Media, Method, and Anytown’s Instructional Design

Abstract

The majority of pieces written about learning games fail to explain how and why students are expected to learn through interactions with either the media or the instructional method employed. The purpose of this chapter is to explain the complex relationships among media, method, and the specific design of learning activities in the Anytown educational game as an example of the kinds of thinking designers should employ when building educational games. We explain the broad development process with specific examples used to match narrative and learning activity to provide meaningful play to students, along with some notes about our own challenges stemming from available technology tools at that time.