SimCityEDU | Create & Share SimCity Learning Tools playforce.org - Playforce: Learning from the games we play Digital Games Transforming K-12 Assessment and Learning Many teachers are searching for new ways to engage their digital-native students. They are looking for, write researchers at Florida State, “alternative ways of teaching – ways that increase student engagement and yield a rich, authentic picture of the learner(s).” These researchers say more educators should take a look at the latest in digital games. Games that are designed not only to teach, but to help educators assess learning as it’s happening. GlassLab, a new nonprofit educational game design initiative, has just released its first game— SimCityEdu—based on the popular Simcity brand and called SimCityEDU: Pollution Challenge! The Games, Learning, and Assessment Lab, or GlassLab is a unique partnership between the nonprofit Institute of Play (known for their Quest to Learn schools), the game-design firm Electronic Arts, and others. “One of the things that we all get frustrated with is that kids get assessed in the spring and they get that data and feedback back in the fall.
Gaming the Past 7 ways to evaluate educational games Educational games are becoming more mainstream–here’s how to evaluate them As educational gaming moves from a future technology to a practice found in more and more classrooms, educators are recognizing game-based learning’s (GBL) potential to engage students and help them prepare for future learning. By ensuring that games meet certain requirements, educators will find themselves on the path to choosing an impactful game that goes beyond the typical drill-and-practice or end-of-unit reward game. “It can be overwhelming, but as gaming becomes more mainstream and there’s more out there about it, educators will be better equipped to evaluate games and GBL,” said Dan White, founder of Filament Games, a member of the advisory board for Games for Change, and a founding member of the Games Learning Society at the University of Wisconsin. (Next page: What makes a good educational game?)
Games For Learning Institute 34 Smart Ideas For Using Smartphones In The Classroom 34 Smart Ideas For Using Smartphones In The Classroom 34 Ways Ideas For Smartphones In The Classroom By Category by John Hardison first appeared on gettingsmart.com In continuation of last week’s article, Part 1: 44 Better Ways to Use Smartphones in Class, here is a new list of thirty-six additional ideas to help leverage the power of these tech gadgets in the learning environment. In this blog post, I have attempted to avoid any redundancies. Please join me in helping educators everywhere creatively use smartphones by contributing any overlooked uses and supportive responses via this survey. 34 Smart Ideas For Using Smartphones In The Classroom To Collaborate 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. To Communicate 6. This method encourages educators to abandon the time-consuming and inefficient task of periodically calculating the data. 7. 8. To Create 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. To Curate/Coordinate 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. Still not convinced?
edWeb.net - Cookies Required Co-hosted by edWeb.net and the Education Division of Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). Game-Based Learning is a professional learning community (PLC) that provides educators, game developers, researchers, and industry executives with a place to learn, ask questions, discuss topics, and share information about games and learning. The community hosts free monthly webinars and live chats with leaders in the field that are highly engaging and interactive. Online discussions provide an easy way to continue the conversation and share ideas and experiences with peers across the country, and around the world. Upcoming Webinars Thursday, November 7, 2013 - 4pm / Eastern Time Presenter: Joli Barker, third grade teacher at Earl H. Monday, December 2, 2013 - 4pm / Eastern TimeInnovation, Authenticity, and GamesPresenter:Jeff Mummert, teacher at Hershey High School in PA, adjunct professor at York College of Pennsylvania, Director of Submrge.org, and Founder/Owner of HistoriQuest.com
Serious Games Directory BETA | 6 Great Note-Taking Tools for Students and Teachers One of the best things about education technology is that it has allowed students and teachers alike to turn to online annotation and records, making hastily scrawled, illegible scribbles and coffee-stained pages a thing of the past. From university students keeping track of lectures to young students making plans and mind maps, there is an online note-taking tool to suit everyone… 1. Study Blue A great site that allows students to create online flash cards, study guides and quizzes. These learning resources are stored online, making heavy folders and easily-misplaced notebooks redundant, as students can simply login anywhere anytime and use their notes to revise, or test themselves using their flashcards. 2. A brilliantly simple online interactive whiteboard, Scriblink allows notes to be shared as they’re created. 3. Perfect for individual students, Penzu is the online version of the old-fashioned notebook or journal in which you build up your body of lecture or class notes. 4. 5. 6.
Solving the World - Serious Games Require Serious Gamers | Curiouser Institute Every day gamers go into fictional spaces to save the world. They go on quests to save the Mario Galaxy, battle evil in Azeroth, and improve their lots in Farmville. Millions of gamers spend in the area of 3 billion hours a week solving the difficult and challenging problems of hundreds of fictional worlds and thousands of quests. Until lately that didn't really have much of an effect on the real world. However with the rise of Serious Gaming, a movement that explores the uses of games beyond "entertainment", video games and the real world have become entwined. The ability of games to now reach out into the real world brings up a tantalizing question. Like puzzles? The term "serious gaming" is a useful, but in some ways unfortunate term. Current games are packed with psychologically rich content which is highly reflective and connected to our inner life. This is what makes the games so vitally important to us. The players' intention is the key.