David Neville, assistant professor of German and director of language learning technologies, published "Literary and Historical 3D-DGBL: Design Guidelines," which will appear in a forthcoming issue of Simulation and Gaming: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Theory, Practice and Research. The journal is a leading international forum for the exploration and development of simulation/gaming methodologies used in education, training, consultation, and research.
In the article, Neville and co-author Brett Shelton, assistant professor of instructional technology and learning sciences at Utah State University, synthesize components of contemporary pedagogical, instructional design, new media and literary-historical theories to derive design guidelines for use in developing three-dimensional digital game-based learning (3D-DGBL) environments to teach literature and history topics.
From the synthesis emerges a discussion of critical components for the design of 3D-DGBL space, the virtual objects within it, and the needs of player-as-learner in synthetic worlds. Guidelines include preserving the otherness of the game world, supporting knowledge and social networks of learners in virtual spaces, and the importance of point of view with respect to situated contexts.
Neville is currently directing an interdisciplinary faculty, staff and student software development team at Elon University that will program a 3D-DGBL environment to teach German language and culture to beginning university students. Eventually he would like to develop a similar instructional environment that will help students learn about the Middle Ages.