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SLF09 - Computer Games Based Learning in Secondary Schools

Over the next week I hope to post up my thoughts, presentation slides and reflections from this years Scottish Learning Festival.

To start with here are my presentation slides and links from my session on Computer Games Based learning in Secondary Schools

Games Based Learning in Secondary Schools

View more presentations from Learning and Teaching Scotland.

The links that I referred to in my presentation are as follows:

• Wordle – Create fantastic Word Clouds to brighten up your lessons and also analise important documents.

Some examples of web based games that can be used for home learning:

• Classic Sim City – Useful for teaching about towns, cities and settlement.
• Ordnance Survey Map Games – Good for homework.
• Fantasy Famer – Manage a farm for a year
• Stop Disasters Simulator – Can you protect the world against floods, volcanoes, earthquakes and other nasty stuff?
• Sim Sweat Shop – What is it really like working in a sweat shop in a less economically developed country?
• An idea for setting web based games for homework activities

 

Games Based Learning to help Transition between Primary to Secondary Education:

• 

  The Musselburgh Grammar School Guitar Hero Transition Project – Background Information and Timeline
• MGS Guitar Hero Transition Project – Part Two: The Virtual Battle of the Bands
• Guitar Hero Showcase: I love it when a plan comes together!
• Musselburgh Guitar Hero Project Features in the Times Educational Supplement
• Cluster Project that plays to all talents.
• SLF 2008: Enriched Assessment for Enriched Enquiry

In East Lothian we are rolled out this project to all P7 classes across the county. The 2009 version of the project will used Guitar Hero World Tour for the XBox. World Tour is particularly good as there is more than one instument, which provides more choise of students.

Partnership with Parents:

• Internet Safety and Responsible Use: How to set family settings on games consoles

 

The Use of the Nintendo DS

Some of the titles mentioned:

• Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?
• Big Brain Academy
• My Word Coach
• Maths Training
• My French Coach
• Hotel Dusk - A good narative driven game to encorage reading and provide a context for other work
• Nintendogs - A great game to provide a context for learning (Aberdeenshire have been doing some fantastic work using this game in P2)
• Drawn to Life - Being used in P3 to develop writing and storytelling skills

The Use of the Sony PSP

Lots of good information on how the PSP can be used for education on the ConnectEd website. Hot Brain for the PSP is a similar to lots of the Brain Training title you can get for the DS.

Also have a look at SUMS Online - they make great software for computers and other handheld devicces includeing the PSP.

Storage Solutions for Games Consoles

ConnectEd have made a fantastic storage solution for the PSP – hopefully they will also soon have one on the market for the Nintendo DS.

The Use of the Nintendo Wii

Some of the titles mentioned:

• Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (currently being used in SfL)
• Endless Ocean (A great game to provide a context for learning)
• Wii Sports
• Mario and Sonic at the Olympics (A great game to provide a context for learning)
• Dancing Stage
• My French Coach

Graphic Novels

• Classical Comics
• Manga Shakespeare

 

Games Design

• Mission Maker
  
• 2Simple DIY is also an excellent game for encouraging games Design in the early years. (you can see my efforts here)

Exergaming:

• Wii Sports
• Dance Mats (Zig Zag Dance Mats)
• EA Active Sports

Other Links:

• Learning and Teaching Scotland Consolarium
• Learning and Teaching Scotland
• Ideas Network Scotland: Innovation and Development in Education

BETT 2009 – Cyber Coach (Dance Mats and Exergaming)

Computer Games in Education and Exergameing is a big interest of mine at the moment. At Musselburgh Grammar School we are currently conducting a research project with Herriot Watt University into the use of Dance Mats and Electronic Dance for cardiovascular fitness and increased participation in physical exercise. At BETT 2009 I was interested to see a new exergaming product called Cyber Coach.

It was interesting for three reasons:

The first reason is that this dancemat system seems cheaper than other dancemat systems currently on the market and it also looks very robust.

The second reason was as well as the traditional electronic dance game that you get with most systems. Cyber Coach also has a number of other multi player games that up to 32 people can play via the wireless dancemat system.

These games included fun games such as ‘Space Blaster’ where you, ‘Blast your way though deep space eliminating your opponents one by one. Take on your friends in an all action multiplayer battle’.

Some of the games were educational designed to test your memory such as ‘Follow Me’ where you, ‘Follow the steps on screen. The more steps in a row, the more points you win’.

There were also strategy games such as ‘Soccer Sevens’ where ‘Players take to the field and show their football skills, taking on friends or playing as a team to compete against the computer.’

But the best thing about all these games was that they all required rapid movement and exercise outside the normal confines of traditional PE. I instantly though that this could be a really interesting evolution of dancemat technology.

The third reason why I liked what Cyber Coach had on offer was because of their virtual fitness instructor. The idea behind this was that a virtual fitness instructor is projected onto the screen and gives the class instructions. I was really impressed with the quality of the filming and the way that all of the professional athletes conducting the routines were really child centred and motivating.

The virtual Instructor fitness lessons included street dance, aerobics, disco dancing, pilates, yoga, boxing, cheerleading, step and lots more. Although I don't believe that virtual fitness instructors should ever replace classroom teachers. I do think a Cyber Coach might make an interesting addition to any PE department.

Does anyone have any experience of using this system in schools?

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?

East Lothian Youth Vision

Last Thursday I had the privilege of taking a group of students from Musselburgh Grammar School to the launch of East Lothian Youth Vision. Between contributions from our pupils and work that I am connected to through the East Lothian Volunteer Centre – it was a fantastic celebration of youth.

I have embedded the new East Lothian Youth Vision Document below for anyone who might be interested (I’ve used ISSUU: You Publish to do this)

Get your own - Open publication

Highlights from the event for me included:

• A performance from Hazard Perception one of our school bands

• A performance from the East Lothian Dance Company (containing many of our pupils)

• A presentation from the students involved in the C Project Pilot.

• A presentation from one of our pupils who have been involved at making the new stone carvings at Whitecraig at the start of the Pencaitland railway walk.

• Showcasing our Dancemat in Education Project – I managed to capture a bit of footage of the Dance Matt in action on my Flip Camera.

Handheld Learning 2008: Games Based Learning in Secondary Schools

I took part in the Spotlight Scotland Session at the Handheld Learning 2008 Conference in London earlier in the week. I had been asked to talk about Games Based Learning in Secondary Schools and some of the great work that we have going on in Musselburgh Grammar School and East Lothian.

I have embedded the slides from my presentation (using slideshare) below. As with my normal presentations I like to use a lot of slides with not a lot of content on each!

Making Games Based Learning Work in Secondary Schools

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: ltscotalnd olliebray)

The links that I referred to in my presentation are as follows:

• Wordle – Create fantastic Word Clouds to brighten up your lessons!
• Promethean Active Expression – A world class Interactive Voting System.

Some examples of web based games that can be used for home learning:

• Classic Sim City – Useful for teaching about towns, cities and settlement.
• Ordnance Survey Map Games – Good for homework.
• Fantasy Famer – Manage a farm for a year
• Stop Disasters Simulator – Can you protect the world against floods, volcanoes, earthquakes and other nasty stuff?
• Sim Sweat Shop – What is it really like working in a sweat shop in a less economically developed country?
• An idea for setting web based games for homework activities

 

Games Based Learning to help Transition between Primary to Secondary Education:

• The Musselburgh Grammar School Guitar Hero Transition Project – Background Information and Timeline
• MGS Guitar Hero Transition Project – Part Two: The Virtual Battle of the Bands
• Guitar Hero Showcase: I love it when a plan comes together!
• Musselburgh Guitar Hero Project Features in the Times Educational Supplement
• Cluster Project that plays to all talents.
• SLF 2008: Enriched Assessment for Enriched Enquiry

 

Partnership with Parents:

• Internet Safety and Responsible Use: How to set family settings on games consoles

 

The Use of the Nintendo DS:

Titles we use:

• Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?
• Big Brain Academy
• Hotel Dusk – A Graphic Novel

 

Titles we are currently evaluating:

• Maths Training
• My Word Coach

 

The Use of the Nintendo Wii

Titles we use:

• Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (currently being used in SfL)
• Endless Ocean (Context for Learning)
• Wii Sports
• Dancing Stage
• My French Coach

Titles we are currently evaluating:

• My Word Coach

ConnectEd have made a fantastic storage solution for the PSP – hopefully they will also soon have one on the market for the Nintendo DS.

 

Other Graphic Novel Links:

• Classical Comics
• Manga Shakespeare

The use of the Play Station:

We are currently using Buzz the Schools Quiz and are looking forward to evaluation Buzz the Hollywood Quiz as soon as we get a copy? I am sure that there will also be Education Version of Buzz for the PS3 coming out at some point?

Games Design

We have a site licence for Mission Maker and will be exploring the possibilities for using this game to develop literacy and International links over the next 12 months.

Other Links:

• Learning and Teaching Scotland Consolarium
• Learning and Teaching Scotland
• Ideas Network Scotland: Innovation and Development in Education
• Zig Zag Dance Mats

New Dancemat Research Project at MGS

One of the things that I am keen to do at Musselburgh is get the school recognised as a centre for micro and action research. I think it is really important that schools remain abreast of the latest education research and use it to best inform their practice. I also think the best education research is research that is conducted in partnership between schools and higher education institutes. Last year we teamed up with Glasgow University to look at the Pupil Voice within the school and Herriot Watt University to look at Girls Participation in PE. Edinburgh University are also going to be helping us with a few other projects later this year.

One very exciting project that I have been working on in the background for nearly two years is to try and fund a research project linked to dance mats and exercise. We recently teamed up with Herriot Watt University to take this project forward and over the summer we found out that our funding had come through for the project from the Chief Scientists Office. We had a meeting about the project today and we hope to appoint a project development office to take this project forward in early September.

During the project we will:

• Sample activity and active living data from approximately 150 S3 girls. We will do this via questionnaire.

• Collect data on the benefits of exergaming using dance mats from a sample size of 20 volunteers from within S3.

• Conduct a study into active participation using dancemats.

• The project will take place in two phases. Between October – December and January – March!

Our next challenge is to identity additional funding to increase the amount of mats in order to make this project sustainable for class use after the initial research phase.

This and all future post related to this project will be catagorised and tagged with ‘dancemats’.