July 13: Games Based Learning

Welcome to Day Three! We have spent two days considering Web 2.0 tools that allow us to become connected educators and creating connections between our students and ourselves. Now... what do we do with all of those connections?

Today we will be talking about a topic very near and dear to me: games based learning!

DAY THREE

• Review of topics discussed to date
• Introduction to gamification 
• Reading 1: Case Study
• Group discussion: what could be the benefits and pitfalls of this sort of learning?
• Challenge One: Blog post - what do you think the role of video games is in students' lives? Teachers' lives? Education?
• Jane McGonigall: Gaming Can Make a Better World
• Small group discussion: how can we make students have an epic win?
• Exploration of games (both online and off)
• Graphite: an awesome way to explore video game resources
• Individual exploration time of games listed in the resources on the Wiki
• Check out this article on a video game set in Dominica!
• GoNoodle brain break
• James Paul Gee on how video games help us learn
• Extension activity one: try some serious games -- games that discuss powerful, painful, and meaningful topics from a different perspective
• Extension activity two: second reading, Strategies for Meaningful Gamification