Posts Tagged: edugame

Digital Learning — No Comments
11
Apr 10

Putting Chocolate on Top of Broccoli

Putting chocolate on top of broccoli.

Teaching is a craft and I continue in my efforts to refine my craft under the education principals of ‘challenge and inspire.’ More recently, I have wrestled with the learning principal of fun. Emotive and engaging, can learning be challenging, inspirational and fun? I hope so and I am actively searching out examples of edugaming or games based learning / teaching for next my teaching next year. The best examples I have encountered so far have predominantly showcased work from our Primary school colleagues (Tim Ryland, Ollie Bray, Tom Barrett) and I am looking for some more Secondary School examples for ICT, English or MFL.

Importantly, the use of games based learning must be able to sit across a faculty with a broad range of ICT skills and enthusiasm for this teaching / learning method and so we need to be considerate and start at Level 1 with opportunities to progress. Personally, For the record, I do not consider edugaming as merely ‘putting chocolate on top of broccoli’ and not the only way to make my teaching challenging, inspirational and fun.

There are numerous defences of the choc-broc / edugaming phrase dating back over 10 years and yes, there really is a recipe. ‘Children, Games, and Learning’ Roundtable discussions held on March 16, 17, and 18, 1999.

I posted these reflections late last night. This morning I read

The Game Center may be Apple’s attempt to compete with Facebook’s dominance over the hugely popular and incredibly lucrative area of social gaming. A report released this week suggested that the gaming company Zynga, maker of six of the seven most popular social games, is worth over $5 billion.

This highlighted three points, first, fun can also be profitable. Second, here is a good example of an industry that didn’t exist when its employees were in school. Can social gaming be used in school, is that the next evolution? Anyone have any ideas on the matter?

Popularity: 2% [?]

Reflections — No Comments
21
Oct 09

World of Goo

Last year we stumbled upon World of Goo , a physics based puzzle / construction game with millions of Goo Balls. With little funds in the DMGC coffers,  price tag of $20 per licence, was a sticking point. However, with World of Goo turning 1, a new offer appeared on thier blog, one we felt we could support it. You can now pay what you think its worth. Hurrah.

So we decided to put Goo into one ICT suite and paid $150, or $5 a licence.  According to “d Boy Games, the birthday sale has been a huge success, and because of that, they are extending their little experiment / celebration until sunday, October 25. So go on, treat your students to some mental dexterity edugaming in the name of Science, well physics.here.

This afternoon our students got their first attack at Goo and it went down a storm. Not all the students were as enthusiastic as I was, but it certainly caught the attention / imagination of the more constructive students in the group. Tomorrow it goes out to the Powder Toy gang!

Still unsure, Yes!  You can get the demo

World of Goo Trailer 2 Director’s Cut
Uploaded by 2dboy. – Check out more gaming videos.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Digital Leaders / Digital Learning — No Comments
29
Mar 09

Werewolf359

Werewolf is a game of deception, involving 8 to 15 players. Each player is assinged a secret role, and tries to survive, and use cunning to discover the roles of others. Werewolves win by killing enough villagers to outnumber them; villagers win by killing the werewolves. Every night, the werewolves collude to kill a villager; every day, the entire village votes to kill someone they suspect of being a werewolf.

I thought that might be a very good way to bring a group of students together, say a group of Digital Leaders. Waiting to hear back from the Werewolf359 team and waiting for my village to gain sufficient players. If you are reading this, what are you waiting for, sign up.

How else could this be used with a purpose? Anyone for sixtostart got any ideas?

Popularity: 3% [?]

Digital Leaders / DMGC — No Comments
28
Jan 09

The Battle for Newerth

The Digital Media and Gaming Club began with another tutorial in ALICE. A simplified 3D animator that encourages programming and creative construction. The students are making real progress with ALICE, some of the animations we hope to showcase on our college website, I am very proud of the lower College students in particular. ALICE opens up the realms of what is possible and the young students seem less inhibited than their more realistic, conscious older colleagues. Don’t get me wrong, ALICE is fun, but DMGC finished with something far more important, ‘The Battle for Newerth.’

The two armies are now in sight, the smell of battle is in the air, and the drums of war begin a dance of death. Victory or extinction, glory or defeat, the very hand of fate lies in the warrior grip of the SAVAGE.

The Battle for Newerth is a multi-player contest that combines aspects of the real-time strategy (RTS) and first-person shooter (FPS) genres and is credited as being the first real time strategy shooter (RTSS) – these three acronyms are now added to my quickly expanding gaming vocab. It takes place in the distant future when humankind has rebuilt society following an apocalypse, but is threatened by intelligent beasts.

Those of you that know me, will know I am not a passionate gamer. What I am passionate about the engaging students. Rest assured, Savage – Battle for Newerth will see a significant increase in DMGC popularity next week. Although my colleagues play, I tend to watch how the students interact. The different roles and interplay required means that students have to work together, form alliances and collaborate. Jon also mentioned he liked that fact that everyone, over 40 players, were involved.

‘….a level of trust is essential in your team and strategy to outwit your opponent.’

With each battle lasting an hour, there will be only one winner…. the DMGC. My thanks to my colleague Andrew for his hard work with this project.

I think I may even try and get a slot in the assemblies to show the students what is out there. Did I mention is was free. According the website (blocked in school) Savage 2- A Tortured Soul is also available.

 

Popularity: 2% [?]

ICT — 1 Comment
15
Jan 09

Lightbot

Another storm has swept through the ICT department. Control and sequencing has never been exactly ‘exciting’ but Lightbot has caught their imagination, and that of one of our Assistant Head Teachers (mathsmatician).

Bascially you control a robot by giving it commands. Use programmer-style logic for more complex levels that include functions to re-use.

Well its fantastic and its had the ICT rooms packed to the rafters. Its got me thinking, what does it offer thats so entertaining?

Easy to start. Quick short levels that get progressing harder. A fun wee character. Challenge, the later levels are certainly taxing.

My colleague has been creating screencast WINK manuals to help, only this evening I found that YOUTUBE has beaten him to the finishing line.

Popularity: 3% [?]