Developing an Epistemic Game: A Preliminary Examination of the Muscle Mania© Mobile Game

Abstract

Several game scholars contend that the traditional understanding of vocational education in terms of curriculum content only is insufficient. Instead, they propose that lecturers need to develop a system in which students learn to think and work as reflective practitioners through an epistemic frame that mimics the real-world to allow students to have rich experiences of their domain-specific subjects. The Framework for the Rational Analysis of Mobile Education (FRAME) model offers some insight into the development of an epistemic frame within a mobile device. In particular, it extensively links the hardware, software and connectivity options to meets with learner’s cognitive, physical and psychological needs in the context of their learning environment. In this model, the mobile device is an active component and the mobile learning experiences are viewed as existing within the context of information that is mediated through technology. The aim of this paper is to explore the efficacy of using Muscle Mania© as a mobile platform. Arguments for implementing mobile-learning within higher education have generated an increasing volume of research. The general focus of these studies, however, is based largely on empirically documented work with little theorisation on the design of mobile games. In the pursuit of using mobile technology to develop an epistemic or discipline-specific game that will facilitate the teaching and learning of the muscles of mastication and facial expression, this paper explores the FRAME model and how it can be used as a substantive theory for mobile-learning. A qualitative research design and a case study strategy were adopted. Data was collected by means of reflective reports on the mobile game prototype from the technical designer, lecturers and students. With its strong emphasis on educational software design, the Device Usability Aspect of the FRAME model guided the internal architecture needed to design the epistemic frame of a mobile game. Equally significant, the FRAME model foregrounds the concept of technoentrepreneurship as it demonstrates how lecturers use technology to move from delivery and supervision to the production of knowledge.