Chaired and directed by Karl Royle, Principal Lecturer for Curriculum Innovation and Knowledge Transfer, CeDARE, University of Wolverhampton.
The computer game is here to stay and has become an integral part of the way that people socialise. Increasingly, it is a family pursuit, people play together socially either on line or in real spaces and the advent of computer gaming bridges racial and class divides. There has been considerable interest in the use of computer games for learning mainly due to their ubiquitous nature amongst learners and for their powers of motivation.
Today it is generally accepted that computer games not only increasingly engage young people as a leisure pursuit, as outlined previously, but also promote learning.
This session will share and attempt to capture game based pedagogy beyond using games in education per se by looking to transfer games based digital pedagogy and learning into analogue activity within classrooms.
Programme
2:30 - 2:55 Ralf Herbrich, Director, Microsoft Research
In this talk, I will give an overview of Kodu, a visual programming language made specifically for creating games. It is designed to be accessible for children and enjoyable for everyone. Kodu provides an end-to-end creative environment for designing, building, and playing your own new games. I will demonstrate how Kodu supports computational thinking in a playful way.
Kodu helps to broaden perceptions of computer science (CS) in two ways: Firstly, it can make CS appealing to people other than the usual "geeks". Secondly, it gives children the opportunity to experience programming as a fun and creative activity. I will present evidence from various Kodu camps as well as an Australian pilot program of adapting Kodu in the CS curriculum.
3:00 - 3:25 Max Moller, Danish School of Education, University of Aarhus
The Challenge Game: a turn based attack/defense game mechanics to support perspective change and learning.
In this paper we describe two conflicting potentials in game based learning. One view is to consider games as a vehicle that supports immersion in to game fiction and identification with specific roles. Another is to consider games as a frame for play and competition. The empirical interventions that constitute the basis of the consideration is a game that addresses collaboration between, and process understanding among, the various actors in the construction sector. The game allows the players to as constructions site managers, while attacking an opponent’s construction site with challenges.
Serious Games, Game Design, Collaboration, Game Mechanics, Epistemic Games
3:30 - 3:55 Research into practice: Schools Focus
Nic Hughes, Redbridge Games Network
Nic will talk about the Redbridge Schools games network, how it was established, its current work and future plans.
How could the network be enhanced by establishing a practitioner research base to support schools based innovation?
4:00 - 4:30 Break
4:30 - 5:30 Game Based Learning Discussion
Featuring a panel with invited guests including:
