User:Nirtak

Photo Credit: Ken Bendiktsen

Profile for: Katrin Becker, PhD Candidate, Educational Technology
Graduate Division of Educational Research Thesis: Classification of Learning in Commercial Video Games  Area of Research: Serious Games; Design of Games for Learning  Admitted: Sept. 2003   Expected Completion: Fall 2007 Contact: beckerk  ucalgary ca Supervisor: DM Jacobsen Co-Supervisor: Suzanne de Castell (at SFU) Main Question(s): How does a commercially and critically successful modern video game support the learning that players must accomplish in order to complete the game? Research Links:    My Home Pages    My PhD Research Pages My General Research Pages   My Serious Games Pathfinder Back to Ed Tech Wiki Page

Short Bio:
Katrin has taught Computer Science from 1983-2006, and has been responsible for many innovations in computer science education research including: methodologies for comprehensive coordination of first-year CS major’s courses, application of inquiry-based and learner-centered approaches in freshman CS programs and large class settings, and methodologies for facilitating cutting-edge research with undergraduate students. She’s been using digital games to teach since 1998, taught one of the first Digital Game Based Learning courses for an Education faculty, and now spends some of her time helping others become familiar with the educational potential of games.

Her current interests include the use of computer games for learning at all levels of education, including building games in order to learn programming and other CS concepts. Her doctoral work focuses on game design and on exploring methodologies for incorporating instructional design into rather than onto the game design process.

She is also interested in computer science education, ethics and quality of work issues in academia and computer science, and the application of software design methodologies to the design of instruction, as well as the application of instructional methodologies to computer science education.