Wow, who knew anything could be quite that addictive?! I am not into gaming AT ALL – the only one I used to enjoy was Tetris .. and I guess this is pretty much an updated version of Tetris!
I went on ‘for a quick go’ to see what all the fuss was about, and about 1.5 hours later I had reached about level 27, and had spent quite a bit of money buying extra functions – now trying to do it without, but very much stuck on level 29 … and ignoring it for my book!
I do also find that I enjoy Angry Birds on the phone (especially when on the Tube), and find myself buying a handful of extras for that too…
““Lemme tell ya, these ain’t no ordinary finches we’re talkin’ about. These here are the Angry Birds, the ones that’s gonna kick you in the ‘nads. And they’re the ones on your side. They must be from Galapadapados, or sumptin’.” – Col. Angus, Bird Expert.
The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the green pigs who stole the Birds’ eggs. Use the unique destructive powers of the Angry Birds to lay waste to the pigs’ fortified castles.
Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Each of the 120 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy.
Protect wildlife or play Angry Birds!”
I’m not a great online game-player, but I enjoy a bit of Angry Birds (fills in a few stops on the Tube), so I had seen enough of it to really enjoy the following video, where cartoon is produced back in “real”-life:
Assume can see value in game-based learning – as in this session.
Most of session = practical game playing.
Not limited to playing games, Game-based learning has been around for years – doesn’t have to involve high end technology – leads to …
Discussion, reflection, collaboration.
Active, experiential, collaborative, problem-based learning.
Interactivity & feedback (time appropriate), challenge & scaffolding (from novice to expert), safe environment to practice (fine to fail, reflect on it), playfulness = removal of stress, engagement & motivation (don’t assume they don’t need convincing.
How does the game fit within the design of a course as a whole? Think about needs/experience/requirements (then choose appropriate tools Inc tech).
Course teams – local/regulatory context… Need to widen view
Traditional methods – meetings, presentations, prof devt, local champions
Long timescale – no guarantee people will be on board at the end.
Games effective at quickly setting contexts
Simple representations of wider issues
Model gameplay on contextual items
Reduce to simplest level (think of games you played in childhood and what worked)
Borrow proven ideas from traditional games
Play test with colleagues/friends extensively.
A taste of the debate ongoing at this table:
Remember Throughout this what the purpose of any game may be. Educationally it’s more likely to be debate/reflection of the content rather than trying to win.
This blog entry was written live in session, with photos/headings added afterwards.
Another glorious waste of time… it doesn’t set itself any limits on the number of questions, but amazing that some kind of mathematical formula can be right so many times – I had 3 goes (Bridget Jones, God, Richard Hammond) and it got all 3 of those – can see some people trying with some cryptic ones, but I guess it absorbs those for next time… Akinator – also on the iPhone (£1.19)!
