Inside, Outside, and Off-Site: Social Constructivism in Mobile Games

Abstract

Well-designed mobile games that require player agency and meaning making are excellent examples of constructivist learning. Mobile games can generate a myriad of different learning experiences such as discovery learning and contextually based learning. One of the most powerful affordances of games is promoting social learning, or social constructivism; collaborative games provide plenty of opportunities for peer scaffolding and collaborative discourse. This chapter details three mobile augmented reality games designed to afford constructivist learning through collaborative interactions: one inside a school, one on and around school grounds, while the last one is located at a working farm. We hope to demonstrate that collaborative mobile games represent a flexible approach that can promote meaningful learning across subjects, ages, and even environments. Game-based learning (GBL) can, does, and should continue to occur in class; however, GBL can also be effectively implemented outside and even far away from the classroom, off-site.

Key Terms in this Chapter

Moravians: A Protestant religious group that emigrated to America in the 18th century to escape persecution. Their church is still active today.

Quick-Response (QR) Codes: Visual markers that look like two-dimensional barcodes. They contain digital information such as a website address. Special software is required to scan them and access the embedded information.

GPS: An acronym that stands for Global Positioning System. It is a radio navigation system that enables the determination of exact position anywhere in the world.

Augmented Reality (AR): Augmented reality is a virtual media platform that provides overlays of digital information on top of real-world objects, images, or quick response (QR) codes.

Social Constructivism: A theory of learning mainly associated with Vygotsky that emphasizes intrinsic learning through social interactions.

STEM: The acronym stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It’s an interdisciplinary educational approach where learners engage in real-world problem solving.