The information on the given webpage offers a guideline of creating decision trees help users to investigate the available options and the possibly accompanying outcomes along decision making. The techniques involved in the analysis of decision trees are akin to the classical decision theory revealed in the textbook (p. 481). The model is based on three assumptions: “(I). decision makers are fully informed regarding all possible options for their decisions and all possible outcomes of their decision options. (II). they are infinitely sensitive to the subtle distinctions among decision options. (III). they are fully rational in regard to their choice of options.” (Edwards, 1954 & Slovic, 1990).
2. Now go to http://cockroach.se/gateway/ Play the game for at least 10-15 minutes. As you play, create a simple decision tree mapping of your game play. How does this fit with what you read? How could you use it to plan curriculum, instruction, training, or interactive learning (choose one or more that applies to you to think about).
The methods of decision tree mapping, to me, are not the best strategies to be applied into the game of Gateway I since the game doesn’t involved with risks and rewards. Instead of, I think more problem solving skills are needed for the game. I have past 8 rooms of the game in about 15 minutes. In order to pass a room, I have to identify the problem presented in the room, allocate of available resources, elaborate of common senses and knowledge, construct a strategy for solving the problem, and evaluate problem solving. Without any of textual explanation of the game, some of the problems are simple and easy to identify and solve like the robot may need a stair or a remote controller with battery to reach or operate the button to open the door. Some rooms have rather challenging games and require more problem solving.
While I first entered the room (as shown in figure 1.1), I had absolutely had no idea how to open the door without any button next to it and the only thing I could do was keep wondering around. I found out the colors of the rectangles on the floor constantly changed once I stepped on each of them. I then assumed that the gate would be only open when the color pattern of rectangles on floor is the same as the color pattern of rectangles above the door. The solution would come along reflecting my assumption. The techniques I found out were that I had to match the color the inner rectangle, then the middle one and the outer one at last, or if I did it reversely, the colors would be changed and mismatched once I stepped in and out of the rectangles. It did work.
Another problem shown in another room is sort of misleading (as shown in figure 2.1). Again I was clueless while entered the room. I decided to check the telescope first and saw the interior of a neighbor through two windows. There was a word shown on one of the windows looked like “PEEPER”. In order to open the door, some passwords were needed for the keypad. My first attempt was to try the alphabetical order of “PEEPER” (for example p represents 16 and e represents 5) and faired. The bright side was I found out exact 6 digits needed for the password. Then I went back to double check the word “PEEPER” through the telescope and got the trick this time that the word was written reversely of number “739339”. Thus, I was able to pass the door with the correct password of 739339.
Above 5 images adopted from http://cockroach.se/gateway/
3. Now, go to http://archives.obs-us.com/obs/english/books/holt/books/maze/ See if you can solve the puzzle. What reasoning and decision making skills and other forms of cognition do you see yourself employing as you work through the Maze?
The game asks players to find the way from room 1 (after the Prologue) to room 45 and then back to room 1 using the shortest possible path. It is a virtual space in the shape of a maze. Each numbered page depicts a room in the Maze. The doors in each room lead to other rooms. For example, the room on page 1 has doors leading to rooms 20, 26, 41, and 21(as shown in figure 3). To go through door number 20, simply click on that door. The game developer claims that the journey can be made in only sixteen steps.
Deductive reasoning is administered while making decisions of which rooms to open next in the Maze. The players attempt to show the choice is right or wrong followed the hypothesis that the selected room will lead to go through one more room instead of going back room has been visited. The skills of storage and retrieval from short-term memory are critical for the Maze. I had to make efforts to remember which room leads to the rooms of what numbers to avoid to go cyclically in certain rooms.
Image adopted from http://archives.obs-us.com/obs/english/books/holt/books/maze/rooms/1.html
