If you’ve joined us at CONASTA this year you’ll know that the Battle for Lizard Supremacy has taken over Bonython Hall at the University of Adelaide in a huge multi-day live experiment! Who will reign supreme? Who will take home a highly coveted prize?*
Teachers can check back on this blog across the conference days to see how the leaderboard changes and how the data collected evolves as it’s collected in real-time. What are lizards on Basker Isle dying from the most and how is this data changing as players create hypotheses and change their gaming tactics?
Let’s check out the leaderboard!
Did you make the top 10?
Let’s check out some of the data you helped to collect!
Below are the data that you helped collect by playing at CONASTA. If you replicate this experiment in your classroom, this is the same type of data that you could generate and analyse together with your students.
In the graph above we can see how our lizards are dying, and which particular way they’re dying the most.
There are four different ways that you can die on Basker Isle, being eaten by a hawk, being knocked out by another lizard, starving to death or freezing to death by not sunbaking.
As players become aware of the way they’re dying most frequently, they’ll start to create hypotheses on how to survive longer. As an example, if freezing is the most common cause of death they could sunbake more. But if they sunbake more, how will that likely change the most common cause of death?
As the game progresses the number of predators on the island increase. Every time you start a game there are two predators. Then after every 15 seconds that you survive another predator arrives.
This means that there are three distinct phases in the game with respect to predators: A beginner phase at the very beginning, an intermediate phase after 15 seconds and an expert phase after 30 seconds. The arrival of more predators makes the game more difficult, which we can see in the graph showing the average number of hawk swoops per player above.
If things are getting more dangerous, how should that affect our behaviours? Is one of the behaviours – basking or eating food – more risky than the other? Do we change our behaviours as the risk of getting caught by a predator increases?
The two graphs above show the same three phases defined by the red lines – beginner, intermediate, and expert. What is the more risky behaviour? Basking or eating food?
Want to keep playing?
You can continue participating in the biggest experiment at CONASTA on your own device! Simply use the class code 2023conasta to see how your gameplay impacts the data generated.
How can I get my students involved?
To play Inglorious Baskers and start analysing data with your students, simply register for the Arludo Teacher Dashboard. All teachers receive a free trial month!
*Winner will be drawn at random and notified at Midday, Wednesday 12th July 2023. To be in the running participants must supply their full name, email and phone via the online form supplied by the Arludo Team at CONASTA 2023