Gaming lesson (Create a lesson based on a game)

In our last session before Christmas we spent it discussing the Games Day that we had a few weeks previous, going over what we thought of it, the purpose etc. Mandy then explained how a lesson plan is created, what sections there are, learning objectives etc.

We then read through our evaluations of the games played on the gaming day, selected an activity to develop into a whole class lesson.  We had to discuss what learning opportunities we wished to develop and what subject we wanted to pursue. After that we presented our ideas to the class.

Scratch

I would describe Scratch as a sort of game that you can play on the computer, which consists of programming stories, games, animations etc. The age group would be roughly between 8 and 16 years.

"Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively; which are essential skills for life in the 21st century" (Scratch website)

It is used in education all over the world and is cross curricular, you can incorporate it into science, maths, English and obviously I.T.


Mandy showed us an introduction video to it, although I was familiar with it as they talked about it in Technocamps. She then gave us a step by step guide and we had to create our own animation based on set instructions.

I have to say that at first I found it really difficult, could not grasp it at all! It took me quite a while to understand the steps involved, but as I got it I found it easier to do it. I still found it hard but I understood the point of it and the outcome.

Scratch is a very useful tool to use throughout the curriculum and increases a child's computer literacy greatly!

TechnoCamps

Today I took part in the Technocamps conference in the Liberty Stadium, it was called: Computer Science Teachers Conference in collaboration with Technocamps 'Creating a Digital Future'- The transition to Key Stage 3.

Technocamps provides free workshops to give you the chance to learn new skills about the world of Computer Science and STEM. It's a project that provides free workshops to young people on programming, robotics, game design, app development and much more and about getting young people (11-19 years) in Wales excited about Computer Science and STEM and challenging them to think about the world around them in a different way.

Whilst there I observed two workshops, the first was about the science or higher order thinking behind card tricks, and how you can train yourself (with specific rules) to always know the answer to the tricks. The second was CoderDojo which was a computer coding group, where you had to accomplish different levels of coding to finish the game. I enjoyed the card tricks the most as it was fun and easy to understand, I didn't enjoy Coderdojo as much because I found it difficult to understand as, to me, it was a complicated process.

Overall, I enjoyed the workshops/observations but there was too many talks/speeches.





Games Day

This lesson consisted of being in small groups and there were 5 'stations' that we all had to go around. These 'stations' had a different kind of computer game on there using a different form of console or technology, and had a different kind of game to play. The games were:

- Wii sports

- Just Dance on the Wii

- Doctor Who on a table top tablet (Image on the left)

- Mystery game on the ipad

- Adventure Land on the Xbox Connect


After playing each game we then had to fill in a sort of feedback form, which included questions like:
- What did you learn?
- What aspects did you find difficult / easy?
- What skills were involved? (e.g. following menus, practical sills, problem solving)
- How could these skills be transferrable?
- How could you use this game in teaching? Links to subject areas?
- What age group do you suggest to use this game?

I didn't enjoy playing all the games as I found some frustrating, boring etc. but I really enjoyed the Adventure Land game as it seemed more fun and accessible. This lesson showed how using a game that we ply with our friends could be incorporated into teaching!

Making the game

At first, when Mandy explained to us what tasks we were going to be doing in the seminar yesterday, I was very sceptical whether I'd enjoy it or not. Basically the task was to use the computer programme '2Do It Yourself' which gives you tutorials to make your own game. I chose to make a Princess Maze game, at the start it really annoyed me and I found it very hard to use. I found it really frustrating, but after watching the tutorial videos a few times it became a lot clearer on what to do and how to do it. I found that the game could be a very useful  way to teach young children basic moral issues or basic maths etc.

My game was called: Race against the trolls. And there was a princess who had to travel along the maze and collect gold coins to gain points, whilst avoiding the ugly trolls, and if the princess came across the magic fairy you would have extra bonus points.

After the initial scepticism I enjoyed the design aspect of the game and found it quite interesting.

2Do It Yourself game

Trafalgar Origins - Channel 4 Online game

OK! So, we had to play a channel 4 game (Ours was called Trafalgar Origins). The game was about: moving the ship around in certain directions, completing tasks, blowing up ships, collecting loot etc. Really frustrating and annoying game as I couldn’t control it properly. I found the game really really frustrating!!!!!!!!! As im not a gamer in any shape or form it didnt interest me in the slightest, it was really boring from the strat so didnt pull me in and was really difficult to control.

The Dilemma

What a game needs

Fun, Objectives, Goals and rules, results, competitiveness, winner, logic, imagination, understanding, instruction, problem solving, strategise. By listing these things, you do not automatically think of gaming, it could be talking about things you need in education; a perfect lesson for example. Purpose of games in education: motivation, more fun and interesting, thinking skills, challenge, problem solving, mathematical and language skills.

My opinion on gaming

So, my opinion on gaming, well i don't really think much of it! To me it's a waste of time, i understand that people enjoy it but i think it's weird when people spend all their time playing Call of Duty. These type of people never leave their bedroom, don't have many friends or any form of social life. I might be generalising but i know people from school who fit this description exactly, some of them are even doing a gaming course in university. WHY would you want to study a game?! I think its a good thing to have as a little hobby where you play a game on the x box every now and then or when you have friends over, but to get the extent where you're obsessed over it and queuing outside HMV for hours to be one of the first to buy this new game, and rush home to play it and complete it all in one go . . . what is the point of that?! I think that gaming is hyped up way too much, and the people who are OBSESSED with them would have a lot more of a life if they went to the pub with their friends, go out for a drink, go to the cinema etc. Surely it's not good for your health mentally or physically to be gaming all the time in your bedroom.

Digital learning environments task

So, Mandy has set us a task to answer this question:

'Over the last decade there have been vast changes in the way we live, learn and work, and with the advancement of technology and new learning tools, these things will continue to evolve. Today’s learners need new skills to survive and thrive in the future. Education should combine practical, intellectual, and social skills as never before'. What do you feel about the statement above? What does this mean for learning environments? How has technology impacted teaching and learning?

Learning environments has changed and will always be evolving, from when I was in primary school and what resources my teachers had in class is a lot different to what children have now. There was a few computers in a room that were VERY basic that we hardly used, there were no ipads back then, it lacked technology compared to today. Technology has, in my opinion, impacted learning in a good way as it has made learning more fun and interesting, its made information and educational games easily accessible and allowed children with learning difficulties be and feel more included as they can express themselves in more different ways.

However, technology can be used as an easier alternative. Sometimes it is easier for children to be on computers for an hour in class rather than going outside into the yard and learning by experiencing things. There has to be a fine line between technology helping and improving children's learning, and using it too much and children missing out on interaction and learning by doing things, rather than reading about it on a computer or ipad sat in the chair in class.

Introduction to Education Futures (Learning Environments)

Well, it's been 5 months since my last blog, so forgive me if I'm a bit rusty at this!

So far so good, I really think that this topic is gonna be interesting for me, and different to the others I'm taking. I'm really looking forward to learning about different technology, gaming and animations that can aid teaching, and finding out how to and then eventually making my own animations etc sounds really cool!

I'm the first to say that I'm not the best when it comes to technology, so this is gonna be new to me but very helpful. I'm also really looking forward to the trip to London to the Computer show, as I've never been to something like that before.

My first blog done, think that went well! On to my next one . . . .