FEATURED PROJECT
S.C.R.U.BFaculty: Brian MagerkoTeam Member(s): Brian Magerko, Carrie Heeter, Joe Fitzgerald, and Ben Medler Digital Media Ph.D. student Ben Medler introduces the S.C.R.U.B. project. Please briefly explain the project. What is it about? S.C.R.U.B. (Super Covert Removal of Unwanted Bacteria) is a project to develop adaptive mini-games for pedagogical purposes. Adoption within these games is achieved by combining a user's game-playing preferences with their learning style. Currently, we are focusing on the topic areas of proper hygiene and understanding microbe transmission and evolution. Beyond these specific topics, this project is looking for common design elements and strategies in order to apply these practices to other serious games. Who are the team members? Brian Magerko, Assistant Professor of LCC, Carrie Heeter, Professor from the Michigan State University, Joe Fitzgerald, MA Student from the Michigan State University and myself (Ben Medler, Ph.D. student in Digital Media)have been contributed to this project What is your role in the project? My role on this project is both that of programmer and researcher. I have a degree in computer science, so I am always interested in programming for games. I am also at Georgia Tech to study how these games fit into teaching curriculum and how to make sure students become engaged in the games that we build. How long have you been working on this project? I have been working on this project for one year. What is the importance of this project? Offering a digital game that adapts to individual learner-player motivations is easier than tailoring a classroom experience to meet the specific needs of each individual learner in the class. Digital games have the potential to adapt individual learner-player needs and interests by connecting game reward mechanics to player motivations and to learning, thereby, helping each student have a more optimal learning experience. S.C.R.U.B. is the first in a series of mini-games that will intelligently adapt its game-play based on an individual player`s learning style. Why do you like working for this project? This project is great because it is very interdisciplinary, including AI, HCI, education, and game design. This project has given me a chance to dive into each of these areas. I am also able to work on a system that may be used to teach students and promote the use of games as educational tools. What are the biggest challenges with this project? This project can be taken in many directions. The real challenge is trying to figure out which avenues of research we are going to tackle first. Add on the fact that we need to build games that both look great and are fun to play, keeping this project on track is sometimes difficult. Prepared by Tanla Bilir |
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