Adventures on Coolong Island

Why vocational training game?

2010-10-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

One of the most commonly used method for job training for persons with cognitive disabilities is the prompting method. Prompting method can be applied in various ways such as "graduated prompts," "time delay," or "distinctive feature prompt," etc. . The main idea of prompting is this: "telling" the trainee what to do next. However, that "telling" doesn't always have to be by another person (a teacher or job coach), but it could also be by a powerpoint, DVD player, or flash cards. The most ideal would be the trainee herself telling self what to do next, or if that is not possible, the trainee herself manipulating the device (DVD player, powerpoint, flashcard, cookbooks, whatever) at the right timing so the device can tell her what to do.

We all make use of these prompting devices in our daily lives. For example, when we cook, we refer to the cookbook to tell ourselves what to do next. Or we write a task list or schedule sheet to remind ourselves what needs to be done on a certain day, and in what order.

Students with cognitive disabilities having problems with short-term memory, typically are not able to remember things very well, and often need somekind of an aid to remind them what to do. When students are trained for mastery, the prompted practice is repeated somewhere from 20 to sometimes 100 times. This can be tedious work, sometimes dangerous, sometimes boring and not motivating. And since students with cognitive disabilities also typically have low motivation for learning, the repeated training just may be too cost-ineffective.

With gamified training sessions, parts of this problem may be overcome. The most prominent effect of digital games is the motivational effect. Players need to repeatedly train themselves to complete a task or achieve a goal. The games can be played repeatedly and still be fun and motivating. Students with cognitive disabilities need immediate feedback for their actions to be reinforced. The visuals and audio also gives them more accessibility to the contents of the game. All of these positive features of digital gaming may help students (who lack motivation, who have troubles with short term memory, who cannot read or unable to recall what they have just read, and who need lots of repeated practice and training for life-critical skills) with learning not only academic skills but life-critical skills needed for an independent adult life.

Adventures on Coolong Island is a serious game intended to find out the possibilities of digital gaming to train students with cognitive disabilities life-critical and functional skills. We started out with vocational skills but we intend to expand the game into teaching basic functional skills in life such as grooming, hygiene, and preparing food.

Coolong Island Trailer (Korean Version)

2010-10-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

Trailer Producer: Daeho Hong (yoyochyoy@nate.com)

About ACI

2010-10-13T01:46:00.000-07:00

“Adventures on Coolong Island” is a gamified vocational training program for children and adolescents with disabilities. It is based on a vocational training curriculum widely used to prepare students for their career life after school. Among more than three hundred basic skills from the original curriculum, nine skills from five vocation areas were chosen for being developed into a game form for research purposes. The following games are included in “Adventures on Coolong Island”:

l Gardening & Farming: Hydroponics, Packaging fruits

l Factory: Pen assembly, Woodwork

l Shopping: Helping with Groceries, Shopping

l Office: Mail sorting

l Food Service: Helping in the cafeteria

The purposes of the game are stated below:

l To assist trainees in obtaining procedural knowledge and increase performance measures within a relatively short amount of time as compared to traditional methods

l To motivate students to acquire skills with minimal assistance from adults

l To enable players to make more accurate job selection decisions in real life through the virtual hands-on experience

l To evaluate the effects of the gamified training method by conducting two studies

Credits

2010-10-13T01:30:00.000-07:00

Credits

Adventures on Coolong Island is a cool vocational training game for adolescents with disabilties.

This research is funded by: The National Research Foundation (NRF), Korean Ministry of Education, Science, & Technology, and Ewha Women's University.

Release: Oct.1, 2010 for research, Feb. 1, 2011 for public
Language: Korean & English

Credits:
Producer & Director : Jungmin Kwon, Ph.D.
Engineering: Joohun Maeng
Art: Sojin Lee
UI/Animation: Daeho Hong
Voice Talent: Nayoung Lee, Hyuk Kwon
Lead Tester: Boram Nam
Package Design: Jieun Kwon (RISD)
Original Music by: Partners in Rhyme
General Manager: Sehee Chung
Content Advisor: Ikdong Lee
Research Advisor: Youngsun Lee, Ph.D.
Recruit Advisor: Seungho Park, MFA
Sound Advisor: Eunhee Cho, MFA
Multimedia Advisor: Daeho Hong

Marketing Advisor: Hongjoon Shin
Finance Manager: Sehee Chung
Lead Researcher: Jungmin Kwon
Research Assistant: Boram Nam
Research Support: Ikdong Lee, Youngsun Han, Minjung Kim, Jaewan Choi, Youngsun Lee

Adventures on Coolong Island

2010-10-12T22:57:00.001-07:00

Adventures on Coolong Island Title Scene

CoolCafe Selection Scene

Game Selection Scene for Pen Assembly Factory

Post Office Selection Scene

Coolong Island Shops

Putting Money into Your Account

Boat Shop

Cool Cafe

Pen Assembling Game

Hydroponics