Games Based Learning MOOC

Welcome to the guild and great chatting with you last night on twitter. We are currently on hiatus until the new year then plan to be back early in the Spring.

We haven't had any F2F meetups so far, but for the new year we will try to see what we can schedule for Longmont, Denver and perhaps pay a visit to Pueblo.

We are interested in all types of collaboration!

My name is Terry and I am a HS Spanish teacher in Georgia. My idea is massive and extends gaming into the flipped classroom so that students can spend time in class experiencing the knowledge to which they are exposed in the game.

A little more about myself: I have been teaching for 11 years - prior to that I worked my way up from a cashier/phone operator to office manager doing financial statements in the automobile industry. I switched careers to have the same schedule as my children and because my part-time hs students didn't know their alphabet.

Because of my background, technology has always played a large roll in my classroom. I am familiar with most of the Office products, have been actively using Promethean in my classroom for the last two years. This year, I converted all of my tests and quizzes to activ expression activities and I also have created activ polling charts for the listening activities, loading them on the share drive so that all three of us Spanish teachers would have access to the charts as well as the audio files. Two years ago, I recorded all of my classes for the first month of school while we were waiting for a teacher from Columbia to arrive. I saved the files at the same time that I was being projected live into her classroom as I was teaching mine. My perception is that our students are out-learning us regarding technology and we need to empower our teachers to do what they do best without burdening them trying to infuse technology into their class. If the district provided the technological component through a game, teachers would have more time to work with and inspire the students to find their strengths and improve their weaknesses.

What level of Education are you thinking of using GBL for? I would like to create a game that begins in preschool or kindergarten and continues through college with the potential to continue as a life-long learning experience beyond that.

What types of games are you thinking about using? I have an idea for a learning environment that incorporates virtual reality with actual reality with some fantasy thrown in.

How much experience do you have in gaming? As a wife and mother, I have watched much of the Zelda games. My role was to read the maps and player guides and help solve the riddles. I did very little of the mechanics. I did manage to ride Epona. I also have a deep respect for Assassin's Creed. The story line was fascinating and I've been to Florence, Italy and it really looks like that! I have also watched and conversed somewhat about WOW.

What are your expectations of GBL's affect on your students / clients? The two things that I hear in my classroom is "I can't wait to get out of this town!" and "When am I going to use this?". I think that it's time that education makes the shift from a focus on core subjects to a focus on careers. We need to show our students how to discover the things they learn easily, the skills that they have naturally and the passions they harbor that can inspire them to productive members of society. They need to be prepared for the careers of tomorrow and have several back-up careers in mind to accommodate the constant changes in the world's economy. Furthermore, there needs to be a moral model included to expose our students to right and wrong, something many of them are not receiving at home. Finally, students need to be taught repeatedly on sustainability and their roles as stewards of this glorious world in which we live.

Are you looking for collaborators? YES!

I am a quick learner and I type very quickly as well but I have no experience in the visual components that I imagine for this game.

I have a rough story line developed but it needs to be expanded.

I've been calling the game "Tapestry" because of the way that it weaves all of these components together. I'll create a forum post with more information if I have piqued your curiosity.

Sorry this was so lengthy - I am very passionate about this. :)

Hi everyone! My name is Agnieszka and I am from Poland. I teach English in secondary school.
I used to be a fierce enemy of games but changed my mind when my son (8) started playing. Now I am a real evangelist on a quest to introduce more and more fun and games into Polish education :)
Last year I organised at school a winter Game Camp for young game makers.
Right now I am setting off to write a manual "GBL for teachers.". This is how I got here in the first place.
I would like to use more games with my students in middle school.
Since September 2012 I have been trying to incorporate some gamification in the course.
Since I am not a player myself, I am keeping my fingers crossed for some students who are going to build a replica of our school in Minecraft.

Of course I am open for cooperation and LOADS of advice from you!

I am very active on Facebook, so this is where you can find me.

Nattiebug

I'm a former middle and high school teacher trying to become an instructional designer. Grades 8-12 or undergrad are my preferred audiences.

I want to learn about the variety of types of games-as-education are available.

Twitter: nataliefparker
Blog: http://www.nataliefordparker.com/blog.html

Can a total newbie handle MOOC III? I'm a bit intimidated. Not sure if I should try to work through the MOOC I material and catch up during a later MOOC. Thoughts?

Hi Nattie,

We'll be getting started really soon. Here's what I would suggest. Go ahead and look through some of the basic material, but start with us on March 18th. We're going to be looking at some specific tools and a specific format for building games.

Thanks,

Kae