Computer Games Based Learning: Sharing good practice between Musselburgh, East Lothian and Sydney, Australia.

Today it was an absolute privilege for Musselburgh Grammar School Wallyford Primary School and to host a visit from two Australian Teachers Gail Dyer (Principal) and Kim Pericles (Vice Principle) from the Belmore South Primary School in Sydney, Australia. They were joined on their visit by Margaret Vass (Chartered Teacher and ICT Support Officer), Falkirk Council.

The visit was funded as a result of Kim receiving a 2008 Premier’s English Scholarship. The Premier’s Teaching Scholarships are an initiative of the Australian Government where teachers have the opportunity to undertake further professional development that will benefit them, and most importantly their students. The focus of the study visit was ‘games literacy’.

According to Kim’s website:

‘Teachers selected to receive a scholarship can undertake international study tours and visit some of the world’s best schools and centres of education to expand their knowledge and understanding.’

Anyway, I organised an action packed and there were lots of great opportunities to swap ideas and share professional discussions. After a greeting from my headteacher we started off with a quick chat, some of my famous ‘rocket fuel’ coffee and then headed up to Wallyford Primary School. Here's a quick run down of what we got up to for the rest of the day.

Brain Training and Mental Maths in P7

Are first port of call was Paula Harte’s classroom where her P7 class were using the Nintendo DS’s to practice mental maths, record their brain age and compete against year other using the WiFi function on the DS. It was great to see everyone so engaged and at the end of the lesson the children told us how much they enjoyed using their DS’s in class and how they felt it improved their learning. I was particularly stuck by one pupil who told me that using DS in maths had, ‘improved her writing,’ she went on to explain that when she started using her DS she wasn’t forming her letters properly, but by improving her hand writing she could now get a high score.

Drawn to Life with P3

After our maths lesson we went down the stairs to Stacey Betteridge’s room who showed us the work that they have been doing with Drawn to Life for the Nintendo DS. The children had been using the game to develop their story telling and creative writing skills. Again, I was so impressed with how engaged all the children were and the excellent work that they had produced. At the end of the lesson the class told us what they had enjoyed about the project.

Dance Mats and Exergaming with S5

A quick drive back to Musselburgh Grammar School and we slipped in the back of Rob Woodhead’s class who were using the dance mats for exercise in PE. It was impressive to see how much the children have come on in terms of electronic dance as their confidence and co-ordination has improved. It certainly looked like they were getting a good, fun work out. We also talked about some of the other exergaming projects that we are running at the school, most notably the Nintendo Wii in PE.

Guitar Hero and Graphic Novels

In the afternoon two of our S1 students who took part in the cluster Guitar Hero transition project last year talked about their experiences of the project and then gave our guests a tour of the school. They popped into Rosemary Sweetnam’s room for a quick chat about the work we have been doing on Graphic Novels during the tour.

Games Based Learning in Support for Learning

Next was a trip to our Support for Learning Department where Chris Wills (PT SfL) talked about some of the work we have been doing in games Based Learning in Support for Learning. This includes using the DS to improve literacy and numeracy, using the Wii (Endless Ocean for a rich task projects) and using Buzz the Schools Quiz to help with general knowledge.

Brain Training in S1

The final stop of the day was Jake Adamson’s maths class where is S1 class were again using the Nintendo DS’s to improve mental arithmetic. Using the DS’s in Secondary schools where over 260 S1 children come through our maths department every week is very different to how they are used with a single class. Jake has developed some interesting ways to mange the resource that I will tackle in a separate post.

The day concluded with more rich discussion and swapping ideas for collaborative projects. I’m really looking forward to working with Kim, Gail and Margaret in the future.

So, overall a very action packed day and something the Musselburgh Cluster should be very proud of. Now all I have to do is visit Australia. What a shame we don’t have an equivalent of a Premier’s Teaching Scholarship in Scotland?

Comments

[Rich]

Wow! Just a quiet day then. We're looking at using Endless Ocean with a P5/6 class, as the stimulus for a a project.

What sort of things did you get up to with it?

[Aleesha]

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