Recent Reports
"A Scan of Game-based Learning in U.S. Higher Education," Spring 2012.
"Game-based Learning Ecosystem for Higher Education," 2011, rev. 2012.
"Developing a Framework for Successful Adoption of Game-based Learning in Postsecondary Education," Fall 2011.
"An Orientation to Serious Games," Fall 2011.
Recent Publications
Rhonda M. Epper, Anne Derryberry, and Sean Jackson. “Game-Based Learning: Developing an Institutional Strategy” (Research Bulletin). Louisville, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, August 9, 2012, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: Insights From and About Generation Z (4/26/11)
Just when instructional designers thought they had figured out how to make eLearning that Gen Y would use, here comes Gen Z, the Digital Generation. Think mobile. Think social. Think mashup. And that’s just the beginning. Anne gives you the rundown on what you really need to be planning as your delivery strategy.
J-games: What do players think? (4/14/11)
For some months, and particularly since a cadre of interested folk convened (alas, without me) a couple of weeks ago at the University of Minnesota’s Journalism Center, there has been an on-going discussion about newsgames and the “gamification” of news, mostly on the Mediashift Idea Lab blog.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: Imagining a Badge System for e-Learning (3/22/11)
Badges, those little icons so loved by gamers, have some surprising uses in e-Learning. These uses go beyond providing superficial rewards, including improving recall, increasing motivation, and supporting social interaction. Here’s what we’re learning about this element of gamification.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: Experience Matters (2/22/11)
The great challenge for instructional design is to generate the same experience for the majority of learners. Anne explores a key task: creation of a common emotional experience among those who use our products and programs, whether the context is a classroom, a traditional e-Learning program, or an immersive simulation.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: Working the Numbers Game (1/27/11)
Metrics matter, especially when it comes to improving our product. We in e-Learning can learn a lot from the success of our brethren in Marketing, but we need to adapt their methods to our world. Anne shows you where to start: defining our terms.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: Digital Dust Bunnies (12/28/10)
Curation – the aggregation, synthesis, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of content – is a growing role in e-Learning. Anne offers her thoughts on the expansion of data, and what it means for us and for our learners.
Anne's Game Salon (12/16/10)
Being an ambassador for the adoption of game-based communication requires persistence and thick skin. And creativity and fervor. And lots of patience.
When I arrived at RJI, I quickly realized that few of my colleagues – and surprisingly few of the students – admitted to being gamers. Indeed, and perhaps not surprisingly, the idea of melding online games with journalism was not especially appreciated by professional or student journalists. When I opened my presentation to a class I’d been asked to speak to with my customary question, “So, what games are you playing?” one student scoffed, “We’re journalism majors. We don’t have time to play games.” Tough crowd.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: This Crazy Gamification Craze (11/23/10)
Gamification – adding game elements to applications for business and education – is a hot trend. But does this dumb down the transformative nature of games? Anne examines the question.
The Dopamine Squirt (10/27/10)
Engagement is on many people’s minds these days. Again. Why? Because, the theory goes, if the [customer/reader/learner/voter/player] is engaged, then she will [buy more/read on/learn better/vote for me/keep playing]. Engagement is the first-level indicator of success, even though it’s not inherently measurable on its own.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: Engagement and the Dopamine Squirt (10/26/10)
Learning can literally be addictive, thanks to the effects of dopamine on the brain. A well-tuned game heightens these effects. Anne explains the principles that will help you leverage the learners’ physiological responses.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: Games as Meaning Makers (9/28/10)
Stories have been the basis for teaching for thousands of years. Today, online and computer games are based on a “backstory,” and this makes these games compelling. Why not use this to facilitate learning?
Hybrid Learning Acquires “Peacemaker” and “Play the News” from ImpactGames (8/12/10)
Social gaming seems to be a rapidly growing opportunity for the learning sector. Underscoring this is the acquisition by a developer of serious games and mobile learning solutions of a pioneer in creating compelling interactive experiences. Here’s a look at where serious games are headed, and at the potential for reusable platforms and content that is as fresh as this morning’s news.
Apple's iOS 4: Ready for the Enterprise, But What About e-Learning? (7/28/10)
Apple’s new devices, the iPad and the iPhone 4, will soon have two things in common: sleek hardware design, and the operating system that runs them. Previously called iPhone OS, Apple’s newly-branded iOS 4 provides a number of features that make the devices running it far more suitable to a work environment than past releases. But what does iOS 4 offer for e-Learning? Here’s our review.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: Can Games Save Journalism? (7/27/10)
Journalism and education have much in common, besides the fact that both are in dire straits. Journalism intends to inform us about the world, and education aims to help us succeed in that same world. Could games be the nexus between these two pursuits that are so vital to democracy?
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: School's Out – What Did We Learn?
(Part 5) (6/29/10)
Anne summarizes her experience in creating an environment and platform for social networking by college-bound 9th-graders. As always, the lessons learned weren’t just for the students, and they apply equally to learners of all ages and circumstances.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: 9th-Graders Give Their Feedback
(Part 4) (5/25/10)
“After a few disappointing weeks of limited interest or participation by students and rumbling frustration on Ms. L.’s part, I suggested we take part of a class session to get feedback from the students. We got an earful of useful input.”
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: The Mechanics of Social Learning Networks for 9th Graders (Part 3) (4/27/10)
“Determining the right technology package for a learning solution can be challenging under any circumstances. Identifying – and assembling – the right set of freeware tools to provide the infrastructure that will spawn an active social learning network among a class of mid-performing 9th graders was like being back in grad school.”
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: The Seven C's of a Social Learning Network
(Part 2) (3/31/10)
In February, Anne joined the Teacher Support Network in her community. She was assigned to a ninth-grade teacher and students, to help the students succeed in their classes so that they can stay on (or get on) a college-bound track. This also gives her an opportunity to experience life inside a high school classroom firsthand. This week’s column continues the story of that experience.
Industry Consolidation Continues; Kaplan IT Learning Acquires Atlantic Link (3/3/10)
In the third major consolidation in the e-Learning market in 2010, solutions provider Kaplan IT Learning has acquired rapid e-Learning tool provider Atlantic Link, Inc.
Adobe Releases Connect Pro Mobile for iPhone (2/25/10)
The Adobe® Connect Pro® Mobile for iPhone® app is available for download from the Apple® iTunes® App StoreSM. The free application enables iPhone users to join and participate in live meetings running in Adobe Connect Pro, Adobe’s Web conferencing software.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: Social Learning Technology for Ninth-Graders (Part 1) (2/23/10)
Can a learning technologist find a way to harness social learning technology in a way that will offer supportive solutions for ninth-graders and their teacher? In August, 2009, Anne challenged readers to join her in volunteering for their local school. Walking her talk in this and the following several columns, she will share her experiences in doing just that.
Training Magazine and Website To Close (2/18/10)
Training industry shake-outs in 2010 continue. After 41 years, Training will cease publication in March.
SkillSoft To Be Acquired By Private Firm (2/12/10)
Skillsoft PLC, one of the largest e-Learning companies in the world, announced today that it has agreed to be acquired by SSI, a private firm formed for this purpose. Shareholders Foundation has raised concerns about the agreement.
SAIC Acquires Forterra Systems' OLIVE technology (2/3/10)
Changes continue in the virtual world technology market with yesterday’s acquisition of Forterra Systems by SAIC. More details here on a story we broke last month.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: Virtual World changes; 2010 Consumer Electronics Show; 3-D e-Learning? (1/21/10)
With a new decade come new opportunities, new insights, new media. Here’s a quick review of some of what’s headed your way.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: The Aughts, the Ought-Nots, and the Ought-Oh's (12/28/09)
The first decade of the 21st Century had its high points and its low moments, all of which affect what we will be doing in the second decade. A look at some of the most significant developments.
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: New Web-based Tools and Services for Developers (11/30/09)
Collaboration is hot, and e-Learning developers can always use help. Here are three new online tools and services that you may find fit your needs (and your budget): Google Wave, Freebase, and Amazon Mechanical Turk. They are well worth checking out!
Dispatch From the Digital Frontier: Facebook, SARPA, WikiEducator (9/21/09)
The expanded capabilities of Facebook; U.S. Federal legislation that supports free online learning; and a resource for free content. And, giving your conscience a little nudge.
Dispatch From the Digital Frontier: Volunteer for Your Schools; OS Wars (8/24/09)
What have you done lately for your local schools? Consider volunteering – it helps schools stretch tight budgets, and you can bring your experience into the classroom. Also, the operating system (OS) wars are heating up again, between Microsoft, Google, and Apple. Are you ready?
Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: Shifting Gears with Wolfram|Alpha and Cloud Computing (7/27/09)
New developments often provide capabilities that will be of direct benefit to e-Learners and to instructional designers. Two such examples are Wolfram|Alpha and cloud computing. Anne introduces you to computational information searching, and to the post-desktop model of human-computer interaction.
Dispatch From the Digital Frontier (6/22/09)
In spite of problems with the economy, the prospects for e-Learning continue to expand. This week, how the Kindle DX can improve delivery, and whether government grants can point the way to new opportunities.
Dispatch From the Digital Frontier (5/25/09)
How work decisions we make every day are affected by what’s going on around us, both distant and immediate. Often, e-Learning professionals are so busy with their work that they don’t have time to look at the overall context within which they operate. Here's a second look.
"Debunking Myths About Serious Games" essay for The eLearning Guild's 2008 Immersive Learning Simulation Report (click here to purchase full report) Download debunking_myths.pdf
“Serious Games: Online Games for Learning” white paper for Adobe Systems (click here to go to paper on the Adobe site)
Recent Presentations
"Badges: The 'New Black' or Another 'Black Hole'," SUNY Learning Network SOLsummit 2013, March 1, 2013.
"'Who's Got CLASS?' - A Review of WCET's Game + Badges Demo Project", WCET Annual Meeting, November 2012.
"Badges for Learning," WCET webcast, March 8, 2012.
"Making A Serious Case for Games and Sims" online forum for eLearning Guild, January 17, 2008.
