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Re: [ICTs in English] Weekly update, April 17 - 23 - More Computer Games!


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  • From: David Young <dyoung AT shcs.school.nz>
  • To: ictenglish AT lists.tki.org.nz
  • Subject: Re: [ICTs in English] Weekly update, April 17 - 23 - More Computer Games!
  • Date: Thu, 3 May 2012 16:12:25 +1200

An update on the list of Game Design programs mentioned below.

http://www.ambrosine.com/resource.php

D

Hi everyone,

After talking to students developing various computer games and mods for impact projects today, I was reminded of a list of game design programs I came across earlier this year and the potential some of the tools might offer for learning in English. I then got thinking of a bunch of potential ways computer games can be (and are being) linked with different parts of English courses, provide inspiration and ideas for text creation, help students to develop meta knowledge around narrative and world building and to test each other’s understanding of concepts in other areas.

My initial thoughts on seeing that amazingly long list (not all the links work mind you) was around how students could use some of the tools to create games that tested other students’ understandings of English concepts. Many of the tools were pretty heavy on learning-curves and would require a bit of time before students could use them to test knowledge. Then I remembered a couple of tools at least that students could use with comparatively little learning beforehand, sploder and scratch in particular. Students who are a bit more clued-up could even create games in App Inventor and others could download these from the Android market for their mobile devices. You never know, students in your classes might already even have some experience with game design tools already.

If all this sounds a bit full-on, I took a quick mental stock-take of the assessment tasks I’ve been involved with that have used computer games as a vehicle for inspiration and ideas develoment in creative writing. Sometimes it can be as small as a game trailer (my old favourite, the Fallout 3 teaser comes to mind here) and if you haven’t seen the huge variety and creativity in game trailers out there, have a look on youtube and see what you can find. Other times it could be a whole task built around a character or world from a computer game. We’ve re-designed the prequels and sequels assessment task a number of times in different contexts and this could work really well for a computer game type task. So many games offer alternative endings already, students are quite used to multiple narrative possibilities rather than the single storyline offered by a linear text. If students can’t choose a game for ideas or inspiration, it would be easy enough to give film and novel source text options as well, while still offering game options for those who had access to them. Anything to connect with worlds and context they already know well.

Even students writing a formal writing-styled piece (journalistic, persuasive or editorial perhaps) set in the fictional world of a game and using the ideas and links to the real world the game offers. I wonder if people are publishing tasks electronically here too? Links to online resources don’t work so well on paper and it seems to me that making other resources as accessible as possible is a good idea.

In a homework activity I recently gave to some students where they micro-blogged their knowledge around what makes great characters and plots, I was also surprised at the number of students who were drawing this knowledge from their experience of computer games. They weren’t necessarily distinguishing between plot development in film, novels or computer games either and it wasn’t until I did some digging that I realised how much gaming contexts had fed into their ideas on characters and plots. I’d be interested to see if any schools are receiving (and/or allowing) theme entries on computer games.

So how do things stand with others on computer games in teaching and learning? To what degree are your students taking their inspiration and ideas on narrative from computer games? And to what degree are we capitalising on this and making contextual links for them in our teaching?

Hamish Chalmers
Facilitator: ICTs in English
http://englishonline.tki.org.nz/




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