guild wars: building social skills for the 21st century workforce

LeVonda Vickery, Full Sail University

Building Social Skillsfor the

21st Century Workforce

Introduction

Inspiration

Literature Review• High School

Graduates74.7%

• Two-Year College Graduates

82.7%

• Four-Year College Graduates

94.4%

21st Century Workforce Readiness

Teamwork & Collaboration

Literature Review

Learning through Video Games

• “Video games have the potential to change the landscape of education as we know it.”

• 56% of students see the potential of using games in education.

• Opportunity to test student’s assumptions.

• Allow student’s to takerisks in a safe environment.

Literature Review

MMORPGs

• MMORPGs are very social environments.

• Quests are too difficult to complete alone.

• “Students become the experts … and emerge as leaders.”

• Join together to accomplish collective goals.

Which looks more engaged?

“The social skills learned in these environments are highly transferable to real life. After all, providing leadership for and managing over 100 people is an incredibly complex task no matter where it occurs.”

Methodology (Cycle 1)• Survey on prior knowledge and social skills• 12 people, 14-39 yrs. old• Setting up Ventrilo for communication• Character creation and name selection• Journey into Guild Wars

All cycle 1 planning can be found on my website at: http://levonda.com/AR/Cycle_1.html

The Journey…• Engaging participants through in-game

quests/missions, voice interaction, and discussion boards.

• Participants becoming the experts and leaders who help teach others.

• Participants working together as a team all with the same goal in mind.

Results: Cycle 1

All cycle 1 data is available on my website at: http://levonda.com/AR/C1_Data.html

Fe-male45%Male

55%

Gender

Yes86%

No14%

Do you feel that you learned teamwork and leadership skills playing

Guild Wars?

Cycle 2: What Changed?• 7 people, 14-26 yrs. old• Increase daily session time• Balancing out the team• Headsets with mics for everyone• Mission planning on discussion board

All cycle 2 planning can be found on my website at: http://levonda.com/AR/Cycle_2.html

Results: Cycle 2

All cycle 2 data is available on my website at: http://levonda.com/AR/C2_Data.html

Femal

e29%

Male

71%

Gender

Yes100%

Do you feel that you learned teamwork and leadership skills playing

Guild Wars?

Conclusion

Teamwork check

Communication

Thumbs Up! Leadership (try again)

Questions?

Contact:LeVonda Vickery

levonda@fullsail.edu

Engage your students…Game On!