[B-Greek] Immersive environments - mmorpg (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game)
Daniel Streett
danstreett at gmail.com
Sat Aug 8 00:28:07 EDT 2009
Stephen et al,
I mentioned this as a possibility in my paper last year at the National ETS
Meeting, but no one really showed any interest, even though I thought it was
one of the more interesting possibilities for immersion that I mentioned. I
believe it has already been used in ESL and other second-language classes. I
am pretty sure that some of the more forward-thinking Living Latin
proponents have done something similar. I think interactive "gaming" and
immersive environments like that are the future, not just of language
learning, to which they would be a great boon, but also of education as a
whole.
As to feasibility, I don't know much about mmorpgs, but it seems to me that
it has a built in collaborative aspect to it that could make constructing
such an environment much easier. For example, one person could create a
first-century virtual ταβέρνη (TABERNH), while others could make a σχολη
(SXOLH) or αγορα (AGORA). After a while, an entire πόλις (POLIS) would exist
for students to explore and add to (perhaps add ετερα βρωματα to the menu at
the ταβέρνη!).
I have mentioned the idea to my college Greek students many times, and they,
as a generation well-acquainted with such games/environments, always get
very excited about it. In fact, I had a student a couple years ago use the
Sims or some other game to create some short Greek animations/movies that
were similar to what you're talking about.
In any case, thanks for bringing up the topic. I hope a fruitful discussion
ensues.
Daniel R. Streett
Assistant Professor of Greek and New Testament
Criswell College
Dallas, Texas
On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 7:05 PM, Will Dilbeck <will.dilbeck at gmail.com> wrote:
> Stephen,
>
> I think that is an AWESOME idea. I am a fan of video games (I am not a
> "hardcore gamer" per se but I enjoy them occasionally) and I would
> certainly
> play a game like that!
>
> Will
>
> On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 6:59 PM, Carl Conrad <cwconrad2 at mac.com> wrote:
>
> > Forwarded for: Stephen and Amanda <stephenandamanda at gmail.com>
> > Date: August 7, 2009 8:17:34 AM EDT
> > To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
> > Subject: Immersive environments - mmorpg (Massively multiplayer online
> > role-playing game)
> >
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > Has anyone here ever thought or heard about using mmorpg (Massively
> > multiplayer online role-playing game)
> > platforms for simulating an immersive environment for language learning.
> >
> > What is a mmorpg? They are essentially 3d computer games whereby
> > people on the net
> > are able to interact in an immersive and simulated world/environment.
> > Eg. Second life (http://secondlife.com/whatis/)
> >
> > What would be the point? We would be able to recreate a first century
> > town/country side with all the sights and sounds.
> > In this environment, users could interact and talk in koine greek
> > (Whether by keyboard or mic). You could interact with
> > 3d objects, learn new vocab by interacting with the objects, talk,
> > etc. You would also be learning about the meaning of
> > words within a "more realistic 1st century context".
> >
> > We could also create tasks/games for users which would require them to
> > interact with their environment and practice
> > their language skills, etc. The opportunities really would be "endless".
> >
> > We could run classes like Randall Buth does but without the barrier of
> > distance. Any thoughts? Randall?
> >
> > Admittetdly, it wouldn't be something that you create overnight but
> > then again it would be a significant platform with a
> > lot of different stakeholders (colleges, (?) scholars, geeks, language
> > enthusiasts, etc). While it may seem trivial/gimmicky, I think
> > that this technology represents a significant opportunity in creating
> > a language learning environment that would help the
> > modern language learner to become immersed in the 1st century world.
> >
> > Please comment.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Stephen Young
> > ---
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> >
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