“When something troubles children, they have to play with it until it feels safer.”
Gerald Jones, cartoonist and author of Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence
Archive for the ‘games’ Category
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Thursday, February 11th, 2010Tinkering and Technology
Monday, February 8th, 2010Before this all slips my mind, I wanted to post some thoughts about the conversation I led at Educon 2.2 last weekend called Tinkering Towards Technology Fluency. I had a few slides prepared, and a general list of things I thought would be interesting to discuss, and some questions in case there was a lot of deadly silence. Well, that didn’t happen! What happened was that we had a really interesting conversation, which wandered a bit but no one seemed to mind. That’s the cool part about Educon, the conversations are the point. I learned as much from everyone there as I hope they learned from some of the things I shared.
What I’d like to do here is provide a short skim through the topics I brought to the session. I think many of them either support themes I’ve posted about before, or will in the future. I plan to return to them in the future and explore each one in depth.
This is such a rich area for two main reasons:
- Unstructured time is undervalued by School.
- Tinkering supports technology and technology supports tinkering.
Random thoughts in no particular order:
Humans yearn for tinkering and playful activity
The popularity of the Food Network, HGTV, and shows like Monster Garage illustrate how people want to learn from watching others DO things they love. Work is interesting when you can see it happen, and people are interesting when they work. Make magazine is awesome.
Tinkering is social
Yes, there is the stereotype of the lone tinkerer in his basement. But more often, tinkering is a shared, social experience. Social learning with no structure or single, all-knowing teacher can happen! Leveraging the power of social learning seems like something we should be thinking about in this day and age.
Bricolage
French for tinkering, using found objects, playfulness in creation. (Wikipedia)
Tinkering/bricolage vs. the scientific method/analytical design
Seymour Papert, the father of educational technology, defined two styles of problem solving: analytical and bricolage. School only honors one style. What are we losing? (Who are we losing?)
“The bricoleur resembles the painter who stands back between brushstrokes, looks at the canvas, and only after this contemplation, decides what to do next.” Sherry Turkle
Tinkering and gender
The book by Sherry Turkle that I couldn’t remember in the session was “The Second Self”. I also forgot to mention this crucial connection to tinkering and gender issues in technology. Turkle says that tinkering is a “female” approach to technology, calling it “soft mastery” (as opposed to the “hard mastery” of linear, step by step problem solving, flowcharting, and analytical design). However, these “hard” styles are often taught as being superior, with “soft mastery” styles deemed messy or unprofessional. Again, who and what are we losing by ignoring (and denigrating) alternative learning and problem-solving styles?
Tinkering requires similar conditions to project-based learning and games in the classroom. Implementation brings up similar questions
Teachers who are looking at project-based learning or games are struggling with the same issues that arise with tinkering. Time, space, overwhelming curriculum requirements, tests, etc. These all need to be solved in similar ways, and teachers are doing this all around the world. Sharing is important.
More connections with games
James Paul Gee (What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy) says that we should examine the attributes of gaming such as identity and agency and how to bring those to the classroom. We are being too literal with “games in the classroom.” The attributes of tinkering are similar. We have to be willing to give students agency and allow them to develop their own identities as problem-solvers and learners.
Why is tinkering learning?
Tinkering is a uniquely human activity, combining social and creative forces that encompass play and learning.
The problem with the scientific method
A pet peeve of mine is this structured monstrosity called “the scientific method.” We teach it to children like it came down on stone tablets. It’s not how science really works. Science is about wonder and risk and imagination, not checklists.
Risk and design – what happened in engineering in the 80s
When I went to engineering school, they taught us to use the “waterfall” design methodology. Every stage was planned and went in order. Then in the 80s everything changed.
What happened? Computers. Digital design and modeling decreased the cost of making mistakes. You could try things out with little risk or cost. It’s called the spiral design method, or rapid prototyping, sort of like tinkering with an audience. It’s why Google is always in “beta”. Of course it doesn’t work for everything, you can’t release a “beta” skyscraper or tinker a space shuttle, but for digital products, what’s the harm?
The problem is that school hasn’t caught on to this design methodology. What do we need to do to get school design courses to catch up to the real world?
What can we learn from other unstructured (but successful) school activities?
This also connects back to a post I wrote called Technology Literacy and Sustained Tinkering Time which connected the ideas of Sustained Silent Reading to using technology in less structured ways. Schools have embraced Sustained Silent Reading in the face of scripted curriculum and standardized testing – what can advocates for constructivist education learn from this?
Technology literacy without tinkering time is hard to fathom
Maybe we should be talking about technology fluency anyway. Literacy is such a low bar.
Teaching risk free design is so 20th century.
More later – your feedback on what to tackle first is welcome!
Sylvia
Student video – GenYES Rocks!
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010SMHS GenYes Rocks! from Debbie Kovesdy on Vimeo.
GenYes is the ultimate tech group at Shadow Mountain High School! We simply rock when it come to new tech and learning! In addition to tech support for teachers and students, we are implementing educational and social gaming in the media center, telepresence communication with students, academia, scientists across the globe, developing interactive Wii walls and more!
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This video was created and produced by the GenYES class at Shadow Mountain HS in the Paradise Valley School District, Arizona. Learn more about GenYES and the student help desk (TAP system) at the Generation YES website.
So all you other GenYES schools – we challenge you to come up with your own videos showing GenYES in action at your school!
Sylvia
Future game designers! Apply for the Student Design Corps today
Friday, January 15th, 2010Apply to the Student Design Corps Today
If you work with students (13 years and older) who have a strong interest in designing and creating their own computer games, definitely learn more about our plans for the Design Corps, which kicked off in the fall. This spring, the program is entering a new phase focusing on student design teams. We’ve opened this up to new participants — interested students can apply right here by Friday, January 22, 2010.
What does it take to apply between now and next Friday?
- Teachers can suggest students by emailing us brief recommendations at design.corps [at] learninggamesnetwork.org. (If you’re a student, ask a teacher to recommend you.)
- For applicants under 18, we need a parent or guardian to let us know that he or she approves of their participation in the program. They should send a brief email affirming this to, you guessed it, design.corps [at] learninggamesnetwork.org.
- All applicants must tell us a little bit about their interests using the form on this page.
Voilà, you’re done! For this new group of students joining the Design Corps, we’ll have our first event on Jan 23, 2010. Remember, our events are online, so participants will need reliable access to an internet connection.
Sylvia
Join today! Professional Learning Community for Games in the Classroom
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010Interested in exploring the possibilities of using learning games as educational tools, and/or in developing games of your own for educational purposes?
Today is your day!
Join a new Professional Learning Community (PLC) hosted by the Learning Games Network on Wednesday, January 13, at 8pm EST / 5pm PST at LearnCentral.
RSVP on Facebook | RSVP on LearnCentral
This PLC is brand new, so get in on the ground floor and help chart the course!
Read more at 2010: More Games in More Classrooms? | Learning Games Network.
Related posts:
iPhone and iTouch games for learning
Two new white papers on games in education
More on Flunking Spore…
Grand Theft Auto 4 and video games in education
Sylvia
Teacher PLC at the Learning Games Network
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Teacher 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
New report from the EU on Games in Schools
Friday, June 19th, 2009A 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].”
- Full report (180 page PDF) – English version
- Synthesis report (40 page PDF) – English version
Sylvia
Two new white papers on games in education
Thursday, March 5th, 2009Two 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
Games that encourage student teamwork and collaboration
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009Freechild 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, So, You Wanna Be A Playa? 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.
Have fun!
Sylvia
More on Flunking Spore…
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
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?
Sylvia
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