The gamification of the educational process according to the version of Classcraft, or the unrestrained support of comrades as a means to combat frustration
(New entry from Ksenia Mezhenina kmezhenina , editor of localization department in All Correct Localization )
Remember yourself in school years. Often you wanted to score on boring algebra and sneak home to play a couple of hours at Baldur's Gate? Now imagine that playing Baldur's Gate in a lesson is not only possible but necessary. And no, we are not crazy.
Classcraft is a shareware educational role-playing online game in which the teacher and students play in a lesson (and which has already been described ). The teacher acts as the master of the game, and his charges become magicians, warriors, or healers. Their academic achievements, as well as peer communication, directly affect the progress of the game, and their belonging to a particular class - to the presence of various bonuses.
')
Such an idea may seem bold or even revolutionary - and it is. However, it seems that the invention of the school teacher Sean Yang works, and how. Using the principles of modern games, Classcraft teaches children to work in a team and significantly affects their performance, instilling an interest in learning.
Our company decided to help popularize the project and edit the texts of the game, as well as the Classcraft website, already translated into Russian using crowdsourcing for free.
Now we briefly describe how it was.
As you probably know, companies often use automated translation tools, or CAT programs, to simplify the localization process. Such programs make life easier for translation bureaus, since they provide such functions as:
For example, we use the server version of memoQ (Marina Ilinykh has already spoken about this in more detail). But this time, translation and editing was done in the OneSky cloud solution developed by the Classcraft team.
On the one hand, this program takes into account many of the points mentioned above. For example, there is the possibility of creating a glossary, and the terms entered are displayed in each cell in which they are found. The translation memory function is represented by the Another translation section, where you can view previous translation versions from other artists. Below the cell text is the translator's login, as well as the date and time when he made the translation into the database. The ability to leave comments allows you to communicate with the developers directly.
Another plus is the presence of the function of checking the compliance of the cell length with the specified number of characters. If the limit is exceeded, the program issues a corresponding message, giving the user a choice: save the translation or shorten it. The process of checking the presence or absence of spaces at the end of a segment is built in the same way.
The downsides are that the possibilities of automatic text verification come to an end. Neither the availability of the necessary variants of the translation of the terms, nor the tags, nor the uniformity of punctuation or the absence of double spaces can be checked.
The search function in the translation memory is missing, and it is absolutely impossible to see how one or another element was translated before.
Spell check is possible only within a specific cell.
The most regrettable disadvantage is the lack of a blocking repetition function. Yes, yes, its complete absence. What led, as one would expect, to cases of translation of the same segment by several performers.
For example, here’s how two different performers translated the same small segment:
When I started Classcraft, my AP Biology scores were in the C range. The average increase in a month.
Rebecca Osborne, AP Biology, 11th Grade, Anaheim, California
Translator 1:
When I started playing Classcraft, my biology scores were about three. A month later, they were already equal to the top five.
Rebecca Osborne, Biology, Grade 11, Anaheim, California, USA
Translator 2:
When I started using Classcraft, the average grade in biology in my class was 4-. For a month he rose to 5.
Rebecca Osborne, biology teacher in 11th grade, Anaheim, California
As mentioned above, the project was translated using crowdsourcing, that is, several volunteers at no cost, which added to the editor difficulties. In principle, the mistakes made are typical for any game translation project. Here are some examples.
1. Non-compliance with the glossary
A glossary, that is, a glossary of terms with their translation, is created on any three-dimensional translation project. This is done to ensure consistency in the use of terms in the text. But if one of the translators accidentally forgets about it or deliberately decides not to replenish or not follow the glossary, this will inevitably lead to the emergence of different translation options for the same word, as in the example below.
Buy gold
You do not have enough coins.
Here are two phrases translated by different people. For some reason, the translation of one of them did not match the glossary, according to which it was decided to transfer the gold pieces as "gold".
2. Errors when working with tags
In the text of almost any game there are many variables, denoted by tags. Instead of tags, numbers indicating the number, as well as the names of character classes, awards, certain characteristics, etc., can be substituted instead. This feature is also present in Classcraft. And here is an example of unsuccessful work with tags from this project:
Get __reward__ in __count__ days
In most cases, the phrase Get __reward__ after the substitution of the value will be inconsistent, because instead of the __reward__ tag, the noun will most likely be used in the nominative case. Using the word form “days” with the __count__ tag, instead of which a number will be substituted, is also short-sighted, because if you substitute numbers in the range from 1 to 4, the phrase __count__ days will also be inconsistent (for example, “in 3 days”). Thus, it would be correct to build a phrase like this:
Get a reward (__reward__) in __count__ days.
3. Refusal of depersonalization
Another feature of game texts that is important to consider when translating is the need to use impersonal constructions, because the gender of the player is not known in advance. Most often, translators forget that women also play games:
__sourceFname__ protected the player __targetFname__ from damage in __damage__ HP
Usually, to avoid such situations, we use verbs in the form of an imperfect present tense:
__sourceFname__ protects the player __targetFname__ from damage in __damage__ HP
4. Style differences
When several translators work on the same project, the emergence of stylistic non-uniformity is inevitable. This is where editor's help is needed. And sometimes you have to edit the features of the style of a translator. For example, we were amused by the phrase "rampant support":
Both of my frustrated students changed their behavior with “Well, what's the point? I still can not do it "on the unrestrained support of his teammates.
Now the text looks like this:
Both of my disappointed students stopped thinking, “So what's the point? I still can not cope "and began to support his teammates.
We talked only about some features of the project. Our participation as editors was an interesting and rewarding experience. It should be noted that all the shortcomings of the OneSky program and the flaws of the translators are more than swallowed by the cordiality of Classcraft authors and their willingness to help. We wish the promising Classcraft project prosperity and enrichment.
Give gamification to the masses!
Remember yourself in school years. Often you wanted to score on boring algebra and sneak home to play a couple of hours at Baldur's Gate? Now imagine that playing Baldur's Gate in a lesson is not only possible but necessary. And no, we are not crazy.
Classcraft is a shareware educational role-playing online game in which the teacher and students play in a lesson (and which has already been described ). The teacher acts as the master of the game, and his charges become magicians, warriors, or healers. Their academic achievements, as well as peer communication, directly affect the progress of the game, and their belonging to a particular class - to the presence of various bonuses.
')
Such an idea may seem bold or even revolutionary - and it is. However, it seems that the invention of the school teacher Sean Yang works, and how. Using the principles of modern games, Classcraft teaches children to work in a team and significantly affects their performance, instilling an interest in learning.
Our company decided to help popularize the project and edit the texts of the game, as well as the Classcraft website, already translated into Russian using crowdsourcing for free.
Now we briefly describe how it was.
As you probably know, companies often use automated translation tools, or CAT programs, to simplify the localization process. Such programs make life easier for translation bureaus, since they provide such functions as:
- Spelling and grammar checking;
- Terminology management, including the possibility of making a list of terms with their translation (glossary), as well as checking their correct use in the final text;
- Terminology databases;
- Concordance, allowing to find examples of words or expressions of the original and translation in the texts of the project;
- Translation memory (translation memory), consisting of previously translated project texts,
- and many others.
For example, we use the server version of memoQ (Marina Ilinykh has already spoken about this in more detail). But this time, translation and editing was done in the OneSky cloud solution developed by the Classcraft team.
On the one hand, this program takes into account many of the points mentioned above. For example, there is the possibility of creating a glossary, and the terms entered are displayed in each cell in which they are found. The translation memory function is represented by the Another translation section, where you can view previous translation versions from other artists. Below the cell text is the translator's login, as well as the date and time when he made the translation into the database. The ability to leave comments allows you to communicate with the developers directly.
Another plus is the presence of the function of checking the compliance of the cell length with the specified number of characters. If the limit is exceeded, the program issues a corresponding message, giving the user a choice: save the translation or shorten it. The process of checking the presence or absence of spaces at the end of a segment is built in the same way.
The downsides are that the possibilities of automatic text verification come to an end. Neither the availability of the necessary variants of the translation of the terms, nor the tags, nor the uniformity of punctuation or the absence of double spaces can be checked.
The search function in the translation memory is missing, and it is absolutely impossible to see how one or another element was translated before.
Spell check is possible only within a specific cell.
The most regrettable disadvantage is the lack of a blocking repetition function. Yes, yes, its complete absence. What led, as one would expect, to cases of translation of the same segment by several performers.
For example, here’s how two different performers translated the same small segment:
When I started Classcraft, my AP Biology scores were in the C range. The average increase in a month.
Rebecca Osborne, AP Biology, 11th Grade, Anaheim, California
Translator 1:
When I started playing Classcraft, my biology scores were about three. A month later, they were already equal to the top five.
Rebecca Osborne, Biology, Grade 11, Anaheim, California, USA
Translator 2:
When I started using Classcraft, the average grade in biology in my class was 4-. For a month he rose to 5.
Rebecca Osborne, biology teacher in 11th grade, Anaheim, California
As mentioned above, the project was translated using crowdsourcing, that is, several volunteers at no cost, which added to the editor difficulties. In principle, the mistakes made are typical for any game translation project. Here are some examples.
1. Non-compliance with the glossary
A glossary, that is, a glossary of terms with their translation, is created on any three-dimensional translation project. This is done to ensure consistency in the use of terms in the text. But if one of the translators accidentally forgets about it or deliberately decides not to replenish or not follow the glossary, this will inevitably lead to the emergence of different translation options for the same word, as in the example below.
Buy gold
You do not have enough coins.
Here are two phrases translated by different people. For some reason, the translation of one of them did not match the glossary, according to which it was decided to transfer the gold pieces as "gold".
2. Errors when working with tags
In the text of almost any game there are many variables, denoted by tags. Instead of tags, numbers indicating the number, as well as the names of character classes, awards, certain characteristics, etc., can be substituted instead. This feature is also present in Classcraft. And here is an example of unsuccessful work with tags from this project:
Get __reward__ in __count__ days
In most cases, the phrase Get __reward__ after the substitution of the value will be inconsistent, because instead of the __reward__ tag, the noun will most likely be used in the nominative case. Using the word form “days” with the __count__ tag, instead of which a number will be substituted, is also short-sighted, because if you substitute numbers in the range from 1 to 4, the phrase __count__ days will also be inconsistent (for example, “in 3 days”). Thus, it would be correct to build a phrase like this:
Get a reward (__reward__) in __count__ days.
3. Refusal of depersonalization
Another feature of game texts that is important to consider when translating is the need to use impersonal constructions, because the gender of the player is not known in advance. Most often, translators forget that women also play games:
__sourceFname__ protected the player __targetFname__ from damage in __damage__ HP
Usually, to avoid such situations, we use verbs in the form of an imperfect present tense:
__sourceFname__ protects the player __targetFname__ from damage in __damage__ HP
4. Style differences
When several translators work on the same project, the emergence of stylistic non-uniformity is inevitable. This is where editor's help is needed. And sometimes you have to edit the features of the style of a translator. For example, we were amused by the phrase "rampant support":
Both of my frustrated students changed their behavior with “Well, what's the point? I still can not do it "on the unrestrained support of his teammates.
Now the text looks like this:
Both of my disappointed students stopped thinking, “So what's the point? I still can not cope "and began to support his teammates.
We talked only about some features of the project. Our participation as editors was an interesting and rewarding experience. It should be noted that all the shortcomings of the OneSky program and the flaws of the translators are more than swallowed by the cordiality of Classcraft authors and their willingness to help. We wish the promising Classcraft project prosperity and enrichment.
Give gamification to the masses!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/366395/
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