Game Element Ideas

Ask students to evaluate resources and create outcomes based on their choices. Using a game for this means it can be fun and silly but still informative and eye opening.

• e.g. Choose to use Web MD for a self-diagnosis, you end up in the hospital.
• e.g. Choose a DIY law advice website, you end up in court.

Ask students to make decisions about academic honesty and create outcomes based on their choices.

• e.g. choose to use a source and not cite it, you get a zero
• e.g. choose to submit an essay you found online and it’s your third offense, you get kicked out of school

Create a story that takes students through an authentic situation. Show them how their decisions can have a positive or negative impact.

• Works great for professional programs like health, business, law, and more
• Topics could include: clinical procedures, ethical decision making, health and safety, selling and customer service, digital citizenship
• E.g. Dealing with Difficult Patients, Insider Trading, The Sales Interview

Students become the detective in a problem solving story.

• Encourages critical thinking because they must solve a mystery based on clues.
• Topics could include: political science, research, environmental studies, law, orientation/scavenger hunts

Twine works great if you have users who need to work through a series of decisions to get a final answer.

• Works great for complicated information, such as copyright, or citation

We have a ton of resources in our libraries, but our websites can be difficult to navigate. A resource picker might help your students better understand the variety of sources and their uses.

• Develop a series of questions that will guide a user through various resources – are you looking for a primary or secondary source? Are you looking for newspaper or magazine or books? Are you looking for print or electronic?