Designing Online Information Literacy Games Students Want to Play

Karen Markey is a professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. Chris Leeder is a doctoral candidate in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. Soo Young Rieh is an associate professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.

• List of FiguresList of Tables PrefaceAcknowledgmentsChapter 1. The Promise of Games for Information Literacy InstructionIntroductionDefinitions of Information LiteracyThe Evolving Concept of Information Literacy Instruction Multiple Approaches to the Information Literacy Concept Methods of Information Literacy InstructionResearch on the Benefits of Information Literacy InstructionBarriers to Information Literacy InstructionGames and Learning The Rise of Games in LibrariesGames for Information Literacy InstructionOnline Information Literacy GamesEvaluating Educational GamesSummaryChapter 2. The Needs Assessment Introduction Formulating the Game’s Overarching Learning Objective Asking Eight Questions for the Needs Assessment Understanding Why Students Prefer the Open Web Over the LibraryResearch on How Students Judge the Credibility of Online Information Determining the Right Audience for a Library Research GameSummary Chapter 3. The Design of an Information Literacy Game IntroductionPremises for the Design of Information Literacy GamesPlanning the BiblioBouts Information Literacy GameInvolving Instructors in Game PlayDiscussionSummaryChapter 4. The BiblioBouts Administrator InterfaceIntroductionSuper Administrator FunctionalityGame Administrator FunctionalityDiscussionSummaryChapter 5. The BiblioBouts GameIntroductionThe Structure of the BiblioBouts Game Preparing for Game PlayPlaying the Closer BoutPlaying the Tagging & Rating (T&R) BoutPlaying the Best Bibliography BoutConsulting the Post-Game LibraryUser Support for the BiblioBouts GameEnlisting Library Liaisons Using Email Making Videos Available Giving Super Administrators an Account-Login ToolPublishing FAQsScoring IssuesSummaryChapter 6. The Methods Used to Evaluate BiblioBouts IntroductionResearch Questions Game Diary FormsPre- and Post-Game Questionnaires for StudentsFocus Group Interviews with StudentsFollow-up Interviews with StudentsLogs of Students’ Game-Play ActivityInterviews with InstructorsInterviews with Library LiaisonsSummaryChapter 7. Preparing Students to Play BiblioBoutsIntroductionInstructors’ Expectations Research Paper AssignmentsIn-Class Preparation The Challenge of Technology Problems DiscussionSummaryChapter 8. How Students Played BiblioBoutsIntroductionOverview of BiblioBouts Games Styles of Game Play Daily Game Play Activity Time Spent Playing the Donor BoutTime Spent Playing the T&R BoutTotal Time Spent Playing BiblioBoutsDiscussionSummaryChapter 9. How Students Evaluated BiblioBouts Sources IntroductionClass Assignments Do Students Submit Relevant Sources to BiblioBouts?Do Students Submit Scholarly Sources to BiblioBouts?Do Students Correctly Identify the Information Formats of BiblioBouts Sources?What Criteria Do Students Use to Assess BiblioBouts Sources? Students’ Credibility and Relevance AssessmentsCredibility AssessmentsRelevance AssessmentsWhether Players and Experts Agree on the Credibility of Online SourcesDiscussionSummaryChapter 10. How BiblioBouts Influenced Students’ Research Papers IntroductionResearch Questions and MethodsDoes Source Quality Improve at Each Step of the Research Process? Do Players Cite Better Quality Sources than Non-Players?Do Players Cite More Sources Than Non-Players?Do Players Cite BiblioBouts Sources in their Research Papers?DiscussionSummaryChapter 11. How Students Benefited from Playing BiblioBoutsIntroductionImproved Perceptions of their Information Literacy Skills Greater Familiarity with Library Databases Exposure to More and Varied SourcesPractice Evaluating SourcesLearning How to Use the Zotero Citation Management ToolConducting Library Research CollaborativelyPlaying a Game While Conducting Library Research Benefits from the Instructors’ Viewpoint Students Who Did Not Benefit from Game PlayDiscussionSummaryChapter 12. Best Practices for Building Information Literacy GamesIntroduction Revisiting the Needs AssessmentGetting Started on Game DesignDeveloping the Scoring System and How to WinImplementing the Game in Course Contexts Managing the Design TeamGame Design ExerciseSummaryChapter 13. Best Practices for Administrator, Instructional, and User-Support ServicesIntroductionDesigning the Super Administrator InterfaceDesigning the Game Administrator InterfaceEstablishing Instructional Support ServicesPutting User Support Services in PlaceDiscussionSummaryChapter 14. The Future of Information Literacy GamesIntroduction The Future of Information Literacy GamesLessons Learned from BiblioBouts Ideas for Future Online Information Literacy GamesConclusionAppendix A. Game Diary Form for StudentsAppendix B. Pre-game Questionnaire for StudentsAppendix C. Post-game Questionnaire for StudentsAppendix D. Focus Group Interview Questions for StudentsAppendix E. Follow-up Interview Questions for StudentsAppendix F. Game LogsAppendix G. Personal Interview Questions for InstructorsAppendix H. Personal Interview Questions for Library LiaisonsBibliography

Before launching into information literacy game design libraries would be well advised to avail themselves of this book. Each chapter is replete with graphs and tables illustrating the open-ended nature of game building. The authors do not shy away from reporting on the pitfalls met along the way, and this alone could save potential developers many hours of hard work. BiblioBouts is a work in progress that will need regular tweaking as the technology improves and more is learned about students’ engagement with online learning. . . .The book is recommended reading, as it is well documented and covers the complete game production cycle.