Overview
Ubiquitous Bio (or UbiqBio) is a series of casual mobile games designed to promote deep learning and strong engagement for high school biology students in the areas of genetics, protein synthesis, evolution, and food webs. Developed with an NIH grant, Ubiquitous Bio is a series of four biology-themed games. These casual mobile device games are designed to be played in short stints throughout the day: while waiting for the bus, between classes, etc. Teachers are able to access data generated by the games, which could help inform future lesson plans. The UbiqBio games are part of a larger strand of our lab’s research exploring this genre of educational ubiquitous games (UbiqGames), and build upon earlier projects including Weatherlings (card dueling style game incorporating climate/weather) and Palmagotchi (tending virtual creatures, incorporating evolution, genetics).
Resources
Sheldon, J., Perry, J., Klopfer, E., Ong, J., Chen, V. H. H., Tzuo, P. W., & Rosenheck, L. (2010, June). Weatherlings: a new approach to student learning using web-based mobile games. In Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (pp. 203-208). ACM.
Perry, J. (2011, March). Beetle Breeders: Ubiquitous Games for Learning Biology. In Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (Vol. 2011, No. 1, pp. 2205-2206).
Klopfer, E., Sheldon, J., Perry, J., & Chen, V. H. (2012). Ubiquitous games for learning (UbiqGames): Weatherlings, a worked example. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning.
Perry, J., & Rosenheck, L. (2012). UbiqBio: A Playful Approach to Learning Biology with Mobile Games. Paper presented at ISTE, San Diego, CA.