Learning that occur in HayDay

Someone said that it is doubtful whether HayDay really can be used as Game based learning, but well, this is what happens when I use it with my 7 yo daughter.

For you new readers, a summary:

A couple of months ago I started to think what you can learn of HayDay so I come up with some thoughts about it, this post and this post.

So what happened?

During the Christmas holidays my daughter AquaVera started to play HayDay as well. Seven years old, wanted to have an app we could play with together and as I'm HayDay addicted she wanted to see what makes me play it. 

When she earlier hijacked my game she had used both all my diamonds as gold to buy stuff. Suddenly with an own game she starts to be careful how to spend her cash and she also saves the diamonds to something special. She also starts to learn you can't buy everything you want, you have to save money to afford wanted items (bakery, grill, jam maker and more).

So the first learning occurred was the ability to deal with money.

In HayDay and at level 18 you can join a neighborhood and she joined the one I'm in. Every week you and your neighbors participate in a derby, you choose and pick missions and when you have completed them you'll get points. The harder challenge, the more points.

Our racing horse getting as far as our points get him and it didn't took long until she understood, wanted to get the missions with most points and also compete with the neighbors. No one wants to be the last on the score table.

The second learning occurred was collaboration, even though you compete about the internal ranking you do help each other to fulfill those missions so you win the derby. 

The third learning occurred at the same time: languages, while decode text and write own sentences. Same as in school, but now when there's rewards involved she challenge herself to the limits (it's a game!)

To some of the challenges, like the river boat, you get a hint what you'll need to the next boat. 

Now you have to practice your skills in foresight and planning: can I prepare for the next boat? 

This is hard for a 7-year old girl, it's usually something you should learn later in school and what my students, 10 years older, still struggle with.

The forth learning occurred was therefor math and the three mathematical operations of addition, subtraction and multiplication. Now the operations didn't stop at 10, as in school, but as far as she had plots to plant. Every plot gives also the double amount when you harvest.

And just as you this classic example of understanding multiplication you can create it visual by yourself inside HayDay.

In HayDay she has 

• 5 (fields) * 2 (plots in each field) = 5 * 2 = 10
• 2 (fields) * 5 (plots in each field) = 2 * 5 = 10
• 4 (fields) * 3 (plots in each field) = 4 * 3 = 12
• 3 (fields) * 4 (plots in each field) = 3 * 4 = 12

Our next learning project is the magic skill of foresight and planning. 

Let's stay there at foresight and planning...

I had a discussion with a work mate the other week, as we both have connected our games to Facebook we're neighbors. I asked him what he have learnt of playing HayDay. Of course he hasn't learn a thing! 

But when I had him to have that important second thought he actually came up with something brilliant: 

Production chains

Hay Day actually teaches all the steps in the production chain! All small steps to a finished product, all steps are equally important. And, just as in real world, if you are unable to produce one or more steps, you can purchase that service.

Three months ago we were out on a field trip, we met a CEO that was looking for workers with the right mindset. Among other things: a positive attitude as well understand the importance of being a team player. 

Team player with this example: 

Even though you are hired to do one thing you have to be flexible enough to also temporarily jump to another spot in the production chain if it will be needed.

Where can you learn to understand the production chain for free and when it's fun...???

HayDay...

Games in education

Fittingly enough, I had an interesting conversation this morning with one of my colleagues, the master chef. The other week he coached two students in the international competitions in Cervia, Italy with an extraordinary result: gold medal in class haute cuisine and silver medal in crotch decathlon.

His experience about where students fail are in situations where they often succeed when they play games. In his opinion, key skills for chefs are problem solving, planning, strategy and creativity. 

He has already understood that he must be the link between video games and reality, that what one learns in a game needs students have translated to reality. If that can be done, you have succeed with reaching an higher goal with a small amount of effort.

But he is not using games in education.

Imagine what could be achieved if he did, as our students anyway play games during class...

Real life

He told me quickly this morning how you have to have a plan, use a strategy, that after you serve the first course have the main course to be ready to be served within 7 minutes (in our training restaurant). The serving itself must be done within 2-3 minutes, and so on.

We can't have five chefs who cut onions, then we have five cutting boards and five knives that must be cleaned. You need to communicate and collaborate.

This is the computer game all the way. 

The worst thing is that it's actually HayDay in a nutshell.

Could this be an example how to use computer games in education? Make teachers understand how to benefit from games as the students anyway play? What if you allow one only game...? Will they learn more?

HayDay

My next challenge in HayDay is to fill my riverboat with an unknown amount of raspberry jam, potato bread and potato pancakes.

As in the kitchen you have to be prepared, you have to have done a proper planning or else you won't succeed. When the boat arrives I have between 15 and 16 hours to get the challenge done. Raspberry jam takes 5 hours 57 minutes to make, potato bread 38 minutes and potato pancakes 1 hour 42 minutes. Most probably I will have three crates to fill of each product.

We're doing the math.

• One jar of raspberry jam (5h57min) and I need 3 berries
• One potato bread and I need 2 potatoes, 1 butter, 1 granulated sugar and 3 eggs. 
• One potato pancake and I need 1 potato, 1 egg and 1 goat cheese.

Planning

I need three raspberries which grow on bushes and takes 18h before I can harvest, therefor I must have done this before and I must have a storage. My Jam Factory must be running 24/7.

A lot of resources as milk and eggs require to first make the food for the animals, feed them and after some additional time collect the stuff. Before you could start with the production of that particular ingredients.

For example:

A cow can be milked every hour, assuming you have entered the feed. 3x cattle feed is available from 1 corn and 2 soybeans. Corn takes 5 min to grow while soybean grows at 20 min. The cattle feed itself takes 9 minutes to produce. 

Just to get the milk to the butter to the bread we are talking about the 20 + 8 + 60 min = 88 min or 1h 28 min. The butter takes 25 min and now, before even started with the bread we've spent 1 h 53 min. The bread will take another 38 min, so 2 h 31 min. Will I be able to produce let say 3x3 breads within 15 hours? (probability theory)

Will it be even possible to make it? 

In real life you would have given up by now. 

But, now it's a game. 

It's a challenge. 

You give yourself the heck you can do it. 

Imagine if we could get that feeling, the attitude, into the classroom.

Solution?

Communicate, collaborate, make it happen as a team. Skills you do need in a kitchen so you don't end up with five chefs cutting onions...

Hay Day

My latest thought about games in education is Hay Day. It hit me when I had a discussion with one of our principals that didn't understood the power of Minecraft. So many adults believe they don't play any computer games but they don't see themselves as doing so, this because the games are on their iPad or iPhone.

My mom is an excellent example of someone who doesn't play video games but probably sitting there with a dozen games of "Words With Friends". She has even invented new own rules: we can not change tiles and if someone accidently pass the other part have to return the game with another pass.

WHAT unintentional learning takes place here? 

English vocabulary (meaning and spelling)

WHEN do we learn it? 

When we try to find new words.

WHY do we learn? 

Because it's fun. And it's multiplayer. You stay in touch with friends...

So, in my colleagues mind they don't play games. Only Angry Birds, Candy Crush Saga and HayDay everyday, but no real games. I asked the principal if she had had a second thought what she really learn while playing Hay Day, and she responded right away; I learn nothing!

Yeah right! But indeed an awesome start to discuss what you really learn from Hay Day and soon we could agree on math, problem solving, language and collaboration.

In Hay Day there is already a functioning economy, there are prospects for a cooperative farm (collaboration part). You can complete (and enhance) your finances by having real money to buy in-game money (or diamonds) only for this game (consumer education)

Since there is a cap of each product you will soon learn to see where you can earn extra by, just like the stock market, buying products cheaply and sell expensive. Or if it is really worth investing in. (Economics)

Challenges in the game, fictitious villagers or goods delivered with deadlines and special rewards require you to plan long term. Sometimes you have to estimate the probability of whether it's even possible to meet a challenge because everything has a production time (math).

Some of these challenges is possible only with cooperation with other neighbors. Derbies are limited events that occur in neighborhoods once a week, those which complete tasks listed on the Derby Stand will rank up and work towards special prizes (collaboration).

Of course there are wiki's and as "the game is horribly addicted" you most probably end up search for information at least once (languages).

So why is this important?

What I'd like to do is make my colleagues, teachers, enlighten of the power of games in education they might start with it. It doesn't need to be more complicated than this and most probably it's a game many teachers already know a lot about.

So, when you use a computer game (in this case, Hay Day) it differs from traditional teaching in the classroom. Suddenly we have gained access to a concrete case in which our students can perform financial transactions that affect their way of understanding how financial markets work from a digital, social and educational content that both affect and are important to them. 

Where are we according to SAMR?

By the digital world as Hay Day adds, we can execute trades in a way that had not been possible with just paper and pencil because there already exists an economic system in the game that students (and teachers) are interested of (third level of SAMR: Modification).

Even beyond our educational mission the idea is already alive and exist, it creates entirely new conditions that would not be possible in a regular classroom situation (fourth stage of SAMR: Redefinition).