A presentation from Museums and the Web 2009. Kate Haley Goldman, Institute for Learning Innovation, USA David Schaller, eduweb, USA Grant Spickelmier, Minnesota Zoo, USA Steven Allison-Bunnell, USA Jes Koepfler, Institute for Learning Innovation, USA http://www.wolfquest.org The enormous popularity of computer and videogames (Lenhard et al. 2008), and the inherent pedagogical qualities of such games (Gee 2003, Squire et al. 2003) has inspired many efforts to create games that successfully fuse compelling gameplay with learning goals. This session examines the results of one such effort. WolfQuest is a 3D wildlife simulation game developed by Eduweb and the Minnesota Zoo, funded by the National Science Foundation, and distributed on-line as a free download for Mac and Windows computers. With over 250,000 game downloads and 30,000 multiplayer game sessions per month, the game has definitely found an audience. But are these players learning what we intended? Summative evaluation found that players do indeed report knowledge gain, stronger emotional attachment to wolves, and significant behavioral outcomes, with large percentages of players following their game sessions with other wolf-related activities, including such further explorations of wolves on the Internet, in books and on television. This paper details the evaluation results from the summative evaluation, discusses the theory behind the project, and reflects on our experience developing the game. Session: Learning From Games [design]

1. Learning in the Wild:
What WolfQuest taught developers and game players
Dave Schaller Kate Haley Goldman
eduweb Institute for Learning Innovation
Monday, April 27, 2009

2. Game, Community, Network
‣ Immersive 3D game with
single-player and multi-player
missions
‣ Online community of players/
learners
‣ National Network of zoos
promote project locally
Monday, April 27, 2009

3. The Game
Monday, April 27, 2009

4. The Game in the Wild
Does Usage = Learning?
‣ 250,000 game downloads in
fifteen months
‣ 46,000 registered members of
WolfQuest community forum
‣ 1,200 forum posts daily
‣ 20,000 multiplayer sessions
per month
Monday, April 27, 2009

5. Audience Age
Under 9
9-15 years old
16-17 years old
18-25 years old 18-24 2% 4% 1%
years old
25-34 years old
12%
35+
16-17 years old
14%
9-15 years old
67%
Monday, April 27, 2009

6. Audience
WolfQuest Players in Bartle’s Player Types
80%
64%
48%
32%
16%
0%
Explorer Achiever Socializer Killer
Discovering new Mastering the game Getting to know Attacking
parts of game Scoring points other players other players
Creative ways to
advance
Monday, April 27, 2009

7. Go Where Your Audience Is
Branding by topic and game
ch
16,000
Registered forumNot by institution
un
La
members
e
m
Website hits (thousands)
Ga
ow
Sh
e
th
12,000
of
ck
ta
At
ch
un
8,000
La
o
m
De
de
ch
un
la
um
4,000
r
Fo
0
Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan
2006 2007 2008
Monday, April 27, 2009

8. Summative Evaluation
Does playing WolfQuest…
✦Increase players’ knowledge of, and interest and
attitudes towards wolves?
✦Increase players’ intended or actual wolf-related
conservation behaviors?
✦Support or reinforce players’ scientific habits of
mind?
Monday, April 27, 2009

9. Methods
✦Retrospective pre-post Web Survey (n=964)
✦Semi-stratified telephone interviews (n=40)
✦Forum content analysis (Random sample of
321 threads)
Monday, April 27, 2009

10. Self-Rated Wolf Knowledge:
Pre- and Post-Game
50%
Pre-Game
Post-Game
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Novice Beginner Intermediate Experienced Expert
Monday, April 27, 2009

11. What are some things you learned, or
found out, about wolf behaviors and
habitats from playing this game?
Response Category Percent (n=182)
Social Behaviors 116%
Hunting 79%
Defense/Territory 45%
Other Wolf Knowledge 46%
Habitat 19%
Affective/Experiential/Social/
13%
Behavioral
Humans (of and related to) 2%
Monday, April 27, 2009

12. Due to playing WolfQuest, have you done or do
you intend to do any of the following….
Response Percent
Look up information about wolves on the Internet? 84%
Watch a TV show or video about wolves? 83%
Read about wolves in books, magazines, or newspapers? 82%
Talk to friends or family about playing the game? 82%
Make art related to wolves? 76%
Visit a zoo? 72%
Visit a nature center, park, or wilderness area to see wildlife? 69%
Participate in outdoor activities, such as hiking, fishing, etc. 67%
Visit a wildlife area to see wolves? 62%
Write something about wolves or wolf habitats? 58%
Create a wildlife friendly backyard garden? 42%
Plan a school project related to wolves? 41%
Attend a wolf class or program at a zoo or nature center? 38%
Monday, April 27, 2009

13. Real Gameplay Encourages Replay
Replay positively correlates
to interest in wolves and
behavioral outcomes
Monday, April 27, 2009

14. Ancillary Activities are Essential
Elements for Learning
Discussion, artmaking, storytelling and other
projects extend the experience in meaningful ways
Monday, April 27, 2009

15. Scientific Habits of Mind
Alternative explanations of data:
No matter how well one theory fits observations, a new theory might fit them just as
well or better, or might fit a wider range of observations. In science, the testing,
revising, and occasional discarding of theories, new and old, never ends. This
ongoing process leads to an increasingly better understanding of how things work in
the world but not to absolute truth (AAAS.1.A.12.3, AAAS.12.A.8.3)
Model testing and prediction:
The usefulness of a model can be tested by comparing its predictions to actual
observations in the real world. But a close match does not necessarily mean that the
model is the only ‘‘true’’ model of the only one that would work (AAAS.11.B.12.2)
Steinkuehler and Duncan (2008)
Monday, April 27, 2009

16. Scientific Habits of Mind
Example of “Alternate explanation of data”
in World of Warcraft discussion forum
The calculations correctly show that mind flay [spell]
“receives just as much damage percentage as mind
blast. However mind blast has a 1.5 second cast time,
and mind flay has a 3 second cast time. And therefore
mind flay receives half the dps [damage per second]
boost it should. (post #2609.43)
Steinkuehler and Duncan (2008)
Monday, April 27, 2009

17. Scientific Habits of Mind
Example of “Alternate explanation of data”
in WolfQuest discussion forum
“Okay but why dose [sic] it say when you run from a
wolf it says you lost your territory and if you make a
wolf run away something appears really fast that
says the word home at the end? (I think).”
Monday, April 27, 2009

18. Scientific Habits of Mind
How did you overcome
challenges in the game?
“Well, at first, I was a very terrible hunter. I mean. I was
pitiful. I couldn't even take down the weakest elk in the herd,
even WHEN I had a mate! It was a very sad sight to see. Well,
to overcome such a problem, I just kinda practiced. And
watched a few videos that people had made. And... Well, I
made a few observations myself. And you know what... it
worked! I kinda just practiced, watched my status bars and
stuff, took notes.”
Monday, April 27, 2009

19. Matching Content to Gameplay
System • Rules • Feedback
By analyzing gameplay, players are analyzing the
ecological system
Monday, April 27, 2009

20. It’s the Player’s Game,
We Only Created It
Users will always take
your work and use it
toward their own ends
Monday, April 27, 2009

21. Dave Schaller Kate Haley Goldman
david@eduweb.com haleygoldman@ilinet.org
Monday, April 27, 2009