Wow what a week this has been. The gaming debate is now over for year 2 educational studies. Each of the groups worked well to establish their points in a formal debate structure. It was much easier for some teams than others as unfortunately there were the usual absences leaving some teams rather depleted in numbers. However, in most cases, this did not affect the success of the debate. Overall the case for establishing games in education won the most points, the judges’ comments concluded that, in general, arguments were structured, speakers were well informed and often referred to appropriate research to back up their proposals and observations. To summarise, the research used suggests that there is still a way to go before there is any conclusive evidence either way to support or exclude the use of gaming in education. But for me the most interesting aspect of the whole week was the adaptation of the formal debate with the use of technology. One group in particular utilised the Internet to build their counter arguments and to make notes as their opponents spoke. This was the most detailed and intense (not aggressive) debating group, with each side utilising all the resources available to them. For example in one instance the pro-gaming team used BECTA to support their argument discussing measures that were in place to ensure that games were safe for use in the classroom, however the “against” team sought material to suggest that BECTA were no longer a credible source as the new government had instigated their demise in May 2010 (more is the pity I know, but the fact remains). It was the process that I loved however, the fact that I was witnessing the technology revolution; arguments can be challenged on the spot, live research streamed! Just wish I had captured it on camera too. Look out Question Time!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The Games Debate
This is week three of the games in education module and the debating is well underway. I'm not intending to comment specifically just yet as there are still two groups to go. However, I just want to say that it is going really well...I hope that I have not jinxed it now though! It has been really fascinating to listen to the constructive arguments that each group has presented and the analysis of the debate given by the judges has been quite interesting too. I think that they are all developing informed opinions of the pros and cons of utilising 21st century resources in formal education situations. I look forward to writing my full evaluation later on in the week.
An undate!
I had a mild panic last night. I have started reading the bible; 5 minutes a day, 5 days a week. And as you might follow I have been doing so on my Kindle. Well last night I duly turned on my e-reader and clicked on the link that would open the Bible. However I must have clicked something other than open, as to my horror it deleted the link! It was gone in a flash from my home page and therefore from my Kindle. I was too tired to check out any form of retrieval last night even though it does have Wi-Fi and 3G, so in theory it should have been a synch. This afternoon when I finally had a moment to myself I thought I would investigate. It took 2 minutes to power up my laptop and open the Internet browser. I turned on the Kindle at the same time - wow so I can multi task, and I was drinking coffee at the same time too! I selected my Kindle downloads and clicked send to my Kindle using Wi-Fi and as fast as I could glance from one screen to the other, there it was and what's more it even remembered what page I was on! So I need to retract all the bad things I said to my beloved Kindle in the thick of night, something about REAL books! 
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Just a little ditty
As I got ready for church this morning I debated whether or not to take my own Bible with me. I am new to this church and I had noticed that lots of the congregation had their own Bibles and made notes in the margins. My copy is on my Kindle so I wondered if it would be appropriate to take such technology in to God’s house. I decided that I wouldn’t.
As I sat in church listening intently to the sermon our pastor was delivering, quite animatedly I might add. I glanced around at the congregation, when a young woman at the front caught my eye. There she was with her ipad on her knee, tapping away at the screen, glancing up at the pastor as she typed. She was either typing notes in her margins or sending emails, either way technology infiltrates every avenue of our lives so we had better embrace it! Maybe I’ll take my Kindle next week!
The Imagine Project
I was reading about the Imagine Project (2010) as part of my ongoing research into Games in Education. The project, was a 2 year initiative funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme researching the use of digital games for learning, also known as Games-Based Learning GBL.
The main target audience for the project was policy makers: people working at key levels of national ministries responsible for school education, adult and lifelong learning, vocational training (employment), skills agendas, regional and local education authorities and other bodies responsible for strategic developments concerned including those agencies which promote ICT in schools.
IMAGINE (Increasing Mainstreaming of Games In Learning Policies) aims to show conclusively that games can succeed because they use sound pedagogical approaches in the development of valuable skills such as:
- strategic thinking
- planning; communication
- application of numbers
- negotiating skills
- group decision-making
- data-handling
- eye-hand coordination
As the project only ended at the end of last year it will take some time before the recommendations filter into policy makers guide books, and yet more time before they have any impression on the majority of education establishments across Europe. I for one will be keeping a look out. My gaming module will be its own little research project and I am looking forward (albeit nervously) to the heated debate this week with the question of “Should video games have a place in education?” Watch this space!
Games in Education
I have just started the games module with my 2nd year educational studies groups. It seems to be going really well, although it is fair to say that some are enjoying it more than others! The first session was spent discussing what games meant to us as adults and how we saw the relevance of games in our lives. Whether we enjoy video games, what attributes good game should have, what sort of games we play, who we like to play games with. The students then created a PowerPoint to depict a moral dilemma, with choices throughout to engage and include the audience. This interactivity was an aspect that the students had identified as an important feature of a game. Last week the students were asked to play and evaluate, a selection of Channel 4 educational games designed for 14-18 year olds. The topics the games covered were varied and, in some cases, according to their evaluations, tenuous. After, what for some became a frustrating, thirty minutes, each students was asked to complete a written evaluation which was added to their groups gaming wiki. Here is the selection of on-line video games that I chose (with the help of my 15 year old son) for exploration.
Friday, January 7, 2011
2011 wow where did the time go?
The new year and well, what's new about it? Once again I'm off to BETT to find out what the world of technology has to offer the education sector. I'm looking forward to the trip as I am taking quite a large group of students this time. I just hope that they get something out of it. I'm so enthusiastic that I worry their expectations will higher than the event can satisfy. I don't know why that should be the case, as I can always find something new and inspiring!
Oh and incidentally, about Christmas, what technology did santa bring you? Well I had an Amazon Kindle! Not that I had asked for one, but by wonderful chance some kind soul (paying attention to my needs) decided that it would be the prefect gift for me. I have to admit that it is something that I have never considered. My students provide me with enough on-line material to read so I had avoided even researching it. What a surprise when I opened it though! For a start it doesn't even look like a screen, which a guess is the main selling point, it looks like one of the sample phones on display in Car Phone Warehouse! It is so simple and effective to use. Downloading books & PDFs couldn't be easier. This week I wrote my notes on games in education ready for my lecture, saved it as a PDF and sent it to my Kindle...and there in seconds it appeared. So along with my favourite authors, I can read my own ramblings freely without carrying heavy books and scraps of paper! Where will it end?
I'm looking forward to this new module on Games in Education. It is a revelation for me as I'm not a gamer, but I have been interested in the impact gaming can have on learning for some time now. You never know I might become a convert!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)