Technical Report 2005-1

Massive Multiplayer Online Gaming:A Research Framework for Military Training and Education

Curtis J. Bonk

Indiana UniversityConsortium Research Fellows Program

Vanessa P. Dennen

Florida State University

March 2005

OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSEFOR PERSONNEL AND READINESS

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

ADVANCED DISTRIBUTED LEARNING INITIATIVEREADINESS AND TRAINING, OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARYOF DEFENSE FOR PERSONNEL AND READINESS

ROBERT A. WISHERDIRECTOR

Technical review byMark Oehlert, Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.Michael W. Freeman, Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Laboratory

NOTICES

The findings in this Technical Report are not to be construed as an official Department of Defense position, unless so designated by other authorized documents.

REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE

1. REPORT DATE (dd-mm-yy)

31-January-2005

2. REPORT TYPE

Final

3. DATES COVERED (from. . . to)

January 2004 – September 2004

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

Massive Multiplayer Online Gaming: AResearch Framework for Military Education and

Training

5a. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER

5b. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER

060376SE0

6. AUTHOR(S)

Curtis J. Bonk (Indiana University) & Vanessa P.Dennen Florida State Universit

5c. PROJECT NUMBER

5d. TASK NUMBER

5e. WORK UNIT NUMBER

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)

Advanced Distributed Learning InitiativeOffice of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel & Readiness)Readiness and Training, 4000 Defense PentagonWashington, DC 20301-4000

8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER

9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel & Readiness)Readiness and Training , 4000 Defense PentagonWashington, DC 20301-4000

10. MONITOR ACRONYM11. MONITOR REPORT NUMBER12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

14. ABSTRACT

(Maximum 200 words)

Massive multiplayer online gaming, first popularized in the entertainment world, is now finding growing interest in educationand training environments. The military and business have noted the potential for simulation and gaming technology to develophigher order thinking skills; in particular, they see potential in such areas as problem solving, metacognition, and decisionmaking. However, much of the research in this area lags behind the technological advances, focusing on user demographics,attention spans, and perceptual skills, instead of addressing the impact these games might have on player’s analysis, decisionmaking, and reflection skills. In part, the current body of research represents the interests of the gaming industry, which is morefocused on exploiting any new technology to satisfy the attitudes, preferences, and expectations of its users, rather than theinterests of education and training. It also reflects the fact that this is an emerging area that suffers from limited research andstrategic planning. The report reviews the relevant research literature and proposes 15 primary experiments.

15. SUBJECT TERMS

training, education, learning, distributed learning, distance learning, online instruction, online games, multiplayer games

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF19. LIMITATION OF 20. NUMBER 21. RESPONSIBLE PERSON

16. REPORT

Unclassified

18. ABSTRACT

Unclassified

18. THIS PAGE

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ABSTRACT

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