MORE THAN A GAME: VIDEO GAME DESIGN AND THE COMMON CORE CONNECTIONS

PRESENTED BY KEVIN HODGSON AND TINA BROWNE WMWP TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE 2012

STUDENT VOICES

GAMES ARE THE MOST ELEVATED FORM OF INVESTIGATION. ALBERT EINSTEIN

From Jane McGonigal, Reality is Broken

By the age of twenty one, the

average young American has spent somewhere between two and three thousand hours reading books and more than ten thousand hours playing computer and video games.

In just three weeks, gamers deciphered the structure of a key protein in the development of AIDS that has stumped scientists for years. According to a study published Sunday in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, the findings could present a significant breakthrough for AIDS and HIV research. PC Magazine

http://www.onlinecolleges.net/

From Pew Research: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/953/

WHERE IT BEGAN FOR US

National Writing Project Annual Meeting
Alan Gershenfeld, founder of E-line Media Game design seminar/exploration

Western Massachusetts Writing Project

Summer Camp: Smith Vocational High School Tina, Kevin and 14 gamers (plus a few visitors)

William E. Norris Elementary School

Integration of game design theory with science unit and writing

WMWP SUMMER CAMP

GAME DESIGN ELEMENTS

Created by middle school students at our Game Camp

BUT GAMIFICATION OF EVERYTHING?

Lets make sure our students are not just consumers of information, but also producers of compositions across the realm of traditional and digital writing. Make them aware of how games are used for marketing and advertising. This involved MEDIA LITERACY!

THE GEOLOGICAL GAME DESIGN PROJECT

Geology-based unit Difficult vocabulary Dense concepts Writing Brainstorm concept of game representing some element of Geology with scientific concepts and vocabulary Storyboard out the game design on paper Use online site to create game Peer revision and review Publication Revision Re-publication

STORYBOARDING

STUDENT GAMES: A VIDEO TOUR

GAMESTAR MECHANIC
Gamestar Mechanic was developed on the belief that when kids learn to design the games they play, they build technological, artistic, cognitive, social and linguistic skills necessary for a highly networked, digital, rapidly evolving 21st-century world. from Spotlight Media

AROUND THE ROOM: STUDENTS AT WORK

THE STEM VIDEO GAME CHALLENGE

http://www.stemchallenge.org/

GAMING AND PERSUASIVE WRITING

Alana reviews Temple Run

Alex reviews Zelda

ACTIVITY: CREATE A MAZE

Come up with maze game concept Sketch out storyboard Sign up for Gamestar Mechanic

Start to build a game

http:// gamestarmechanic.com/

Connections to New Massachusetts Curriculum Common Core Standards: : Use technology to produce and publish writing as well as interact and collaborate with others. -- Writing Standards 6-12

REFLECTIONS?/ QUESTIONS? FEEDBACK?

BONUS: CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: HACK A GAME

Take the traditional game of Monopoly How would you reenvision the game? What new rules would you invent?

Connections to New Massachusetts Curriculum Common Core Standards: : Writing an expository text using precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform or explain about a topic. -- Writing Standards 6-12