Tag: games

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Teacher PLC at the Learning Games Network

Teacher PLC | Learning Games Network

Are you a teacher interested in using games in the classroom? Help design a new Professional Learning Community (PLC) at the Learning Games Network.

The PLC will provide a forum for teachers to share experiences and ideas for using existing games in the classroom, as well as discuss ideas and concepts for where games could fill gaps and niches in curricula. Teachers involved in technology will also have the opportunity for professional development in workshops with developers and producers.

Be sure to fill out the short survey to share your interests and sign up for more information. Pass this on to other educators interested in games!

Sylvia

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How I ended up in the New York Times

OK, right. (My kids always seem to start their crazy stories this way.)

The other day I was working and glanced at Twitter. I swear, just a little. I saw a tweet that said something like, “Do you play games on your iphone”. I answered the tweet and pretty soon an email showed up saying I had a message on Facebook. It’s from a New York Times reporter asking if would I mind answering a few questions about playing games on my iphone.

Seriously, the New York Times wants to talk to me.

The reporter calls me the next day and we talk for 20 minutes about games and if I was a gamer (no) and why I play games on the iphone now. Then she asks if would be OK if she sent a photographer over to take some photos of me playing games. I’m thinking, how crazy is this? (and what should I wear!) But sure, why not.

The next morning a freelance photographer calls. She’s in Pasadena, a good hour drive from where I am. But she shows up and spends another hour taking photos of me playing games. She especially likes one game, Jelly Car, because it’s simple and has large graphics that show up well on camera. I play a beginner level for 10 minutes, starting over and over again while holding it in different ways.

And yes, it comes out. And I’m quoted for one line, and of course she managed to work in my age. Was that necessary? But best of all, I don’t hate the photo!

nytimes1

Here’s the link to the article, Yet Another Vogue for iPhones (you’ll need to register (free) for the New York Times.) It’s about how casual game players are a new market for games. No, it’s not about ME, but hey, I got the big photo.

That’s what you get for answering a tweet in the middle of the day!

Sylvia

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New report from the EU on Games in Schools

A new research report – How are Digital Games Used in Schools has just been released by a group called European Schoolnet, a consortium of 31 ministries of education in Europe. This study was sponsored by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe , representing companies in the interactive software industry.

How are Digital Games Used in Schools covers  the use of games in schools in Europe: video games, computer games, online games that run on consoles, computers, handhelds or mobile phones.

– Full report (180 page PDF) – English version
– Synthesis report (40 page PDF) – English version

The researchers interviewed over 500 teachers, 30 decision-makers, and included 6 case studies and a review of the scientific literature. They came to some interesting conclusions, both from a teaching and learning standpoint.

  • “The teachers who are involved in these practices leave nothing to improvisation in their pedagogical use of these games; on the contrary, they prepare them very carefully.”
  • “Experiments in the classroom use of games are bringing teachers together in a community of practice, and associating the whole educational community and parents around the pupils’ achievements.”
  • “Practices centred on games rehabilitate more traditional teaching tools in the eyes of the pupils.”

European Schoolnet also established a social network as part of this study for teachers interested in using digital games in the classroom.

From the conclusion – “The investigations that have been made show that electronic games favour a way of learning that is particularly in tune with the modes of learning now regarded as effective. The table below summarizes several major principles of learning that are now known and recognized. It relates them
to the characteristics of electronic games and the modes of use that they generate. The correspondences that
emerge argue in favour of a‘re-opening of the case’ [of using digital games in the classroom].”

Report table

– Full report (180 page PDF) – English version
– Synthesis report (40 page PDF) – English version

Sylvia

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Two new white papers on games in education

Two white papers were released last month from The Education Arcade at MIT. Both are about video and computer games for learning, but look at this issue from slightly different angles.

Moving Learning Games Forward looks at games, learning and education with a long lens. It provides a detailed historical analysis of how computer games first were used in schools and proceeds through the heyday of educational software in the 1980s to the present move to web-based games. I was very pleased to see how much of this mirrors my presentation on Games in Education for the K12online conference, but of course, my 20 minute presentation barely skims the surface where they dive deeply. I’ll be adding this to my Games in Education resource wiki for sure!

The paper goes on to lay out some ideas for how learning games should be designed, and has great references and sources for additional reading. This is a must-read for educators seriously interested in games in education.

The second paper, Using the Technology of Today in the Classroom Today, is slightly narrower in focus. It is written for classroom teachers interested in bringing games and simulations into the classroom, with practical suggestions and case studies to help with planning and implementation.

Sylvia

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Games that encourage student teamwork and collaboration

Freechild Article | “Why Play Games…” By Adam Fletcher.

Here’s another fabulous article and set of resources from Adam Fletcher of The Freechild Project. The article is about playing games with students and youth groups to encourage teamwork, model constructive, collaborative behavior, and develop a shared sense of mission.

Games can be a catalyst that brings both cohesion and energy to any group, and a welcome addition to a teacher’s “bag of tricks”. Two categories of games are especially helpful in setting a tone of collaboration and teamwork for students.

Cooperative games emphasize participation, challenge, and fun, rather than sorting out winners and losers. These kinds of games teach teamwork, empathy, and trust.

Initiative games have players attack a problem and solve it. They teach leadership, problem solving, and collaboration.

“Why Play Games…” is more than just a list of games. It includes practical information about how to choose them, how to introduce them, how to create reflective activities that further magnify the impact of the game itself, and tons of additional resources.

Teachers who lead student tech clubs know that the success of the group depends on much more than tech skills. Teamwork and a sense of mission result in the “we” being more than the “me” and can take a student tech team to the next level.

This isn’t just for student clubs either. If you want students to unlearn the competitive habits that have been drilled into them and work cooperatively, these games will work in classroom situations too. Collaboration and communication may be “21st century skills” but having students play them out in game situations is a timeless idea.

Give this short article a read and I guarantee you will learn one new thing today! “Why Play Games…” By Adam Fletcher

Selected additional resources (there’s a lot more if you click on the article link):

  • Brand-new (and free) guide, The Freechild Project Guide to Cooperative Games for Social Change by A. Fletcher with K. Kunst. “This insightful new guide will help community workers, teachers, activists, and all kinds of people find fun, engaging, and powerful activities that promote teamwork, communication, and social justice.” Click here for a free download.
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More on Flunking Spore…

Last week I blogged (Flunking Spore – video game failed by scientists) about Science magazine’s Oct 24 review of the new video game Spore that outlined the problems of looking at the game as a way to learn biology. Not only did multiple scientists give the game poor grades for science content, but a documentary promoting the game misleadingly used interviews with scientists that implied endorsement.

Now, Eric Klopfer and Kurt Squire, co-founders of the Learning Games Network, respected researchers and proponents of games in education, respond to “Flunking Spore.” In two articles (part 1, part 2), they tackle some of the objections, and provide a their point of view. While they agree that the basic science in Spore is not appropriate as a substitute for biology curriculum, they defend the game as a breakthrough in user interface and design.

Kurt Squire argues that Spore is easily recognizable to a veteran game player for what it is, a game of design, where the player is the master of a make-believe universe.

What I think gets lost here is that players actually have relatively sophisticated ways of interpreting games like Spore. While I share the author’s concerns about games reinforcing people’s naive conceptions about science, Spore, I would argue, is so clearly a design game that most “literate” gamers quickly see that it’s a design game, and regard it as such.

OK, I agree here. But most people who aren’t veteran game players won’t see this subtle point. We know that people learn a lot from games, but we don’t quite know what to call it. It’s not learning that can be described in the traditional vocabulary of school. This is a deep problem of games&learning not being equivalent to games&schooling. Spore wasn’t going to bridge that gap even if it was as educationally significant as advertised.

The problem I have is simpler than this.

The game is being promoted, mostly by National Geographic, as a game that teaches biology. Scientists were tricked into doing interviews that were used to promote the game as a way to learn biology. Shame on National Geographic for exploiting interest in games for learning to promote their programming.

As much as I understand the inclination to find the tiny nugget of learning in any game, I hope that Eric Klopfer and Kurt Squire would use their influence in the learning game community to address the issues of the misleading and patently false promotion of this game. Part 3, perhaps?

 

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Games in Education – K12 Online Conference 2008

Now in its third year, the K12 Online Conference is underway. But don’t worry — you haven’t missed anything, it’s all online!

My session this year is Games in Education. The time limit was 20 minutes, so that was a challenge! To give it more depth, I also created a companion wiki page with lots more resources.

I cover topics including: Why games?; What’s wrong with edutainment?; Serious Games; Casual puzzle and logic games in the classroom; Virtual Worlds, Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) games; Overcoming Objections to using games in the classroom; and students designing and programming their own games. Yes, all in 20 min…

Beyond games, if you are interested in learning more about technology in education in general, and seeing presentations from educators all around the world, then you will find some great stuff on the K12 Online 2008 conference site. Since the conference is online and all the sessions are pre-recorded, they can be downloaded or viewed online anywhere, anytime. For first-timers, be sure to read the “how to” page here.

Check the conference blog for both recorded sessions and live chats with keynotes and presenters.

Sylvia

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Flunking Spore – video game failed by scientists

 

The potential of video games for learning has been the subject of much recent curiosity and debate. How many times have you heard…“If only we could combine the engagement of video games with real (meaning school) learning…”

Spore is a new game that is being promoted as just such a hybrid. It’s the latest brainchild of Will Wright, the world-famous designer of unusual, yet popular games like The Sims and Sim City.

If anyone could design a breakout game that combines learning and fun, Will Wright is the guy.

Spore is a game where you create a single-cell organism that evolves. Keeping your creature alive and growing is the goal, and you can design and improve your creatures as generations go by and gain sophistication. Eventually they gain intelligence, and you have to deal with tribes and civilizations, deciding on war and peace, and eventually going out into outer space to explore and/or conquer whole worlds.

In an interview with National Geographic, Will Wright talks about, “…the breakthrough science that’s revealing the secret genetic machinery that shapes all life in the game Spore.” National Geographic has made a documentary, called “How to Build a Better Being” that is being sold by Spore publisher Electronic Arts in a deluxe version. (National Geographic website promoting the game.) The documentary positions Spore as solid science, complete with supporting interviews with scientists.

Now the bad news..
This month’s Science magazine (the peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science) decided to put this to the test. In Flunking Spore, author and “Gonzo Scientist” John Bohannon played Spore with evolutionary biologists, and concludes,

“…the problem isn’t just that Spore dumbs down the science or gets a few things wrong–it’s meant to be a game, after all–but rather, it gets most of biology badly, needlessly, and often bizarrely wrong.”

Anyone interested in games and education needs to read this article. It’s a wake-up call about this game’s relevance to education, and parallels much of the wishful thinking that dominates the games and education discussion.

And worse, when Bohannon went to interview the scientists who appeared in the National Geographic video, he found that they had not been told that their interviews were going to be used to promote a video game. He quotes Neil Shubin, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago in Illinois who worries that science has been hijacked to promote a product. “I was used,” says Shubin.

After playing the game, the scientists Bohannon interviewed gave Spore failing grades across the board.

“Spore’s biology grades rolled in like a slow-motion train wreck. For organismic biology–genetics, cell biology, reproduction, and development–Gregory and Eldredge smacked Spore with a D-. The game flunked evolutionary biology outright with an F. According to Gregory and Eldredge, “Spore has very little to do with real biology.”

And it’s interesting to me that in a TED talk from March 2007, Will Wright demos Spore and makes no such claims. Who decided to push this as a game where you could learn about evolution and biology?

OK, so perhaps Spore isn’t going to change the way biology is taught in school, but does that mean that someday, someone, isn’t going to design a game that does? Trying to keep an open mind and never say never is always good policy, but when Will Wright fails, and the promotion is based on sleight-of-hand, if not blatant lies, it’s discouraging.

On Monday, my presentation for the online conference K12online 2008, Games and Education will go live and there is some discussion of the problem there. I’ll update this post with that link when it’s available.