Navigating Your Career (NYC) design

"Navigating Your Career" Design

Learning Goals

The objective of this game is for junior and senior faculty members to be aware of decisions made along his or her career path, and understand how they may affect outcomes at the Promotion and Tenure Review. Learning goals for faculty members (junior and senior) at a research university are to:

maintain consistent balance of various activities
recognize priorities of workload in research, teaching, service
keep professional work and personal/health maintenance in balance
work with (not against) colleagues
develop strategies for building career momentum
develop strategies of success toward promotion and tenure
practice mechanisms of mentoring others

Issues that are explored are categorized as follows:

Professional issues (associated with individuals within the professional environment)
Unit level issues (associated within and between specific departments)
Institution level issues (associated with institution-wide policy)
Personal issues (associated with health and factors outside the professional environment)

User Goals

The user is introduced to numerous challenges which, when answered, results in increasing opportunities or limiting opportunities for advancement in different areas of the user's life. The opportunities are mapped to a geographic representation of the user's universe: home, school and world.

Content Design

Three cases will be available for learners to access:

Arthur Stevens, Mechanical Engineering: publication venues, order of listing of authors, contributions to articles, promotion to full
Pam Lee, Economics: fluctuating productivity of maturing scholar, ethnic/cultural differences
Helen Clemens, Mathematics: international reputation and spousal concerns

The following content will be needed for the ADEPT NYC activity for each case:

Introduction text
Playing piece with animation scripted to match question being accessed
Multiple choice questions with at least two answers each
General comment on the answers
Point schema for each question

XML Format for Variable Content

Interaction Design

While the gameboard represents a positional type of game (one in which the direction of moves is relevant) vis-a-vis a map, the play is actually a test in multiple choice format. Measures along the periphery of the gameboard indicate a cumulative account of how the learner has answered questions. Animations of the movemment of the playing piece is used as a cue to the learner about what area the question explores (at the institution, at home, outside institution and home).

Use Case

Learner chooses a character to animate. The character is represented by the mode of transportation to and from work. A career account is read by the learner providing background information about the character.
Learner begins playing.
Two decision points are shown on the gameboard. Learner selects one to read and answer.
Playing piece is moved to appropriate space on the gameboard (based on question selected). A hazard might be encountered that is relevant to the question selected, and is displayed in the animation of the movement of the playing piece.
Selected question is shown over gameboard with two or more possible answers. Learner selects one of the answers.
A response to the answer is shown over the gameboard (replacing question/answers).
Learner clicks "next question." Before next two decision points are shown, points for answering current question are awarded.
Next two decision points are shown. Learner selects one to read and answer.
Repeat steps above until all questions are answered.

Graphic Design

A university office metaphor was first explored, but expanded to include a complete campus. Representations for issues and interactions outside of the university, however, were too abstract. Therefore, a map of a "neighborhood" which included the candidate's home, work (university) and "play" was developed.

Gameboard representing relationship between Professional, Unit, Level and Personal categories
Playing piece with animation scripted to match category being accessed
Measures
- Teaching
- Service
- Research
- Health
- Allies
Question/Response windows and next button

Sample animation for Clemens' car.

Storyboard of NYC design .

Architecture Design

Most of the game will be developed in Flash. (Details to come.)

use case
game board with three destination points and multiple paths
questions and answers
transportation routes for each combination of paths between depart/arrive points
three case studies