Harrisburg University Professor Dr. Melanie Stegman and educational video games she develops were the focus of a recent article published by the European research institute, ResBios.
The article highlights Stegman’s path to HU, her simulation games company dubbed Molecular Jig Games, and “Immune Defense,” Stegman’s game that lets players manage immune cells. The simulation game helps players understand cellular behavior at the molecular level.
In the article, “High Score Education, Using Video Games To Teach Bioscience,” Stegman shares:
“I make games for anyone who finds it difficult to picture a scientific concept in their mind’s eye. A lot of science is pretty abstract and hard to contextualize, and the way that science is actually spoken about can be hard for some learners to comprehend.”
Stegman, who arrived at HU in August of 2018, teaches in the University’s Interactive Media program and is lead developer for HU’s Center for Advanced Entertainment and Learning Technologies.
Here at the University, Stegman is leading several projects, including one in collaboration with chemistry faculty, Dr. Andrea Nagy and Dr. Richard Jackson. ChemSimGame is designed to allow first year chemistry students to learn about chemical reactions by playing with the molecules themselves. Education Research on user interactions with ChemSimGame will help HU bring the most innovative teaching to our students.
“To make an engaging experience, whether it be an essay, films, or games, an iterative process is required. (Having someone read your essay is basically play-testing your essay.) Game design and development is an iterative process,” Stegman said. “If this bit of gameplay is tested with our target audience and we get data showing learning, then we keep it.”
To view the article and learn more about Stegman and her work, visit this link.
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