{"id":133680,"date":"2021-01-21T15:11:19","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T14:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gamestrategies.io\/blog\/colorado-state-university-global-implements-game-based-learning-to-engage-students\/"},"modified":"2024-11-01T17:17:08","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T16:17:08","slug":"colorado-state-university-global-implements-game-based-learning-to-engage-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamestrategies.io\/en\/blog\/colorado-state-university-global-implements-game-based-learning-to-engage-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado State University Global implements game-based learning to engage students"},"content":{"rendered":"

CSU Global<\/a> is a 100% online nonprofit state school that is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. This university teaches undergraduate and graduate courses and issues online degrees and certificates. They\u2019re focused on what they call \u201cthe modern learner\u201d, a student who can work full-time, spend time with family and friends, and still be part of a rigorous degree or certificate program.<\/p>\n

The challenge: engaging students who rarely see their professors face-to-face<\/h2>\n

The objective in including the game in CSU Global training was really to engage the student. The Program Chairs realized they needed to keep current with the trends and saw gamification as something very important that could be integrated into their academic courses.<\/p>\n

They started searching and found lots of simulations, but there wasn\u2019t anything really like what they were looking for: the gaming component. Then the Gamelearn platform caught their attention. They wanted to see how they could make game-based learning theirs, how it could work. Their courses are all virtual, and they try very hard to be interactive within their lectures. They don\u2019t want their students to just sit there reading the screen. The gaming aspect just took it one step further, really engaging the students.<\/p>\n

Solution: Pacific, the serious game on negotiation and conflict-resolution<\/h2>\n

The CSU Global Program Heads embraced the serious game Pacific<\/a> because of its theme, and integrated it into one of the courses, so that they could take their content and blend it seamlessly with the game.<\/p>\n

The biggest challenge was matching the sequencing of the program with the sequencing in the game. They followed the game\u2019s structure and integrated delegation into the task process early on. By the third or fourth week, the students had everything they needed in the game. They just continued playing, so the faculty brought in conflict resolution, communication, and feedback\u2026 And some of those elements popped up in the game as well, so the students could practise them when they arose. About half of the course content was scripted from the game<\/p>\n

The Lead Faculty- Organizational Leadership, Sheila Landfair-Mueller, wonders and then answers herself: \u201cWould we have presented the content in another sequence without the game? Yes, potentially, but it didn\u2019t really matter, because the game was there to support it.\u201d Besides, she points out: \u201cThe game is very intuitive, the navigation instructions are very clear, as well as the actions that the students and faculty have to take throughout the course. I don\u2019t believe we had any confusion or issues regarding that. The training we needed was minimal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The way CSU Global is structured, faculty is in charge of their own courses. The Program Chairs create the content with their experts, but then the faculty takes that content and makes it their own, so they had to be convinced about the material and the methodology too.<\/p>\n