In the Oil and Gas Company scene, as well as the Medical

and blacksmith scenes, there was some risk of the main character’s dying with a resultant

Whitney 89

need to restart the game in the failed section. The notes from his Oil and Gas Company

efforts show that Julio’s character did die during his first attempt, and then he searched the

background information of the scene more carefully and repeated the challenge scene with

high accuracy. It may be that Julio’s style of learning is most compatible with an

introduction (the first pass through the background information), practice (the first effort on

the challenge scene), rereading (the second exposure to the background information after

re-starting), and correction (his second effort in the challenge portion of the Oil and Gas

company scene). Although there was some capability of repeating a question in the Texaco

scene, it was not as clearly delimited as in the Oil and Gas Company scene. The medical

and blacksmith scenes also allowed repetition of the challenge section in a much more

delimited fashion than the Texaco scene.

Julio ranked the Texaco scene third out of four in informal interviews, indicating

that it was not his favorite. Interestingly, however, he ranked the Oil and Gas Company

Scene fourth, after Texaco. He commented that the Oil and Gas Company scene required

too much reading. His scores for items related to the Oil and Gas Company scene appear

higher at first glance, but may be due to random fluctuations. His score on posttest 1

(game) was 6 correct while his score on posttest 2 was only 2 correct. If there was any real

learning following the game treatment of the Oil and Gas Company scene, Julio did not

retain it through the multimedia treatment. This may well explain why he ranked Texaco

higher than the Oil and Gas Company scene despite the higher scores on posttest 1 in the

Oil and Gas Company scene.

Whitney 90

Oil and Gas Company Scene Facts Acquisition

Only Daniel appears to have demonstrated real acquisition of the factual

information following the game treatment (figure 6). Bob may have acquired the greatest

amount of factual information, but his missing multimedia posttest makes it difficult to

judge how much acquisition may have been due to random guessing. The results of all the

other students’ responses show what appear to be random fluctuations: where there may

have been gains in posttest 1 (game treatment) the next posttest (multimedia) showed

apparent decreases in knowledge. Anthony may have learned some of the facts from the

multimedia presentation, but his apparent gains are no higher than some of the other pretest

results.

Whitney 91

Figure 6: Texaco Scene Facts Acquisition

Whitney 92

The initial hypothesis as to the apparent lack of effectiveness of the Oil and Gas

Company scene was the similarity of the items. The names two of the historical figures

were very similar to one another. The investigator felt that George Washington O’Brien

and George Washington Carroll may have been easily confused based on their names. The

high degree of accuracy on matching names to faces, however, indicates otherwise. Five of

the participants scored 100% on matching the names to faces after the game treatment.

One participant missed one of the items after the game treatment (figure 7). An additional

two participants scored 100% following the multimedia treatment. If the similarity of

items was a factor, it does not show up when only the similarity of names is considered.

Bob did not complete the multimedia posttest. All other zeros in figure 7 represent true

zeros. The students answered no face identification items correctly on those tests.

Whitney 93

Figure 7: Texaco Scene Face Identification

Whitney 94

Another possibility is that multiple levels of similarity may have caused problems

where only one level did not. The similarity of the names compounded with the similarity

of the questions may be the factor that caused lower scores. Field notes indicate that at

least one student was confused by the questions, “Who was the president of the Gladys

City Oil and Gas Company” and “Who was the vice president of the Gladys City Oil and

Gas Company.” An additional question with a high degree of similarity was “Who was the

president of the Beaumont Lumber Company.”

Question-wise analysis of the test results (figure 8) shows, however, that the

number of correct responses to the three similar questions was at least as high as the

number of correct responses to non-similar questions. It is not possible to judge, however,

that the responses to similar questions were more accurate than responses to non-similar

questions – pretest responses to most of the questions was similar to the posttest responses,

some pretest responses even reached the highest degree of accuracy. In all likelihood, the

number of correct responses to each question was largely determined by random guessing.

Another factor that may have caused little progress was that a great deal of the

information was given by George Washington Carroll’s dialogue. Thus, students may have

attributed the information as belonging to him when it actually was about one of the other

two characters.

Additionally, the level processing required by the students may have influenced the

outcome. In the blacksmith and medical scenes information was gained in a fairly

straightforward fashion: students read directions which told them to find a specific item,

Whitney 95

then experimented by clicking on various items. Correlations between the hint and the

correct item were straightforward. The Oil and Gas Company scene, in contrast, required

the students to make deductions in order to answer two of the challenge questions. B.F.

Lanier said he was from out of town; the question in the challenge scene was “Who did not

live near Spindletop?” George Washington Carroll also let the participants know that

others laughed at Patillo Higgins’ idea that Spindletop had oil, but that Carroll believed

Higgins. The question in the challenge section was “Who was the first to believe Patillo

Higgins’ idea that there was oil on Spindletop?”

Two of the facts had errors. The answer to the question “Who founded a Methodist

Church?” was inadvertently deleted. The game also stated that B.F. Lanier had 273 acres

of land on Spindletop whereas the challenge section asked who had 275 acres. The two

errors could have easily contributed to the lower overall scores for the Oil and Gas

Company tests.

A possible influencing variable may have been the scaffolding employed in other

scenes was absent from the Oil and Gas Company scene. If a student chose an incorrect

item in the blacksmith or medical scene, the game sent them an alert with an additional hint

such as “Are you trying to find little bits of metal with that?” If students missed a second

time, the target word in the directions was underlined. In the Oil and Gas Company

challenge, the only additional support was the removal of incorrect items when they were

selected.

Whitney 96

A final issue to consider is the way students could solve the Oil and Gas Company

challenge. Incorrect responses resulted in the item being removed, but there was no limit

on the number of incorrect responses. Instead, the challenge was timed. Students could

solve the entire challenge simply by rapidly clicking until they got the correct choice.

There was ample time to solve the scene by guessing alone.

When presented by question, only 3 of the questions showed an apparent increase

in knowledge among all the students (figure 8). The questions used in the game and in

figure 8 are as follows:

Questions:

1. Who was the president of the Gladys City Oil and Gas Company?

2. Who was the president of the Beaumont Lumber Company?

3. Who had the most land on Spindletop?

4. Who was the first to believe Patillo Higgin's idea that there was oil on Spindletop?

5. Who was the secretary of the Gladys City Oil and Gas Company?

6. Who had only 275 acres on Spindletop?

7. Who did not live near Spindletop?

8. Who was the Vice President of the Gladys City Oil and Gas Company?

9. Who founded a Methodist church?

10. Who had 2750 acres on Spindletop?

11. Who shared land with a widow?

Whitney 97

Figure 8: Factual Information Acquisition – Growth by Question

Whitney 98

Face Recognition

Although it was not initially included in the research questions, studying the data

from questions that required students to match faces of characters to their names helps

sort out the causes of low scores on the Oil and Gas Company portions of the treatments.

The data from matching faces to names shows nearly complete recognition following the

game treatment. If the students had troubles with similar information, it does not appear

to influence the identification of two of the characters who had the same first and second

name, but different last names. The ability to match faces to names does not rule out,

however, the possibility that additional levels of similarity could cause lower scores. It

also may not accurately reflect the influence of similar information as recognizing faces

may have a powerful biological basis.

Research Question #2: To What Degree was Each Treatment Motivating?

Motivation Impact on Game Posttest Scores

The motivation of participants who did not score higher on the game posttest than

they did on the pretest did not appear to differ from the responses of other participants

according to the Game Motivation Questionnaire (table 8). There may be a trend toward

being bored with the lesson, but the sample size is too small and the response range too

narrow to clearly indicate any trends. In informal interviews, four of the participants

indicated that they liked the medical scene best, including some of those who scored lower

on the game posttest than on the pretest.. Motivation does not appear to be a major factor

Whitney 99

in the growth or non-growth of vocabulary acquisition for the medical scene. Similar

patterns are seen for other scenes. The Texaco scene was rated lower than the blacksmith

and medical scenes, but yielded high scores on the posttests.

Students not only rated the individual parts and entire game highly, but they also

indicated that they wished the could play more, had fun, wished they had more games like

the Gladys City Adventure Game, and were not bored. The consistent answers from

different kinds of questions all point in the direction of enjoying the game. Lack of

motivation did not likely influence scores in any of the game sections.

Whitney 100

Table 8

Game Motivation Questionnaire

Game Motivation Questionnaire 1 = Lousy; 2 = Bad; 3 = So-so, 4 = Good; 5 = GreatQuestion Ariel Sue Daniel Julio Juan Kristi MarkThe whole game 4 3 4 4 5 4 4

Looking around the city with a mouse 5 4 5 2 4 4 3The pictures 4 5 4 5 5 4 4

The story 3 3 4 3 4 3 1The interpreter 3 5 1 5 5 1 5Movies (not interpreter movies) 4 4 5 4 3 3

1 = False; 2 = Not sure; 3 = True

I wish I had more lessons like this in my class 3 2 3 3 3 3 2I had fun using the lesson 3 2 3 2 2 3 3I wanted to use the lesson more time 3 1 3 3 1 3 3

I was bored with the lesson 2 2 1 2 2 2 1

I got mad because the lesson didn’t work right 2 1 2 3 3 2 2I was tired of the lesson 2 1 1 1 2 2 2

Motivation Impact on Multimedia Posttest Scores

Participants responded to the two questionnaires of motivation in highly similar

fashion. Participants rated the multimedia dictionary highly, expressed a desire for more

products of the same time and more time to use the multimedia dictionary (table 9)

Whitney 101

Table 9

Lesson Motivation Questionnaire

Whitney 102

Chapter 5

Discussion and Conclusion

Overview of the Study

The overall purpose of the experiment was to determine the potential of adventure

games as teaching tools with deaf children by comparing a multimedia dictionary treatment

to an adventure game format. In reality, the design, method, and data most clearly

determines how well the investigator designed the game and whether continued endeavors

of a similar nature would prove worth the investment of time and resources.

With the exception of promoting collaboration and breaking barriers of isolation in

Johnson’s (1995) discussion of action research, the present study demonstrated most of the

benefits expected from action research. The development and use of the treatments gave

the investigator skills for creating a series of educational materials tailored to the needs of

deaf students. The experimental stage caused a re-evaluation of the various tools and

methods used and shed light on how to better conduct future studies. The research

conducted created new learning since no other investigator has attempted a similar study

with deaf children. The insights gained as to why certain treatments did not succeed may

improve teaching practice and will eventually become a published article as per the

requirements of the student initiated research grant. Future studies would definitely

promote collaboration by employing experienced teachers in the development and testing

of materials, thus reducing the separation of academia and teachers.

Whitney 103

The present study clearly required action research due to the complex interaction of

participants, treatments, and background variables, namely language preferences, reading

skills, computer skills, and motivation to play computer games. Countless other variables

determined the outcome of the experiment, including student schedules (speech class and

mainstreamed classes often interrupted treatments. All of the variables represent the real

situation under which any proposed educational materials would operate.

The game itself was a complex treatment, with four distinct sections, each boasting

unique features. The test items, or target knowledge also had a great deal of variability in

word length, accompanying image, and type of item. All of these variables also represent

real variables that could occur in future educational materials.

Conclusions

The overall results indicate some benefit from game and multimedia treatments, but

the degree of benefit is difficult to determine and the causes of failure need additional

research before completely eliminating a particular design. In order to investigate the role

of various factors in the success and failure of the game, a departure from the current action

research study would incorporate more controls to bring it more in alignment with a true

experimental design.

Experimental Design Modifications

In order to distinguish which treatment lead to the greatest gain of vocabulary,

facts, and facial recognition, an enhanced experimental design would include the following

changes:

Whitney 104

Controlling student progress.

At least two of the students failed to visit all of the multimedia dictionary items.

The lack of consistency casts a shadow on attempts to analyze the impact of the multimedia

treatment. Code could be inserted into the game requiring students to visit all sections

before proceeding to the final posttest. Unfortunately such an insertion creates an artificial

multimedia dictionary that departs seriously from the software currently on the market. A

better approach may be to document the number items visited, the amount of time spent on

each, and then determine the impact of visiting those items on the outcome of the posttest.

Simple feedback could be included to provide motivation to visit all sites (including

“passports” or “diplomas”) without forcing the students to visit all sections. It would still

be free choice. Both forced and elective visits could be incorporated into a study with large

numbers of students.

Staggered treatments.

Half of the students would experience the multimedia dictionary first followed by

the game. The other half of the students would receive the treatments in the reverse order.

With the present design, there was no way to compare the two treatments.

Larger sample size.

The participants demonstrated a great deal of diversity with respect to language

background, reading levels, and cognitive abilities. In order to determine background

variables that influenced the results more students would provide the ability to match

variables and analyze the degree to which each influenced the outcome. The design

Whitney 105

especially needs a larger number of female participants who complete the entire evaluation

of both treatments.

Consistency in participation and delivery.

Due to equipment failures and scheduling difficulties the participants did not

experience the treatments in a consistent manner. Some had gaps between sessions at the

computer as long as 2 days. Others worked through both treatments with no gaps.

The investigator failed to attend to all participants equally. Including an automated

tutorial and a single walk-through would decrease the variability of treatment delivery.

Improving the interface to make it more intuitive would also decrease problems. A training

session with a mini-game would allow all students to achieve roughly equivalent skill at the

start of the game. A “cheat” manual could be provided to supply hints for each scene.

Programming errors.

Several bugs caused unexpected delays, interrupted the flow of the treatment, and

caused frustration with the players. The bugs include an inadequate game saving routine,

some flaw that caused one computer to repeatedly crash. Another dialogue scene had one

exchange that flashed by too quickly to read. The most damaging error in the

programming domain, however, was a spot in the blacksmith scene which students could

click at any time and get a false “correct” item selection. Most students only used the spot

for a single item, but even that was unacceptable.

Whitney 106

Removing editorial errors.

Several errors clearly affected the results, including missing information in the

treatments followed by including the information on the test, typographical errors, and

inaccurate information. During the game, the Oil and Gas Company dialogue reads that

B.F. Lanier had only 273 acres. The test asks who held 275 acres. Again, in Oil and Gas

Company scene, the word “are” (at one point) should have read “area”

Delayed posttest.

A delayed posttest would help determine the overall effectiveness of both

multimedia and game treatments. The literature indicates that where computer based

instruction and traditional methods often seem equal, computer based instruction often

yields superior retention evidenced by higher delayed Posttest results (Funk, 1994).

Increasing the number of items.

In order to compare each of the sections, more items may be needed. With a

maximum of 8 items and 2 distractors, random variability and unforeseen variables can

skew the results. An improved design would incorporate approximately 30 items divided

into 3 sections, 7 target items and 3 distractors per section. Each section within the scene

would use identical procedures. Initial plans included a much higher number of items,

many discarded due to time limitations.

Whitney 107

Game Design Improvements

Exotic vocabulary.

For actual teaching materials, the game should focus on less exotic and more useful

vocabulary. Knowledge of sphygmomanometer may only prove useful if a student elects

to go into the medical field, otherwise it is simply a “trivia” fact. For experimental

purposes, however, the exotic vocabulary should continue to play a prominent role in game

design in order to decrease the influence of prior knowledge.

Reading levels.

The re-written dialogues and background information may be replaced with a better

interpreter that allows students to analyze sentences by chunks. Color-Cued Reading,

innovative approach being used with deaf readers by a handful of teachers, encourages

students to attack English in a fashion that looks at whole and embedded meanings. Some

English phrases need one ASL sign. Some English words need several ASL signs. Some

English words require fingerspelling – spelling the word using the American Sign

Language manual alphabet. Other differences between ASL and English require proficient

readers to depart from word-for-word decoding. In color Cued reading each type of

English-to-ASL interpretation takes on a unique color, which the students learn to

recognize as needing a specific strategy (Appendix DD). Incorporating a similar approach

into the game may allow low readers to access higher-level paragraphs without destroying

the integrity of the original English.

Whitney 108

Removing guess and memorize strategies.

At least two of the participants with incomplete data appeared to use a strategy of

guessing which item to click on and memorizing the correct sequence of items. A student

could click the wrong items, die, try again, find the right one, then proceed to the next item

and repeat the procedure. The guess-and-memorize strategy requires memory, not

extracting cues from the text. A simple randomization of the presentation of the items

would prevent success from guess-and-memorize. If a student’s character dies from wrong

guesses, the student could start again, but the items would appear in a different order.

Decreasing similarities.

Too many of the target items were highly similar, especially in the Oil and Gas

Company scene. In addition to the similar names of the characters, the high degree of

similarity in the factual information makes it difficult to compare the Oil and Gas Company

scene to other scenes. The blacksmith scene also had similar items: the tongs and pliers,

which were also similar to the forceps and artery clamp in the medical scene. The

similarities in items were natural and it may be artificial to eliminate all items with a high

degree of similarity, but the number of items within each scene that resemble other items

should be balanced. Alternatively, several reading and language experts could rate each

item for similarity.

Increasing distinctive features.

At least one item had almost no distinctive features. The “stock” item in the

blacksmith scene was a bar of metal. Nothing about it stood out. It may be worthwhile to

Whitney 109

investigate this variable by creating many similar items and comparing them to items such

as the sphygmomanometer, which was highly distinctive. A panel of graphics artists could

rate the items according to the number of distinctive features.

Balancing distractors.

The number of distractors within each scene was not controlled. The blacksmith

scene and medical scene each had 2 distractors, while the Oil and Gas Company scene had

abundant non-relevant information presented in the dialogues, which also contained the

relevant information. The Texaco scene had distractors, but it was the same two distractors

with each of the key items. It was not difficult to figure that the middle item was always

the desired item. The Texaco scene did not lend itself to distractors in the same manner as

the other scenes. The ratio of distractors to target information was 2:7 for the medical

scene and 2:6 for the blacksmith scene. It may prove revealing to adjust the distractor to

target ratio to equivalent levels in all scenes. Even the dialogues with the Oil and Gas

Company could be adjusted to provide similar ratios of relevant and non-relevant

information. The Texaco scene could be redesigned so that the participants collect all the

items first during other scenes of the game, and then must choose the correct one to place in

each part of the Oilrig. Unfortunately, such a design change would destroy the

characteristics that make the Texaco scene most like an adventure game.

Measuring impact on higher levels of learning.

Sheriff (1987) focused on learning strategies employed during the play of a text-

based adventure game titled “Werewolf Howls at Dawn”. Although the game he studied

Whitney 110

differs significantly from the Gladys City Adventure Game, Sheriff’s study raises the point

that games may offer not just benefits for acquiring knowledge, but also higher level

thinking skills. An earlier version of the Gladys City Adventure Game included features to

track student activity. Quantifying the amount of time spent at each scene as well as the

types of decisions students make would help track learning strategies.

Research Question #3: Does the data indicate continued efforts in the direction of

developing adventure games as educational tools? What modifications on the design

would be necessary to better answer this question?

The determination of the benefit of a fully developed Gladys City Adventure Game

and the multimedia dictionary awaits further development and more experimentation with

tighter controls. It appears, however, that both the game and the dictionary can stimulate

acquisition of target vocabulary, face recognition, and possibly fact acquisition. Neither

treatment appeared to benefit all students. Both appeared to motivate the students, the

game more than the multimedia dictionary. Developing both the game and the multimedia

dictionary required an intensive investment of time and effort on the part of the

investigator. The development phase required two years, approximately half of that for the

artwork and half for the programming. The programming for the multimedia dictionary

involved much less time and effort than for the game, though the time required may have

been affected by the knowledge, skills, and experience gained in developing the game first.

Nevertheless, once the images have been created, a game would require at least twice as

much time to develop and considerably more skill.

Whitney 111

Continued development of the present game and more tightly controlled

experimentation would help determine the benefits of both treatments. The present results

indicate sufficient benefit and potential benefit to continue analyzing the game and

multimedia dictionary with some modifications. If the results indicate that the game

provided significantly more learning, or significantly more motivation, or significantly

greater retention than the multimedia, the investigator will continue developing similar

games with less exotic vocabulary (more in line with current curricula). It may be that the

combination of game plus multimedia dictionary is superior to either alone, in which case

the investigator will develop a line of materials with both a multimedia dictionary and a

game component. At any rate, the investigator strongly recommends similar projects to

utilize a game development team with at least the following members: a 3d artist, a

programmer, a project coordinator/game designer, an animator, and a sign language expert.

Summary

The investigator created a game rife with errors and the experimental design caused

problems with data collection and interpretation. Despite the problems, each of the three

research questions may be answered in part. The data indicates that both the multimedia

and the game treatments benefited some, but not all the students. Low readers and females

may be the participants who benefited the least, but more research is needed to determine

to what degree those variables influenced the outcome. More research will also shed light

on how the two treatments compare. The present design and results do not allow

separating the two treatments effectively. Questionnaires indicate that students liked both

Whitney 112

treatments but disagreed as to which part of the game was best. The Texaco scene rated

lowest. Apparent benefits, including knowledge acquisition and motivation weigh in favor

of continued development and research with the Gladys City Adventure Game.

Developing additional games and multimedia dictionaries would depend on the outcome of

improved game design and more controlled experimentation.

Whitney 113

References

Andrews, J. & Jordan, D. (1998).  Multimedia stories for deaf children. Teaching

Exceptional Children, 30(5), 28-33.

Babbidge, H.D. (1965). Education of the deaf: A report to the Secretary of Health,

Education, and Welfare by his Advisory Committee on Education of the Deaf .

U. S. Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare.

Baker, C. & Cokely, D. (1980). American Sign Language: A teacher’s resource text on

grammar and culture. Silverspring MD: TJ Publishers.

Barrow, H.S. (1984). A specific problem-based self-directed learning method designed

to teach medical problem-solving skills and enhance knowledge retention and

recall. In H.G. Schmidt & M.L. deVolder (Eds.), Tutorials in problem-based

learning, (pp. 16-23). Amsterdam: Van Gorcum.

Billingsley, B.S. (1991). Teachers’ decisions to transfer from special to general

education. The Journal of Special Education, 24(4), 498-510.

Bloom, B.S. (1984). The 2-sigma problem: The search for methods of group instruction

as effective as one-to-one tutoring. Educational Researcher, 4-16.

Bornstein, H. (1990). A manual communication overview. In H. Bornstein, Manual

Communication: Implications for Education. Gallaudet Press, pp. 198-127.

Braden, J.P. & Shaw, S.R. (1987). Computer assisted instruction with deaf children:

Panacea, placebo or poison? American Annals of the Deaf, 132, 189-192.

Whitney 114

Brown, HD (1987). Principles of language learning and teaching. New Jersey:

Englewood Cliffs.

Brown, J.S., Colins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of

learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.

Chiou, Guey-Fa (1995). Beliefs and computer-based learning. Educational Technology,

May-June, 48-52.

Clancey, W.J. (1994) Comment on DiSessa. Cognition and Instruction, 12(2), 97-102.

Cohen, K.C. (1969). The effects of two simulation games on the opinions and attitudes of

selected sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins

University, Center for the Study of Social Organization of Schools. (ERIC

Document Reproduction Service No. ED 031 766).

Duffy, T.M., & Jonassen, D.H. (Eds.). (1992). Constructivism and the technology of

instruction: A conversation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Easterbrooks, S., & Baker, S. (2002). Language learning in children who are deaf and

hard of hearing: Multiple pathways (p. 14). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Funk, J.B. (1992). Video games: Benign or malignant? Journal of Developmental

Behavior Pediatrics, 13, 53-54.

Funk, J.B. (1993). Reevaluating the impact of video games. Clinical Pediatrics 32(2), 86-

90.

Gallaudet Research Institute (1974). Annual survey of Deaf and hard of hearing children

and youth: 1972-73 school year.

Whitney 115

Gallaudet Research Institute (1984). Annual survey of Deaf and hard of hearing children

and youth: 1982-83 school year.

Gallaudet Research Institute (1989). Annual survey of deaf and hard of hearing children

and youth: 1987-88 school year.

Gallaudet Research Institute (1991). Annual survey of deaf and hard of hearing children

and youth: 1989-90 school year.

Gallaudet Research Institute (1997). Annual survey of deaf and hard of hearing children

and youth: 1995-96 school year.

Gallaudet Research Institute (1999). Annual survey of deaf and hard of hearing children

and youth: 1998-99 school year.

Gardner, Pete (1999). Snacky Pete’s Text Adventure Archive: Retrieved April 27, 2002,

from http://www.helikon.com/Personal/Pete/Advents/iflib.htm

Geers, A.E. & Schick, B. (1988). Acquisition of spoken and signed English by hearing-

impaired children of hearing impaired or hearing parents. Journal of Speech and

Hearing Disorders, 53, 136-143.

Gentry, M.A. (1998). Deaf Readers: Transfer of factual information using multimedia

and multimedia presentation options. (Doctoral dissertation, Lamar University,

Beaumont, Texas, 1998).

Glanz, J. (1999). A primer on action research for the school administrator. 72(5),

301-305.

Goals 2000: Educate America Act, H.R. 1804, Retrieved April 27, 2002, from

Whitney 116

http://www.ed.gov/legislation/GOALS2000/TheAct/sec231.html

Greenwood, D. & Levin, M. (1998). Action research, science, and the co-optation of

social research. Studies in Cultures, Organizations & Societies, 4 (2), 237-242.

Harris Communications. (1998). Harris Communication Catalog, 7.

Hasselbring, T.S. (1994). Using media for developing mental models of anchoring

instruction. American Annals of the Deaf, 139, 36-44.

Hopkins, D. (1993). A teacher’s guide to classroom research. Philadelphia: Open

University Press.

http://216.187.116.126:81/Advents/iflib.htm

Jensema, C. & Trybus, R. (1978). Communication patterns and educational achievement

of deaf students (Series T, No. 2). Washington, DC; Office of Demographic

Studies, Gallaudet University.

Johnson, B. (1995). Why conduct action research? Teaching and Change, 3(1), 90 – 105.

Johnson, R.E., Liddell, S.K. & Erting, C.J. (1989). Unlocking the curriculum: Principles

for achieving access in deaf education. (Gallaudet Research Institute Working

Paper 89-3).

Kolodner, J.L. (1992). An introduction to case-based reasoning. Artificial Intelligence

Review, 6, 3-34.

Kulik, J.A. (1987). Computer-Based Instruction: What 200 Evaluations Say. Paper

presented at the Annual Convention of the Association for Educational

Communications and Technology (Atlanta, GA, February 26-March 1, 1987).

Whitney 117

Kulik, J.A. (1994). Meta-analytical studies of findings on computer-based instruction. In

E.L. Baker and H.F. O’Neil (eds.) Technology Assessment in Education and

Training (pp. 9-33).

LaSasso, C., & Davey, B. (1987). The relationship between lexical knowledge and

reading comprehension for prelingually, profoundly hearing-impaired students.

Volta Review, 89, 211-220.

Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation.

New York: Cambridge University.

Lesgold, A. (1988). Problem solving. In R.J. Sternberg & E.E. Smith (eds.), The

psychology of human thought. (pp. 188-213). New York: Cambridge University

Press.

Lou, M.W. (1988). The history of language use in the education of the deaf. In M. Strong

(ed.), Language learning and deafness (pp. 75-98). New York: Cambridge

University Press

Malone, T.W. (1981). What makes computer games fun? Byte. Dec, 1981, 258-277.

Market Data Retrieval (2000). Technology in Education 2000. Retrieved April 27, 2002,

from http://www.mdrlists.com/pr22.html

Maxwell, M. (1984). A deaf child’s natural development of literacy. Sign Language

Studies, 42-45, 191-224.

Nataša, Hoić-Božić (1997). Hypermedia authoring: Hypermedia supported education.

Retrieved April 27, 2002, retrieved from http://top.pefri.hr/hma/glossary.htm

Whitney 118

National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983). A Nation at Risk. Retrieved

April 27, 2002, from

http://www.goalline.org/Goal%20Line/NatAtRisk.html#anchor789556

Papert, S. (1993). The children’s machine: Rethinking school in the age of the computer.

New York: Basic Books.

Passig, D. & Eden, Sigal (2000). Improving flexible thinking in deaf and hard of hearing

children with virtual reality technology. American Annals of the Deaf, 145, 286-

91.

Paul, Peter V. (1998). Literacy and deafness. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Piaget, J. (1977). The development of thought: Equilibrium of cognitive structures. New

York: Viking Press.

Pollard, G. (1993). Making accessible to the deaf CD-ROM reading software. Austin,

TX: Texas School for the Deaf.

Randel, J.M. (1992). The effectiveness of games for educational purposes: A review of

recent research. Simulation and Gaming, 23, (3) 53-54.

Ressler, S. (1999). What is panoramic imaging? Retrieved April 27, 2002, from

http://3dgraphics.about.com/library/weekly/aa052699.htm?

iam=dpile_1&terms=terminology+panoramic+viewer

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1993). Technologies for knowledge-building discourse.

Communications of the ACM, 36(5), 37-41.

Whitney 119

Schacter, J. (1997) The Impact of Education Technology on Student Achievement: What

the Most Current Research Has To Say. Retrieved April 27, 2002, from

http://www.mff.org/publications/publications.taf?page=161

Sheriff, T.M. (1987). An exploratory study of the problem solving strategies used by

selected young adolescents while playing a microcomputer text adventure.

(Doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1987).

Shumaker, L.P. (1996). Interactive multimedia instruction Vs traditional instruction

methods: teaching work literacy to individuals who are deaf. Auburn, AT: Auburn

University. (Doctoral dissertation, Auburn University, Alabama, 1996).

Spiro, R.J., Feltovich, P.J., Jacobson, M. J., & Coulson, R.L. (1991, May). Cognitive

flexibility, constructivism, and hypertext: Random access instruction for advanced

knowledge acquisition in ill-structured domains. Educational Technology, 31(5),

24-33.

Strong, M., & Prinz, P.M. (1997). A study of the relationship between American Sign

Language and English Literacy. Journal of Deaf Studies in Deaf Education, 2,

37-46.

Stuckless, E.R. (1983). The microcomputer in the instruction of hearing-impaired

students: Tool or distraction. American Annals of the Deaf, 128, 515-520.

Voltera, V., Pace, C., Pennacchi, B., and Corazza, S. (1996) Advanced learning

technology for bilingual education of deaf children. American Annals of the Deaf,

140, 402-405.

Whitney 120

Vygotsky, L. S. (1987). Thinking and speech. In L. S. Vygotsky, Collected works, 1, 39-

285. (R. Rieber & A. Carton, Eds; N. Minick, Trans.). NY: Plenum.

Wenglinsky, H. (1998). Does it compute? The relationship between educational

technology and student achievement in mathematics. Educational Testing Service

Policy Information Center: Retrieved May 8, 2002, from

ftp://etsis1.ets.org/pub/res/technolog.pdf

Whitney 121

Appendices

Appendix

A

Introductory Scene Screenshot

Whitney 122

Appendix

B

Script and

Microsoft Word Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level Analysis

Keyword plus line number Reading Level

With

Keyword

Substitions

(dog)

Words Not able to delete, but gave

lower reading levels when susbstituted

Antiseptic 015 4.9 1 Antiseptic

Anvil 052 1 0 Anvil

Anvil 058 2.3 1 Anvil

BmbLumber 081 4.4 0.8

Beaumont Lumber Company, Patillo

Higgins

Bolt 163 0  

Borax 057 1  

Boring 006 1.8  

Bud 095 5.2 0.7 Patillo

Bud 0  

Can'tSee 1.4  

Captain 0.6  

CarollLand 2.4  

CarrollOther 3.9 0.6 Patillo, Spindletop

CarollProfession 7.5 2.3 Beaumont Lumber Company

Whitney 123

Casing 160 0.5  

clamp 021 3.7 0.6 artery

comeAround 033 0.5  

Consider 004 0  

Curator 008 3.7  

Cure 069 0.7  

DescribeProblem 147 2.8  

DontFeelBad 073 2.4  

Don'tRemember 035 2.2  

Exactly 150 1.5  

ExplodeRumor 040 3.3  

Explosion Question 3.6  

feelBad 071 3  

Fix 050 0  

ForceOrFix 047 0.8  

Forceps 023 2.4  

FormerJob 087 3.6  

GetOnIt 154 0.5  

GuessSo 009 0  

GuffeyNGalley 2.8  

Gulf 077 2.7  

Hardie 053 2.3  

HeldKey 042 0.8  

HelpAbe 2.7  

Whitney 124

HelpSolve 146 2.7  

HigginsQuestion 6.6   Patillo Higgins

Hinge 159 0  

Homework 4  

HowInvolved 089 2.8  

Hurry 0  

Introduction 001 2.3  

InvolvedHow 3.9  

It's Time 003 0  

JobForGeorge 043 1  

JoinCrew 152 3.5  

JustTwisted 046 2.5  

KeyBroken 045 0.5  

Lanier 096 2.3  

MoreProblems 145 3.9  

NeverHeardIt 079 3.8  

News Flash 3.6  

OBJob 2.4  

OBrien 093 5.3  

Obrien Land 0.6  

Obrien Disgust 072 4.4  

Of course 151 0  

Patillo 083 3.6  

Piston 164 0.5  

Whitney 125

Pliers 0  

President 085 4.5  

Probe 022 2.4  

Question Key 0  

Question RigNbr1 0  

Question 2.3  

Sabotage 149 5.2  

Rig Number1 041 1.4  

SameProblem 148 1.4  

Scan 005 0  

Schuldt 044 4.5  

ScrambledBrain 039 2.8  

Sphyg 026 9  

Sprocket 161 0.5  

Stock 059 1.2 0.6 sphygmomanometer

StopBomb 070 3.3  

stopDisruption 097 3.6  

Storm 007 0.7  

Suture 025 1.3  

TellBoutHiggins 7.1  

ThomasFuss 011 0.1  

Tongs 056 0.1 0.5 Patillo Higgins

TravellingBlock 162 2.4  

WhatHappened 034 2.8  

Whitney 126

Where Texaco 2.3  

Widow 2.8  

WildCatters 075 4.3  

You Important 4  

You interesting 3.2  

Average 2.378  

Whitney 127

Appendix

C

Panorama Inactive Building Screen Shot

Whitney 128

Appendix

D

Main Navigation Panorama Hotspot Screenshot

Whitney 129

Appendix

E

Main Navigation Panorama: Hotspot Dormant Building Screenshot

Whitney 130

Appendix

F

Ice Cream Panorama Screenshot

Whitney 131

Appendix

G

Blacksmith Panorama

Whitney 132

Appendix

H

General Store Panorama Screenshot

Whitney 133

Appendix

I

Apartment Screenshot

Whitney 134

Appendix

J

Oil and Gas Company: Background Information Screenshot

Whitney 135

Appendix

K

Texaco Boss Dialogue Screenshot

Whitney 136

Appendix

L

Dialogue with Doc Thomas

Whitney 137

Appendix

M

Dialogue with George Schuldt

Whitney 138

Appendix

N

Dialogue with George W. O’brien

Whitney 139

Appendix

O

Texaco Panorama

Whitney 140

Appendix

P

Medical Scene Challenge

Whitney 141

Appendix

Q

Main Character Dialogue Scene

Whitney 142

Appendix

R

Blacksmith Challenge

Whitney 143

Appendix

S

Oil and Gas Company Challenge

Whitney 144

Appendix

T

Multimedia Dictionary Menu

Whitney 145

Appendix

U

Multimedia Dictionary English Default

Whitney 146

Appendix

V

Multimedia Dictionary ASL

Whitney 147

Appendix

W

Computer Experience Questionnaire

Name:_______________

1. How many hours per week do you use a computer at home?

0 to 1 hours 1 to 2 hours 2 to 3 hours 3 to 4 hours 4 or more hours

2. How long have you been using computers at home?

0 to 1 hours 1 to 2 hours 2 to 3 hours 3 to 4 hours 4 or more hours

3. Please circle the ways you use the computer at home:

a. I don’t use one at home

b. I use the Internet

c. I use it for e-mail

d. I use it to play games

e. I do home work on the computer

f. Other _____________________

4. How many hours do you play games on the computer?

0 to 1 hours 1 to 2 hours 2 to 3 hours 3 to 4 hours 4 or more hours

5. Please write the names of your favorite 3 games you play on the computer or circle

“None” if you don’t play computer games.

a. None

b. __________________________________________________

Whitney 148

c. __________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________

6. How many hours do you play Nintendo or other console games (Sony Genesis, Sega)

0 to 1 hours 1 to 2 hours 2 to 3 hours 3 to 4 hours 4 or more hours

7. Please write the names of your top 3 favorite console Games or circle “None” if you

don’t play Nintendo type games.

a. None

b. __________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________

Whitney 149

Appendix

X

Classroom Computer Use Questionnaire

Name______________________

1. How many hours per week do your students use the computer in class?

0 to 1 hours 1 to 2 hours 2 to 3 hours 3 to 4 hours 4 or more hours

2. How long have your students been using computers at school?

Less than 1 year 1 to 2 years 2 to 3years 3 to 4years 4 or more years

3. Please rank the top 5 activities in order of highest use to lowest use among your

students at school. 1 is the most common computer activity while 5 is the least.

_____ They don’t use one at School

_____ They use the Internet

_____ They use it for e-mail

_____ They use it to play games

_____ They use presentation software on the computer

_____ They use Word Processing software

_____ They use educational software

_____ They use Spreadsheets and Databases

_____ Other _____________________

4. Please note any students who are exceptions to the rules and briefly explain:

Eg: Joeseph Jones – recently moved from Florida. His computer use history is unknown.

Whitney 150

Eg: Ashley Ashton – does not receive computer time due to conflicts with speech class.

She only gets 1 hour per week.

Appendix

Y

Parent Permission Forms

Dear parent,

Your child has been invited to participate in research. The research will aid in

creating better educational materials for Deaf students. The investigator, Scott Whitney,

is doing the research in partial fulfillment of his doctoral studies at Lamar University in

Beaumont, Texas. The research will evaluate a game he developed with Deaf Students in

mind. The game uses both ASL and English text in an adventure game format set in the

Gladys City Museum. There are about 20 target words which were included in the hopes

that students would not have already learned the words. The game also teaches about 15

facts. For comparison, the students who participate will also test a multimedia

"dictionary" type lesson. Data will be collected in the following manner:

1. Students will take a pretest on the vocabulary and facts to see how many

words and facts are new to them.

Whitney 151

2. Students will then test both the game and the multimedia version. After

both, students will again take the test of vocabulary and facts. The

purpose is to see how well the game and multimedia were designed.

3. Students will fill out interest surveys after both multimedia and game

versions.

4. Students will be videotaped in order to double check signs of motivation

(or boredom). Only the investigator and 2 to 3 experts will view the

videotapes to document signs of enthusiasm or boredom.

The results of the research will lead to at least one usable game and will help

guide future design of educational materials for Deaf children. All data gathered through

the experiment will remain anonymous. All information that can identify a student will be

removed when the results are reported. It is also the hope of the investigator that the

game will develop an interest in computer-related fields among the participating students.

The only expected risks are those normally seen in playing games and using computers –

frustration with technical problems and confusion over how to play the game.

Please check one of the following and return the form with your signature and

date:

____ I agree to allow my child to participate in the research described above.

____ I prefer that my child not participate in the research described above

____ I agree to allow my child to participate, but without videotaping

Whitney 152

Child's name _____________________

______________________________ _________

Signature Date

Whitney 153

Appendix

Z

Pretest/Posttest

Whitney 154

All test items:

Circle the item that matches the picture

This item is

a) Pistonb) Bullet probec) Artery ClampC) Stock

This item is

a) Bullet Probeb) Suturec) Sprocketd) Tongs

Whitney 155

This item is

a) Cureb) Travelling blockc) Sphygmomanometerd) Forceps

This item is

a) Forcepsb) Bullet probec) Boltd) Tongs

This item can be used to:a) Apply blowsb) suturec) cure metald) drill oil

Whitney 156

This item isa) sutureb) hardiec) antisepticd) sphygmomanometer

This item is a:a) Pistonb) Antisepticc) Pliersd) Sphygmomanometer

This item is:a) Tongsb) hardiec) Forcepsd) Sprocket

Whitney 157

This item isa) Anvilb) Pistonc) Artery clampd) Stock

This item isa) hardieb) bullet probec) sutured) casing

This item isa) boraxb) antisepticc) sprocketd) bolt

Whitney 158

This item isa) cureb) anvilc) stockd) forceps

With this item you can:a) heat metalb) cut metalc) shape metald) cure metal

This item isa) Anvilb) Forcepsc) Casingd) Sprocket

Whitney 159

This item isa) Sutureb) Pistonc) Hardied) Sprocket

This item isa) Travelling blockb) Casingc) Artery Clampd) Stock

This item is a) Casingb) Bullet probec) Cured) Bolt

Whitney 160

This is a picture ofa) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

This is a picture ofa) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

Whitney 161

This is a picture ofa) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

This item is a) Tongsb) antisepticc) Travelling blockd) Piston

Who was the president of the Gladys City Oil and Gas Company?a) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

Who was the secretary of the Gladys City Oil and Gas Company?a) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

Who was the secretary of the Gladys City Oil and Gas Company?a) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington Carroll

Whitney 162

C) B.F. Lanier

Who was the first to believe Patillo Higgin's idea that there was oil on Spindletop?a) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

Who did not live near Spindletop?a) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

Who shared land with a widow?a) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

Who founded a Methodist church?a) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

Who was the president of the Beaumont Lumber Company?a) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

Who had 2750 acres on Spindletop?a) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

Who had only 273 acres on Spindletop?a) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

Who had the most land on Spindletop?a) George Washington O'Brienb) George Washington CarrollC) B.F. Lanier

Whitney 163

Appendix

AA

Game Motivation Questionnaire

Please circle the answer that best describes how you felt about the parts of the

game.

1. The whole game

Lousy Bad So-so Good Great

2. Looking around the city and buildings with the mouse:

Lousy Bad So-so Good Great

3. The pictures:

Lousy Bad So-so Good Great

4. The story:

Lousy Bad So-so Good Great

5. The interpreter

Lousy Bad So-so Good Great

6. Movies (not interpreter movies)

Lousy Bad So-so Good Great

Decide if the following is true, Not True, or not sure

1. I wish I had more games like this in my class

Not True Not sure True

Whitney 164

2. I had fun playing the game.

Not True Not sure True

3. I wanted to play for more time

Not True Not sure True

4. I was bored with the game

Not True Not sure True

5. I got mad because the game didn’t work right

Not True Not sure True

6. I was tired of the game

Not True Not sure True

Whitney 165

Appendix

BB

Lesson Motivation Questionnaire

Please circle the answer that best describes how you felt about the parts of the

lesson.

1. The whole lesson

Lousy Bad So-so Good Great

2. Moving to different parts of the lesson

Lousy Bad So-so Good Great

3. The pictures:

Lousy Bad So-so Good Great

4. The definitions:

Lousy Bad So-so Good Great

5. The interpreter

Lousy Bad So-so Good Great

Decide if the following is true, Not True, or not sure

1. I wish I had more lessons like this in my class

Not True Not sure True

2. I had fun using the lesson.

Not True Not sure True

Whitney 166

3. I wanted to use the lesson more time

Not TrueNot sure True

4. I was bored with the lesson

Not True Not sure True

5. I got mad because the lesson didn’t work right

Not True Not sure True

6. I was tired of the lesson

Not True Not sure True

Whitney 167

Appendix

CC

Field Notes

2/5/2002

1st period

Sue (signed in as Angelic)

Appears engaged during introduction: Her eyes were focussed on the screen, not

wandering.

Not sure what to do with the lamp.

Anthony

Appears engaged, eyes focussed on monitor, not wandering. Computer crashed 3 times.

We had to transfer his files to a different computer. Will continue tomorrow.

Kristi

Appears engaged: Her eyes stayed on the monitor, not wandering. Kristi worked quickly

through the pretest and other parts.

2nd period

Ariel

Whitney 168

After finishing the med scene, not sure what to do next. Had difficulty finding apartment,

needed hints from the investigator.

After buying match, kerosene, lamp - not sure what to do. I answered, what did the guy

you were talking to talk about? She guessed she needed to find the chest. I encouraged

her to try different things.

Lilian

Pretest - worked slowly, reading all questions and slowly picking an answer.

Accidentally hit "exit" icon twice. Explored all areas of panorama, vertical, not just

horizontal (other students only tried horizontal until I told them to look up and down too).

Died in medical scene. When starting again, it became apparent that she did not

understand what she was supposed to do. After I explained, she worked quickly. Lilian

would sometimes ask for interpreter again after her guess failed.

In discussion after playing, Lilian commented that she is more familiar with signed

English than ASL

Bob

Reads pretest slowly. Teachers informed me that he knows very little ASL or any sign

systems.

4th Period

Whitney 169

Jorge

Medical scene: died repeatedlly in rapid succession before figuring out antiseptic. Used

up terps, investigator had to adjust pref files to give him more terps.

Mark watched Jorge play, discussed game with him. Investigator did not intercede.

After buying matches, lamp, kerosene, explored the store for more items.

After finding the apartment with lamp, etc., did not know what to do.

Jorge found a bug: hot spot on second barrel worked instead of pliers.

It seems that the fuel level needs to be higher when restarting in BlackSmith Scene.

Jorge would restart and die quickly.

Personal impression: Jorge solved the game by guess and memorize rather than reading

Julio

Got to Dr.'s office, but not sure what to do in there. Found the surgery entrance,

but did not click on it (perhaps due to the incosistency between signs and blue-

words.

Personal impressions: Julio did not use the terps much, but I could see his mouth

moving while reading. He seemed to attend to the text most strongly, then apply

the information (his guesses were higher accuracy than for some of the other

students).

Julio had difficulty finding the apartment. I basically had to tell him where it was.

Whitney 170

Julio was stumped by the lamp/kerosene/match section. He didn't get the matches

until I guided him.

Daniel

I noticed an error: Lanier dialogue reads 273 acres

Typo in Oilgasco: are should read area

During the pretest Daniel had difficulty selecting answers due to the problem with

the text field (button labels) lying over the button. Needs replacing.

Daniel read the pretest slowly and chose answers slowly. He asked if the names in

the pretest were the names of real people.

He thought the question about the President of Oil and Gas Company repeated due

to similarity with question about the Vice President.

He appeared to have some prior knowledge. On the question of forceps, he moved

the cursor back and forth between forceps and tongs.

During navigation, Daniel did not attempt to enter the Dr.'s office. The reason

seems to have been due to the blue lettering (similar to the sections that say

"There is nothing here yet"

Daniel misunderstood the "exit" icon and ended up exiting the game.

Daniel laughed about some of the error messages when trying to enter buildings

that were not yet open or were no longer open.

Whitney 171

Daniel read the hints from Dustin about getting lamp and kerosene, looked up

toward ceiling, rubbed his chin, then went directly to the store.

He was stumped on the second visit to the apartment. Asked the investigator "What

am I supposed to do now?' Investigator gave a hint ("look around, try different

things in the picture.") He then experimented, moving the cursor over different

parts of the pic, then found the chest.

He laughed at the scene with Jimmy saying "I just gave it a little twist...".

On second error with "Stock" message "Grasp stock with tongs." Shows up.

Daniel was stumped over the tongs. He thought the Tongs and the Pliers items

were the same.

On the second Anvil challenge he overlooked anvil repeatedly. When asked why,

he said "I guess because it was at the end of the sentence.

Bug: the section about "Many comapnies are changing names" flashes by quickly

(missing a hold).

2/6/2002

Kristi

Matching - really attends to reading.

error - went into Gladys City Oil and Gas Co. again and scene repeated. It should

have been blocked.

Whitney 172

Sue

Reads matching section carefully, but appears to be guessing.

At Texaco, Sue exited to city, I had to fix it

Multimedia - did not understand the "sprocket" explanation.

Frank

Read pretest carefully

Frank didn't want to use the strategy of saving, then viewing ASL, then going back

and playing the section again. He said that was cheating.

The Jimmy character reminded Frank of someone he knew.

Kristi tried helping Frank.

Frank showed signs of exasperation/frustration, but couldn't tell if it was real or

mock when he was looking for the apartment.

Juan

Seemed to be guessing at the Blacksmith scene, not using text cues.

Lilian

Commented that she thought the interpreter was lousy - too ASL, Lilian says she

prefers more English signing.

Whitney 173

Struggled to find apartment after medical scene. The apartment needs more

separation from the General Store.

Wanted interpreter for Dustin. Lilian didn't realize that she needed to read all 4 of

the questions in the Jimmy/Dustin choice scene.

After the choices with Dustin, she went straight to the General Store.

Lilian explored all the parts of the General store, looking for more items.

Lilian needed hints from the investigator to figure out how to get to the Blacksmith

scene.

With the cue "Shape the ring with pliers." She couldn't find the pliers. I asked why,

she said she was looking for a ring.

Lilian did not recall previous efforts when playing again.

She ran out of interpreters, did not understand the strategy of saving, requesting

interpreter, then restarting at previous save. I reset the number of interpreter

requests she could use.

Seems to mix reading for cues and trial-and-error strategies

Personal notes

How can I design the came so students can't just gues, die, memorize the sequence

of items used and try again? Randomize the questions?

Whitney 174

This game definitely needs some kind of tutorial. It may be worth it to buy a

commercial product to develope tutorials.

Should I create an instructor's option to increase or decrease the number of

interpreter requests available?

On open saved game, encountered two problems.

Auto save is not replacing the last digit, but appending it. I got saves like Julio1,

Julio 12, Julio123, etc. The names become too large to fit in the name field of the

open saved game section (on the stub).

Some programming bug was causing some names to save as ScoobyDoo

Typo in Texaco scene? Boss says, here's a piston for mud pumps. Should be a

travelling block.

See about leaving the computers for one full academic year.

I could build in additional hints if the students are looking for something, but not

finding it after a certain numer of clicks. This would help find the apartment and

the surgery scene.

"Ready to Match" button needs some different arrangement.

Julio

Julio read slowly, lips moving while reading.

Julio appeared to do well on matching.

Time ran out on the matching.

Whitney 175

Second effort - really aced the matching, first he re-read all the information in the

dialogues with the Gladys City Oil and Gas Company board members.

After solving the matching section, he went immediately to the Rigs. He dismissed

other hotspots. He then read the background dialogue on Texaco carefully.

2/7/2002

Anthony

I moved the wrong file to the other computer yesterday, had to fix the problem.

Juan

Quickly progressed to Posttest 1. During test seemed decisive, fairly accurate.

Juan skipped parts of the Multimedia dictionary, then took the test before I could

intervene. I showed him what to do. His PostTest 2 is really an additional

exposure to the test.

Juan seemed to depend on both the ASL and the text in the Multimedia.

Lilian

Quickly took postTest. I can't find the data. Lilian also skipped the game

introduction (became apparent during the interview.

Whitney 176

Mark

Working on Oil and Gas Company scene. He did not work on the game yesterday.

Finished Oil and Gas co quickly and proceeded to Texaco. He did not understand

what to do until I explained it.

Mark worked slowly on the postTest 2. He only visited the blacksmith in the

multimedia treatment.

Julio

Julio asked what was going on with the ASL and English portions of the

multimedia dictionary. he commented that he didn't understand that both were

describing the same item.

He accidentally exited from the dictionary, I had to fix it.

2/8/2002

Janet

Quickly found way to Dr.'s office, but did not click on surgery.

Solved medical scene quickly.

I had to inform her that one building had two doors, one above the other when she

was looking for the apartment. She quickly found it after my hint.

Janet ran out of interpreters. She wanted one for the "cure" challenge.

Janet died about 5 times looking for cure.

Whitney 177

Lilian

Lilian was playing again, got to the Texaco scene. Mark came by and showed her

immediately what to do.

Whitney 178

Appendix

DD

Color Cued Reading Example From Communications with Laurene Gallimore