GAME CREATION
Our interdisciplinary faculty team, consisting of experts from biological science, design, educational technology, computer science, and music, collaborated to develop and implement an innovative educational game. This unique blend of disciplines was instrumental in enhancing learner engagement. Our project was conceived as a project built by students and faculty for students and faculty. One of the key aspects was including students heavily in the design of the game, and a total of 41 individuals were involved in the project: 28 undergraduate students, 2 graduate students, and 11 professors.
The game, developed through an iterative design process that involved continuous refinement based on user feedback, implementation, and evaluation, has been successfully integrated into diverse biology course contexts and shared widely with the educational community. The development involved active participation from students at both undergraduate and graduate levels, fostering a rich, collaborative learning environment.
To read more about the creation of the game prototype and the game itself, please refer to the sources below:
- (Life On the Edge: Supporting students’ learning of cell biology) “Life on the Edge” is an educational game designed by MacEwan University to teach cell biology to undergraduates through interactive gameplay, with ongoing research to assess its effectiveness.
- (User Testing for Serious Game Design: Improving the Player Experience) The case study examines the crucial role of user testing in designing the video game “Life on the Edge” for first-year biology students, highlighting how it helps identify and address game issues to enhance player experience.
- (Creative, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research: An Educational Cell Biology Video Game Designed by Students for Students) A team at MacEwan University of 7 faculty and 14 undergraduate students from various disciplines designed a video game for biology students, balancing education and entertainment, and creating meaningful learning experiences despite numerous challenges.
- (Interaction Design and Educational Video Games: Motivating Undergraduate Students to Explore New Territories) While educational video games are prevalent in K-12, they are rare at the university level and often lack engagement and quality. The article answers many questions including Can design students create a fun and educational game? What roles could they play, and what unique learning experiences could they gain? What challenges exist in integrating game design into design education? Partnering with a Biological Sciences professor, we hired undergraduates in interaction design and computing science to develop a biology game prototype, exploring these questions through a practical, engaging project.