And Now For Something Completely Different...

Teacher: We are going to start our unit on statistics today. It's going to be really fun! (Cue collective class groan.) We are going to use an online game called Quest Atlantis to help us out. (Hmmm...the students may be coming around...) I'll pass out this comic book to start. It will tell us the background of Atlantis before we get started with our Quest. (Our Quest? Has our teacher gone crazy?) It's quiet as the students start reading the comic books. A student from the back whispers, "Wow, this might actually be kinda cool."



We are featuring Quest Atlantis along with other game-based learning resources this week on The Gateway. This game was developed at the Indiana University College of Education for in-class use in 4th through 8th grades. Researchers created Quest Atlantis to be a "powerful new learning environment," and it's more of a simulation than just an online learning game. There are Quests, Missions, and Units that cover subjects from science and math to social studies and English. In order for students to be successful in the game, they must use problem solving and inquiry skills. The academic concepts covered are aligned to McRel standards, and you can get a general idea of which of your state's standards are covered using the standards suggestion tool at the bottom of the Quest Atlantis record on The Gateway. If you think this type of online learning environment might be a good fit for your class, start here to see some snapshots of the Quests, Missions, and Units in the game. Each topic is related to social responsibility and action and has a culminating writing assignment or project to illustrate students' learning and understanding of the social or environmental issues covered.

It is exciting to me because students can experience the history and geography of places like Mesa Verde National Park without ever leaving the classroom. With field trip budgets being tight or non-existent, it's nice to know our students can at least be collecting virtual samples of indicator species from streams to research the effects of water contamination. They can even be engaged in inquiry-based learning in a huge variety of topics like plagues, diversity, statistics, and planetary science. Teachers can use the program for short lessons that can be integrated into an existing unit (Quests and Missions) or they can use the program as the backbone of a whole unit. According to the Quest Atlantis site, more than 44,000 students from 6 continents have learned through playing with the program. They explain their goal best by stating, "Rather than just placing work and play side-by-side, QA strives to make learning fun and to show kids they can make a difference." I believe that kids do learn best when they are enjoying what they are doing. I think it's worth our time to check out programs like this to see if this is the small change we need to make our classroom just a little different and more fun.

For older students, there is a game called Evoke. The first 10-week season just ended, and the new season is currently being planned. They describe their game as "A Crash Course in Changing the World." This game says that it is appropriate for students ages 13 and up. This site focuses on teaching students to promote (or evoke) change in the real world by practicing in the simulated environment. Students respond to quests with blog posts, pictures and videos posted to the Internet. The site encourages students to keep using these skills in real-life situations. They are learning how to use social networking to support causes. Teachers using this game with students need to be sure the students understand privacy issues and Internet safety, since it is not in a secure, protected environment like the one in Quest Atlantis. These older students need to understand cybersafety anyway, so it would be a good environment to help teach them about it.

If these two resources don't seem like a good fit for you, there are plenty of other ways to implement game-based learning in your classroom. I have come across quite a few great games for teaching math. We wrote about Granny Prix in a previous post. If you haven't played that one yet, you should! Game Classroom, a site dedicated to gaming for homework help, has a huge selection of games for many subjects and grade levels. I tried to pick a couple to give as examples, but all of the ones I tried were really fun, and I think you'll want to check them out for yourself. My daughter probably thought it was strange that I was having so much fun playing a lizard munching verbs, but hey...it was all in the name of research! These games can be used in the classroom or after school for extra practice in problem areas.

Don't forget about traditional forms of game-based learning, too. There is something to be said for letting your students sit down and learn with board games. I have created review questions on cards to use with a Trivial Pursuit board, and there are plenty of ready-made learning games out there. One Edutopia reader had a great idea of letting her students create their own games to answer all of the "What if" questions they were asking in class.

To sum it up, I'll leave you a quote from Mr. Rogers: "Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning…They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they learn in new forms of play.” Let's all look into simple ways we can integrate play and game-based learning into our classrooms to make learning authentic and fun. We look forward to hearing some success stories!

~Peggy's Corner - 5/14/10~

Let the Games Begin!

We all know that kids love video games. Game-based learning, or GBL, can be an effective way to introduce new concepts and immerse students in material that has defined learning outcomes. Although much of the hoopla surrounding GBL refers to video game formats, game-based learning isn’t a new concept. Many traditional board games and card games fall under the umbrella of game-based learning, such as those offered by GameWright and others.

Digital games offer an expanded palette with which students can make decisions, strategize, make mistakes, and experience consequences in a risk-free environment. The added challenge of competing against each other or an online adversary motivates students to try new methods and to think critically about how to achieve their goal at each stage of the game. As they experiment with various strategies and information gleaned from the games’ plotlines, students actively learn to persevere and learn from their mistakes, while also absorbing content in the prescribed subject area(s). But is game-based learning really effective? According to studies, the answer is yes. My colleague Peggy will address the effectiveness of GBL in her column this week, and we will post links to studies about the value of GBL on our Twitter and Facebook pages in the coming week. My picks this week are:

Quest Atlantis
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2010-05-04.9186345509/
Subjects: Language Arts, Science, Math, Social Studies
Grades: 4-9
Quest Atlantis is a 3-D multi-user environment where students are required to participate in simulated and real world activities that are socially and academically meaningful, such as environmental studies, researching other cultures, interviewing community members, etc. Working in a secure environment, students work cooperatively with other characters in the virtual world (created by students from around the globe), which presents questers with many different global viewpoints. Quests are aligned to McREL standards. Quest Atlantis is a product of the Center for Research on Learning & Technology at Indiana University School of Education.

Lure of the Labyrinth
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2010-04-30.9640099999
Subjects: Pre-algebra
Grades: 7-8
Lure of the Labyrinth is an online, interactive math game for middle school pre-algebra students. Students venture into an underground world populated by monsters in order to find their lost pet. In their quest, they progress through three sections of a shadowy factory; each section relates to a different math topic such as proportions, variables, equations, geometry, order of operations, etc. Students infiltrate this world by assuming the guise of a monster, and successfully solve mathematical puzzles before they can advance in the game. The game is aligned to both national and state math standards, and features a comprehensive educator’s guide to help teachers successfully incorporate the game into their regular curriculum. Lure of the Labyrinth is a product of Learning Games to Go, and was developed by The Education Arcade at MIT, FableVision, and Maryland Public Television.

The Ants Go Marching…..
http://www.thegateway.org/recordBase/dcrecord.2010-05-03.5035054641
Subjects: Math, Arithmetic
Grades: 3-6
Students battle hungry ants at a picnic in this interactive division game. Students are shown an equation, and must select the correct response from five suggested answers. They must answer quickly, however, or a hungry ant will steal their food. Students must correctly solve each problem before advancing to the next, and there are various levels of difficulty from which to choose. The game is a product of Exhuberant Games, an educational game company founded by multimedia programmer and illustrator Natasha Oliver.

~Joann's Picks - 5/14/2010~