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- 1. Digital Games ... "hard fun"
- 2. Do 21 st Century students need to be exposed to a different kind of learning? Google now indexes 24,000,000,000 pages Today’s children will be adults in a world where computers may be 1,000,000,000 times more powerful than today Prensky (2005) Less need to teach facts and lower order skills More need for higher order cognitive and metacognitive skills www.istockphoto.com ://www.vleuk.com
- 3. Constructing new ideas or concepts based upon current / past knowledge The learner * selects and transforms information * constructs hypotheses * makes decisions relying on cognitive structures to do so Seymour Papert . . . Constructivism www.connectedfamily.com/.../seymour_idit.jpg
- 4. Games are the most ancient and time-honoured vehicle for education. They are the original educational technology, the natural one, having received the seal of approval of natural selection. We don't see mother lions lecturing cubs at the chalkboard; we don't see senior lions writing their memoirs for posterity. The Art of Computer Game Design by Chris Crawford 1982 http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Coverpage.html Chris Crawford http://www.etravelphotos.com/photo.php?pid=2164 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6530827.stm http://photovault.com/show.php?cat=People/Little/gPlaygrounds?tg=PLGVolume01/PLGV01P08_18
- 5. an education science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, advocates that school-going children should be permitted to play video games in school. According to Shaffer, video games will help attain a higher order of learning for today’s generation of kids who are tech savvy. www.techshout.com/gaming/2007/13/ David Williamson Shaffer
- 6. Literature on school improvement is full of exhortations to make the content of instruction "relevant.“ if one does belong to a culture in which video games are important, transforming oneself from a consumer to a producer of games may well be an even more powerful way for some children to find importance in what they are doing. Situating Constructionism By Seymour Papert and Idit Harel, the first chapter in Seymour Papert and Idit Harel's book Constructionism (Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1991). http:// www.papert.org/articles/SituatingConstructionism.html www.connectedfamily.com/.../seymour_idit.jpg
- 7. Al and Jas what could they be so animated about ? Al and Jas (Year 4) were filmed and interviewed by Marcella (Year 6)
- 8. Process information using their preferred cognitive structures Enjoy completing challenging relevant and meaningful tasks Publish work to an audience that is authentic for them Value interactive ongoing conversation that is developed within a community that is wider than the school / educational community Students as learners
- 9. Programs exist which make this relatively easy, eg Game maker, Scratch, Mission maker, Greenfoot Motivating and excellent introduction to programming HOT (higher order thinking) activity Provides an opportunity for all to experience programming in an interesting context (game making is not for all but at least students have chance to accept or reject from an informed position) Does not require a teacher to understand programming Does need teachers who have a sound learning theory and clear understanding of today’s learners To enhance communication and collaboration Digital Game making in the classroom
- 10. At what age can the games begin? Gavin 7 and Lucas 8
- 11. In summary . . . Children's enthusiasm for playing games easily gives rise to an enthusiasm for making them, This in turn leads to more sophisticated thinking about all aspects of games. The games they can make (may) generally lack the polish and the complexity of those made by professional designers. www.papert.org/articles/Doeseasydoit.html
- 12. Remember … the idea that children should draw, write stories and play music is not contradicted by the fact that their work is not of professional quality. www.papert.org/articles/Doeseasydoit.html www.theartgallery.com.au/KidsArt/IanCorvette-Jordan/index.html www.theartgallery.com.au/KidsArt/NevanaConstant/index.html www.theartgallery.com.au/KidsArt/Paula.html
- 13. Well what do you think . . . Our Panel of experts . . . Jasmeen Issar Martin Houdek Sharliyah Richards Bill Phung Sam James Nyugen Yilmaz Cerim Kuma Farabee Kabir Our Chairperson Naomi Nyugen
- 15. Space Challenge
- 16. Maze Panic
- 17. Space Adventure
- 18. Space Maze
- 19. … hard fun They (kids) mean it's fun because it's hard. Listening to this and watching kids work at mastering games confirms what I know from my own experience: learning is essentially hard; it happens best when one is deeply engaged in hard and challenging activities. The game-designer community has understood (to its great profit) that this is not a cause for worry. The fact is that kids prefer things that are hard, as long as they are also interesting. The preoccupation with "Making It Easy" is self-defeating and cause for serious worry about the deterioration of the learning environment. www.papert.org/articles/Doeseasydoit.html
- 20. Recognize that talking about games and learning is an important activity Engage in conversations with kids about learning and do this in a spirit of respect for the kids who have as much to teach as to learn in this area 3. Encourage children to become game designers themselves Paperts’ strategies . . . www.papert.org/articles/Doeseasydoit.html
- 21. By engaging children in conversations about learning new games, I observe most directly the greater sophistication about learning that is developing among children—for example, by asking a child to help me learn. To do this, you have to listen sensitively because most do not have a developed vocabulary for talking about how to learn. But if you take the time to listen, you will find that many surprisingly young people have very definite and sensible ideas on the subject. You will also verify that the level of discourse and the kind of help they can give you is dramatically superior to what you hear if you try to get them to talk about learning school math. www.papert.org/articles/Doeseasydoit.html Have you listened to the children ?
- 22. * Deep knowledge * Deep understanding * Problematic knowledge * Higher-order thinking * Metalanguage * Substantive communication 1. Intellectual quality
- 23. High expectations Explicit quality criteria Social support Students’ self-regulation Student direction Engagement 2. Quality learning environment
- 24. 3. Significance Background knowledge Cultural knowledge Knowledge integration Inclusivity Connectedness Narrative
- 25. Links and References Belmore South Game maker Wiki Never Winter Nights
- 26. Game Making Links Mission Maker Thinking Worlds
- 28. The computer is a medium of human expression and if it has not yet had its Shakespeares, its Michelangelos or its Einsteins, it will. …. We have scarcely begun to grasp its human and social implications. (Papert 1990) http://www.stager.org/homepageimages/paperteasel.gif Michelangelo www.aip.org/history/einstein/ae78.htm Einstein Aisha and Sam-James ?
- 29. Not rocket science Nor are any of the philosophical underpinnings new Educators have for centuries been advocating active engagement of students in their own learning
- 30. "The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled." Plutarch (46 - 127) www.sgipt.org/hm/gesch/plut0r1.jpg
- 31. John Dewey Knowledge and ideas emerge from experiences that have meaning and are important to learners. Students and teachers create a community of learners who build their knowledge together.
- 32. Jean Piaget Discovery Reconstruct by rediscovery Production Creativity Not simply repetition (1973) www.facade.com/celebrity/photo/Jean_Piaget.jpg
- 33. Lev Vygotsky Learning is a social process Zone of proximal development (just in time learning) Scaffolding is provided to ensure non-intrusive intervention.
- 34. Transferable cognitive skills Cartesian coordinates Negative number Position, speed, acceleration Algebraic variables Relative & absolute value Estimation Chance A programming language similar to Visual Basic Planning Managing time Proofreading and editing Grammar and spelling Substantive communication Metalanguage
- 35. Digital Game making develops the following skill domains Cognitive skills Learning skills in areas such as mathematics and literacy, writing the narrative and programming for games promotes skills transfer to the more traditional areas. Meta cognitive skills The reflective / evaluative self management skills employed when learning. Games encourage students to think while working on them, they reflect on how to improve on them while they are away from them. They work and rework on them to ensure they are the best they can be. Affective skills Attitudes reflected towards school, teachers and classrooms. Students who enjoy attending school learn more readily and willingly.
- 36. Where to next . . .