FOTE is a good idea – it is free to attend and consists of short 20-minute presentations by people from a variety of backgrounds. It is also a good networking opportunity and attracts nearly 400 delegates – this year it sold out in just under 90 minutes. Most of the audience come from the further and higher education sector.
One of the things that FOTE does well is its pre conference website and its during conference sharing. Other conference organizers could learn a lot from what they do here.
Also, during the conference it is live streamed and also broadcast within Second Life. Both of these things are fairly easy to do but again it allows for more remote participation and attracts a wider variety of audience.
Chris Smith (who runs the popular education website shambles.net) just stumbled across the conference on the morning that it was due to start. He tuned in via second life and twitter – and even though he lives in Thailand he was able to participate as a full conference delegate.
Usefully, Chris has posted some of his conference feedback as a Screener recording:
I have a Nintendo DSi XL that I am playing with at
the moment. The Nintendo DSi XL is basically a larger version of the Nintendo
DSi.
Perhaps I am getting old (or at least my eyes are!)
but I like the bigger screen and I also like the optional bigger pen that comes
with it as well.
I borrowed the Consolarium copy of Mr Gum by Andy
Stanton (Illustrated by David Tazzyman) which come from their ‘Flips’ Series.
Nintendo DS Flips are Simple Interactive Books and
although the Nintendo DSi is not the best eBook reader in the world it
certainly works and I have been enjoying reading Mr Gum during spare moments on
the train. As well as Mr Gum there are lot sof other popular childrens titles aviable for the DS via Flips - more information on the Flips website.
As well as reading the different stories I have been
collecting different musical notes on my DS soundboard and also collecting
items for the ‘Messy Room’. The Illustrations are excellent and obviously
appealing for young people. Some of the illustrations also allow fun
interaction including movement and sound.
Books are becoming quite popular for the Nintendo DS
– I first blogged about the 100 classic book collection back in 2008. Lots of
children have Nintendo DS’s, DS Lites, DSi’s and DSi XL’s – I wonder how many
school libraries stock these DS books?
Finally if you haven’t
heard of Mr Gum before – you should check out his website. It is kind of a combination
between Monty Python and The Twits!
The stand was
buzzing and we had loads of children and teachers dropping by to have a go on
some of the games that we have been using in Scottish Schools. One of the most
popular over the two days was Just Dance for the Nintendo Wii.
It was so popular
that we couldn’t stop Moby from Brainpop having a go.
Had my first go with the Play Station Move for the
Play Station Three on Friday – there are not a lot of games available yet but I
do think it has potential. The sensor is certainly accurate although it does
look like you are holding a strange sort of torch in your hand!
I also had a go with the Sony Eye Pet (Move Edition)
for the Play Station Three – I need to play the game more to see how much value
the Move Controller adds.
What will be interesting is that now that the Play
Station Move has been released how it compares in terms of accuracy to the
Nintendo Wii Motion Plus Remote and also Microsoft Kinnect when it is released early next
month.
I’m also look forward to the release of Little Big
Planet 2 on the Play Station 3 and see that it is also compatible with the
Playstation Move.
I spent yesterday afternoon seeing the final stage of a Falkirk Guitar Hero Transition project led by Stacey Collier-West. The project brought together children from Maddiston, Shieldhill, Avonbridge and Whitecross Primary Schools who have been using the game as a context for learning since the Easter holidays and yesterday bringing all of the children from the schools for a parent showcase.
The emerging transition model for this project that continues to develop since we first conceived it back in 2008 continues to outstand me. Children are captivated by the learning involved and in the worlds of one parent that I spoke to today:
“He is not board of school anymore”
and another….
“It is the first time that she has spoken about school like this since Primary 4”
What I really liked about the showcase today (and we will post video and more details on the Consolarium Blog) is that the all of the children (apart from two and they were off sick!) got up on stage and performed for their parents and the wider school community.
There were at least 50 people in the audience in the afternoon and the evening performance was standing room only! The assembly hall had been decorated by the children and you could buy ‘band merchandise’ and a CD of all their songs that had all been deigned by the children. It was wonderful.
The performance was spectacular for a number of reasons including:
Everyone performed (some were nervous - but they still performed)
Some groups sung live and other mimed (with style!)
Each group had re-written the lyrics to well know songs
The lyrics were fantastic (they were mostly about their primary schools!)
The groups all had a great dance routines
As the children performed they played animations that they had written (it was very school of rock!).
The animation included a record of all the other work they had done (photographs, writing, numeracy, enterprise, social studies, science… the lot!)
There were wonderful ‘band names’ and some fabulous costumes. My favorite being RoboPOP!
Overall a great afternoon and another wonderful evolution of the project!
This is a series of five posts where I will talk about some technologies that may change how we live, work and play. They are personal opinion and I could very well be wrong. I mention them sometimes in conference presentations and workshops and wanted to describe my thinking is a series of short posts.
The first technology that I think will change how we live, work, play and learn is immersive gaming. I first talked about this in my Games Based Learning Keynote Presentation in March 2010 (#GBL10). Let me explain my thinking.
First of all I want to say that I am a real advocate for games in education. I currently work for the Consolarium which is Learning and Teaching Scotland’s Centre for Games Based learning and innovation in Education. During this projects development since 2006 we have successfully put hundreds of computer games in classrooms around Scotland and seen a real impact on teaching, learning and student motivation. But, in this post I am not talking about the sort of playful games that we promote in schools. I want to talk about graphically violent computer games.
I think that some games that are commercially produced are unsuitable for children. I don’t think I am alone here? The law has given many of these games an age rating in Europe the rating for most of the games that I am talking about is PEGI 18.
“…the level of violence reaches a stage where it becomes a depiction of gross violence and/or includes elements of specific types of violence. Gross violence is the most difficult to define since it can be very subjective in many cases, but in general terms it can be classed as the depictions of violence that would make the viewer feel a sense of revulsion.”
In North America this type of game would have a M (mature) rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board – meaning that you have to be over the age of 17 to play it.
I think that games classifications are a good thing and that they are necessary. However, there are three big complications with age limits on games in relation to young people.
Many parents don’t realize that games have age limits on them.
Children still play the games at other peoples houses and even the most responsible parents have no control over this.
Peer pressure – children dare each other to play these games and they want to because they no it is not allowed.
Some people will argue that young people have always played violet games. I agree. I can remember playing cowboys and Indians and a child and ‘war’ with my cousins. I can also remember playing ‘combat’ for the Atari 2600 – arguably at the time this was a violent video game. You had to blow things up, you were in combat, you were fighting, you got points for killing people (tanks, planes and jets are all driven by people...).
So, what is the difference between my experience of playing early war games on the computer and a young person today playing the equivalent games. Well first lets compare some screen shots.
So, the first thing is the graphics. Call of Duty and other similar games look real. The people look real and when they are killed they sound real, they sound in pain, they sound like they are suffering…
Sound along with graphics are another example of how games have become more sensory over time. The Nintendo Wii revolutionized how feedback was given in game play because the controller can vibrate. This technology has been around for years but Nintendo made it commercially available and at a price point that everyone could afford.
But there are other peripherals that add to the sensory experience. Body armor is one of them. This was first shown at E3 in July 2009 When you wear it you can feel if you are getting shot or stabbed there is also a helmet peripheral that does the same thing. It works be using a compressed air cylinder.
Again, this technology has been around for years. The military use it in training – (it doesn’t make sense to actually shoot people in a training exercise). But like any other profession combat soldiers need feedback.
The big difference is the cost of the technology. Military systems cost thousands of pounds. But like any technology (just look at mobile phones of GPS as an example) they get cheaper and smaller over time.
The above system available for some games consoles and the desktop computer costs under £100. It has reached a price point and I am sure that many children will have these peripherals from Christmas 2010.
The next point is how you control your character. Traditionally you control computer games with a joystick and/or games controller. This interface has got more sophisticated over time. Again the Nintendo Wii has revolutionized games controllers and both Sony and Microsoft are working on their own versions. The most impressive controller by far is Microsoft Project Natal (which I just can’t wait to get my hands on – when it is launched later in the year).
Project Natal is impressive because there is not a controller. It uses sophisticated technology where your whole body is the controller. Have a look at the advertisement for the product below (You Tube Video). You don’t have to watch it all, just the first 40 seconds or so until you see the fight scene.
As you can see from the clip the game becomes more immersive because it removes the need for the controller. One of the reasons that Project Natal will be so appealing for young people and other gamers is that it makes the game more real as it mimics your movements rather than generating movements by the gamer pushing buttons on a device.
So where am I going with this and what is my point? Well let’s look at a game like ManHunt (another game that has a PEGI 18 rating or a ‘Mature’ rating in North America). In this game one of your killing moves is to suffocate others with a plastic bag as you escape from the mental asylum. Look at the clip below to see a short demonstration of this.
Now think about it to predict where the technology is going. We have a highly violent game, probably being played on a large screen, with excellent (perhaps photo realistic graphics), stereo sound, where you can feel if you get pushed, shot or stabbed and there is no joystick. You control your character by your normal body movements and all of this technology will reach a price point and become ubiquitous around Christmas 2010.
So why do I think that games and technology like this will have an impact on how we live, work and play? Well, I think that as these types of games become more immersive children and young people may start to see a blurring of boundaries between what is real and appropriate. I am also absolutely convinced that globally there are thousands of children that currently come into contact with content in computer games that they are not emotionally ready for (that is, after all, why games have an age rating on them).
One thing is clear, regardless if you agree with me or not, we can’t stop the above. We do need to educate and make people aware of the possible impact of such technology on young people. Importantly, we also need to make sure that teachers (in particularly elementary / primary school teachers) talk to young people about their on-line and gaming experiences in the same way that we would speak to them about their experience (good or bad) in the real world.
As I have already mentioned Learning and Teaching Scotland were supporting this years Games Based Learning Conference in London by providing speakers from our Consolarium project. The Consolarium is the Scottish Centre for games based Learning and Innovation in Education.
Derek Robertson did one of the opening keynotes on the Monday morning where he talked about the journey that he has been on in bring games based learning to Scottish schools. As always Derek's presentation was excellently delivered and made fabulous use of videos of children from around Scotland talking passionately about how they have used games in schools.
View Derek’s keynote here:
Joining Derek and I in London from the Consoalrium were two of our development officers Brain McLaren and Brain Clark (we tend to only let people called Brian work on the Consolarium project as it keeps things simple!).
Both Brain and Brian spoke in the second Learning with Games session that I opened and chaired on the Tuesday morning.
Brian spoke about his life as a Consolarium development officer and despite a few technical difficulties with video embeds he blew the audience away as soon as he showed the Sony EyePet and talked about his nursery – primary transition project.
Brian Clark followed with a great talk on the Consolarium plans for games design in Scottish schools. I’ll follow this up as a separate post next week. But for now have a look at Brians presentation below:
Just under a week ago I was down in London at the 2010 Games Based Learning Conference. I chaired the ‘Learning with Games’ session on the Tuesday morning and also did the opening keynote.
The session was recorded so you can see what I had to say below:
I also promised that I would share the sides from my session so here they are…
The competition will give student a chance to design, create and market their own computer. The critera for entry is very flexable so that it allows as much creativity as possible.
The criteria are:
It should be an adventure/platform/puzzle game with a story behind it.
The player should be able to control a character and
solve a puzzle or collect items to progress to the next level /
complete the game.
If you are a school student at a school in Scotland then you can enter your game in one of four categories:
Primary Individual
Primary Group
Secondary Individual
Secondary Group
However, there is some even better news. Two of the development officers at the Consolarium have set some time aside to go out and support schools if they need a bit of help gettng ready for the compertion.
For more information, including a short video which includes some ideas to get your started have look at the competition details over on the Consolarium Blog.
Do you love Mario Cart?Would you like to race head to head, in front of a live audience and win the title of"SLF10 MarioKarter Champion?"
As part of the Games Based Learning offerings at the 2010 Scottish Learning Festival there will be a Mario Kart Grand Prix for both Primary
and Secondary students. In order to qualify you must be in the top 4
verified time trial times.
Teachers must submit a photo of a pupil’s verified Time Trial time.
These times will be logged on a leader board held on the Consolarium
Glow Group and blog so you can track your position against the whole of
Scotland.
The four fastest primary pupils and four fastest secondary
pupils will be invited, with school representatives, to compete in a
live race final at SLF10.
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