Nintendo DS

During the module Colette gave us an input on games based learning using consoles. I enjoyed the consoles but I found some of the games annoying (as usual). The game I was unsure about was Professor Layton as it was logical and challenging but too slow paced for my liking. I played a gardening game which I found boring and less engaging than the virtual worlds for the iPad. I played another game similar to Brain Academy which I liked as it was word puzzles and had activities where it was possible to beat my score however there was only a limited amount of progress which could be made per day which could be frustrating for children. My least favorite game was Artemis Fowl which I found was just a book series. This wasn't engaging as a game however I feel the novelty of the console could engage pupils and spark interest for reading. Overall I feel that the consoles are useful in education but think that iPads can provide the same learning experience.

Games Based Learning

During the module we have experienced tools which could implement games based learning within the curriculum. Guitar Hero, Samba and the Wii bike all use interactive technology to enhance learning. We then concentrated on the guitar hero in a group, discussed and recorded in a google doc how we could use this as a context throughout the curriculum. I liked the idea of using it as a tool for engagement and building the subject areas around a band/character the pupils can design.
I feel that my first impressions of games based learning were that it may be fun but failed to see the real educational benefit pupil's would get from the game itself. Throughout the input I realised that I needed to look past the immediate short term benefits of the game e.g hand eye co-ordination and look further.
Guitar Hero in the classroom is not specific to music teaching, it can be expanded to every subject area, creating a gig, selling tickets, pricing venues, designing logos, etc are all related to the starting point of the game. I realised this, not only when we were making our google doc and discussing how we could use this in the classroom but also when I was playing the game, I was engaged immediately as the pupils would also be, I wanted to pick the outfit and guitar for my character and choose my favourite song, I realised that if pupils were making these elements of the game themselves whilst designing costumes and writing songs the level of engagement would increase rapidly.
An interesting question raised by Sharon is how often would the game be played. I felt that it would need to be the introduction but could be used throughout for inspiration or to maintain enthusiasm for the project.

I feel that the stimulus of this particular games based learning tool meets the Curriculum for Excellence principles of Challenge and Enjoyment, Personalisation and Choice and Coherence.

I feel that the game is engaging for the pupils the activities created from the different areas of the curriculum provide scope for appropriate challenge and a sense of achievement in the final product
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Challenge and enjoyment
'Children and young people should find their learning challenging, engaging and motivating. The curriculum should encourage high aspirations and ambitions for all.
At all stages, learners of all aptitudes and abilities should experience an appropriate level of challenge, to enable each individual to achieve his or her potential. They should be active in their learning and have opportunities to develop and demonstrate their creativity. There should be support to enable children and young people to sustain their effort.'

The fact that pupils can create their own style in every aspect of the project from their character to the song they play creates massive opportunities for personalisation and choice and pupil's will feel a sense of ownership in their work.

Personalisation and choice
'The curriculum should respond to individual needs and support particular aptitudes and talents. It should give each child and young person increasing opportunities for exercising responsible personal choice as they move through their school career.
Once they have achieved suitable levels of attainment across a wide range of areas of learning, the choice should become as open as possible. There should be safeguards to ensure that choices are soundly based and lead to successful outcomes.'

The project is drawing in many aspects of the curriculum and linking pupil's experiences together simply using the one stimulus.

Coherence
'Taken as a whole, children and young people's learning activities should combine to form a coherent experience. There should be clear links between the different aspects of children and young people's learning, including opportunities for extended activities which draw different strands of learning together.'

Another example of games based learning is the Sony PSP which provides support as well as stimulus for learning.

My New iPad :D

This week is my turn to explore the iPad, having had it for four days now I can safely say that I am addicted! There was an app which had already been downloaded called Virtuoso which is a touch keyboard style application. This is obviously useful for music and reminds me of a point Sharon mentioned about an app for a scientific calculator. The money it would cost for a calculator for every pupil would not need to be spent as it would not need to be spent on keyboards. It is one of the many apps which is included in the price of the iPad itself. I found it more engaging than a regular keyboard as it is a novelty to begin with, I started teaching myself new songs and testing out chords for songs I already knew. I felt a sense of achievement when I could play the songs and realised that what I had just seen as messing about was actually learning. There is an emphasis on playing for learning across the nursery modules which Erika and Brenda are teaching us, however this type of play could be spread throughout the whole school and expanded. From this app I found another called Music Drawing Lite which allows you to place a note on a scale and play it. Introducing the notes on a scale could be built upon with this app as pupils can practice through playing on this app. I would use this in my own practice by refreshing knowledge of musical notes including visual reminders on the interactive whiteboard, then I would write the notes of a popular song out in letters. The pupils would have to fill these notes in on the app and play the song. This will involve them matching the notes in letter form to the notes on a scale. I would then let them create their own piece of music which the app enables them to save creating a sense of ownership of the song.

As well as using the music apps, I downloaded games purely for the novelty of having the iPad, I though I may as well enjoy it!
I have become addicted to Bakery Story and Restaurant Story where you build a cafe/restaurant serve customers. The apps have a similar format to Farmville which has never attracted me before however these games were more appealing. At first I thought they were simply something to play but after reading Teaching With the Tools Kids Really Use by Susan Brooks-Young (2010) I realised that it could be more educational than I first thought.
According to Brooks-Young, 'Besides being highly engaging, imaginary worlds provide environments where students can learn to make sense of the real world as well. Increasing numbers of educators are experimenting with using virtual worlds to engage students in a wide range of learning activities.'
I agree with this point as I found the game engaging to the point of addiction!
Brooks-Young expands her point by stating that, 'students who could directly manipulate objects in animations learned better using a variety of problem-solving measures. Virtual worlds make it possible for educators to create environments where students can learn by manipulating objects in the environment to test hypotheses and see "what if?"'
This is very true of these particular apps as the progression of the virtual world is dependant on the actions of the user. Deciding what to cook, how much money to spend on furniture, how long the food will take etc are all decisions the user needs to make to move up levels and have a successful virtual business.
The Curriculum for Excellence outcome;
By experiencing the setting up and running of a business, I can collaborate in making choices relating to the different roles and responsibilities and have evaluated its success.

SOC 2-22a

relates to this sort of game. Pupils experience a taste of enterprising which can relate to projects within the classroom and school.