Conspiracy Code - FAQs
Who created Conspiracy Code?
FLVS partnered with 360Ed, a leading education game development company, to create a game-based course that truly embodies the best of both worlds in education and gaming. After intensive research was conducted, a design plan for the course was accepted. FLVS and 360Ed began developing this revolutionary course in January 2008. Our goal was to keep a careful balance between fun, gameplay, and learning - a goal we carefully monitored throughout design and development.
Why is Conspiracy Code revolutionary?
Given that 97% of today's teenagers play video games, we saw this as an opportunity to channel their excitement and interest in games toward education. We believe the Conspiracy Code courses will revolutionize education and help address the growing apathy students have toward schools.
How are teachers involved in the learning process of Conspiracy Code?
At FLVS, we believe that teachers are critical to student success - they serve as a mentor and facilitator through the Conspiracy Code courses, just as in FLVS' regular courses.
Certified teachers guide the student's journey through the course. Students utilize the web-based Student/Teacher Interface (or SiTi) to communicate with their teacher, review assignments and grades, and access course content outside the game environment. Students encounter multiple assessments throughout the game that require the use of higher-order thinking and provide high levels of teacher interaction. In fact, all graded assignments involve teacher review and feedback.
The online gaming environment allows teachers to view large amounts of data. They can monitor students at any time and view the data in multiple formats, enabling them to adapt to the students’ individual needs.
Are there any course materials needed for the course?
All content - including course work, assessments, and content discovery - is embedded in this highly customizable game-based course. Students work at their chosen pace as they reach course expectations aligned with both Florida state and national standards.
How are assignments submitted and graded?
Assignments in the course are submitted in a variety of ways, many of which mirror the classic online course. Written work is received by the teacher and assessed for accuracy and originality. Students are then given individual feedback and a provisional grade. If the student chooses to finalize that grade, it is applied to their running final grade for the course.
How long will it take for students to complete this course?
This course is designed around a 36-week pace chart for a full credit. Students must complete all assessments - including discussion-based assessments on the phone with their teacher - before they can take the segment exam and finish the course.
What instructional theory or research is used to develop Conspiracy Code?
Conspiracy Code’s gameplay, design and assessment architecture is constructed using Caines' renowned 12 brain/mind learning principles. Please visit the Caine Learning Center to learn more: http://www.cainelearning.com/files/Learning.html.
How will you ensure/measure student retention of the material covered in the game?
We have required semester exams in place that mirror those in our traditional courses, which will help us measure retention. The students practice comprehension of prior learning through mini-games embedded in gameplay. The manipulation of this knowledge in higher-order products throughout the course is intended to make them utilize higher-order, Bloom’s Taxonomy-thinking, which will help students move knowledge to long-term memory.
The integration of a variety of learning aspects is a key component in the retention of information. According to Le Tellier (2007), in order for short-term memory to be moved to long-term memory, four components must exist: the context connection, the cognitive connection, the character connection, and the classroom connection. Conspiracy Code maintains a high context connection by keeping the students excited, motivated, and enthused about the gaming environment. The cognitive connection is made clear through a series of reinforcement strategies - such as clue collection - that are built directly into the game and change depending on each student's current level of achievement throughout the course. Context connections have been established by orchestrating strong rationalizations within the game’s story for the need for students to understand the educational material, as well as by emphasizing the importance the student-controlled protagonists have inside the story. Character connections will be made through the integrity of the gaming environment, the ownership the students will feel as they move through the environment, and the perseverance needed to complete the game.
In addition to the brain-based principles for instructional delivery that are mentioned above, the game was also designed using the brain/mind learning principles from Caine & Caine (2005). These principles are intended to help generate a more student-centered approach to learning using three interactive elements: relaxed alertness, orchestrated immersion in complex experience, and active processing. Relaxed alertness focuses on creating the most optimal emotional climate for learning. This is evidenced in the game by creating challenges that help students experience competence and confidence. Orchestrated immersion in complex experience concentrates on creating optimal opportunities for the learning itself. The game was created with the focus of designing multiple experiences for a variety of interactions with the knowledge that they are both concrete and physical. Lastly, active processing of experience deals with the ability to create meaningful experiences for the student based upon capitalizing on their experiences.
How are you going to ensure students are not cheating?
Academic integrity is at the heart of curriculum design within FLVS courses, and Conspiracy Code uses many of these foundations to ensure academic integrity within the course. Each mission the student completes culminates in an authentic game-based project in conjunction with a discussion-based assessment conducted on the telephone with their teacher. Teachers also utilize TurnItIn.com to protect against plagiarism and other breaches of academic integrity.
As an additional safeguard, the game is structured so that students attempting to bypass gameplay with guides will simply find themselves encountering the same educational material they would have normally.
How are students and educators responding to Conspiracy Code?
Conspiracy Code has far exceeded expectations. In focus group testing, students have responded enthusiastically to the engaging gameplay and student interest has surpassed the expectations of educators who have had the opportunity to review this course.
How is the game set up? How do students start the game?
Once registered through FLVS, students will download a simple application onto their computer. They set up their account and get started right away. Students can communicate with their teachers using a secure interface; through the game and SiTi, they are able to submit assignments, ask questions, conduct assessments, and much more.
Is it a single or multi-player game?
Conspiracy Code is a single-player game. Students play as both Eddie Flash and Libby Whitetree, the two primary characters of the game.
How did you come up with the “theme” for this course?
A small group from 360Ed and FLVS met to brainstorm ideas for what high school students might find interesting and engaging. It was from these meetings that the concept of a conspiracy bent on changing history was born.
How did you come up with the cast of characters?
We set out to create a memorable and diverse cast of characters to keep the game interesting and provide a balanced representation of cultures and genders.
How will you measure the effectiveness of this revolutionary new type of course?
Our initial research design will take place during the Beta test of Conspiracy Code. It will consist of student and teacher time-tracking through gameplay, assignments, and assessments, as well as a comparison to those same areas in our more 'traditional' American History course. In addition to tracking time, we will also be tracking completion rates and achievement through a variety of assessment techniques.
Case study data will also be collected through survey information and student/teacher interviews.
Can Conspiracy Code help improve FCAT scores?
Social studies are not a component of the FCAT. However, this course does provide an opportunity for students to practice their higher-order reading and writing skills which may help them be more successful on those areas of the FCAT. Conspiracy Code has an average Flesch-Kincaid reading level of 11.6.
According to TaxWatch reports, FLVS students score higher than the state average. FLVS has utilized the same stringent design requirements for this course as all other courses, and therefore a similar effect is expected on students taking the FCAT.