If class time is limited, you can run MobLab games and surveys outside of class. Games can be played synchronously or asynchronously. To schedule a game or series of games outside of class, build your playlist according to how you would like your students to play through the games and/or surveys.
Asynchronous Games
There are a few things to take into consideration when building an asynchronous game for your students.
How long do you want the game to be available?
We recommend games outside of class be scheduled for at least 24 hours, but no longer than 96 hours. This ensures students don't forget about the game or procrastinate. It is also gives you time before your next lecture to review and prepare remarks about the asynchronous game.
How will you deliver the game instructions?
An important part of any game is making sure the students understand the aim, the rules, and payoff structure. Plan ahead to send or review game instructions with students prior to playing your games.
Will you have multiple activities (concurrently running games and surveys)?
Setting up one long-running game is pretty straight forward, but MobLab playlists can only support one running game or survey at a time. To set up multiple concurrently running games and surveys, please review our article for Creating Playlists and Activities for online classes.
Will students play against each other or against robotic players?
Most asynchronous games are best played by grouping students with robotic players. This means they can get instant feedback about the game results. To get students to play with robotic players, check the "All Play Only Robots" checkbox in the game configuration. In a handful of games and surveys where students play individually, it's not necessary to match students with robots.
When your playlist is ready, click on the menu next to your playlist name and select Schedule to launch the playlist scheduler.
The playlist scheduler allows you to choose the day and time to start the playlist. The scheduler will also tell you the current runtime of your playlist. In the example below, we have scheduled the playlist named "Week 3" for Monday, Jan 23 to start at 3:45pm. The games on my playlist will be played in order and will take a total of 35 minutes.
Once the playlist is scheduled, a green checkmark will appear next to the playlist name, as shown below. You can always modify the start time of playlist and you can reschedule a playlist that has been previously run so long as there are unplayed games on the playlist.
0 Comments