TSC FIL5810

http://sulley.dm.ucf.edu/~fil5810/de528420/Pass4StoryFINAL.ppt

Assignment 6:  Game Treatment/Analysis

One of the programs I work with uses case studies to assist students to learn how what they are learning relates to the real world.  Students simply read the case study and then do a quiz or group report.  While most students enjoy this process, I’m thinking that turning the process into a game might kick it up a notch.

In Act I, the players would meet and become the protagonist of this game, a doctor.  I see this game as having either multiple players or a single player.  When used with multiple players there would be a more collaborative than competitive attitude.  There would be a team of health care professionals that are already set up with each student choosing a specific character … for instance a geneticist, a microbiologist, an endocrinologist.   I would be personally inclined to include a mentor character with the personality of a “House,” but since that character is a bit abrasive … learning might be better suited to a more kind and caring personality with, of course, years of experience.   The players would be introduced to the location, a rather generic hospital … perhaps the emergency room being the starting point for some of the case studies.  Another starting location would be a Doctors office if the malady has been slow to manifest itself or it is not life threatening.   Near the conclusion of Act I the sick patient will enter the scene, effectively sending our doctor or team of health care professionals up a tree.  They must try to assess what is wrong with the patient and then determine the appropriate treatment. 

Act II would involve multiple story lines that would be appropriate for the specific course the game is being designed to supplement … each case study would have a definitive purpose within the context of the coursework.  It would be ideal to have at least one case study per body system studied in an Anatomy & Physiology course or one case study for each type of bacteriological species in Allied Health Microbiology course.

The rocks would include the symptoms which are afflicting our patient, environmental factors, genetic factors.  At the beginning of the game the symptoms would be general and game play would be extended by worsening of symptoms or decline of health/wrong treatment given.

There would be tools available in the form of the course textbook, a “medical library,” an online search, other doctors, and the mentor character.

In Act III, if the students have not successfully diagnosed the disease and determined the appropriate treatment, the mentor character would do so, directing the attention of the students to the salient points.  This treatment and the subsequent recovery of the patient brings it home and allows our players to successfully conclude the game. 

 testing … pass3-story.ppt

I can’t get my audio files (mp3s) to upload … any ideas?

While I lived in Wisconsin, I was convinced that there was nothing to do.  I find that I see more clearly with distance and time, so when the opportunity arose … mom and I picked Door County as our vacation that year.  I chose this photograph because it reminds me of that fabulous trip we took to Door County; the memories are wonderful.  I admit that I also enjoy being reminded of my fear of heights … because my mother tells me that I am brave to do what I am afraid to do.  And who doesn’t want to hear something like that from a parent, no matter how old we get?  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9173512@N07/584212110/

Round two … please see attached fil5810-second-pass-story-final.doc

Particularity in The African Queen

Rose Sayer and Charlie Allnutt, exact opposites, are thrown together in Africa during WWI.  Rose is a prim and stoic missionary whose missionary brother dies early on in the film.  Charlie is the hard drinking captain of the African Queen who travels up and down the river providing supplies and delivering news and mail.  After the Germans attack the village where Rose and her brother live, Rose and Charlie escape detection by traversing an unnavigable river aboard his boat.  Here, Rose plots to destroy the German boat which patrols Lake Victoria, eventually winning Charlie over to the cause.  During their perilous mission they find mutual respect, admiration, and eventually … love.

One of Bruner’s ten features of narrative is particularity.  This theory states that while there are types into which all narrative can be categorized, these formulaic narratives are given their uniqueness, their particularity, by differing in specific reference points within the narrative.  These events help reveal the story type and help show the narrative’s relevance to each reader or, in this case, each viewer.  Within each generic narrative are a standard course of events and a standard ending; the particularity is in the unique turning points along the path of that generalized narrative.

The generalized story we recognize while watching the African Queen is that of two people who are brought together under adverse circumstances, enduring tragedy and trials, eventually falling in love as they struggle to complete their noble task.

One of the pivotal elements that we encounter in this narrative is the unique chain of events that cause Rose and Charlie to be brought together; the Germans destroying the village, the death of Rose’s brother, and the subsequent return of Charlie to the burned out village.  These unique events start us on our journey aboard the Queen and demonstrate particularities within the general framework of the story; that is, they create a place in the narrative that causes a divergence from other narratives which follow the same generalized path, helping to create a unique path for The African Queen to follow and bringing the viewer to have greater sympathy for the pair.

The many trials endured on this expedition exemplify this narrative’s particularities.  Charlie and Rose navigated the rapids with some success, the boat was in one piece and they were alive.  Charlie was able to save the day by fixing the boat.  Rose and Charlie endured insects and a bout with malaria.  In one of the most emotionally intense moments of the movie, Charlie had to return to the water to continue dragging the boat through shallows after Rose had already removed leeches from his body after his first effort; he re-entered the water knowing he would have to endure that same fate again.  We can identify with Charlie and understand the amount of fortitude it took for him to get back in the water.  These events not only demonstrate this narratives particularities, but in doing so, help the viewer empathize and identify with the struggles of these characters.

The evolution of the attitudes and emotions that Rose and Charlie exhibit are also particularities within this general structure.  They each begin at an extreme position but throughout their adventure, as they survive each trial, slowly find a gentler and more forgiving attitude.  Again, each trial guides the emotional transition Rose and Charlie undergo.

Finally, a storm capsizes their boat … before their task can be accomplished … but they have made it to Lake Victoria, where Rose and Charlie are “rescued,” only to be sentenced to death by the captain of the German patrol boat.  Charlie convinces the captain to marry them as the African Queen, armed with her “torpedo,” bears down on the boat.

Their mission is accomplished by chance as the Queen collides with the German boat, blowing up both vessels.   We leave this narrative watching Rose and Charlie after the explosion.  What becomes of them is left to the viewer.  Their noble task completed.  Their love acknowledged.  The result expected, the means unique. 

Here it is …  had to make a couple of changes.  Hope that is ok.

fil5810-first-pass-story-final.doc

Just doing a test to see how long it takes to upload this file and to see if I can figure out how to upload this file. 

This is my almost finished product …  fil5810-first-pass-story-b.doc 

My story will be a non-fiction narrative depicting or exemplifying a biological or mathematical concept.  I have chosen to do this because in my work as a curriculum designer it is my goal to construct learning objects that can reach many types of students. In my experience I have found that while it is fairly easy to reach those students who are already engaged in the material, the challenge is always to engage those students who are not.  I am hoping to give the biological concept or mathematical example more depth and make it easier for students to relate to it.  I anticipate that this will help all students retain the material better.

The primary purpose of the story will be to educate and elucidate… with the intended audience being the community college level student.  I hope, however, that the story will make the concept comfortable for anyone with an inclination or a curiosity about the subject.

My intention is that with each pass more and more drawings and/or diagrams will replace explicit verbal explanation.  I also intend to incorporate the movement of objects to demonstrate a concept or idea which is particularly difficult; many times something can be shown with greater impact visually as opposed to textual description only.  In addition, I would like to try to integrate sound, whether it is mere sound effects or brief narrative statements.  All of this can also help create atmosphere, which I suspect may be sorely lacking in my first pass. 

The focalization will be third person fixed or external; an omniscient observer as the narrator or instructor.  The temporal arrangement of the story will simply be the time it takes to explain the concept, although some flashback type elements will likely be needed to explain how constituent parts get to a specific point in the process.

The focalization and temporal arrangement will remain the same with each pass; I intend to use the same story throughout, continually refining and making it more visual and auditory.  I hope this will help me to address some of the learning style issues many students encounter with plain text.

The biggest challenge will be to create a ‘story’ type format for a biological process or mathematical explanation that is suitable for a community college level student.  It will also be a challenge to replace components of the process with images or audio substitutes.  I think that once I have a good outline which includes the sub-concepts and intermediary ideas it will be easier to see the story and discover where some ideas may be conveyed more appropriately and perhaps even more accurately with images or audio components.

One of my first memories is sitting on a wooden floor in an old building while my mother worked. She sat on a chair near a Ben Franklin stove surrounded by stacks of books … turns out that she started the first public library in that tiny mountain town in Colorado.

I don’t remember ever not having books in my life.  When I was very young my mother and father led my sister and I down the path of literature and poetry.  But fairly early on I veered toward junk food … mind candy.  Mysteries are probably my favorite.  I started reading Agatha Christie and Ngiao Marsh in junior high school.  To the credit of my parents … nature, science, garden, travel, and health books also weigh heavily in my personal library.  

I have always loved movies and, in the past, watched movies from virtually every genre.  I fell in love with the B movies like The Creature of the Black Lagoon, the old mysteries including Sherlock Holmes and the Thin Man, the old comedies with Abbott and Costello or Bob Hope, the Bella Lugosi and Lon Chaney “horror” movies, and anything by Alfred Hitchcock (except The Birds - that movie still freaks me out).  I watched many of these movies in black and white on Saturday afternoons back when there were only three channels to choose from.  I still love movies.  In fact, I go to the movies almost every week in the summer.  These days, however, I tend to hit the movies made for kids.  Hmmm. 

In college I earned a BS in biology.  After several family health crises, I moved back in with my parents and returned to school to earn my teaching certification.  I then taught 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade science for 3 years.  Some of my friends postulate that by teaching this age group I proved I am very brave … others insist it proved that I am crazy.

I moved to Florida and wandered for about five years and, after I decided I had better get a move on, began working part time at the Community College in my area.  I taught biology labs, worked as a tutor in math and science, taught college prep math classes.  I also created and presented workshops for math, science and health science students.  Oddly, I used to hate math.  My relatively recent interest in math was sparked by an instructor I worked with who explained “why.”   I took more math classes, throwing in some computer science courses just for fun.  After more than 8 years of working part time I was fortunate enough to land a full time position as a ‘Learning Facilitator’ under a Title III grant that is examining the use of blended classroom environments.  This is where you now find me now.

I use the internet regularly, but don’t really know that I would consider myself ‘experienced.’  How about casually experienced?  I only use the internet these days for work, school, and research.  I don’t play many video or computer games anymore.  I started off, “back in the day,” playing Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, and Phoenix.  I eventually graduated to the computer adventure games and spent more hours than I care to admit attached to my computer in the very early 90’s.  My first computer was a 286.  On it, I played solitaire ‘til I couldn’t see and the Perils of Rosalind until my eyes bled.  Some people just don’t know when to say when. 

As for what I do these days when I am not at work or working on my classes … not too much; I am usually working or working on my classes.  When I have time I read, paint, garden, and watch movies.  I have a strange addiction to the history channel.  I love to be out in nature, I adore my cats, and I enjoy learning.   

Here and now I will publicly admit … the most horrifying thing I read regarding this assignment were the words “grammar and mechanics.”  It still makes me shiver when I think about it.