Distinguished Lecture Series 2009-2010: Yolanda Rankin
More Than Just Fun & Games: Critical In-Game Interactions That Facilitate Second Language Acquisition
Yolanda Rankin, IBM Almaden Research
Abstract
Unlike recreational games, serious games do more than entertain the player. Serious games promote acquisition of information and skills that are valued in both the virtual world and the real world. Designing a serious game requires a considerable amount of resources, including time, money, and a talented development team. Even with these efforts, it is possible to design a serious game that lacks the element of fun. Rather than designing a serious game from scratch, we re-purpose the commercial Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) EverQuest® II as a serious game, leveraging the entertainment value and readily available development tools to promote learning in the context of Second Language Acquisition (SLA). First, we identify the affordances attributed to MMORPGs and evaluate the impact of gameplay experiences on students’ SLA. Promising results from experimental studies reveal that in-game social interactions in the target language between native speakers and non native speakers increase second language vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension skills compared to traditional classroom instruction. Finally, we develop ClockWerk©, a temporal visualization tool that graphically depicts dominant communication patterns of linguistically diverse groups of players during gameplay, enabling us to gauge their impact on SLA.
Biography
Yolanda A. Rankin is Research Scientist at IBM Research Almaden in San Jose, CA. Her primary research interests falls along three trajectories: 1. the design and evaluation of multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) as collaborative spaces that promote knowledge acquisition among inhabitants and serve as the ideal platform for innovative, self-service technologies; 2. Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) as unorthodox pedagogical tools for mainstream literacy and Second Language Acquisition (SLA); and 3. Human Computer Interaction as a method for engineering service systems for developing countries and emerging markets. Yolanda accumulated more than six years experience in the telecommunications industry at Lucent Technologies-Bell Labs first as a software engineer developing IS41 wireless features such as Over the Air Activation Feature and later as first tier customer technical support for wireless service providers, successfully managing Y2K deployment and TDMA Overlay for SBC/Ameritech Midwest markets. As a senior program manager at Luxcore Networks in Atlanta, GA, Yolanda managed the product development cycle of optical networking subsystems. In 2003, Yolanda founded the non-profit organization Aspire2B Inc. whose mission encompasses utilizing technology to facilitate career preparation and expose underrepresented groups K - 16 to career opportunities in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Yolanda has received numerous honors and awards, including the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Northwestern University Graduate School Fellowship, Alliance of Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Scholarship, the Patricia Roberts Harris Fellowship, Tougaloo College Presidential Scholarship, and the Columbia Broadcasting System Scholarship. Yolanda completed her Ph.D. in Computer Science at Northwestern University in December 2008 and was the first African American to do so. Prior to that, she attained a M.A. in Computer Science at Kent State University in December 1994, and a B.S. in Mathematics at Tougaloo College in May 1992. In her spare time, Yolanda teaches fitness classes.
