HGSET545

This article is fairly old, but I thought its topic resonated with our discussion in class last Monday--particularly the pink box of pink Legos.

Those "friendship adventure" games for girls don't sound like much fun - and I wonder if there's any replay value? I read through the game flow and it seems like something the kid finishes in an hour and doesn't touch again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockett's_New_School However, it looks like the game (and sequels) were actually quite popular. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,63511,00.html

A conference devoted to play (relevant to creative professionals in industries targeted at children). The key note speaker is Jesse Schell of Schell games. There's a link to a set of cards titled " The art of game design" that you can find using the search term "Schell"

I was just thinking about the class discussion yesterday when we were talking about pink legos, that parents might be over-thinking the purchase of toys their kids play with. It made me think about the doll test, which many of you might know about already, which is more about race than gender. I think it shows that in terms of racial and self-identity and societal views of beauty, parents might be more thoughtful in purchasing toys. For example, African-American parents might make sure that their daughter has a collection of both the "classic" Barbie dolls and the Barbie dolls of color to make sure that she doesn't believe that she is physically less beautiful or does not fit the ideal form of beauty that the "classic" Barbie represents.

A nice application of iPads in the community.

Within five years, Yale-designed robots may be helping teach children. A Yale-led team of researchers from across the country received a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation on April 3 to pursue the creation of "socially assistive robots" to help young children learn basic skills and in some cases overcome cognitive disabilities.

This looks like a rich conference resonating with conversations similar to those we've had in 545 lately.

FYI. Great speakers and program last year. Although not education focused, ways to apply to teaching/learning and many education related workshops.

"Interactive books are everywhere, and have revolutionized the way people consume the printed word. With the recent software available to allow easy creation of interactive books and with the race to bring these products to market, there seems to be a more and more dilution of quality and a loss for the meaning of interactivity." ...And will they engage a larger group of readers than traditional flat text does? (Would love to see a study)

"Quest supports a dynamic curriculum that uses the underlying design principles of games to create academically challenging, immersive, game-like learning experiences for students. Games and other forms of digital media also model the complexity and promise of "systems." Understanding and accounting for this complexity is a fundamental literacy of the 21st century."

This article explores the educational game Minecraft and provides ideas for lessons and projects.  The interdisciplinary game has the potential to enhance math skills, social studies/history learning, and reading comprehension.  

What a way to learn!

If you haven't come across lure of the labyrinth, do visit the site. An example of intrinsic integration of learning content with game mechanics.

Pradeep, I ran across this article that references two digital math competitions (Lure of Labrynth, Dimension U) and notes a distrubing US statistic: "In New York City, for instance, just 10 percent of the high schools with the highest black and Latino enrollments offer Algebra II, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Education." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/11/feature-numbers-game-ame_n_1418589.html

This talks about the practices at some programs that are known for educating innovators:  "The culture of learning in programs that excel at educating for innovation emphasize what I call the three P's-play, passion and purpose. The play is discovery-based learning that leads young people to find and pursue a passion, which evolves, over time, into a deeper sense of purpose."