We propose the following: Design and code a simple video game depicting driving a car around a series of obstacles (or use an existing game). Test the time taken for a person to learn how to properly negotiate the obstacles in a virtual world and then test how fast a human can do it with an unfamiliar car in real life.
Objectives:
In achieving our goal, we will explore the following questions:
How can video games facilitate the learning of complex tasks?
How can video games influence the speed at which learning takes place?
Means:
Internet research
1. We will produce (or obtain) an application that can simulate a difficult task (such as parking a car in a strange lot)
2. We will measure how long it takes Person A to navigate and park in the strange lot.
3. We will allow Person A to 'learn' an efficient way of parking in that lot by using the video game
4. We will have Person B try the video game before trying the task.
5. We will compare the experiences of Person A and Person B.
Specific Challenges:
Developing or finding an interesting application that will simulate parking a car (or some other complex task)
Determining how effective the application is for learning a complex task.
Relationship To Course:
In the process of our research, we expect to gain in-depth knowledge of how video games can influence learning complex tasks and learning in general, which are both goals of this course. We hope that our presentation will contribute to the understanding of characteristics of learning for everyone in this course.
References
Our Independant research project will serve as the basis for this Project.