Game Based Learning - An Introduction

During this webinar, Patrick will be introducing the concept of Game-based Learning, explain how it can be employed in instructional settings, and provide practical information on how to harness this engaging medium.
This is the first in a planned series of webinars from partners, MissionV Education Limited, a not for profit organisation specialising in the use of virtual worlds technology for the support of primary and post primary students and iGBL (Game -Based Learning Research Group) based in Waterford Institute of Technology.
iGBL organised a highly successful Symposium on Game-Based Learning (GBL) in Waterford Institute of Technology in May 2011.  This symposium brought together teachers, lecturers, students and researchers, and provided insights from different perspectives such as educational psychology, sociology, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Artificial Intelligence, Game Design, or Instructional Design.

InterroBang: Example of Game-Based Learning

I was on Facebook this morning poking my sister back and noticed an ad on the side for the game InterroBang. So, I decided to check it out. InterroBang is a game in which students complete real-world missions to win prizes, learn problem solving and connect with others to change the world. Gameplay is open to students in grades 6-12. In order to be eligible for prizes, students must register through their teachers or parents.

Missions are the central way that InterroBang is played. The missions are divided into four categories, or areas of inquiry:

   1. Culture
   2. Creativity
   3. Exploration
   4. Science

Each mission has a point value ranging from 10 points for an easy mission to 40 points for a difficult one. Students can complete missions by themselves or in groups. Every individual in a group receives the points from completing a mission. Students can add collaborators on the Play page from their class and even from their friends.

Student compete to win prizes including Xboxes and Flip cameras. To make InterroBang as fair as possible, the players are divided into 3 leagues: middle school, high school, and high school honors students. Students only compete against players in their League. Before prizes are awarded, the InterroBang team will contact teachers and schools to verify student status.

InterroBang was created and designed by Nuvana, with Founding Partner Microsoft Partners in Learning, with support from Exploratorium, Learn and Serve America, and ePals.

Interrobang Intro from Nuvana on Vimeo.

DimensionM

DimensionM is an immersive video game world that engages students in the instruction and learning of mathematics. Important learning objectives are covered through a series of missions that bring math into a world that today's students understand. Students become so captivated in solving problems that they forget they're learning but they don't forget what they've learned. Research with  demonstrates how well these programs align with the way today's students learn and how naturally immersed students become in their learning. The result is increased student motivation, increased time on task, and the application of learning to real world situations.

Calculation Nation

Calculation Nation is a free, easy to use, mathematics game site, offering Serious Games for most K-12 students. Calculation Nation offers students the opportunity to practice their mathematics skills individually or in a head-to-head format playing against other students. For parents and teachers, Calculation Nation offers suggestions for using Calculation Nation.

Calculation Nation™ uses the power of the Web to let students challenge opponents from anywhere in the world. At the same time, students are able to challenge themselves by investigating significant mathematical content and practicing fundamental skills. The element of competition adds an extra layer of excitement.

The National Council of Teacher’s of Mathematics (NCTM) hired Interactive Knowledge (IK) to design a system for middle school students to play math-related online games against live opponents. The site features five online games and a customized game room where thousands of students can challenge one another to test their math skills. Before going live, Calculation Nation was tested by hundreds of math teacher’s during NCTM’s annual conference held in April 2009.

New 3D Technology for Handhelds

Nintendo says it will begin selling a 3D version of the DSi portable within a year, tentatively called Nintendo 3DS. Sharp recently announced that its latest 3D displays (designed for smaller screens on mobile devices) work without 3D glasses. Mass production of the 3D LCDs was set to start earlier this month. Both Sharp and Hitachi (which released 3D-glasses free technology for cell phones last year) both supply LCD screens for Nintendo.

"3-D will really benefit education if it's relevant to the subject -- for example, a 3-D version of the human body for biology, or seeing how a plane flies for physics," noted Kurt Squire, a research scientist at the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Lab and a co-founder and current director of the Games + Learning + Society Initiative, a group of more than 50 faculty and students investigating game-based learning.. 3D technology paired with games-based learning allow for more interactive learning--a way to engage students using the technology they are familiar with. The key is to making the games curriculum-based that involve more than rote memorization or electronic versions of worksheets. eSchool News (free registration)