Ira Goldstein Siena College Education Gaming In K12 Ira Goldstein Siena College

Agenda Follow-up: Raspberry Pi Education Simulation and Gaming In K12 Q & A

Raspberry Pi Experience

What is a Raspberry Pi? University of Cambridge’s Computer Laboratory Decline in skill level Designed for education A credit card sized PC Plugs into a TV or monitor Inexpensive(ish) ~$35 each Capability: Programming Electronic Projects Office Play HD Videos

RPi Experience Everyone has their own RPi Linux - All Command Line Shell Scripts Perl Web Apache Server HTML Forms CGI in Perl

Education Simulation and Gaming In K12

Active, Critical Learning

Two Classes Exogenous – of, relating to, or developing from external factors. Content Focus Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune Endogenous – having an internal cause or origin. Environment Focus Learning as a result of playing Emergent – Systems thinking Hard to map outcomes - Need to draw conclusions Civilization series or Minecraft

Simulation and Gaming Compelling activities – Encourage learning Immediate feedback – Regime of competence Participation – Not passive consumption Take chances – Not real-world Avatar – Try on new personas Mistakes are private (or at least not in front of the class) Often teamwork Regime of competence - Scaffolding PBL-like

Some Games Dig-It!’s Mayan Mysteries http://www.dig-itgames.com/mayan_Mysteries Filament Games’ Reach for the Sun https://www.filamentgames.com/ Gamestar Mechanic  http://gamestarmechanic.com/teachers/what_is_gamestar Alice – Object-based educational programming language www.alice.org Civilization – “What If” history Railroad Tycoon – Resource Allocation Minecraft – Create and Explore www.minecraftedu.com World of Warcraft - www.wowinschool.pbworks.com

Alice A modern programming tool Animation 3-D graphics 3-D models of objects Foundation for learning other computer languages Animation Objects can be made to move around the virtual world (a video game or simulation implemented in 3D)

Traditional Problem Solving in CS Read and understand a problem or task specification Design a solution (develop an algorithm) Implement (code) Test Revise, as needed

Problem Solving in Alice Read and understand a scenario – tell a story, play a game, carry out a task. A princess has been grounded by her father (a wizard). Being a rather rebellious princess, she has emailed the local dragon taxi service. The dragon will fly to the princess and she will climb aboard the dragon to escape from the castle – to meet some friends at the village dance club.

Objects Any thing that can be identified as unique from other things Has a name Has properties: width, height, color, location Can perform actions (methods): associated actions it can perform tasks it can carry out

Mini-Bib Gee, J. P. (2007). What videogames have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan. Gee, J. P., & Hayes, E. R. (2010). Women and gaming: The Sims and 21st century learning. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan. Halverson, Richard. "What Can K-12 School Leaders Learn from Video Games and Gaming?." Innovate: Journal of Online Education 1.6 (2005): n6. Stufft, Carolyn J. "From Playing to Learning: Using the Learning Principles of Video Games to Rethink Classroom Literacy Instruction." TEXAS ASSOCIATION FOR LITERACY EDUCATION YEARBOOK (2014): 78. Computers in the Schools: Interdisciplinary Journal of Practice, Theory, and Applied Research, Volume 31, Issue 1-2, 2014 Special Issue: Digital Game-Based Learning