Kristian Still's BlogChallenge and Inspire

From text based, to graphic adventure games, to action adventure and role play games RPGs. There really is a lot of gaming content and genre to explore. To date I have really enjoyed text based adventures because I get to create the game environment, or at least interpret the game environment.

Graphic adventures fell short, the action adventure games were a positive and the RPGs the only ‘game type’ I have played with my wife, (apart from jigsaws and mancala but I don’t think they count?). My wife is a dab hand and cryptic problem solving, perhaps that is why she is such a fantastic accountant, and the iPad makes for a great point and click tap game play? Together, as a team, we feel we have accomplished something when we beat the game.

I have also taught with RPGs such as Bow Street Runners and created marque lessons around games, they can be very powerful introductions to learning, I know like Dawn Hallybone is doing great and varied things with Games Based Learning not to mention the more frequent references to Tim Rylands use of Myst and the creative physics lessons based on Angry Birds and here too. There are many other great education RPG examples such online safety with  smokescreen or community involvement with The Curfew Game. 

The main focus of the RPGs seems to be problem solving skills with frequent failures a valued strategy for progress. Try, fail, try again only better. It seems that inventive problem solving is a key skill and certainly, as educators we keep hearing about the importance of developing creativity in young people, (hat tip to the numerous TEDTalks)  could RPGs be a tool to measure creativity? All this debate before we embrace the big leagues, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG).

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So this Quest uses Jane McGonigal Tedtalk to get ‘us’ as learners to think about games and education, and now, I am looking for educations version of the epic win. Oh, and by the way, for life’s to do list, there is an app for that.

As TedTalks go, another positive ‘TEDster’ delivering her positive, proactive attempt to bring about change. I did a smattering of interest tip bits ‘…there is no unemployment in W0W,’ and ‘there are tons of collaborators and other players willing to help,’ in game environments and there is significant learning, 5 million WoW wiki edits, but that is where it ends. For all my urgent optimism, and blissful productivity and not getting that much epic meaning, maybe I need some social urgency to help me reach my tipping point? So the key questions will be answered using the ‘now’ working iPadio on the next post….. well its being uploaded now…

• Can play and learning be combined?

• What role does acknowledging progress play in successful gaming and is their transfer to education?

• What do you think MacGonigal’s thought about parallel tracks of education (school/games)?

• Reflect on Jane’s 4 things that games do to make us "virtuosos": Urgent Optimism, Social Fabric, Blissful Productivity, Epic Meaning.

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With a little help from Aviary I created this response to the Quest. I just wanted a valid reason to use Myna and as iPadio are working out the bugs in their revised  iPhone app (great support by the way), I thought I may as well… It could be more polished but the main response was a single take (albeit 4 attempts).

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