As part of our game design unit, my students explored games they liked to play and then reviewed them through a critical lens of a game designer. I’m going to be sharing out a few podcasts that my students did around their reviews, giving voice to them as players and creators.
Here, Emma shares her views about Temple Run 2, which is an app for mobile devices.
Peace (on the run),
Kevin
As part of our game design unit, my students explored games they liked to play and then reviewed them through a critical lens of a game designer. I’m going to be sharing out a few podcasts that my students did around their reviews, giving voice to them as players and creators.
Here, Aiden reviews one of the many Lord of the Rings games out there (which seem to be popular with a set of my kids).
Peace (in the ring),
Kevin
As part of our game design unit, my students explored games they liked to play and then reviewed them through a critical lens of a game designer. I’m going to be sharing out a few podcasts that my students did around their reviews, giving voice to them as players and creators.
Here, Abby reviews Cut the Rope, which continues to have a wide appeal among gamers.
Peace (when you’re falling),
Kevin
This student of mine has been deep into our game design unit. I think Gamestar Mechanic might soon to be limiting for him but he has enjoyed learning and playing with games, and this version of his science-based video game project shows a lot of good thinking, planning and game design. (If you are viewing this post on a mobile device, it might not embed.)
Peace (in the game),
Kevin
As part of our game design unit, my students explored games they liked to play and then reviewed them through a critical lens of a game designer. I’m going to be sharing out a few podcasts that my students did around their reviews, giving voice to them as players and creators.
First up is Ryan’s review of Super Mario Bros.
Peace (in the voice),
Kevin
As my sixth graders begin finishing up their science-based video game projects, I hope to share out a few. This one — Adventures in Geology — is a good example of how a student has come to understand the balance of designing and publishing a challenging game that has story and science baked in.
Give it a try. (If you are on a mobile device, the game probably won’t work. If the embedded game does not load, you can use the direct link to her game).
Peace (in the game),
Kevin
As we went into the break, my students were finishing up a video game review project (while underway with their own video game design project). As I read through the reviews over vacation, I began jotting down the variety of video games they chose to review, and on what platform they play them.
So, here is the wide range of games:
And here is a small infographic on the breakdown of the platforms:
Peace (in the sharing),
Kevin
PS — I used a new ipad app called iVisual to make the second infographic that Richard Byrne put up on his site. It’s pretty nifty but limited (there is a paid version, which I didn’t want to pay for … yet).
If this helps anyone think more clearly about how to integrate video game design into the classroom (with a science angle), then feel free to borrow, adapt, hack and remix as needed. This is the basics of my sixth grade video game design unit.
Geological Game Design Project by KevinHodgson
There’s a lot more information about our game design project, including videos of students talking about their work, at our free website resource: http://gaming4schools.yolasite.com/
Peace (in the game),
Kevin
I had the pleasure to take part in a conversation the other night about gaming and teens as part of the Learning Aloud series from Connected Learning TV. The series puts the narrative into the hands of students sharing out their expertise with the world. I was invited as a sort of “token teacher” who teaches video game design, as a high school student from Chicago (the very articulate John) and the librarian who founded The Library of Games in the Chicago Public Library (Taylor Bayliss) talked about how a group of teens come together to discuss and create podcasts about video gaming.
It was a great show, with lots to think about. I brought in some views around gender, about making the switch from consumers of games to creators of games, about the need for teachers to open up the classrooms to more of students’ interests, and concerns about how to reach a broader audience than just an after-school program.
Check it out:
You can also listen to some of the Library of Games podcasts at Soundcloud.
Peace (in the games),
Kevin
Tonight, I am a guest on a Learning Aloud program with some high school students who are going to be talking about video gaming. The Learning Aloud series is youth-centered sharing and is part of the Connected Learning movement. You can listen in and join with the chat. The show begins at 5:30 p.m. (eastern time). A focus of the show is something known as the Library of Games in Chicago. It seems like a great idea.
Library of Games (LoG) is a video game journalism program sponsored by YOUmedia Chicago at the Chicago Public Library. LoG is open to all high school students who love video games and want to learn more about games, gaming criticism and journalism. Students in LoG produce a weekly video game podcast and produce all of the content on the LoG blog including articles, editorials, videos, graphic design and more.
We believe that video games are an incredibly important part of people’s lives, especially teenagers, and we need an open and intelligent forum to discuss games. We want to represent the diversity of teen gamers and prove that teens can speak and write intelligently about video games. — from http://libraryofgames.org/
Peace (in the game),
Kevin