Ink - The Official Website - Teaching with Ink

If you have a question that's not answered here, please contact Kym Buchanan (Lead Designer; kbuchana AT uwsp.edu).

What do you recommend that the game be used for? (composition class, rhetoric class, other disciplines, etc.)

Ink is designed for use in undergraduate writing/composition courses and advanced high school English courses. However, it may be a useful tool in a variety of courses, including rhetoric and civics. Also, Ink is designed for public/recreational players. Hopefully a broad, diverse audience will find Ink compelling, enjoyable, and educative.

Is Ink intended to be the entire course?

Ink is absolutely NOT intended to be a stand-alone course. Ink cannot replace many of the educative experiences of a classroom. Rather, Ink is intended to be used in a hybrid fashion. If an instructor usually assigns four papers over a semester, she may assign only three, and use performance in Ink as an assessment. The most educative moments may occur when students reflect on their Ink experiences through discussion with an instructor and their peers. As an experienced writer/communicator, an instructor can be invaluable to students as they strive and learn in Ink. An instructor might see herself as a coach, helping students make sense of the challenges in Ink, and delivering just-in-time instruction when students need certain skills, knowledge, or wisdom to succeed in the game.

Can Ink be played over a semester or more?

Ink is designed for long-term play. Playing for a single session or even a few hours may not be very educative for several reasons, including the learning curve (e.g., interface, game mechanics) and especially because Ink challenges players with high-level writing/communication goals. Effecting change in the world through writing is often a long-term process, like when an activist group composes and distributes a variety of texts as part of a long-term campaign to change laws, policies, and individual behavior. A semester should be adequate time for students to learn how to play, become involved in the community and civic discourse, take action, and see some responses to their actions. The more students play, the more they can learn.

What level should the students be at? (academically, writing skills, etc.)

Ink is designed to be compelling and challenging to high school students and undergraduates. Inexperienced writers should be able to enjoy and succeed in Ink. Hopefully, Ink will grow into a community diverse enough to accommodate a variety of texts and skills levels. There is no upper limit to skill—we hope advanced writers play, especially since their expertise may be educative to their readers, collaborators, path members, and group members. Ink doesn’t require any formal academic skills, although for some challenges and paths some academic skills may be advantageous.

Do you think Ink would work for basic composition students?

Yes. Ink was expressly designed for basic composition students.

Do you think Ink would be suitable for a Rhetoric & Composition undergraduate degree course?

Yes. Ink was expressly designed to teach a variety of rhetoric issues, including audience consideration, delivery/distribution, intertextuality, and metadiscourse. Both developing and advanced writers can learn in Ink, in conjunction with more traditional instruction appropriate to their level.

Are there prerequisites that should be met before starting the game?

No, although we recommend teaching using Ink in a hybrid fashion. So an instructor may want to teach some content before formally assigning Ink. However, Ink could be act as a very strong thematic core to a course, so an instructor may want to start using Ink right away.

What standards are applied to the game?

With regards to writing standards, Ink is neutral. While the designers and staff favor particular standards and ways of framing standards, Ink is designed to let the community of players co-create and enforce their own standards. For example, journals are reviewed by other players, so it is up to the senior players on a path to set standards. Our hope is that there is healthy disagreement on such things, leading to educative reflection, discourse, and metadiscourse. Of course, an instructor is free to teach a particular set of standards. Students can bring these standards into their in-game compositions and discussions, raising the level of discourse for everyone.

Do the players themselves assess the products that are produced during the game or are there teachers or other staff that do that?

There are many formal and informal assessment mechanisms in Ink. Players informally assess their own work by writing reflections in their journals. This will usually include making sense of the ill-defined feedback from a public audience. For example, if a player creates and distributes a flier supporting an in-game candidate for City Council, and the candidate isn’t elected, was the flier a failure? Another form of assessment is path advancement. In order to advance on a thematic path (one of many in-game goals), a player must submit her journal to other players farther on the path. These higher-ranked players judge whether the player has mastered the relevant path level, based on the entries and reflections in the journal. A player’s journal also functions as an external assessment tool for the instructor, who can access all her students’ journals. A player’s journal is essentially a reflective portfolio, so an instructor can direct a player to seek advancement on one or more specific paths, and then use the journal as an assessment.

What is the expected outcome of the game? In other words, does anyone win and why?

There are many possible “victory” conditions in Ink. However, since it’s a persistent game, there is never a definite or permanent winner. Rather, players must define their own goals. A player might define victory as earning a large amount of ink, advancing to a high rank on one or more paths, being elected to City Council, creating a popular document, leading a large or influential group, or developing friendships with several other players. These and other goals can be pursued in Ink.

How many players? What about teams?

Ink is designed for hundreds of players, and could be scaled even higher. At the start, we’re hoping to attract a core community of 80-100 players, with at least 15-20 online during peak hours (late afternoon to late night). However, if Ink is adopted by writing courses, dozens or hundreds of students could be online (as “homework”).

Groups (or teams) are integral part of the design. Ink encourages collaboration and resource-sharing. It’s possible to play Ink solo, but it will be easier to succeed if a player joins or founds a group. Some groups have special authority and responsibilities, especially City Council.

Can teams/players complete with outside teams? (i.e. players in another school or discipline)

Ink is a single, all-inclusive game. All players, including all students and the public, play in the same world.

What / who governs the fictional government’s response? What are the limitations? If Chun joins Ivan’s campaign is it enough to merely write press releases or design flyers? Who are they trying to influence?

The in-game government is composed of players and elected by players. The government is bound by an amendable constitution, so there are some general limits on its power. The original constitution was written by the spirits and they enforce it (as necessary). Chun and Ivan are trying to influence other players. [You can read more about Chun and Ivan here.]

Is gaining research or information literacy skills part of the expected outcome? If so, how and what is taught?

Yes, to a limited extent. Ink is overtly a research project. The Path of Inquiry focuses on understanding and improving Ink as a space for discourse, learning, and community. The interface and mechanics are inspired by various information technologies, including web editing, blogs, chat, and discussion forums. Ink supports some rich media, especially images and animations. We hope that players can cross-apply their literacies to Ink, and/or develop literacies that they can cross-apply beyond Ink. As designers and researchers, we are focused on writing and community, but research and information literacy skills could be taught using Ink.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Teaching with Ink