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The camp strives to guide and shape a child’s existing interest to further academic achievement, career potential and civic engagement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s positive and productive -- [my son] learned new concepts, including the election process,\" said Lily Santosa, whose 12-year-old joined the camp all the way from Sydney, Australia. \"It helped him discover his passion for building and creating cool stuff. It also helps him to do research on other challenges that he could do in Minecraft.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LTMb4KWSq4\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Connected Camp's approach draws from a deep well of social and student-centered learning theories. It embodies the idea of \u003ca href=\"http://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/social-constructivism/\">social constructivism\u003c/a>, whose premise is that knowledge is built through social interactions, and its closely allied theory of \u003ca href=\"https://llk.media.mit.edu/courses/readings/Stahl_CSCL.pdf\">computer-supported collaborative learning\u003c/a> (CSCL) that extends the principles of social learning to networked and online environments. Connected Camps designs project-based goals, like colonizing Mars or programming turtles to swim, in safe and familiar digital worlds to encourage campers to collectively solve problems and build knowledge in fun and engaging ways. Salen underscores that the camp’s structure relies on \u003ca href=\"http://www.gallup.com/poll/168848/life-college-matters-life-college.aspx?utm_source=Life%20after%20college&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=tiles\">research\u003c/a> that finds experiential and project-based learning can lead to long-term interest in technical fields.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN REAL LIFE \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how does socializing online compare to real-world, flesh-and-blood interaction? “We think that today’s technology provides a new opportunity for kids to be able to connect and affiliate, but it’s not a model that requires technology,” said Ito. She said that kids are connecting through athletics and other non-digital arts, but connecting online helps kids find the interests and communities that might not be available to them in person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The internet provides an opportunity for kids to really find their people, which is especially important for kids who might not be into the handful of offerings that are available in their community,\" said Ito. \"The ability to have more micro-niches to cater to a vast diversity of interests is one of the biggest advantages of online.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A second benefit of online engagement is accessibility and equity. “Many in-person tech or coding summer camps are expensive, boutique programs only available in urban high-tech regions,\" said Salen, whose prolific career includes founding \u003ca href=\"https://www.instituteofplay.org/\">Institute of Play\u003c/a>, the organization behind diverse game-based learning projects like the famed \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/08/13/what-do-sixth-graders-say-about-learning-with-games-it-works/\">Quest to Learn\u003c/a> school in New York City and Chicago. \"This means lots of kids can’t attend them. Because our programs are virtual, kids can attend from anywhere they have an internet connection.” Weekly programs start at $69, but the year-round \u003ca href=\"https://connectedcamps.com/minecraft-kid-club\">Kid Club\u003c/a> is free and offers kids access to a Minecraft server and guidance from a counselor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To help bridge \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/02/03/whats-lost-when-kids-are-under-connected-to-the-internet/\">the digital divide\u003c/a>, Connected Camps has developed relationships with schools, libraries and community programs to facilitate spaces and computers for kids who may otherwise have trouble accessing the web. Also, unlike other summer activities where kids pursue an interest for the length of the program without structured follow-up, online campers can persist with their passions and build momentum by staying connected to the community year-round.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Having an online camp is perfect for [my daughter] because she can be at home, her happy place, and still get to do something fun, interactive and learn about something she already loves,\" said Karen Gilbo, who lives outside Washington, D.C., and has enrolled her 12-year-old daughter in several Connected Camp programs over the last two years. Her daughter, who has Asperger’s syndrome, was able to nourish her passions for Minecraft and STEM, while socializing with greater comfort than in her face-to-face interactions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We always struggle to get her into summer camps because she requires an aide, which makes her feel really different from the other kids,\" said Gilbo of her daughter. “This is the first time she has ever asked directly to be in a program because she really enjoys the interaction.\" Even though the personal interactions take place online, they don't necessarily stay that way, said Gilbo. \"The only thing [my daughter] has asked is if she can go meet the counselors in person and when can she start being a counselor herself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3xs68gMA2U&feature=youtu.be\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>LEVELING UP WITH MENTORSHIP\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A hallmark of the Connected Camp experience is the proficiency and guidance offered by the counselors, known as mentors. Mentors are high school and college students who are recruited for their expertise in Minecraft and Scratch. They design and build the custom server spaces, steward the programs and interface with the campers through online and video chats. Camper-to-mentor ratios range from 1:1 to 20:1, depending on the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our model is about interest-driven and affinity-based mentorship, and we believe that kids learn best from slightly older kids who are passionate about the same interest as they are,” said Ito. \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/12/why-some-mentors-fail/510467/\">Studies\u003c/a> have found that well-implemented mentorship programs can bestow a broad range of academic, social and emotional benefits, and help better shepherd young people along an often daunting career path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because our online mentors love tech \u003cem>and\u003c/em> study game design, interactive design and computer science at universities around the country, they help kids see the different directions an interest in creative coding can go. They offer practical advice, encourage struggling learners and share stories from the trenches,” said Salen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, in a testament to the holistic power of intergenerational relationships, the mentors themselves also grow from the experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“\u003ca href=\"https://connectedcamps.com/meet-the-counselors/\">The counselors\u003c/a> also have this transformative experience. For the first time, they’re actually giving and contributing with something where they have more expertise than the adults around the table,” said Ito. “We’ve been very successful at recruiting a diverse range of counselors and placing them in their first jobs after Connected Camps,\" said Ito.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>GIRL POWER\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Connected Camps also furnishes opportunities to tap into girl power. Most programs have a “just for girls” option that is exclusively girl-run and populated. The underrepresentation and exodus of women in STEM fields \u003ca href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/14/women-in-tech-whats-the-real-problem/\">is well reported\u003c/a>, and a big part of the problem is isolation, sexism and condescension, a problem whose \u003ca href=\"https://girlswhocode.com/about-us/\">roots extend to middle school\u003c/a>. A recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/05/women-mentors-engineering/527625/\">study\u003c/a> found that female mentorship in engineering helped remedy a condition that “veer[s] towards exclusion and attrition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These clubs create a space where girls are free to try out skills without boys demonstrating taken-for-granted tech knowledge, and where girls don’t have to demonstrate technological incompetence in front of the boys,” said Jennifer Jenson, a games and gender expert at York University in Toronto. She sees girls-only technology camps and clubs as a big plus. Jenson, who has extensive experience studying and observing school tech clubs in action, notes that in mixed-gender groups, girls tend to disavow their existing knowledge, are more reluctant to raise their hand and are less likely to speak up. Once the girls have had the space and time to consolidate their self-confidence, and level-up their abilities and proficiency, Jenson is in favor of reintegrating the gender groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The format not only cultivates a sense of belonging and confidence, but also allows young women to do it on their own terms,” said Salen. “The girls-only format sets aside some of the more competitive elements of some of the co-ed camps, providing ample opportunity for the girls to connect with others in a highly collaborative setting.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Earth’s molten core and the lost city of Atlantis are not traditional summer destinations for kids, but intrepid young campers can now contend with lava or rebuild the underwater metropolis as they learn, play and socialize in the digital realms of virtual camps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California-based \u003ca href=\"https://connectedcamps.com/\">Connected Camps\u003c/a> is part of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/11-online-summer-camps-to-keep-kids-busy-and-learning-while-schools-out\">growing offering\u003c/a> of online camps that fill a unique niche to complement their traditional pine-and-mortar counterparts. Accessible across the U.S. and around the world, the camp offers programs in engineering, architecture, coding, animation, game design and storytelling, all hosted on custom Minecraft servers or delivered with \u003ca href=\"https://scratch.mit.edu/\">MIT’s Scratch\u003c/a> coding software. Each weeklong program connects kids with fellow campers and expert mentors who support the participants and share their expertise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We meet kids where they are, where they’re already engaged with social and interest-driven learning,” said \u003ca href=\"https://clrn.dmlhub.net/people/mimi-ito\">Mimi Ito\u003c/a>, a co-founder of Connected Camps and a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on how young people engage with digital media. “If you’re already messing around with \u003ca href=\"http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Redstone\">redstone\u003c/a> in Minecraft, this is a pathway for you to learn circuitry and get interested in engineering.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The camp was founded on the principles of \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/tag/connected-learning/\">connected learning\u003c/a>, an evidence-based framework developed through the MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning Initiative. The work is informed by the \u003ca href=\"https://clrn.dmlhub.net/\">Connected Learning Research Network\u003c/a>, a research, design and implementation hub whose mandate is to advance interdisciplinary work for learning in a connected world. In addition to Ito, Connected Camps was launched by game designer and educator Katie Salen and makerspace whiz Tara Brown, a self-proclaimed trio of “girl geeks” who combine a wealth of experience in learning, technology and academia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a pretty simple premise,” said Ito. “When you connect to what kids are genuinely interested in and learning is embedded in a meaningful social context, then it's more engaging, resilient and transformative.\" She said kids are already engaged in gaming or online communities, but the team was trying to make the connection to learning opportunities outside school. The camp strives to guide and shape a child’s existing interest to further academic achievement, career potential and civic engagement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s positive and productive -- [my son] learned new concepts, including the election process,\" said Lily Santosa, whose 12-year-old joined the camp all the way from Sydney, Australia. \"It helped him discover his passion for building and creating cool stuff. It also helps him to do research on other challenges that he could do in Minecraft.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/6LTMb4KWSq4'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/6LTMb4KWSq4'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Connected Camp's approach draws from a deep well of social and student-centered learning theories. It embodies the idea of \u003ca href=\"http://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/social-constructivism/\">social constructivism\u003c/a>, whose premise is that knowledge is built through social interactions, and its closely allied theory of \u003ca href=\"https://llk.media.mit.edu/courses/readings/Stahl_CSCL.pdf\">computer-supported collaborative learning\u003c/a> (CSCL) that extends the principles of social learning to networked and online environments. Connected Camps designs project-based goals, like colonizing Mars or programming turtles to swim, in safe and familiar digital worlds to encourage campers to collectively solve problems and build knowledge in fun and engaging ways. Salen underscores that the camp’s structure relies on \u003ca href=\"http://www.gallup.com/poll/168848/life-college-matters-life-college.aspx?utm_source=Life%20after%20college&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=tiles\">research\u003c/a> that finds experiential and project-based learning can lead to long-term interest in technical fields.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN REAL LIFE \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how does socializing online compare to real-world, flesh-and-blood interaction? “We think that today’s technology provides a new opportunity for kids to be able to connect and affiliate, but it’s not a model that requires technology,” said Ito. She said that kids are connecting through athletics and other non-digital arts, but connecting online helps kids find the interests and communities that might not be available to them in person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The internet provides an opportunity for kids to really find their people, which is especially important for kids who might not be into the handful of offerings that are available in their community,\" said Ito. \"The ability to have more micro-niches to cater to a vast diversity of interests is one of the biggest advantages of online.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A second benefit of online engagement is accessibility and equity. “Many in-person tech or coding summer camps are expensive, boutique programs only available in urban high-tech regions,\" said Salen, whose prolific career includes founding \u003ca href=\"https://www.instituteofplay.org/\">Institute of Play\u003c/a>, the organization behind diverse game-based learning projects like the famed \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/08/13/what-do-sixth-graders-say-about-learning-with-games-it-works/\">Quest to Learn\u003c/a> school in New York City and Chicago. \"This means lots of kids can’t attend them. Because our programs are virtual, kids can attend from anywhere they have an internet connection.” Weekly programs start at $69, but the year-round \u003ca href=\"https://connectedcamps.com/minecraft-kid-club\">Kid Club\u003c/a> is free and offers kids access to a Minecraft server and guidance from a counselor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To help bridge \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/02/03/whats-lost-when-kids-are-under-connected-to-the-internet/\">the digital divide\u003c/a>, Connected Camps has developed relationships with schools, libraries and community programs to facilitate spaces and computers for kids who may otherwise have trouble accessing the web. Also, unlike other summer activities where kids pursue an interest for the length of the program without structured follow-up, online campers can persist with their passions and build momentum by staying connected to the community year-round.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Having an online camp is perfect for [my daughter] because she can be at home, her happy place, and still get to do something fun, interactive and learn about something she already loves,\" said Karen Gilbo, who lives outside Washington, D.C., and has enrolled her 12-year-old daughter in several Connected Camp programs over the last two years. Her daughter, who has Asperger’s syndrome, was able to nourish her passions for Minecraft and STEM, while socializing with greater comfort than in her face-to-face interactions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We always struggle to get her into summer camps because she requires an aide, which makes her feel really different from the other kids,\" said Gilbo of her daughter. “This is the first time she has ever asked directly to be in a program because she really enjoys the interaction.\" Even though the personal interactions take place online, they don't necessarily stay that way, said Gilbo. \"The only thing [my daughter] has asked is if she can go meet the counselors in person and when can she start being a counselor herself.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/U3xs68gMA2U'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/U3xs68gMA2U'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>LEVELING UP WITH MENTORSHIP\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A hallmark of the Connected Camp experience is the proficiency and guidance offered by the counselors, known as mentors. Mentors are high school and college students who are recruited for their expertise in Minecraft and Scratch. They design and build the custom server spaces, steward the programs and interface with the campers through online and video chats. Camper-to-mentor ratios range from 1:1 to 20:1, depending on the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our model is about interest-driven and affinity-based mentorship, and we believe that kids learn best from slightly older kids who are passionate about the same interest as they are,” said Ito. \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/12/why-some-mentors-fail/510467/\">Studies\u003c/a> have found that well-implemented mentorship programs can bestow a broad range of academic, social and emotional benefits, and help better shepherd young people along an often daunting career path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because our online mentors love tech \u003cem>and\u003c/em> study game design, interactive design and computer science at universities around the country, they help kids see the different directions an interest in creative coding can go. They offer practical advice, encourage struggling learners and share stories from the trenches,” said Salen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, in a testament to the holistic power of intergenerational relationships, the mentors themselves also grow from the experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“\u003ca href=\"https://connectedcamps.com/meet-the-counselors/\">The counselors\u003c/a> also have this transformative experience. For the first time, they’re actually giving and contributing with something where they have more expertise than the adults around the table,” said Ito. “We’ve been very successful at recruiting a diverse range of counselors and placing them in their first jobs after Connected Camps,\" said Ito.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>GIRL POWER\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Connected Camps also furnishes opportunities to tap into girl power. Most programs have a “just for girls” option that is exclusively girl-run and populated. The underrepresentation and exodus of women in STEM fields \u003ca href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/14/women-in-tech-whats-the-real-problem/\">is well reported\u003c/a>, and a big part of the problem is isolation, sexism and condescension, a problem whose \u003ca href=\"https://girlswhocode.com/about-us/\">roots extend to middle school\u003c/a>. A recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/05/women-mentors-engineering/527625/\">study\u003c/a> found that female mentorship in engineering helped remedy a condition that “veer[s] towards exclusion and attrition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These clubs create a space where girls are free to try out skills without boys demonstrating taken-for-granted tech knowledge, and where girls don’t have to demonstrate technological incompetence in front of the boys,” said Jennifer Jenson, a games and gender expert at York University in Toronto. She sees girls-only technology camps and clubs as a big plus. Jenson, who has extensive experience studying and observing school tech clubs in action, notes that in mixed-gender groups, girls tend to disavow their existing knowledge, are more reluctant to raise their hand and are less likely to speak up. Once the girls have had the space and time to consolidate their self-confidence, and level-up their abilities and proficiency, Jenson is in favor of reintegrating the gender groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The format not only cultivates a sense of belonging and confidence, but also allows young women to do it on their own terms,” said Salen. “The girls-only format sets aside some of the more competitive elements of some of the co-ed camps, providing ample opportunity for the girls to connect with others in a highly collaborative setting.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "4 Tools To Help Kids Understand Conflict and Self-Control",
"title": "4 Tools To Help Kids Understand Conflict and Self-Control",
"headTitle": "MindShift | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Let’s face it: Kids have diverse opinions and they’re bound to disagree with one another. Today arguments occur not only in the hallway or classroom, but online as well. And whether or not these conflicts escalate \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">can\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> depend on how well students recognize and manage their emotions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are many ways to help build self-control in the face of rising frustration, whether students turn to meditation or build constructed arguments on the fly. Since we live in a democracy that values passionate and polarizing views -- especially in our educational systems -- it’s \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">all the more important to know how to\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> help kids manage their feelings responsibly. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here are some tips and tools for seamlessly integrating self-control and life-skills-building into the classroom.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsense.org/education/app/mars-gen-one-argubot-academy\">\u003cb>\u003cimg class=\"alignleft wp-image-47796\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One.png\" alt=\"Mars Gen One\" width=\"250\" height=\"247\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One.png 619w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-160x158.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-240x237.png 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-375x370.png 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-520x513.png 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-32x32.png 32w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-50x50.png 50w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-64x64.png 64w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-96x96.png 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">Mars Gen One: Argubot Academy\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One way to promote healthy debate is by showing students that good arguments are based on thorough preparation. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">game lets students select claims and evidence to become more persuasive. Once they learn the art of the argument, students can debate some tough topics online or in class. By practicing the game’s techniques, students will be ready for that next conflict with facts, and not have to resort to underhanded tactics or name-calling.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/listenwise\">\u003cb>\u003cimg class=\"alignleft wp-image-47791\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Listenwise.png\" alt=\"Listenwise\" width=\"250\" height=\"167\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Listenwise.png 600w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Listenwise-160x107.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Listenwise-240x160.png 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Listenwise-375x250.png 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Listenwise-520x347.png 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">Listenwise\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A website filled with podcasts covering \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://listenwise.com/current_events\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">current events\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Listenwise is a good platform for students to practice patience when confronted with controversial ideas or opposing views \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">that appear in the news on topics like race, politics and religion\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. As students listen, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">they can\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> describe and rank the strength of their emotions as the story progresses. Then, they can analyze how their reactions changed over time, reflect on how diverse opinions made them feel, and make a strategy for being mindful in the future.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/twitter\">\u003cb>\u003cimg class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-47794\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Twitter-e1490077019387.png\" alt=\"Twitter\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\">Twitter\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Twitter has been a go-to platform for teens and adults to air grievances\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and the consequences can have a lasting impact on people’s digital footprints. Twitter is also a valuable communications tool that can be a great way to share ideas and engage in conversations\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Kids need to understand the risks of social sharing \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">and can be taught the importance of using the tool conscientiously by seeing\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> some of the consequences of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html?_r=0\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">tweeting emotionally or impulsively\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Students can tweet about a topic from class. But \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">before it goes out into the world\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, they can write out how they think people will react to it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsense.org/education/app/smiling-mind\">\u003cb>\u003cimg class=\"alignleft wp-image-47793\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-1020x1020.jpg\" alt=\"Smiling Mind\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-160x160.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-800x800.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-768x768.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-960x960.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-240x240.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-375x375.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-520x520.jpg 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-32x32.jpg 32w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-50x50.jpg 50w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-64x64.jpg 64w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-96x96.jpg 96w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-128x128.jpg 128w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-150x150.jpg 150w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">Smiling Mind\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Smiling Mind is an app that helps students practice meditation through breathing exercises and visualizations. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Practicing some of these self-calming skills have been shown to help kids focus at school and at home. Smiling Mind can help \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">kids learn lifelong skills to cope with stress and stay calm. Hopefully the next time they get into an argument, they’ll remember to just breathe.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This article’s content is an extension of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsense.org/education/blog/we-all-teach-sel-inspiring-activities-for-every-classroom\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We All Teach SEL\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> blog series from Common Sense Education. Check it out for a complete look at social and emotional learning in the classroom.\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Conflict in school is bound to arise among kids. Some tools can help kids become better at making arguments and hearing one another out or just take guided breaths to calm down.",
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"description": "Conflict in school is bound to arise among kids. Some tools can help kids become better at making arguments and hearing one another out or just take guided breaths to calm down.",
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"nprByline": "\u003ca href “https://www.commonsense.org/education/users/danny-wagner”>Danny Wagner, Common Sense Education\u003c/a>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Let’s face it: Kids have diverse opinions and they’re bound to disagree with one another. Today arguments occur not only in the hallway or classroom, but online as well. And whether or not these conflicts escalate \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">can\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> depend on how well students recognize and manage their emotions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are many ways to help build self-control in the face of rising frustration, whether students turn to meditation or build constructed arguments on the fly. Since we live in a democracy that values passionate and polarizing views -- especially in our educational systems -- it’s \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">all the more important to know how to\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> help kids manage their feelings responsibly. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here are some tips and tools for seamlessly integrating self-control and life-skills-building into the classroom.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsense.org/education/app/mars-gen-one-argubot-academy\">\u003cb>\u003cimg class=\"alignleft wp-image-47796\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One.png\" alt=\"Mars Gen One\" width=\"250\" height=\"247\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One.png 619w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-160x158.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-240x237.png 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-375x370.png 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-520x513.png 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-32x32.png 32w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-50x50.png 50w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-64x64.png 64w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Mars-Gen-One-96x96.png 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">Mars Gen One: Argubot Academy\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One way to promote healthy debate is by showing students that good arguments are based on thorough preparation. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">game lets students select claims and evidence to become more persuasive. Once they learn the art of the argument, students can debate some tough topics online or in class. By practicing the game’s techniques, students will be ready for that next conflict with facts, and not have to resort to underhanded tactics or name-calling.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/listenwise\">\u003cb>\u003cimg class=\"alignleft wp-image-47791\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Listenwise.png\" alt=\"Listenwise\" width=\"250\" height=\"167\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Listenwise.png 600w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Listenwise-160x107.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Listenwise-240x160.png 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Listenwise-375x250.png 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Listenwise-520x347.png 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">Listenwise\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A website filled with podcasts covering \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://listenwise.com/current_events\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">current events\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Listenwise is a good platform for students to practice patience when confronted with controversial ideas or opposing views \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">that appear in the news on topics like race, politics and religion\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. As students listen, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">they can\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> describe and rank the strength of their emotions as the story progresses. Then, they can analyze how their reactions changed over time, reflect on how diverse opinions made them feel, and make a strategy for being mindful in the future.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/twitter\">\u003cb>\u003cimg class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-47794\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Twitter-e1490077019387.png\" alt=\"Twitter\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\">Twitter\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Twitter has been a go-to platform for teens and adults to air grievances\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and the consequences can have a lasting impact on people’s digital footprints. Twitter is also a valuable communications tool that can be a great way to share ideas and engage in conversations\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Kids need to understand the risks of social sharing \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">and can be taught the importance of using the tool conscientiously by seeing\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> some of the consequences of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html?_r=0\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">tweeting emotionally or impulsively\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Students can tweet about a topic from class. But \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">before it goes out into the world\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, they can write out how they think people will react to it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsense.org/education/app/smiling-mind\">\u003cb>\u003cimg class=\"alignleft wp-image-47793\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-1020x1020.jpg\" alt=\"Smiling Mind\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-160x160.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-800x800.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-768x768.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-960x960.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-240x240.jpg 240w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-375x375.jpg 375w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-520x520.jpg 520w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-32x32.jpg 32w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-50x50.jpg 50w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-64x64.jpg 64w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-96x96.jpg 96w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-128x128.jpg 128w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind-150x150.jpg 150w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/03/Smiling-Mind.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">Smiling Mind\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Smiling Mind is an app that helps students practice meditation through breathing exercises and visualizations. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Practicing some of these self-calming skills have been shown to help kids focus at school and at home. Smiling Mind can help \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">kids learn lifelong skills to cope with stress and stay calm. Hopefully the next time they get into an argument, they’ll remember to just breathe.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This article’s content is an extension of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsense.org/education/blog/we-all-teach-sel-inspiring-activities-for-every-classroom\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We All Teach SEL\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> blog series from Common Sense Education. Check it out for a complete look at social and emotional learning in the classroom.\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "3 Digital Tools for Helping Students Gain Perspective on Immigration",
"title": "3 Digital Tools for Helping Students Gain Perspective on Immigration",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Erin Wilkey Oh, Common Sense Education \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the debate over U.S. immigration policy continues to divide voters across the country, more and more online resources are popping up to help us understand this complex, emotionally charged issue. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For young people without a personal connection to an immigration story, these websites, games, multimedia news pieces, and more, can help put a human face on an abstract debate. For students with first-hand knowledge of the immigrant experience, they can find validation of their stories and/or those of their friends and family.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The three tools below give teachers a few ways to approach the topic of immigration in the classroom. While none of these resources offers a complete picture of the situation on its own, they can help students step back for a big-picture, historical perspective on U.S. immigration, as well as zoom in for the details of the lived experience.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/american-panorama\">\u003cimg class=\"alignnone wp-image-45822 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama.png\" alt=\"Panorama\" width=\"1300\" height=\"678\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama.png 1300w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama-400x209.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama-800x417.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama-768x401.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama-1180x615.png 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama-960x501.png 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/website/american-panorama\">\u003cb>American Panorama\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With American Panorama’s foreign-born population map, students can analyze migration patterns for the whole country over time as well as zoom in on a specific year or location to see detailed data on countries of origin. This unique interactive resource can be a valuable supplement to a lesson or unit about U.S. immigration.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://apps.npr.org/borderland/\">\u003cimg class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45825\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR.png\" alt=\"NPR\" width=\"1300\" height=\"634\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR.png 1300w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR-400x195.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR-800x390.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR-768x375.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR-1180x575.png 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR-960x468.png 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/website/npr-borderland\">\u003cb>NPR: Borderland\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This collection of 12 multimedia stories as well as 22 podcasts offers an illuminating, intimate visit to the U.S.-Mexico border. Students can read or hear first-hand accounts of life on both sides of the border along with stories of crossing -- some successful, others not. Teachers can use Borderland for whole-class discussion and exploration, or give students time to experience these powerful stories on their own.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/papers-please\">\u003cimg class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45824\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please.png\" alt=\"Papers Please\" width=\"1288\" height=\"725\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please.png 1288w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please-400x225.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please-800x450.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please-768x432.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please-1180x664.png 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please-960x540.png 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1288px) 100vw, 1288px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/papers-please\">\u003cb>Papers, Please\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Put students in the role of an immigration officer in this mature simulation game that forces tough ethical choices and explores the grim systems underpinning border control. Players approve or deny someone entry to a fictional country, basing their decisions on an ever-increasing number of virtual documents they must read and analyze. Teachers can help students contextualize their experiences with the game by facilitating extension activities, class discussion, research projects, and writing assignments focused on real-world border and immigration issues.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Erin Wilkey Oh is executive editor of \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\" target=\"_blank\">Common Sense Education\u003c/a>, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. Go to \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\" target=\"_blank\">Common Sense Education\u003c/a> for free resources, including full reviews of digital tools.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Erin Wilkey Oh, Common Sense Education \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the debate over U.S. immigration policy continues to divide voters across the country, more and more online resources are popping up to help us understand this complex, emotionally charged issue. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For young people without a personal connection to an immigration story, these websites, games, multimedia news pieces, and more, can help put a human face on an abstract debate. For students with first-hand knowledge of the immigrant experience, they can find validation of their stories and/or those of their friends and family.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The three tools below give teachers a few ways to approach the topic of immigration in the classroom. While none of these resources offers a complete picture of the situation on its own, they can help students step back for a big-picture, historical perspective on U.S. immigration, as well as zoom in for the details of the lived experience.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/american-panorama\">\u003cimg class=\"alignnone wp-image-45822 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama.png\" alt=\"Panorama\" width=\"1300\" height=\"678\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama.png 1300w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama-400x209.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama-800x417.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama-768x401.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama-1180x615.png 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Panorama-960x501.png 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/website/american-panorama\">\u003cb>American Panorama\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With American Panorama’s foreign-born population map, students can analyze migration patterns for the whole country over time as well as zoom in on a specific year or location to see detailed data on countries of origin. This unique interactive resource can be a valuable supplement to a lesson or unit about U.S. immigration.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://apps.npr.org/borderland/\">\u003cimg class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45825\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR.png\" alt=\"NPR\" width=\"1300\" height=\"634\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR.png 1300w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR-400x195.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR-800x390.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR-768x375.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR-1180x575.png 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/NPR-960x468.png 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/website/npr-borderland\">\u003cb>NPR: Borderland\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This collection of 12 multimedia stories as well as 22 podcasts offers an illuminating, intimate visit to the U.S.-Mexico border. Students can read or hear first-hand accounts of life on both sides of the border along with stories of crossing -- some successful, others not. Teachers can use Borderland for whole-class discussion and exploration, or give students time to experience these powerful stories on their own.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/papers-please\">\u003cimg class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45824\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please.png\" alt=\"Papers Please\" width=\"1288\" height=\"725\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please.png 1288w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please-400x225.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please-800x450.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please-768x432.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please-1180x664.png 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/07/Papers-Please-960x540.png 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1288px) 100vw, 1288px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/papers-please\">\u003cb>Papers, Please\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Put students in the role of an immigration officer in this mature simulation game that forces tough ethical choices and explores the grim systems underpinning border control. Players approve or deny someone entry to a fictional country, basing their decisions on an ever-increasing number of virtual documents they must read and analyze. Teachers can help students contextualize their experiences with the game by facilitating extension activities, class discussion, research projects, and writing assignments focused on real-world border and immigration issues.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Erin Wilkey Oh is executive editor of \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\" target=\"_blank\">Common Sense Education\u003c/a>, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. Go to \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\" target=\"_blank\">Common Sense Education\u003c/a> for free resources, including full reviews of digital tools.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The classics may seem like an endangered species in K-12 curriculums as they become increasingly incompatible with a wired generation accustomed to novelty, online interaction and instant gratification. Teens who now spend up to \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/news/press-releases/landmark-report-us-teens-use-an-average-of-nine-hours-of-media-per-day\">nine hours a day\u003c/a> consuming digital media prize all things “epic,” except an epic itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who has time for Homer and Virgil’s dusty old words when the siren song of notifications beckon? A modern tragedy? Drama teacher and theater director Eddie Kim proves that it doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition. Kim and his students at the Pierrepont School in Connecticut marry the classical past and the digital now with mesmerizing performances that combine traditional literature, experimental theater and video games. Welcome to the world of \u003ca href=\"http://www.ektheater.com/#/grand-theft-ovid-2/\">\u003cem>Grand Theft Ovid\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kim knew he was onto something when a noisy and restless high school audience was reduced to rapt silence by his company’s performance of the myth of Niobe from Ovid’s \u003cem>Metamorphoses\u003c/em>. The tragic tale of a mother whose children are murdered by vengeful gods is certainly Netflix-worthy material, but what really struck a chord with the students was that it was staged on \u003cem>Halo: Reach\u003c/em>, part of the blockbuster sci-fi video game franchise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students narrate dialogue from classic works to scenes of video games as avatars move through the action. The director decides which game scene will project on the main screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the action takes place on a large screen, the flesh and blood performers and technical crew are also part of the show. Digital puppeteers, voice actors and technicians sit below the screen in a highly visible row of glowing computer terminals and game consoles, speaking lines, moving characters and managing the sounds and transitions. Kim’s decision to keep the performers and their computers exposed to the audience is a deliberate nod to traditional Japanese Bunraku puppetry and the writings of Bertolt Brecht.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experiencing a classical myth expressed as a video game resonated with the youthful audience, underscoring the value of articulating the past in a relevant and contemporary format, according to Kim. “[Students] did not seem interested in us, in what we were doing, or in Ovid,\" he said. As the story unfolded, the audience became more interested. \"The mood changed dramatically.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obh5IMU6euY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kim and his students formed the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ektheater.com/\">EK Theater\u003c/a> company, whose tagline compactly sums their vision: \u003cem>retelling classical stories through video games\u003c/em>. Although based out of a school, EK Theater operates like a professional company. Kim and his students build the productions from the ground up, tour and perform in venues like the \u003ca href=\"http://bricktheater.com/\">Brick Theater\u003c/a> in Brooklyn and Harvard’s \u003ca href=\"http://americanrepertorytheater.org/\">American Repertory Theater (ART)\u003c/a>. The company’s eclectic repertoire includes Poe’s \u003cem>The Tell-Tale Heart\u003c/em>, Shakespeare’s \u003cem>Romeo and Juliet\u003c/em>, an ancient Arabic fairytale and stories from Livy’s \u003cem>Ab Urbe Condita\u003c/em>, which depicts the mythical founding of Rome. Middle and high school students in the company must meet the technical, artistic and logistical demands of a seasoned theater crowd. “My experiences taught me that you actually can take an idea, make it real and see people respond to it, ” said Connor Sedlacek, an alumnus of Kim’s troupe and the Pierrepont School, who now studies Classics at NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Studies and produces his own video game theater productions. He said the production helps underscore the importance of including hands-on, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/03/07/the-value-of-interships-a-dose-of-the-real-world-in-high-school/\">experiential learning opportunities\u003c/a> in schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shows are praised for their fidelity to the classical source texts, which is in part a credit to the students who translated many of the works from the original Latin. “For \u003cem>Grand Theft Ovid 2\u003c/em>, some Pierrepont students and I worked as a committee to produce our own Latin-to-English translation of the relevant parts of \u003cem>The Metamorphoses\u003c/em>,” remembers Sedlacek. “Translating by committee is actually a very effective method, but things did get very heated about certain word-choices. Making a translation intended for an audience is very different from making one for your Latin class: you become a lot more invested in your choices, because you really want it to interest people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where adults might see our work as being innovative and technical, kids see it quite differently,” Kim said. “They see it as being an accessible art form. They have their own stories to tell, and they can see themselves doing what we do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part theater, part machinima, part puppet show, Kim first conceived the hybrid art form in 2007 for The Tiny Theater Festival, where participants were restricted to perform 10-minute segments in 6-foot cubes. “It was while trying to figure out how I could present a piece in such a small space that the idea of using video games first occurred to me,” says Kim. “By projecting the MMORPG [massive multiplayer online role-playing game], \u003cem>World of Warcraft\u003c/em>, to a screen mounted at the back of the cube, I could present an entire world for the audience.” He enlisted two students to help him and successfully produced W.B. Yeats’ \u003cem>Cathleen ni Houlihan\u003c/em> on the ultra-popular online game. And in that 6-foot cube, a new art form was born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harvard University comparative literature professor David Damrosch believes that new media, like video games, are the “new material conditions” by which stories are being told, and warrant the same degree of serious critical consideration as their print-based predecessors. “The study of classic literary texts is [not] fated to whither away,” writes Damrosch in \u003cem>Geopoetics: World Literature and the Global Mediascape\u003c/em>. “Literary studies can thrive in the newly expansive media environment, bringing new audiences to our favorite authors.” Rather than resist or compete with new media, Kim’s approach reconciles past and present. It’s worth remembering that many of the stories from antiquity were originally transmitted orally, and were only later committed to the new technology of writing. Similarly, these enduring narratives can now be communicated through video games, a central (perhaps \u003cem>the\u003c/em> central) source of storytelling in contemporary culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYmTTOVBWLQ\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite his devotion to the classics, Sedlacek emphasizes the importance in letting them find new forms. “I don’t think it helps to act as if the classics occupy a sacred space isolated from the rest of culture. It’s better to allow these texts to be played with, to put them into conversation with the other media that make up our world.” He describes video game puppetry as a “postmodern mashup of old and new, high and low. Video games lend flair and fun, the stories lend wisdom and gravity. Together, they give the audience a chance to appreciate both for the unique feelings and thoughts they can evoke in us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what is lost? Is acting by means of an avatar really acting? Does a repurposed video game lend the same gravity as a traditional stage performance? Sedlacek sees it as a series of trade-offs. “When we do theater in the game, we are acting in the same way that flesh-and-blood thespians do. We gesture, we pause dramatically, we try to elicit a response using our digital bodies. Each game offers its own possibilities for representation, possibilities that are very different from that which reality offers us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the epilogue of his bestselling \u003cem>The Game Believes in You\u003c/em>, USA Today reporter Greg Toppo also attests to the power of this type of hybrid performance. He praises \u003cem>The Surface: The World Above\u003c/em>, a Mozart inspired opera produced entirely on \u003cem>Minecraf\u003c/em>t, the popular world building video game. Toppo was moved by the piece and described this fusion of high art and video games as “the most promising application of games and learning that I’ve seen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kim’s work is a model of how educators can creatively blend the traditional and progressive, past and future, digital and analog to produce a meaningful and persistent learning experience. Most importantly, this type of synthesis empowers students to articulate their condition by leveraging their passions and interests. As Toppo notes, it is critical for teachers to understand the real world their students live in, and bring that world to the classroom. “This is cutting-edge technology applied to something totally new and strange and beautiful,” writes Toppo. “It offers kids a chance to create something no one has ever seen, something keyed to their passions but with an eye towards broadening them. They start with one foot in a familiar world and end up somewhere new and different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More on EK Theater by Ars Technica:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-svKi7k0EU\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The classics may seem like an endangered species in K-12 curriculums as they become increasingly incompatible with a wired generation accustomed to novelty, online interaction and instant gratification. Teens who now spend up to \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/news/press-releases/landmark-report-us-teens-use-an-average-of-nine-hours-of-media-per-day\">nine hours a day\u003c/a> consuming digital media prize all things “epic,” except an epic itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who has time for Homer and Virgil’s dusty old words when the siren song of notifications beckon? A modern tragedy? Drama teacher and theater director Eddie Kim proves that it doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition. Kim and his students at the Pierrepont School in Connecticut marry the classical past and the digital now with mesmerizing performances that combine traditional literature, experimental theater and video games. Welcome to the world of \u003ca href=\"http://www.ektheater.com/#/grand-theft-ovid-2/\">\u003cem>Grand Theft Ovid\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kim knew he was onto something when a noisy and restless high school audience was reduced to rapt silence by his company’s performance of the myth of Niobe from Ovid’s \u003cem>Metamorphoses\u003c/em>. The tragic tale of a mother whose children are murdered by vengeful gods is certainly Netflix-worthy material, but what really struck a chord with the students was that it was staged on \u003cem>Halo: Reach\u003c/em>, part of the blockbuster sci-fi video game franchise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students narrate dialogue from classic works to scenes of video games as avatars move through the action. The director decides which game scene will project on the main screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the action takes place on a large screen, the flesh and blood performers and technical crew are also part of the show. Digital puppeteers, voice actors and technicians sit below the screen in a highly visible row of glowing computer terminals and game consoles, speaking lines, moving characters and managing the sounds and transitions. Kim’s decision to keep the performers and their computers exposed to the audience is a deliberate nod to traditional Japanese Bunraku puppetry and the writings of Bertolt Brecht.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experiencing a classical myth expressed as a video game resonated with the youthful audience, underscoring the value of articulating the past in a relevant and contemporary format, according to Kim. “[Students] did not seem interested in us, in what we were doing, or in Ovid,\" he said. As the story unfolded, the audience became more interested. \"The mood changed dramatically.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Obh5IMU6euY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Obh5IMU6euY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Kim and his students formed the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ektheater.com/\">EK Theater\u003c/a> company, whose tagline compactly sums their vision: \u003cem>retelling classical stories through video games\u003c/em>. Although based out of a school, EK Theater operates like a professional company. Kim and his students build the productions from the ground up, tour and perform in venues like the \u003ca href=\"http://bricktheater.com/\">Brick Theater\u003c/a> in Brooklyn and Harvard’s \u003ca href=\"http://americanrepertorytheater.org/\">American Repertory Theater (ART)\u003c/a>. The company’s eclectic repertoire includes Poe’s \u003cem>The Tell-Tale Heart\u003c/em>, Shakespeare’s \u003cem>Romeo and Juliet\u003c/em>, an ancient Arabic fairytale and stories from Livy’s \u003cem>Ab Urbe Condita\u003c/em>, which depicts the mythical founding of Rome. Middle and high school students in the company must meet the technical, artistic and logistical demands of a seasoned theater crowd. “My experiences taught me that you actually can take an idea, make it real and see people respond to it, ” said Connor Sedlacek, an alumnus of Kim’s troupe and the Pierrepont School, who now studies Classics at NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Studies and produces his own video game theater productions. He said the production helps underscore the importance of including hands-on, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/03/07/the-value-of-interships-a-dose-of-the-real-world-in-high-school/\">experiential learning opportunities\u003c/a> in schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shows are praised for their fidelity to the classical source texts, which is in part a credit to the students who translated many of the works from the original Latin. “For \u003cem>Grand Theft Ovid 2\u003c/em>, some Pierrepont students and I worked as a committee to produce our own Latin-to-English translation of the relevant parts of \u003cem>The Metamorphoses\u003c/em>,” remembers Sedlacek. “Translating by committee is actually a very effective method, but things did get very heated about certain word-choices. Making a translation intended for an audience is very different from making one for your Latin class: you become a lot more invested in your choices, because you really want it to interest people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where adults might see our work as being innovative and technical, kids see it quite differently,” Kim said. “They see it as being an accessible art form. They have their own stories to tell, and they can see themselves doing what we do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part theater, part machinima, part puppet show, Kim first conceived the hybrid art form in 2007 for The Tiny Theater Festival, where participants were restricted to perform 10-minute segments in 6-foot cubes. “It was while trying to figure out how I could present a piece in such a small space that the idea of using video games first occurred to me,” says Kim. “By projecting the MMORPG [massive multiplayer online role-playing game], \u003cem>World of Warcraft\u003c/em>, to a screen mounted at the back of the cube, I could present an entire world for the audience.” He enlisted two students to help him and successfully produced W.B. Yeats’ \u003cem>Cathleen ni Houlihan\u003c/em> on the ultra-popular online game. And in that 6-foot cube, a new art form was born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harvard University comparative literature professor David Damrosch believes that new media, like video games, are the “new material conditions” by which stories are being told, and warrant the same degree of serious critical consideration as their print-based predecessors. “The study of classic literary texts is [not] fated to whither away,” writes Damrosch in \u003cem>Geopoetics: World Literature and the Global Mediascape\u003c/em>. “Literary studies can thrive in the newly expansive media environment, bringing new audiences to our favorite authors.” Rather than resist or compete with new media, Kim’s approach reconciles past and present. It’s worth remembering that many of the stories from antiquity were originally transmitted orally, and were only later committed to the new technology of writing. Similarly, these enduring narratives can now be communicated through video games, a central (perhaps \u003cem>the\u003c/em> central) source of storytelling in contemporary culture.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/sYmTTOVBWLQ'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/sYmTTOVBWLQ'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Despite his devotion to the classics, Sedlacek emphasizes the importance in letting them find new forms. “I don’t think it helps to act as if the classics occupy a sacred space isolated from the rest of culture. It’s better to allow these texts to be played with, to put them into conversation with the other media that make up our world.” He describes video game puppetry as a “postmodern mashup of old and new, high and low. Video games lend flair and fun, the stories lend wisdom and gravity. Together, they give the audience a chance to appreciate both for the unique feelings and thoughts they can evoke in us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what is lost? Is acting by means of an avatar really acting? Does a repurposed video game lend the same gravity as a traditional stage performance? Sedlacek sees it as a series of trade-offs. “When we do theater in the game, we are acting in the same way that flesh-and-blood thespians do. We gesture, we pause dramatically, we try to elicit a response using our digital bodies. Each game offers its own possibilities for representation, possibilities that are very different from that which reality offers us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the epilogue of his bestselling \u003cem>The Game Believes in You\u003c/em>, USA Today reporter Greg Toppo also attests to the power of this type of hybrid performance. He praises \u003cem>The Surface: The World Above\u003c/em>, a Mozart inspired opera produced entirely on \u003cem>Minecraf\u003c/em>t, the popular world building video game. Toppo was moved by the piece and described this fusion of high art and video games as “the most promising application of games and learning that I’ve seen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kim’s work is a model of how educators can creatively blend the traditional and progressive, past and future, digital and analog to produce a meaningful and persistent learning experience. Most importantly, this type of synthesis empowers students to articulate their condition by leveraging their passions and interests. As Toppo notes, it is critical for teachers to understand the real world their students live in, and bring that world to the classroom. “This is cutting-edge technology applied to something totally new and strange and beautiful,” writes Toppo. “It offers kids a chance to create something no one has ever seen, something keyed to their passions but with an eye towards broadening them. They start with one foot in a familiar world and end up somewhere new and different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More on EK Theater by Ars Technica:\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/O-svKi7k0EU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/O-svKi7k0EU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A few \"short\" years ago, during my sophomore year at \u003ca href=\"https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/\">The City College of New York\u003c/a>, some fellow Caribbean classmates told me that the education department was offering a \"free\" course, called Thinking Chess, for three credits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an international student from Barbados, paying almost four times more in tuition than locals, the idea of getting \"free\" credits in a system where we had to pay for everything was nothing short of a miracle. I jumped at the idea of taking the class because, after all, who doesn't want to save a few dollars living in a foreign country away from one's family?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than that, I'd always wanted to learn chess. And, as if I weren't psyched enough about free credits, the kicker sold me — the class was going to be taught by an international grandmaster. I may have been a novice at chess, but I sure knew that a grandmaster meant I would be learning from one of the game's best. Details about our instructor-to-be got even more exciting. Not only was he a grandmaster, but he was the first African-American and Jamaican-born grandmaster in chess — a designation that brought me immense pride as a West Indian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His name is Maurice Ashley. It was my first time hearing about him, but I could hardly wait to meet him and learn the game that brought him fame — and of course, earn those free easy credits. Ashley was amiable and smart, a proud alum returning to his alma mater to teach, and this assignment was no game for him; he meant business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his introduction, he told us that ours was an addition to the many classes he'd been teaching throughout New York City since 1988 to students ages 5 to 18. His lessons, he noted, were not simply to instruct students on how to play chess, but how to apply its tactics and strategies to life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashley made it clear that our credits would be hard-earned, and in order to pass the class, among other criteria, we had to (1) attempt to checkmate him in a limited number of moves and (2) write a paper on how we plan to apply the tactics and strategies of chess to our respective chosen professions and, ultimately, our lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of a sudden, what I thought would be three easy credits seemed as daunting as the chances of my actually becoming a grandmaster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I didn't checkmate Ashley in my practical chess exam, but I got an A in that course and learned life lessons that have served me well beyond the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These nuggets came to mind last week when Ashley made headlines. As the U.S. Chess Championships got underway, he received one of the highest honors bestowed to an American chess grandmaster — induction into the \u003ca href=\"http://www.worldchesshof.org/hall-of-fame/us-chess/maurice-ashley\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Chess Hall of Fame\u003c/a> in St. Louis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The occasion caused me to reflect on his journey from Jamaica to the world stage and how for almost 30 years he has influenced the lives of countless students — mine included — through teaching chess.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thinking Chess With \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Maurice Ashley\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I found my old college essay from the chess course I took with Ashley and I reached out to him for an interview. On revisiting my essay, I smiled at how my takeaway from that class was in sync with what he told me this past week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In part, my essay said:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\"My most profound lesson from learning the strategies and tactics of chess is the cognizance of the consequence of my actions. ... I learned that similar to finding every possible convergent square on the chess board, to think through all available options I have when faced with a problem or decision and to consider what may be the result of my actions.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>And when I asked Ashley recently what he most wants to teach when instructing students on the game, his answer reiterated what I'd learned: \"The absolute most important skill that you learn when you play chess is how to make good decisions. On every single move you have to analyze a situation, process what your opponent is doing and evaluate the best move from amongst all your options.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashley says he finds great gratification in reconnecting with students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I have had students come up to me later as grown adults to tell me about how chess has helped to transform their lives with their ability to think more critically, to process data more rapidly and to make better decisions,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taking Ashley back down memory lane, I asked him what he'd accomplished from teaching my class (whose students were mostly education majors).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The class allowed me to teach the principles behind chess and important critical thinking skills that students develop when they play the game,\" he says. \"It was my goal to infect teachers with a love for the game and the belief that they themselves could teach chess in an actual classroom.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Taking Chess \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>To \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Ferguson\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of Ashley's teaching engagements over the years have been through the \u003ca href=\"http://www.chessintheschools.org/\">Chess in the Schools\u003c/a> program in New York City and the \u003ca href=\"http://heaf.org/\">Harlem Educational Activities Fund\u003c/a>. These days, he has also partnered with the \u003ca href=\"http://saintlouischessclub.org/\">Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis \u003c/a>to bring chess to places like Ferguson, Mo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It always warms my heart to be able to teach kids in the five boroughs of New York City, but also to be able to impact young people nationwide,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several of Ashley's students have participated in national competitions, and three teams — including the Raging Rooks and the Dark Knights — have won national championships. While he's proud of students who become great chess players, he insists his motivation is not to create grandmasters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I've had students who have gone onto Harvard, NYU, Yale, the University of Michigan and many other top universities because they've taken those skills from chess that have allowed them to apply [them] to academics and to life. That's really what's critical for me, that they are learning to be better students, role models and citizens.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>From Jamaica \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>To The \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Chess Hall \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Of \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Fame\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashley, 50, was 12 years old when he emigrated from Jamaica to New York City with his mother. He grew up on the tough streets of Brooklyn, and during his teenage years at Brooklyn Technical High School, he honed his chess playing skills in the city's parks and chess clubs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Sometimes I didn't feel as though the world could hear my voice or that people really cared,\" he says. \"But I found that with hard work and especially with pursuing your passion, you can grow in ways that you could never have imagined.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashley got his first big title in 1992 when he shared the U.S. Game/10 chess championship with \u003ca href=\"http://www.dlugy.com/\">Maxim Dlugy\u003c/a>. In 1999, he created history by becoming not only the first African-American international grandmaster, but also the first Jamaican-born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He's won several other accolades for various roles in chess, but says his April 13 induction into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame has been like a \"fairy tale ride.\" He says he never thought that one day his name and face would be mounted on a wall with the greatest chess players of all time. In fact, he doesn't even fancy himself a great chess player.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"A grandmaster, yes, but I am not among the all-time top players,\" he says. \"So I'm humbled because this is recognition of not only some of my accomplishments as a player, but primarily for my accomplishments as a promoter and as an ambassador of the sport.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He adds, \"It means that everything that I've put into this game that I love, the blood, sweat and tears, the hard work, and the suffering through the lean times have been recognized as meaningful to others.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Inspiring \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Others Through Chess Success\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashley sees his accomplishments as a way of inspiring others, particularly those who come from similar beginnings. And he's encouraging everyone to follow their dreams, no matter how nontraditional. His focus, however, remains on teaching.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Everyone should introduce their children to the game of chess,\" he says. \"It's an inexpensive way of teaching your children lifelong skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can testify to that. Ten years after my chess class with Maurice Ashley, I'm still putting to use the lessons he taught me. These sentiments, in another excerpt from my Thinking Chess essay, rings true today in my role as a journalist:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\"The most pertinent strategy from chess that I can immediately apply to my profession is the concept of loyalty that surrounds protecting/securing the king. ... One must utilize the full army of pawns, bishops, knights, rooks and the powerful queen to destroy enemies and safeguard the mighty king. As a journalist, my immediate loyalties are to the company for which I work, my sources, my contemporaries, the ethics of my profession and myself in upholding integrity.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Chess+For+Progress%3A+How+A+Grandmaster+Is+Using+The+Game+To+Teach+Life+Skills&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A few \"short\" years ago, during my sophomore year at \u003ca href=\"https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/\">The City College of New York\u003c/a>, some fellow Caribbean classmates told me that the education department was offering a \"free\" course, called Thinking Chess, for three credits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an international student from Barbados, paying almost four times more in tuition than locals, the idea of getting \"free\" credits in a system where we had to pay for everything was nothing short of a miracle. I jumped at the idea of taking the class because, after all, who doesn't want to save a few dollars living in a foreign country away from one's family?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than that, I'd always wanted to learn chess. And, as if I weren't psyched enough about free credits, the kicker sold me — the class was going to be taught by an international grandmaster. I may have been a novice at chess, but I sure knew that a grandmaster meant I would be learning from one of the game's best. Details about our instructor-to-be got even more exciting. Not only was he a grandmaster, but he was the first African-American and Jamaican-born grandmaster in chess — a designation that brought me immense pride as a West Indian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His name is Maurice Ashley. It was my first time hearing about him, but I could hardly wait to meet him and learn the game that brought him fame — and of course, earn those free easy credits. Ashley was amiable and smart, a proud alum returning to his alma mater to teach, and this assignment was no game for him; he meant business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his introduction, he told us that ours was an addition to the many classes he'd been teaching throughout New York City since 1988 to students ages 5 to 18. His lessons, he noted, were not simply to instruct students on how to play chess, but how to apply its tactics and strategies to life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashley made it clear that our credits would be hard-earned, and in order to pass the class, among other criteria, we had to (1) attempt to checkmate him in a limited number of moves and (2) write a paper on how we plan to apply the tactics and strategies of chess to our respective chosen professions and, ultimately, our lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of a sudden, what I thought would be three easy credits seemed as daunting as the chances of my actually becoming a grandmaster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I didn't checkmate Ashley in my practical chess exam, but I got an A in that course and learned life lessons that have served me well beyond the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These nuggets came to mind last week when Ashley made headlines. As the U.S. Chess Championships got underway, he received one of the highest honors bestowed to an American chess grandmaster — induction into the \u003ca href=\"http://www.worldchesshof.org/hall-of-fame/us-chess/maurice-ashley\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Chess Hall of Fame\u003c/a> in St. Louis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The occasion caused me to reflect on his journey from Jamaica to the world stage and how for almost 30 years he has influenced the lives of countless students — mine included — through teaching chess.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thinking Chess With \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Maurice Ashley\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I found my old college essay from the chess course I took with Ashley and I reached out to him for an interview. On revisiting my essay, I smiled at how my takeaway from that class was in sync with what he told me this past week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In part, my essay said:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\"My most profound lesson from learning the strategies and tactics of chess is the cognizance of the consequence of my actions. ... I learned that similar to finding every possible convergent square on the chess board, to think through all available options I have when faced with a problem or decision and to consider what may be the result of my actions.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>And when I asked Ashley recently what he most wants to teach when instructing students on the game, his answer reiterated what I'd learned: \"The absolute most important skill that you learn when you play chess is how to make good decisions. On every single move you have to analyze a situation, process what your opponent is doing and evaluate the best move from amongst all your options.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashley says he finds great gratification in reconnecting with students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I have had students come up to me later as grown adults to tell me about how chess has helped to transform their lives with their ability to think more critically, to process data more rapidly and to make better decisions,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taking Ashley back down memory lane, I asked him what he'd accomplished from teaching my class (whose students were mostly education majors).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The class allowed me to teach the principles behind chess and important critical thinking skills that students develop when they play the game,\" he says. \"It was my goal to infect teachers with a love for the game and the belief that they themselves could teach chess in an actual classroom.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Taking Chess \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>To \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Ferguson\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of Ashley's teaching engagements over the years have been through the \u003ca href=\"http://www.chessintheschools.org/\">Chess in the Schools\u003c/a> program in New York City and the \u003ca href=\"http://heaf.org/\">Harlem Educational Activities Fund\u003c/a>. These days, he has also partnered with the \u003ca href=\"http://saintlouischessclub.org/\">Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis \u003c/a>to bring chess to places like Ferguson, Mo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It always warms my heart to be able to teach kids in the five boroughs of New York City, but also to be able to impact young people nationwide,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several of Ashley's students have participated in national competitions, and three teams — including the Raging Rooks and the Dark Knights — have won national championships. While he's proud of students who become great chess players, he insists his motivation is not to create grandmasters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I've had students who have gone onto Harvard, NYU, Yale, the University of Michigan and many other top universities because they've taken those skills from chess that have allowed them to apply [them] to academics and to life. That's really what's critical for me, that they are learning to be better students, role models and citizens.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>From Jamaica \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>To The \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Chess Hall \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Of \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Fame\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashley, 50, was 12 years old when he emigrated from Jamaica to New York City with his mother. He grew up on the tough streets of Brooklyn, and during his teenage years at Brooklyn Technical High School, he honed his chess playing skills in the city's parks and chess clubs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Sometimes I didn't feel as though the world could hear my voice or that people really cared,\" he says. \"But I found that with hard work and especially with pursuing your passion, you can grow in ways that you could never have imagined.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashley got his first big title in 1992 when he shared the U.S. Game/10 chess championship with \u003ca href=\"http://www.dlugy.com/\">Maxim Dlugy\u003c/a>. In 1999, he created history by becoming not only the first African-American international grandmaster, but also the first Jamaican-born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He's won several other accolades for various roles in chess, but says his April 13 induction into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame has been like a \"fairy tale ride.\" He says he never thought that one day his name and face would be mounted on a wall with the greatest chess players of all time. In fact, he doesn't even fancy himself a great chess player.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"A grandmaster, yes, but I am not among the all-time top players,\" he says. \"So I'm humbled because this is recognition of not only some of my accomplishments as a player, but primarily for my accomplishments as a promoter and as an ambassador of the sport.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He adds, \"It means that everything that I've put into this game that I love, the blood, sweat and tears, the hard work, and the suffering through the lean times have been recognized as meaningful to others.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Inspiring \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Others Through Chess Success\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashley sees his accomplishments as a way of inspiring others, particularly those who come from similar beginnings. And he's encouraging everyone to follow their dreams, no matter how nontraditional. His focus, however, remains on teaching.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Everyone should introduce their children to the game of chess,\" he says. \"It's an inexpensive way of teaching your children lifelong skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can testify to that. Ten years after my chess class with Maurice Ashley, I'm still putting to use the lessons he taught me. These sentiments, in another excerpt from my Thinking Chess essay, rings true today in my role as a journalist:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\"The most pertinent strategy from chess that I can immediately apply to my profession is the concept of loyalty that surrounds protecting/securing the king. ... One must utilize the full army of pawns, bishops, knights, rooks and the powerful queen to destroy enemies and safeguard the mighty king. As a journalist, my immediate loyalties are to the company for which I work, my sources, my contemporaries, the ethics of my profession and myself in upholding integrity.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Chess+For+Progress%3A+How+A+Grandmaster+Is+Using+The+Game+To+Teach+Life+Skills&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "2016 Tech Tool Tourney: Games Edition!",
"title": "2016 Tech Tool Tourney: Games Edition!",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-44622\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/03/TECH-TOOL-TOURNEY-Champion-e1459879221378.jpg\" alt=\"TECH-TOOL-TOURNEY-Champion\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1484\">\u003cem>Updated 4/5/16:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congratulations to the winners of our first ever Tech Tool Tourney: \u003cstrong>Construct 2 \u003c/strong>and\u003cstrong> Kerbal Space Program!\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Construct 2 and Kerbal Space Program won four rounds of voting to face each other in the 2016 Tech Tool Tourney Games Edition Championship. Voting for the championship round started on April 1 and ended on April 4.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We noticed some voting irregularities around the world by some extremely passionate fans. Developers of both games promptly disapproved:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/KasperVld/status/716903571703205891\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/Scirra/status/716915909881896960\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the end, we at KQED MindShift and Common Sense Graphite decided to award the title of co-champions to both games. We are honored so many gamers got excited about our bracket. The original 32 games were selected because of their outstanding quality and educational value. You can find teacher reviews for these games, along with thousands of others, at \u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/\">Graphite\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to this tourney, game enthusiasts and educators were introduced to new games, and we couldn't have done it without you!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/DJSnM/status/717005035431796740\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/avward7/status/715989377210572802\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thank you for bringing your passion for games and education to this tourney and coming back to vote every four days. We hope you had fun. Here are summaries of the original 32 games:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/gonoodle\">\u003cb>GoNoodle\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">GoNoodle creates an efficient and effective way to provide five- to 10-minute bursts of physical exercise right in the classroom. What really stands out is the sheer variety of activities kids can participate in, from Zumba to yoga to Wii Sports-type running games. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/journey\">\u003cb>Journey\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Journey crafts a metaphor about what life is all about, and -- through a brilliant, unique co-op experience that randomly weaves in another player (either real or computerized) -- players reflect on companionship, loneliness, friendship, love, and loss. This absorbing platformer is less about what's happening on-screen and more about what's happening inside us.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/spent\">\u003cb>Spent\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>Spent is sort of like a jazzed-up, text-based, choose-your-own-adventure story but with a powerful message about social justice and empathy. Players are thrown into the tough -- often impossible -- life of someone living on the poverty line; they choose a job, get a set income, and must make choices based on events that pop up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/if-the-emotional-iq-game\">\u003cb>IF... The Emotional IQ Game\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">IF... The Emotional IQ Game\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">is an adventure game that helps kids age 6 to 12 develop the skills that lead to emotional intelligence. Inspired by the poem \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\"\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\"\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> by Rudyard Kipling, the app leads kids on a quest that promotes self-awareness and positive social communication.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/zoo-u\">\u003cb>Zoo U\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>Zoo U is a powerful and focused social problem-solving game designed to reach kids who need direct instruction. Given a variety of situations, conversations, and social encounters, kids make choices to practice building skills such as empathy, managing feelings, self-control, and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/daniel-tigers-grr-ific-feelings\">\u003cb>Daniel Tiger's Grr-ific Feelings\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Daniel Tiger's Grr-ific Feelings is an early education social and emotional learning app for preschoolers and kindergarten-age kids. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Songs and activities help young kids learn to express, recognize, and understand emotions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/papers-please\">\u003cb>Papers, Please\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Papers, Please is a simulation video game that puts students in the role of an immigration officer for a fictional communist nation. Players are forced to make tough ethical decisions as they check an ever-increasing number of documents to decide who is approved or denied entrance to the country.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/never-alone-kisima-innitchuna\">\u003cb>Never Alone (Kisima Innitchuna)\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Never Alone is an adventure puzzle game based on Inupiat (Alaska Native) lore, tales, and characters, developed in cooperation with Upper One Games, the first indigenous-owned video game developer in the U.S. The core of Never Alone is its themes, derived from Inupiat and Alaska Native cultures: togetherness, interconnectedness, love, respect for all things, and storytelling.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SCHOOL SUBJECTS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/website/icivics\">\u003cb>iCivics\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">iCivics was founded by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to reverse a decline in civic knowledge and help kids better understand and respect the U.S. government. Sixteen well-designed games simplify complex topics such as citizenship, rights, the court system, governance, freedom of speech, and constitutional law. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/simcityedu-pollution-challenge\">\u003cb>SimCityEDU: Pollution Challenge\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">SimCityEDU: Pollution Challenge features six missions, each with three to five challenges, that explore the effects of pollution and other environmental issues on cities. Based on the SimCity engine, SimCityEDU has players tackle practical city-planning issues such as how to create more jobs without causing more pollution or how to get every kid to school by planning the most efficient use of bus stops. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/kerbal-space-program\">\u003cb>Kerbal Space Program\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kerbal Space Program is somewhat like a NASA simulator except it's set in a fictional star system and on the planet Kerbin. Players purchase various rocket parts, put them together, and then see if they can get their ship into orbit, to one of Kerbin\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">'\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">s two moons, or even to another planet. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This accurate rocket sim encourages trial-and-error learning and makes for great (often explosive) physics and engineering experiments.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/crazy-plant-shop\">\u003cb>Crazy Plant Shop\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Crazy Plant Shop is an engaging science game that embeds learning about Punnett squares and genetic expression into a shop sim. Students assume the role of a plant shop manager who must breed specific types of plants to fulfill customer orders. To get the right plants, students need to combine and breed plants using knowledge of dominant and recessive traits and Punnett squares. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/quandary\">\u003cb>Quandary\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quandary is an online ethics game that teaches students how to gather and evaluate information to make better decisions. As a space colony captain, students solve three difficult challenges by consulting colonists and choosing a solution that is likely to be most beneficial. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/mars-gen-one-argubot-academy\">\u003cb>Mars Gen One: Argubot Academy\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mars Gen One: Argubot Academy is a clever role-playing game that follows a new cadet through the first days in a colony on Mars. The cadet's task is to learn the art of using argubots, special robots that allow users to appeal to authority, cite consequences, and offer observations in the course of making an argument. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/dreambox-learning-math\">\u003cb>DreamBox Learning Math\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">DreamBox Learning Math is an interactive, adaptive, self-paced program that provides engaging activities for students in kindergarten through sixth grade to learn and practice skills and concepts in mathematics. The two platforms -- one primary and one intermediate -- each offer a fun, game-like atmosphere to hold kids' interest.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/twelve-a-dozen\">\u003cb>Twelve a Dozen\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Twelve a Dozen is an engrossing platform-style puzzle game that challenges kids' math and thinking skills. As kids progress through 30 levels that increase in difficulty, they help the main character, Twelve, overcome math-related challenges, unlocking new levels as they go.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>CRITICAL THINKING\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/geoguessr\">\u003cb>Geoguessr\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Geoguessr is an addictive online puzzler that tasks students with guessing the location of Google Street View images from around the world. When they're ready to guess, students drop pins on a map next to each picture, but not before scouring the image for clues. At the end of each round, the game shows players how close their guesses are and awards points based on proximity to the real locations.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/contraption-maker\">\u003cb>Contraption Maker\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Contraption Maker brings Rube Golberg machines to life as players take on the role of wacky engineers. Prebuilt machines with a few parts missing challenge players to repair a chain of actions to reach a goal, maybe trapping a mouse or freeing a balloon. With more than 100 parts, the variety of built-in puzzles range from simple tutorial challenges to advanced brain teasers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/zoombinis\">\u003cb>Zoombinis\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Zoombinis is a logic puzzler that promotes powerful thinking skills, resilience, and decision-making through gameplay. Players command a crew of rotund blue characters uniquely defined by features such as eyes, hair, and nose color through a series of puzzles en route to a new communal home. Each puzzle requires pattern recognition, deductive and inductive reasoning, and spatial arrangement based on the characters' defining features. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/tinkerbox\">\u003cb>TinkerBox\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In TinkerBox, kids can work their way through six levels of puzzles, each offering many stages, where they drag the right object into place to complete a physics puzzler -- think Rube Goldberg machines. They can also create their own inventions using the objects, including balls, bolts, chains, connectors, conveyer belts, fans, wheels, ropes, scissors, switches, wrenches, and more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/sid-meiers-civilization-v\">\u003cb>Sid Meier's Civilization V\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Civilization V lets students step into scenarios spanning time and geography from colonial America to feudal Japan to the Ottoman Empire. Players expand and grow civilizations through time, pursuing historically based -- but ultimately fictionalized -- scientific, political, and societal advances as they explore the world, stake their claims, and grow their cultures and cities. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/minecraft\">\u003cb>Minecraft\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Minecraft is a sandbox game that can be adapted to fit nearly any objective or subject. Players collect and combine resources into new, useful items that enrich gameplay and help further exploration and creativity. Although it has an \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\"\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">End\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\"\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> zone for players who want to fight the game\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">'\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">s boss (a dragon), Minecraft has no plot -- the story is up to the player to define.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/inventioneers\">\u003cb>Inventioneers\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>In Inventioneers, kids either create their own inventions or build inventions to accomplish a given task. For example, in one task, kids are given a piece of cheese shaped like a ramp and an Inventioneer that can blow on objects to move them. Kids have to arrange them in such a way that will help (gently) blow a cat out of a tree so it falls safely into a basket below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/simple-machines-by-tinybop\">\u003cb>Simple Machines, by Tinybop\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Simple Machines lets kids manipulate tools to explore physics concepts. They'll use a wedge to split up an iceberg, push a lever to destroy a castle, drag planes into the sky with pulleys, lift fishtanks with screws, and play pinball with inclined planes. Each step of the way, kids are changing variables to see how the machine reacts.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>CREATIVITY -- Game Making\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/kodu-game-lab\">\u003cb>Kodu Game Lab\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>Kodu Game Lab is a tool for making 3-D video games without all the toil and complexity of hand coding. Kodu's visual menus let students act as game designers, pointing and clicking to create objects and define their behaviors in the game world through visual, Lego-like \"if this, then that\" statements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/pixel-press-floors\">\u003cb>Pixel Press Floors\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pixel Press Floors gives students the tools to create and customize their own video games, bringing their ideas to life and allowing them to share their creations with a global community. Students draw their ideas for a game using pencil and paper, take a photo, and upload it to their levels.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/construct-2\">\u003cb>Construct 2\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>Construct 2 is a Web-based 2-D game-creation tool that doesn't require knowledge of programming languages. It uses a paneled interface reminiscent of older Windows programs with the main panel in the middle containing a tabbed area that shows off the game's playing area. Designers can drag these objects into the various game screens they've set up and then start programming behaviors for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/gamemaker-studio\">\u003cb>GameMaker: Studio\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">GameMaker: Studio is the real deal; its drag-and-drop programming system allows new designers to jump right in. When they want access to more flexible or nuanced behavior for game objects, these would-be designers can switch over to the built-in scripting language. An additional program may be necessary to create art assets, but GameMaker also includes a basic sprite editor.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/gamestar-mechanic\">\u003cb>Gamestar Mechanic\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gamestar Mechanic is an online toolset, game, and community that teaches kids how to build games. It focuses on the art of visual design rather than on programming. A series of manga cut scenes and \"missions\" ask kids to play, fix, and make different kinds of games built around specific mechanics, such as collecting points or jumping. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/littlebigplanet-2\">\u003cb>LittleBigPlanet 2\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">LittleBigPlanet 2 is like Super Mario Bros. but with some physics and Rube Goldberg flavoring mixed in. After players get their fill of the developer-created levels, they can create their own and share them with an active community. Players try out each other's levels, rate them and provide feedback, and even copy and remix other people's creations. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/website/scratch\">\u003cb>Scratch\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Scratch is a project from MIT's Lifelong Kindergarten group that teaches math, programming, and creative expression through technology. Most of the learning is tacit and supported by classroom teachers helping kids learn to code. Students can create animations, games, and models that communicate artistry and learning. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/gamesalad\">\u003cb>GameSalad\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">GameSalad is an easy-to-use game-making app that scaffolds programming with a drag-and-drop interface. A tabbed panel at the top left allows designers to drag various objects onto the other panels that show a main stage and attributes for selected actors. Following the first tutorial, kids can easily make their first game in an hour.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "MindShift and Common Sense Graphite team up to create a \"March Madness\" style bracket with digital games. Which game will be the 2016 champion? Vote now. ",
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"title": "2016 Tech Tool Tourney: Games Edition! | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-44622\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/03/TECH-TOOL-TOURNEY-Champion-e1459879221378.jpg\" alt=\"TECH-TOOL-TOURNEY-Champion\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1484\">\u003cem>Updated 4/5/16:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congratulations to the winners of our first ever Tech Tool Tourney: \u003cstrong>Construct 2 \u003c/strong>and\u003cstrong> Kerbal Space Program!\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Construct 2 and Kerbal Space Program won four rounds of voting to face each other in the 2016 Tech Tool Tourney Games Edition Championship. Voting for the championship round started on April 1 and ended on April 4.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We noticed some voting irregularities around the world by some extremely passionate fans. Developers of both games promptly disapproved:\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>In the end, we at KQED MindShift and Common Sense Graphite decided to award the title of co-champions to both games. We are honored so many gamers got excited about our bracket. The original 32 games were selected because of their outstanding quality and educational value. You can find teacher reviews for these games, along with thousands of others, at \u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/\">Graphite\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to this tourney, game enthusiasts and educators were introduced to new games, and we couldn't have done it without you!\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Thank you for bringing your passion for games and education to this tourney and coming back to vote every four days. We hope you had fun. Here are summaries of the original 32 games:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/gonoodle\">\u003cb>GoNoodle\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">GoNoodle creates an efficient and effective way to provide five- to 10-minute bursts of physical exercise right in the classroom. What really stands out is the sheer variety of activities kids can participate in, from Zumba to yoga to Wii Sports-type running games. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/journey\">\u003cb>Journey\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Journey crafts a metaphor about what life is all about, and -- through a brilliant, unique co-op experience that randomly weaves in another player (either real or computerized) -- players reflect on companionship, loneliness, friendship, love, and loss. This absorbing platformer is less about what's happening on-screen and more about what's happening inside us.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/spent\">\u003cb>Spent\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>Spent is sort of like a jazzed-up, text-based, choose-your-own-adventure story but with a powerful message about social justice and empathy. Players are thrown into the tough -- often impossible -- life of someone living on the poverty line; they choose a job, get a set income, and must make choices based on events that pop up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/if-the-emotional-iq-game\">\u003cb>IF... The Emotional IQ Game\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">IF... The Emotional IQ Game\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">is an adventure game that helps kids age 6 to 12 develop the skills that lead to emotional intelligence. Inspired by the poem \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\"\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\"\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> by Rudyard Kipling, the app leads kids on a quest that promotes self-awareness and positive social communication.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/zoo-u\">\u003cb>Zoo U\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>Zoo U is a powerful and focused social problem-solving game designed to reach kids who need direct instruction. Given a variety of situations, conversations, and social encounters, kids make choices to practice building skills such as empathy, managing feelings, self-control, and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/daniel-tigers-grr-ific-feelings\">\u003cb>Daniel Tiger's Grr-ific Feelings\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Daniel Tiger's Grr-ific Feelings is an early education social and emotional learning app for preschoolers and kindergarten-age kids. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Songs and activities help young kids learn to express, recognize, and understand emotions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/papers-please\">\u003cb>Papers, Please\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Papers, Please is a simulation video game that puts students in the role of an immigration officer for a fictional communist nation. Players are forced to make tough ethical decisions as they check an ever-increasing number of documents to decide who is approved or denied entrance to the country.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/never-alone-kisima-innitchuna\">\u003cb>Never Alone (Kisima Innitchuna)\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Never Alone is an adventure puzzle game based on Inupiat (Alaska Native) lore, tales, and characters, developed in cooperation with Upper One Games, the first indigenous-owned video game developer in the U.S. The core of Never Alone is its themes, derived from Inupiat and Alaska Native cultures: togetherness, interconnectedness, love, respect for all things, and storytelling.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SCHOOL SUBJECTS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/website/icivics\">\u003cb>iCivics\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">iCivics was founded by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to reverse a decline in civic knowledge and help kids better understand and respect the U.S. government. Sixteen well-designed games simplify complex topics such as citizenship, rights, the court system, governance, freedom of speech, and constitutional law. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/simcityedu-pollution-challenge\">\u003cb>SimCityEDU: Pollution Challenge\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">SimCityEDU: Pollution Challenge features six missions, each with three to five challenges, that explore the effects of pollution and other environmental issues on cities. Based on the SimCity engine, SimCityEDU has players tackle practical city-planning issues such as how to create more jobs without causing more pollution or how to get every kid to school by planning the most efficient use of bus stops. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/kerbal-space-program\">\u003cb>Kerbal Space Program\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kerbal Space Program is somewhat like a NASA simulator except it's set in a fictional star system and on the planet Kerbin. Players purchase various rocket parts, put them together, and then see if they can get their ship into orbit, to one of Kerbin\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">'\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">s two moons, or even to another planet. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This accurate rocket sim encourages trial-and-error learning and makes for great (often explosive) physics and engineering experiments.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/crazy-plant-shop\">\u003cb>Crazy Plant Shop\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Crazy Plant Shop is an engaging science game that embeds learning about Punnett squares and genetic expression into a shop sim. Students assume the role of a plant shop manager who must breed specific types of plants to fulfill customer orders. To get the right plants, students need to combine and breed plants using knowledge of dominant and recessive traits and Punnett squares. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/quandary\">\u003cb>Quandary\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quandary is an online ethics game that teaches students how to gather and evaluate information to make better decisions. As a space colony captain, students solve three difficult challenges by consulting colonists and choosing a solution that is likely to be most beneficial. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/mars-gen-one-argubot-academy\">\u003cb>Mars Gen One: Argubot Academy\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mars Gen One: Argubot Academy is a clever role-playing game that follows a new cadet through the first days in a colony on Mars. The cadet's task is to learn the art of using argubots, special robots that allow users to appeal to authority, cite consequences, and offer observations in the course of making an argument. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/dreambox-learning-math\">\u003cb>DreamBox Learning Math\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">DreamBox Learning Math is an interactive, adaptive, self-paced program that provides engaging activities for students in kindergarten through sixth grade to learn and practice skills and concepts in mathematics. The two platforms -- one primary and one intermediate -- each offer a fun, game-like atmosphere to hold kids' interest.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/twelve-a-dozen\">\u003cb>Twelve a Dozen\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Twelve a Dozen is an engrossing platform-style puzzle game that challenges kids' math and thinking skills. As kids progress through 30 levels that increase in difficulty, they help the main character, Twelve, overcome math-related challenges, unlocking new levels as they go.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>CRITICAL THINKING\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/geoguessr\">\u003cb>Geoguessr\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Geoguessr is an addictive online puzzler that tasks students with guessing the location of Google Street View images from around the world. When they're ready to guess, students drop pins on a map next to each picture, but not before scouring the image for clues. At the end of each round, the game shows players how close their guesses are and awards points based on proximity to the real locations.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/contraption-maker\">\u003cb>Contraption Maker\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Contraption Maker brings Rube Golberg machines to life as players take on the role of wacky engineers. Prebuilt machines with a few parts missing challenge players to repair a chain of actions to reach a goal, maybe trapping a mouse or freeing a balloon. With more than 100 parts, the variety of built-in puzzles range from simple tutorial challenges to advanced brain teasers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/zoombinis\">\u003cb>Zoombinis\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Zoombinis is a logic puzzler that promotes powerful thinking skills, resilience, and decision-making through gameplay. Players command a crew of rotund blue characters uniquely defined by features such as eyes, hair, and nose color through a series of puzzles en route to a new communal home. Each puzzle requires pattern recognition, deductive and inductive reasoning, and spatial arrangement based on the characters' defining features. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/tinkerbox\">\u003cb>TinkerBox\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In TinkerBox, kids can work their way through six levels of puzzles, each offering many stages, where they drag the right object into place to complete a physics puzzler -- think Rube Goldberg machines. They can also create their own inventions using the objects, including balls, bolts, chains, connectors, conveyer belts, fans, wheels, ropes, scissors, switches, wrenches, and more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/sid-meiers-civilization-v\">\u003cb>Sid Meier's Civilization V\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Civilization V lets students step into scenarios spanning time and geography from colonial America to feudal Japan to the Ottoman Empire. Players expand and grow civilizations through time, pursuing historically based -- but ultimately fictionalized -- scientific, political, and societal advances as they explore the world, stake their claims, and grow their cultures and cities. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/minecraft\">\u003cb>Minecraft\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Minecraft is a sandbox game that can be adapted to fit nearly any objective or subject. Players collect and combine resources into new, useful items that enrich gameplay and help further exploration and creativity. Although it has an \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\"\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">End\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\"\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> zone for players who want to fight the game\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">'\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">s boss (a dragon), Minecraft has no plot -- the story is up to the player to define.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/inventioneers\">\u003cb>Inventioneers\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>In Inventioneers, kids either create their own inventions or build inventions to accomplish a given task. For example, in one task, kids are given a piece of cheese shaped like a ramp and an Inventioneer that can blow on objects to move them. Kids have to arrange them in such a way that will help (gently) blow a cat out of a tree so it falls safely into a basket below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/simple-machines-by-tinybop\">\u003cb>Simple Machines, by Tinybop\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Simple Machines lets kids manipulate tools to explore physics concepts. They'll use a wedge to split up an iceberg, push a lever to destroy a castle, drag planes into the sky with pulleys, lift fishtanks with screws, and play pinball with inclined planes. Each step of the way, kids are changing variables to see how the machine reacts.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>CREATIVITY -- Game Making\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/kodu-game-lab\">\u003cb>Kodu Game Lab\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>Kodu Game Lab is a tool for making 3-D video games without all the toil and complexity of hand coding. Kodu's visual menus let students act as game designers, pointing and clicking to create objects and define their behaviors in the game world through visual, Lego-like \"if this, then that\" statements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/pixel-press-floors\">\u003cb>Pixel Press Floors\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pixel Press Floors gives students the tools to create and customize their own video games, bringing their ideas to life and allowing them to share their creations with a global community. Students draw their ideas for a game using pencil and paper, take a photo, and upload it to their levels.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/construct-2\">\u003cb>Construct 2\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>Construct 2 is a Web-based 2-D game-creation tool that doesn't require knowledge of programming languages. It uses a paneled interface reminiscent of older Windows programs with the main panel in the middle containing a tabbed area that shows off the game's playing area. Designers can drag these objects into the various game screens they've set up and then start programming behaviors for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/gamemaker-studio\">\u003cb>GameMaker: Studio\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">GameMaker: Studio is the real deal; its drag-and-drop programming system allows new designers to jump right in. When they want access to more flexible or nuanced behavior for game objects, these would-be designers can switch over to the built-in scripting language. An additional program may be necessary to create art assets, but GameMaker also includes a basic sprite editor.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/gamestar-mechanic\">\u003cb>Gamestar Mechanic\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gamestar Mechanic is an online toolset, game, and community that teaches kids how to build games. It focuses on the art of visual design rather than on programming. A series of manga cut scenes and \"missions\" ask kids to play, fix, and make different kinds of games built around specific mechanics, such as collecting points or jumping. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/littlebigplanet-2\">\u003cb>LittleBigPlanet 2\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">LittleBigPlanet 2 is like Super Mario Bros. but with some physics and Rube Goldberg flavoring mixed in. After players get their fill of the developer-created levels, they can create their own and share them with an active community. Players try out each other's levels, rate them and provide feedback, and even copy and remix other people's creations. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/website/scratch\">\u003cb>Scratch\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Scratch is a project from MIT's Lifelong Kindergarten group that teaches math, programming, and creative expression through technology. Most of the learning is tacit and supported by classroom teachers helping kids learn to code. Students can create animations, games, and models that communicate artistry and learning. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/gamesalad\">\u003cb>GameSalad\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">GameSalad is an easy-to-use game-making app that scaffolds programming with a drag-and-drop interface. A tabbed panel at the top left allows designers to drag various objects onto the other panels that show a main stage and attributes for selected actors. Following the first tutorial, kids can easily make their first game in an hour.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Completing missions for rewards is a core mechanic in many video games, including best-sellers like \"World of Warcraft,\" \"Grand Theft Auto,\" \"Fallout\" and \"Skyrim.\" Quests are diverse and optional, and players can undertake them on their own schedule. Unlike their plastic and cardboard counterparts, digital games leverage a computer’s power to manage elaborate player profiles and track complex, dynamic and personalized task structures. Now that students have increased access to computers and smartphones, the powerful digital engagement system can be put in the service of education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taking a page from the video game book, Dr. Chris Haskell and Dr. Lisa Dawley, from the education department at Boise State University, saw the potential for integrating quests and other game elements to deliver coursework. Six years ago, they developed 3D GameLab, a Web-based learning management system that helps run classes in a gamelike, quest-based format.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A good quest-based curriculum meets the needs of many students by offering a multiplicity of choices that cover standards,” said Haskell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He emphasizes that the word “quest” is not merely a superficial renaming of “essay” or “assignment” to make it sound more exciting. Rather, it marks a crucial structural shift in how students undertake schoolwork. Students can choose from a variety of tasks, work at their own pace and unlock new options as they progress. The system also encourages mastery, as quests are accepted only when completed to the highest standard. If a submitted task is not up to par, students can rework and resubmit until they get it right, rather than simply settle for a low grade and move on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We began looking for ways to meta-game curricular activities,” said Haskell. “We built 3D GameLab to allow us to deliver any curriculum with game-based mechanics. If we were inspired by anything or anyone, it was Blizzard and Cryptic Studios and their approaches to delivering quests within the construct of a universe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>3D GameLab lets educators track experience points, use leaderboards, badges, achievements, awards and, most importantly, quests. Haskell reports that more than 1,000 teachers and 20,000 students are currently using the platform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those teachers is Steve Isaacs, who uses a quest-based system to deliver his entire Grade 8 game design class at William Annin Middle School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“First and foremost, choice in learning paths provide students with opportunities to find their areas of interest,” said Isaacs. “In my course, learning goals are covered through a variety of paths. There are coding quests that teach computational thinking, coding, problem-solving, etc. There are also quests that provide opportunities for students to use a variety of tools to create games.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The quests have led Isaacs’ students to create everything from \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/ZX91E-jZT0s\">sophisticated Minecraft mini-games\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/xmfke-r64AM\">paper towel flutes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX91E-jZT0s&feature=youtu.be\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When he first waded into quest-based learning, Isaacs created one central quest path that his students followed at slightly varied paces, and he added some optional side quests that could be completed for extra credits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I noticed was that kids would come in and start a quest they wanted to work on, only to be stopped by me a few minutes into class to return to my agenda,” remembered Isaacs. “After some thought, I realized that I had kids excited about learning based on choice. This was very powerful, and I got out of my own way and provided students with more autonomy over their learning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Playing School\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peggy Sheehy, a middle school teacher and librarian at Suffern Middle School in Suffern, New York, has drawn international attention for \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/05/world-of-warcraft-finds-its-way-into-class/\">her use of \"World of Warcraft\"\u003c/a> with her students. Sheehy worked with Lucas Gillispie, a North Carolina district tech coordinator, and lead teacher Craig Lawson to develop curriculum around the game, which is now \u003ca href=\"http://wowinschool.pbworks.com/w/page/5268731/FrontPage\">available on their website\u003c/a> as a free Creative Commons download.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The popular sword and sorcery video game makes extensive use of quests and quest mechanics, which Sheehy and her colleagues reworked to align with Common Core standards. Hearing about their work, the researchers at Boise invited her to pilot 3D GameLab, and she has been using it every since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sheehy has a wealth of stories about struggling students who flourished once they approached learning through the lens of games and quests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Reluctant or disenfranchised students are very likely to demonstrate renewed interest and engagement when presented with the game-infused option,\" she said. \"Once the kids were granted some agency in the trajectory of their learning, they really wanted to succeed.” But she also recognizes that games may not be for everybody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we associate quest-based learning with games, there will always be a few kids who are not interested. They are usually the kids who have mastered ‘playing school’ and excel at the textbook, notetaking, worksheet learning of which they are so familiar,” said Sheehy. “But even those kids, when quests take them to a video and then a quiz or request research and a short paragraph, appreciate the ability to retry, the ranks and badges, and the freedom to quest from home, thereby granting them multiple opportunities to advance at their own pace according to their own schedules.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With quests titled “Random Acts of Epic Kindness” and “A Better World Online” that encourage reflection on online behavior, Sheehy not only seeks to nurture better students but also better digital citizens. The option to choose is fundamental to freedom, democracy and consumer culture, but there is little choice offered in the schools and classrooms that endeavor to prepare students for participation in society. Managing choice through decisions is a skill that requires practice, especially for a future that, if nothing else, will involve a deluge of information. The challenges produced by managing choices in the form of quests are important rehearsals for future decision-making.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One reported downside of quest-based learning sounds curiously promising.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“\u003c/em>Many who shift a traditional module-based class to a quest-based approach discover that many students complete coursework very quickly,\" Haskell said. \"If they are not prepared to give them additional experiences within the curriculum, it can be disruptive. It’s a great problem to have, but it exists.\"\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Completing missions for rewards is a core mechanic in many video games, including best-sellers like \"World of Warcraft,\" \"Grand Theft Auto,\" \"Fallout\" and \"Skyrim.\" Quests are diverse and optional, and players can undertake them on their own schedule. Unlike their plastic and cardboard counterparts, digital games leverage a computer’s power to manage elaborate player profiles and track complex, dynamic and personalized task structures. Now that students have increased access to computers and smartphones, the powerful digital engagement system can be put in the service of education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taking a page from the video game book, Dr. Chris Haskell and Dr. Lisa Dawley, from the education department at Boise State University, saw the potential for integrating quests and other game elements to deliver coursework. Six years ago, they developed 3D GameLab, a Web-based learning management system that helps run classes in a gamelike, quest-based format.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A good quest-based curriculum meets the needs of many students by offering a multiplicity of choices that cover standards,” said Haskell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He emphasizes that the word “quest” is not merely a superficial renaming of “essay” or “assignment” to make it sound more exciting. Rather, it marks a crucial structural shift in how students undertake schoolwork. Students can choose from a variety of tasks, work at their own pace and unlock new options as they progress. The system also encourages mastery, as quests are accepted only when completed to the highest standard. If a submitted task is not up to par, students can rework and resubmit until they get it right, rather than simply settle for a low grade and move on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We began looking for ways to meta-game curricular activities,” said Haskell. “We built 3D GameLab to allow us to deliver any curriculum with game-based mechanics. If we were inspired by anything or anyone, it was Blizzard and Cryptic Studios and their approaches to delivering quests within the construct of a universe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>3D GameLab lets educators track experience points, use leaderboards, badges, achievements, awards and, most importantly, quests. Haskell reports that more than 1,000 teachers and 20,000 students are currently using the platform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those teachers is Steve Isaacs, who uses a quest-based system to deliver his entire Grade 8 game design class at William Annin Middle School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“First and foremost, choice in learning paths provide students with opportunities to find their areas of interest,” said Isaacs. “In my course, learning goals are covered through a variety of paths. There are coding quests that teach computational thinking, coding, problem-solving, etc. There are also quests that provide opportunities for students to use a variety of tools to create games.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The quests have led Isaacs’ students to create everything from \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/ZX91E-jZT0s\">sophisticated Minecraft mini-games\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/xmfke-r64AM\">paper towel flutes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/ZX91E-jZT0s'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ZX91E-jZT0s'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>When he first waded into quest-based learning, Isaacs created one central quest path that his students followed at slightly varied paces, and he added some optional side quests that could be completed for extra credits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I noticed was that kids would come in and start a quest they wanted to work on, only to be stopped by me a few minutes into class to return to my agenda,” remembered Isaacs. “After some thought, I realized that I had kids excited about learning based on choice. This was very powerful, and I got out of my own way and provided students with more autonomy over their learning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Playing School\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peggy Sheehy, a middle school teacher and librarian at Suffern Middle School in Suffern, New York, has drawn international attention for \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/05/world-of-warcraft-finds-its-way-into-class/\">her use of \"World of Warcraft\"\u003c/a> with her students. Sheehy worked with Lucas Gillispie, a North Carolina district tech coordinator, and lead teacher Craig Lawson to develop curriculum around the game, which is now \u003ca href=\"http://wowinschool.pbworks.com/w/page/5268731/FrontPage\">available on their website\u003c/a> as a free Creative Commons download.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The popular sword and sorcery video game makes extensive use of quests and quest mechanics, which Sheehy and her colleagues reworked to align with Common Core standards. Hearing about their work, the researchers at Boise invited her to pilot 3D GameLab, and she has been using it every since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sheehy has a wealth of stories about struggling students who flourished once they approached learning through the lens of games and quests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Reluctant or disenfranchised students are very likely to demonstrate renewed interest and engagement when presented with the game-infused option,\" she said. \"Once the kids were granted some agency in the trajectory of their learning, they really wanted to succeed.” But she also recognizes that games may not be for everybody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we associate quest-based learning with games, there will always be a few kids who are not interested. They are usually the kids who have mastered ‘playing school’ and excel at the textbook, notetaking, worksheet learning of which they are so familiar,” said Sheehy. “But even those kids, when quests take them to a video and then a quiz or request research and a short paragraph, appreciate the ability to retry, the ranks and badges, and the freedom to quest from home, thereby granting them multiple opportunities to advance at their own pace according to their own schedules.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With quests titled “Random Acts of Epic Kindness” and “A Better World Online” that encourage reflection on online behavior, Sheehy not only seeks to nurture better students but also better digital citizens. The option to choose is fundamental to freedom, democracy and consumer culture, but there is little choice offered in the schools and classrooms that endeavor to prepare students for participation in society. Managing choice through decisions is a skill that requires practice, especially for a future that, if nothing else, will involve a deluge of information. The challenges produced by managing choices in the form of quests are important rehearsals for future decision-making.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One reported downside of quest-based learning sounds curiously promising.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Tanner Higgin, \u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/\">Graphite\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think of contemporary art as a kind of futurism. Artists tinker away in their studios like engineers, making challenging (often weird) things that reframe what’s possible. In the process, they pioneer new ideas and technologies that sometimes get realized on a mass scale years later. Look no further than Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” which borrowed heavily from James Turrell’s work, or Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyIJJr6Ldg8\">Hole in Space\u003c/a>,” which staged a New York to Los Angeles Skype-like video chat in 1980. Art is nothing if not ahead of its time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As contemporary artists, game designers can show us what’s to come. This is especially true of so-called indie designers who work alone or in small teams, often on projects that are riskier and more conceptual. These indie designers invent and prove concepts that more and more often get adapted on a larger scale and for a broader market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re now seeing some of these artists experimenting in the learning space, and it’s time we started listening to what they have to say. Sure, these quirkier games and designers might sit outside of ed-tech circles. They also might not be tuned precisely to the needs of the classrooms today. But if we constrain ourselves by how classrooms look today, we’ll never truly redefine classrooms for tomorrow. In this spirit, here are a few examples of bold games that I think light the way for learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/earth-primer/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Earth Primer\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Designed by Chaim Gingold, a Ph.D. student at UC Santa Cruz, indie developer and designer of Spore’s creature creator, \"\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/earth-primer/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Earth Primer\u003c/a>\" is a reinvention of the textbook. Unlike the all-too-familiar “interactive textbooks” that are little more than pictures and animations tacked on to traditional text, \"Earth Primer\" starts from the ground up. It’s elegantly presented and paced. It’s also intelligently focused on using simple interactions and innate curiosity as a path to scientific complexity, inviting players to tinker with the core systems that make up our world. The result is an experience that feels entrancing rather than instructional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://vimeo.com/116182914\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/metamorphabet/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">\u003cstrong>Metamorphabet\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patrick Smith, the designer behind \"\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/metamorphabet/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Metamorphabet\u003c/a>,\" is like the games equivalent of a toymaker. He’s been creating delightful digital mini-sandboxes for years, each enlivened by his uniquely comic point of view and a pervasive sense of surprise and magic. With \"Metamorphabet,\" like a lot of Smith’s work, you poke, prod, tap, yank and swipe, but this time it’s to excavate the letters of the alphabet. Learners are compelled along, uncovering the little morsels of delightful animation, metaphor and character Smith has placed along the trail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IWZk86iYD0\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/extrasolar/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Extrasolar\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money and time are the two most common barriers to using games in the classroom. \"\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/extrasolar/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Extrasolar\u003c/a>\" solves both while also striking pedagogical gold: authentic, self-motivated learning. It’s a free alternate reality game (ARG) that mimics the day-to-day life of a rover driver exploring an alien planet for a mysterious space agency. Rather than placing players in some fantastical world, they interact with what looks like a typical desktop interface, giving their rover commands, and waiting to receive photographs and data from the alien world as well as messages from their employer. Each bit of play requires only a few minutes of activity. The wait builds tension, and when matched with the relatively mundane interface and tasks, it doesn’t feel like a game -- which is kind of the point. Best of all: It’s all based in real science and, like with any good ARG, has a healthy dose of mystery to give players a reason to return.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uS23BEURww\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/website/twine/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Twine\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twine isn’t a game, so I’m cheating a little bit. It is, however, a wonderful tool for making games and telling stories that has been instrumental in giving hundreds of indie game designers a means to express themselves. While at first glance it’s not the most inviting design, and you might find it intimidating: Stick with it. \u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/website/twine/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Twine\u003c/a> strikes a wonderful balance between ease of use and creative possibility. At the most basic level, designers string together bits of text and build in choices for how a player might move through the bits of text. More adept designers can play with advanced styling and interactions that add flavor and depth. What results are choose-your-own-adventure stories that foster reading and writing skills and make both players and designers think in new ways. Even better, Twine will expand how many players think about and define games. Looking for a place to start? Check out Dan Waber's \"\u003ca href=\"http://www.logolalia.com/hypertexts/a-kiss.html#\">a kiss\u003c/a>,\" a deep dive into the minutiae and poeticism of a moment in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cspan class=\"il\">Tanner\u003c/span> Higgin is senior manager, education content at \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\" target=\"_blank\">Common Sense\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\" target=\"_blank\">Education\u003c/a>, a nonprofit organization and creator of \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Graphite ™\u003c/a>, a free service that \u003cem>helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with ed-tech and connect with expert educators.\u003c/em> This post is part of a series featuring highly rated games on Graphite. Go to \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Graphite\u003c/a> to read the full reviews of games and find out how teachers use them for learning in class.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Tanner Higgin, \u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/\">Graphite\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think of contemporary art as a kind of futurism. Artists tinker away in their studios like engineers, making challenging (often weird) things that reframe what’s possible. In the process, they pioneer new ideas and technologies that sometimes get realized on a mass scale years later. Look no further than Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” which borrowed heavily from James Turrell’s work, or Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyIJJr6Ldg8\">Hole in Space\u003c/a>,” which staged a New York to Los Angeles Skype-like video chat in 1980. Art is nothing if not ahead of its time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As contemporary artists, game designers can show us what’s to come. This is especially true of so-called indie designers who work alone or in small teams, often on projects that are riskier and more conceptual. These indie designers invent and prove concepts that more and more often get adapted on a larger scale and for a broader market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re now seeing some of these artists experimenting in the learning space, and it’s time we started listening to what they have to say. Sure, these quirkier games and designers might sit outside of ed-tech circles. They also might not be tuned precisely to the needs of the classrooms today. But if we constrain ourselves by how classrooms look today, we’ll never truly redefine classrooms for tomorrow. In this spirit, here are a few examples of bold games that I think light the way for learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/earth-primer/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Earth Primer\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Designed by Chaim Gingold, a Ph.D. student at UC Santa Cruz, indie developer and designer of Spore’s creature creator, \"\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/earth-primer/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Earth Primer\u003c/a>\" is a reinvention of the textbook. Unlike the all-too-familiar “interactive textbooks” that are little more than pictures and animations tacked on to traditional text, \"Earth Primer\" starts from the ground up. It’s elegantly presented and paced. It’s also intelligently focused on using simple interactions and innate curiosity as a path to scientific complexity, inviting players to tinker with the core systems that make up our world. The result is an experience that feels entrancing rather than instructional.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/metamorphabet/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">\u003cstrong>Metamorphabet\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patrick Smith, the designer behind \"\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/app/metamorphabet/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Metamorphabet\u003c/a>,\" is like the games equivalent of a toymaker. He’s been creating delightful digital mini-sandboxes for years, each enlivened by his uniquely comic point of view and a pervasive sense of surprise and magic. With \"Metamorphabet,\" like a lot of Smith’s work, you poke, prod, tap, yank and swipe, but this time it’s to excavate the letters of the alphabet. Learners are compelled along, uncovering the little morsels of delightful animation, metaphor and character Smith has placed along the trail.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/8IWZk86iYD0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/8IWZk86iYD0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/extrasolar/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Extrasolar\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money and time are the two most common barriers to using games in the classroom. \"\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/game/extrasolar/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Extrasolar\u003c/a>\" solves both while also striking pedagogical gold: authentic, self-motivated learning. It’s a free alternate reality game (ARG) that mimics the day-to-day life of a rover driver exploring an alien planet for a mysterious space agency. Rather than placing players in some fantastical world, they interact with what looks like a typical desktop interface, giving their rover commands, and waiting to receive photographs and data from the alien world as well as messages from their employer. Each bit of play requires only a few minutes of activity. The wait builds tension, and when matched with the relatively mundane interface and tasks, it doesn’t feel like a game -- which is kind of the point. Best of all: It’s all based in real science and, like with any good ARG, has a healthy dose of mystery to give players a reason to return.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/3uS23BEURww'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/3uS23BEURww'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/website/twine/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Twine\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twine isn’t a game, so I’m cheating a little bit. It is, however, a wonderful tool for making games and telling stories that has been instrumental in giving hundreds of indie game designers a means to express themselves. While at first glance it’s not the most inviting design, and you might find it intimidating: Stick with it. \u003ca href=\"https://www.graphite.org/website/twine/?utm_campaign=GraphiteMindshift%20&utm_medium=blogpost&utm_source=mindshift\">Twine\u003c/a> strikes a wonderful balance between ease of use and creative possibility. At the most basic level, designers string together bits of text and build in choices for how a player might move through the bits of text. More adept designers can play with advanced styling and interactions that add flavor and depth. What results are choose-your-own-adventure stories that foster reading and writing skills and make both players and designers think in new ways. Even better, Twine will expand how many players think about and define games. Looking for a place to start? Check out Dan Waber's \"\u003ca href=\"http://www.logolalia.com/hypertexts/a-kiss.html#\">a kiss\u003c/a>,\" a deep dive into the minutiae and poeticism of a moment in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cspan class=\"il\">Tanner\u003c/span> Higgin is senior manager, education content at \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\" target=\"_blank\">Common Sense\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\" target=\"_blank\">Education\u003c/a>, a nonprofit organization and creator of \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Graphite ™\u003c/a>, a free service that \u003cem>helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with ed-tech and connect with expert educators.\u003c/em> This post is part of a series featuring highly rated games on Graphite. Go to \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Graphite\u003c/a> to read the full reviews of games and find out how teachers use them for learning in class.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Books-to-Games: Transforming Classic Novels Into Role Playing Adventures",
"title": "Books-to-Games: Transforming Classic Novels Into Role Playing Adventures",
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"content": "\u003cp>Authors, editors and publishers spend months and years refining a book until it’s ready to be published. That publication date is part of the book’s copyright and marks the completion of the book. But what if a completed book was just the beginning of the story?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through tabletop role-playing games, educators are beginning to tinker with traditional works of literature and, in the process, reimagine how writing and character development are taught. Take, for example, \"Fahrenheit 451\" by Ray Bradbury. Students in countless classrooms have read the classic 1953 tale of free speech, government censorship and critical thinking. Teachers have assigned book reports, worksheets and discussions. It’s an approach that’s used everywhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/kipglazer\">Kip Glazer\u003c/a> taught English at Independence High School (Kern High School District) last year, she wanted to reimagine the traditional way of teaching \"Fahrenheit 451\" by turning the experience of developing English literacy skills into a game. She broke up elements within the book into game components: imagine a game board depicting various scenes (Guy Montag’s house, the fire station, the old woman’s house), characters within that book (Montag, Clarisse McClellan, Mildred Montag, Faber, etc.) and the things with which they interact (books, television screens, fire, medication). Then Glazer introduces new situations and characters, charging students to use the gamified book elements to create new narratives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the story’s elements are liberated from a linear text, students are able to apply their creativity and critical thinking skills to manipulate the story based on a deep understanding of the book. And, as with any game modification, students must understand the existing story thoroughly before they can start playing its elements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While they’re playing the game, students have to make decisions based on what the character would or would not do based on what’s in the book,” said Glazer. “They’re making arguments. They have to see it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Dungeons and Dragons,\" released in 1974, is probably the best known tabletop role-playing game. Many players credit D&D for helping them develop skills they’ve applied to other areas of life, such as interpersonal relationships, the interpretation of rules and the development of creative endeavors. Comedian \u003ca href=\"http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/dungeons-dragons-online/537989p1.html\">Stephen Colbert \u003c/a>and actor \u003ca href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Thirty-Years-Adventure-Celebration-Retrospective/dp/0786934980\">Vin Diesel\u003c/a> are avid players. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz includes games in his acclaimed book, \"The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.\" He told the \u003ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/14/books/dungeons-dragons-has-influenced-a-generation-of-writers.html?_r=0\">New York Times\u003c/a> that playing D&D functioned as “a sort of storytelling apprenticeship.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Tabletop RPG Works in the Classroom\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Kip Glazer’s class, students must build up the foundation of understanding they will need to become creators of a side narrative. Students prepare by doing research. They read and reread the book, examine the context that inspired the story -- such as the Cold War in the case of \"Farenheit 451\" -- discuss their findings and write about them. Each story element is continually examined through daily writing assignments that push students to reflect on how the different narrative elements build a compelling story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_42559\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2489px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-42559\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel.jpg\" alt=\"Lucifer Igneel, a character created by a student in Kip Glazer's class, during the tabletop role playing game unit of Farenheit 451. \" width=\"2489\" height=\"1734\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel.jpg 2489w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel-400x279.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel-800x557.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel-1440x1003.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel-1180x822.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel-960x669.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2489px) 100vw, 2489px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lucifer Igneel, a character created by a student in Kip Glazer's class, during the tabletop role playing game unit of Farenheit 451. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Kip Glazer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a California public school teacher, Glazer has to fit each activity to meet Common Core State Standards. Role-playing games are certainly not traditional, but Glazer says the writing, critical thinking and analysis involved align perfectly with English Language Arts standards. Students are researching the historical period of the novel’s setting, making arguments about what a character would do and conveying details about the characters in writing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Glazer said her students write about 2,700 words per week during the game. When they’re ready to add new characters and situations, those elements have to make sense within the world of the story. Students must figure out how the pieces interact with one another, strengthening their \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/16/social-and-emotional-benefits-of-video-games-metacognition-and-relationships/\">systems thinking and metacognitive skills\u003c/a> along the way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One student created a character named Lucifer Igneel to add to his game based on \"Farenheit 451.\" Here is the student's description of the new character, as it relates to the book:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cem>He has a Pickelhaube helmet and wears a long, black leather coat, with the bottoms of it tattered and burned itself. The coat has an insignia of a Chinese dragon surrounded by flames, which is why Montag has a salamander on his arm (Bradbury 4), showing that he is the under-leveled. Igneel, as well as his dark stature and evil spirit, ironically, he speaks in Biblical terms, which is where Captain Beatty obtains his choice of words and phrases from, such as, “You’ve been locked up here for years with a regular damned Tower of Babel” (Bradbury 35). No one knows where he disappeared to, but the crimes roaming around are told to be his doings.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>“Role-playing and creating as an instructional process fits perfectly in literature education,” said Glazer. She has used games to teach poetry and plays as well, including the \"Importance of Being Earnest,\" by Oscar Wilde. One of Glazer’s favorite aspects of this teaching approach is that tabletop games require several players, introducing a social learning element to the assignment. Students work together to test assumptions about characters. They also play together in real life. And unlike digital role-playing games, tabletop games can be made with little to no money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_42561\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1912px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-42561 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board.jpg\" alt='A game board created by Kip Glazer for the \"Farenheit 451\" unit taught via tabletop role playing games. ' width=\"1912\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board.jpg 1912w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-400x402.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-800x803.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-1440x1446.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-1180x1185.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-960x964.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-32x32.jpg 32w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-64x64.jpg 64w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-96x96.jpg 96w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-128x128.jpg 128w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-50x50.jpg 50w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-75x75.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1912px) 100vw, 1912px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A game board created by Kip Glazer's students for the \"Farenheit 451\" unit. Students learned about the story through tabletop role-playing games. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Kip Glazer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Glazer, who did not grow up playing RPGs, first got the idea to try them out in her class after seeing the work of \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/thergenrade\">Trent Hergenrader\u003c/a> at a \u003ca href=\"http://www.gameslearningsociety.org/\">Games Learning Society \u003c/a>conference. He uses RPGs to teach creative writing at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and before that, at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Hergenrader has found that if he encourages his students to think of their writing as a game, with playing pieces that can be separated from one another, they feel more freedom to manipulate character, scene and story in surprising ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a great creative writing device, but Hergenrader has also found that the process requires deep analysis of text and lends itself well to teaching literature. He has also taught a games version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works and George R.R. Martin's \"\u003ca href=\"http://talesfromkingslanding.wikispaces.com\">A Song of Ice and Fire\u003c/a>.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The experience turns out to be so profound in the classroom, you want everybody to do it,” Hergenrader said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Glazer, Hergenrader and educators who use games in the class have all identified the ability of games to engage and \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/06/09/surprising-insights-how-teachers-use-games-in-the-classroom/\">excite students\u003c/a> who may not have typically been interested in class. Dramatically changing the instruction style from what is “typical” often connects with disengaged learners and helps them to feel like a valued part of the class community, and thus more comfortable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By introducing this strategy, I was able to invite a lot of participation from students who otherwise would not have revealed themselves to be leaders,” said Glazer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Taking on Roles In Real Life\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, tabletop RPGs helped Kelsey Frohna branch out academically. She entered school as an avid reader, and planned on pursuing an English degree. Assignments up to that point had largely involved attending lectures, reading works of literature and writing analyses of the readings, activities that were largely solitary in nature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fronha describers herself as the shy, quiet student in class. When she enrolled in Hergenrader’s digital storytelling and role-playing class about four years ago, her experience of literature was turned upside down. The game they created and played was called “\u003ca href=\"http://hellwaukee.wikispaces.com/ENG+236+-+Digital+Storytelling+%26+Role-Playing\">Hellwaukee\u003c/a>,” set in post-apocalyptic Milwaukee. Frohna took on the role of a bear named Ursa. She and her teammates created post-apocalyptic Milwaukee by writing about the scenery, elements and characters. Hergenrader was the game master, introducing new situations that would complicate their worlds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Treating a story as a game created an opportunity for Frohna to become an active participant in the story. She found that manipulating characters pushed her understanding of the elements of a story, and made her think more creatively about environment and character attributes. At the core of role-playing games is a deeper examination of character. Students are building off an intimate knowledge of what the character \u003cem>would\u003c/em> do, based on everything she has gleaned about the world the character embodies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there was the social element of learning with games. Many of the discussions about what a character would do happened in the classroom with peers. Students had to debate what was possible, and understanding the game system became a group activity. Frohna said she had spent much of her school life on her own, learning by herself, but creating a game in her class introduced her to how exciting collaboration could be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never realized how many things you needed in a world. A role of the dice can give you good luck and bad luck.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unexpectedly, however, Frohna found a way to apply what she learned in the classroom to her real life. Frohna says the role-playing game came in handy when she found herself in a surprise situation at work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One day at her Old Navy job, she found herself elevated to a managerial role after the absence of her manager. The shy student was hesitant at first, but then she reminded herself of what she learned through RPGs. “After playing games in Trent’s class, I could become someone different and I was able to take that into work.” She thought about her boss as a character and stepped into that role.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m like, what would he do? I sort of put myself in his shoes,” Frohna said. She realized her boss is more outgoing and stands up for people, so she tried to embody those qualities, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stepping into that role for the first time helped her gain the confidence to take on new roles in her life without thinking of that transition with so much intention, Frohna said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The use of tabletop RPGs in the classroom is still rare, but teachers investing time and energy into turning traditional activities into games are seeing rewarding results. Students who had previously been uninterested in school are engaged, and the experience of making the game includes lessons applicable in students’ lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s still relatively rare to see role-playing games in the classroom, in part because of perceived social stigma, but Glazer says her high school students don’t see it that way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That has not been a challenge for me at all,” Glazer says of any reluctance to play RPGs in class. “That shows they’re really tired of their typical English class. As soon as I say, 'We’re going to create an RPG for this unit,' they say, ‘As long as you’re not reading to me, I’m totally cool with it.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Authors, editors and publishers spend months and years refining a book until it’s ready to be published. That publication date is part of the book’s copyright and marks the completion of the book. But what if a completed book was just the beginning of the story?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through tabletop role-playing games, educators are beginning to tinker with traditional works of literature and, in the process, reimagine how writing and character development are taught. Take, for example, \"Fahrenheit 451\" by Ray Bradbury. Students in countless classrooms have read the classic 1953 tale of free speech, government censorship and critical thinking. Teachers have assigned book reports, worksheets and discussions. It’s an approach that’s used everywhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/kipglazer\">Kip Glazer\u003c/a> taught English at Independence High School (Kern High School District) last year, she wanted to reimagine the traditional way of teaching \"Fahrenheit 451\" by turning the experience of developing English literacy skills into a game. She broke up elements within the book into game components: imagine a game board depicting various scenes (Guy Montag’s house, the fire station, the old woman’s house), characters within that book (Montag, Clarisse McClellan, Mildred Montag, Faber, etc.) and the things with which they interact (books, television screens, fire, medication). Then Glazer introduces new situations and characters, charging students to use the gamified book elements to create new narratives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the story’s elements are liberated from a linear text, students are able to apply their creativity and critical thinking skills to manipulate the story based on a deep understanding of the book. And, as with any game modification, students must understand the existing story thoroughly before they can start playing its elements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While they’re playing the game, students have to make decisions based on what the character would or would not do based on what’s in the book,” said Glazer. “They’re making arguments. They have to see it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Dungeons and Dragons,\" released in 1974, is probably the best known tabletop role-playing game. Many players credit D&D for helping them develop skills they’ve applied to other areas of life, such as interpersonal relationships, the interpretation of rules and the development of creative endeavors. Comedian \u003ca href=\"http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/dungeons-dragons-online/537989p1.html\">Stephen Colbert \u003c/a>and actor \u003ca href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Thirty-Years-Adventure-Celebration-Retrospective/dp/0786934980\">Vin Diesel\u003c/a> are avid players. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz includes games in his acclaimed book, \"The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.\" He told the \u003ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/14/books/dungeons-dragons-has-influenced-a-generation-of-writers.html?_r=0\">New York Times\u003c/a> that playing D&D functioned as “a sort of storytelling apprenticeship.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Tabletop RPG Works in the Classroom\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Kip Glazer’s class, students must build up the foundation of understanding they will need to become creators of a side narrative. Students prepare by doing research. They read and reread the book, examine the context that inspired the story -- such as the Cold War in the case of \"Farenheit 451\" -- discuss their findings and write about them. Each story element is continually examined through daily writing assignments that push students to reflect on how the different narrative elements build a compelling story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_42559\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2489px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-42559\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel.jpg\" alt=\"Lucifer Igneel, a character created by a student in Kip Glazer's class, during the tabletop role playing game unit of Farenheit 451. \" width=\"2489\" height=\"1734\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel.jpg 2489w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel-400x279.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel-800x557.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel-1440x1003.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel-1180x822.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Lucifer-Igneel-960x669.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2489px) 100vw, 2489px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lucifer Igneel, a character created by a student in Kip Glazer's class, during the tabletop role playing game unit of Farenheit 451. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Kip Glazer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a California public school teacher, Glazer has to fit each activity to meet Common Core State Standards. Role-playing games are certainly not traditional, but Glazer says the writing, critical thinking and analysis involved align perfectly with English Language Arts standards. Students are researching the historical period of the novel’s setting, making arguments about what a character would do and conveying details about the characters in writing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Glazer said her students write about 2,700 words per week during the game. When they’re ready to add new characters and situations, those elements have to make sense within the world of the story. Students must figure out how the pieces interact with one another, strengthening their \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/16/social-and-emotional-benefits-of-video-games-metacognition-and-relationships/\">systems thinking and metacognitive skills\u003c/a> along the way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One student created a character named Lucifer Igneel to add to his game based on \"Farenheit 451.\" Here is the student's description of the new character, as it relates to the book:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cem>He has a Pickelhaube helmet and wears a long, black leather coat, with the bottoms of it tattered and burned itself. The coat has an insignia of a Chinese dragon surrounded by flames, which is why Montag has a salamander on his arm (Bradbury 4), showing that he is the under-leveled. Igneel, as well as his dark stature and evil spirit, ironically, he speaks in Biblical terms, which is where Captain Beatty obtains his choice of words and phrases from, such as, “You’ve been locked up here for years with a regular damned Tower of Babel” (Bradbury 35). No one knows where he disappeared to, but the crimes roaming around are told to be his doings.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>“Role-playing and creating as an instructional process fits perfectly in literature education,” said Glazer. She has used games to teach poetry and plays as well, including the \"Importance of Being Earnest,\" by Oscar Wilde. One of Glazer’s favorite aspects of this teaching approach is that tabletop games require several players, introducing a social learning element to the assignment. Students work together to test assumptions about characters. They also play together in real life. And unlike digital role-playing games, tabletop games can be made with little to no money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_42561\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1912px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-42561 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board.jpg\" alt='A game board created by Kip Glazer for the \"Farenheit 451\" unit taught via tabletop role playing games. ' width=\"1912\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board.jpg 1912w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-400x402.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-800x803.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-1440x1446.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-1180x1185.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-960x964.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-32x32.jpg 32w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-64x64.jpg 64w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-96x96.jpg 96w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-128x128.jpg 128w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-50x50.jpg 50w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Glazer-Board-75x75.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1912px) 100vw, 1912px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A game board created by Kip Glazer's students for the \"Farenheit 451\" unit. Students learned about the story through tabletop role-playing games. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Kip Glazer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Glazer, who did not grow up playing RPGs, first got the idea to try them out in her class after seeing the work of \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/thergenrade\">Trent Hergenrader\u003c/a> at a \u003ca href=\"http://www.gameslearningsociety.org/\">Games Learning Society \u003c/a>conference. He uses RPGs to teach creative writing at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and before that, at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Hergenrader has found that if he encourages his students to think of their writing as a game, with playing pieces that can be separated from one another, they feel more freedom to manipulate character, scene and story in surprising ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a great creative writing device, but Hergenrader has also found that the process requires deep analysis of text and lends itself well to teaching literature. He has also taught a games version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works and George R.R. Martin's \"\u003ca href=\"http://talesfromkingslanding.wikispaces.com\">A Song of Ice and Fire\u003c/a>.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The experience turns out to be so profound in the classroom, you want everybody to do it,” Hergenrader said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Glazer, Hergenrader and educators who use games in the class have all identified the ability of games to engage and \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/06/09/surprising-insights-how-teachers-use-games-in-the-classroom/\">excite students\u003c/a> who may not have typically been interested in class. Dramatically changing the instruction style from what is “typical” often connects with disengaged learners and helps them to feel like a valued part of the class community, and thus more comfortable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By introducing this strategy, I was able to invite a lot of participation from students who otherwise would not have revealed themselves to be leaders,” said Glazer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Taking on Roles In Real Life\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, tabletop RPGs helped Kelsey Frohna branch out academically. She entered school as an avid reader, and planned on pursuing an English degree. Assignments up to that point had largely involved attending lectures, reading works of literature and writing analyses of the readings, activities that were largely solitary in nature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fronha describers herself as the shy, quiet student in class. When she enrolled in Hergenrader’s digital storytelling and role-playing class about four years ago, her experience of literature was turned upside down. The game they created and played was called “\u003ca href=\"http://hellwaukee.wikispaces.com/ENG+236+-+Digital+Storytelling+%26+Role-Playing\">Hellwaukee\u003c/a>,” set in post-apocalyptic Milwaukee. Frohna took on the role of a bear named Ursa. She and her teammates created post-apocalyptic Milwaukee by writing about the scenery, elements and characters. Hergenrader was the game master, introducing new situations that would complicate their worlds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Treating a story as a game created an opportunity for Frohna to become an active participant in the story. She found that manipulating characters pushed her understanding of the elements of a story, and made her think more creatively about environment and character attributes. At the core of role-playing games is a deeper examination of character. Students are building off an intimate knowledge of what the character \u003cem>would\u003c/em> do, based on everything she has gleaned about the world the character embodies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there was the social element of learning with games. Many of the discussions about what a character would do happened in the classroom with peers. Students had to debate what was possible, and understanding the game system became a group activity. Frohna said she had spent much of her school life on her own, learning by herself, but creating a game in her class introduced her to how exciting collaboration could be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never realized how many things you needed in a world. A role of the dice can give you good luck and bad luck.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unexpectedly, however, Frohna found a way to apply what she learned in the classroom to her real life. Frohna says the role-playing game came in handy when she found herself in a surprise situation at work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One day at her Old Navy job, she found herself elevated to a managerial role after the absence of her manager. The shy student was hesitant at first, but then she reminded herself of what she learned through RPGs. “After playing games in Trent’s class, I could become someone different and I was able to take that into work.” She thought about her boss as a character and stepped into that role.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m like, what would he do? I sort of put myself in his shoes,” Frohna said. She realized her boss is more outgoing and stands up for people, so she tried to embody those qualities, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stepping into that role for the first time helped her gain the confidence to take on new roles in her life without thinking of that transition with so much intention, Frohna said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The use of tabletop RPGs in the classroom is still rare, but teachers investing time and energy into turning traditional activities into games are seeing rewarding results. Students who had previously been uninterested in school are engaged, and the experience of making the game includes lessons applicable in students’ lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s still relatively rare to see role-playing games in the classroom, in part because of perceived social stigma, but Glazer says her high school students don’t see it that way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That has not been a challenge for me at all,” Glazer says of any reluctance to play RPGs in class. “That shows they’re really tired of their typical English class. As soon as I say, 'We’re going to create an RPG for this unit,' they say, ‘As long as you’re not reading to me, I’m totally cool with it.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>If there’s any video game that has successfully made its way into the classroom, it’s Minecraft. There’s a small subset of teachers using all kinds of digital games in interesting ways, but the blockbuster hit Minecraft and its educational counterpart \u003ca href=\"http://minecraftedu.com/about\" target=\"_blank\">MinecraftEDU\u003c/a> have reached much wider audiences. But getting started with MinecraftEDU can be intimidating for teachers who don’t consider themselves “gamers” and aren’t sure how to harness the engagement and excitement of Minecraft. Luckily, there’s a robust and global Minecraft teacher community to supply tips, support and even lesson plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers who already use Minecraft in the classroom love it because of the flexibility it offers -- almost any subject can be taught with a little creativity. And like other powerful learning games, well-structured Minecraft lessons give students opportunities to fail and try again, improve their skills, and participate in an immersive environment that aids retention because students can attach the academic concepts to their personal experiences within the game.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">“It’s surprising how much is out there and the vast majority of it is free.\"\u003ccite>John Miller, 7th Grade Social Studies teacher\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“When you are in a game, all that information in the immersive world is tied to your heart and your emotions and that becomes a very powerful retention tool,” said Garrett Zimmer, president of \u003ca href=\"http://www.minegage.com/\" target=\"_blank\">MineGage\u003c/a>, a company that makes Minecraft lessons with extra programming to track progress. Zimmer became famous among Minecraft players for \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/user/PitchblackItai\" target=\"_blank\">videos of his own play\u003c/a> and has since turned his coding abilities and Minecraft prowess towards creating pre-made worlds and lessons for teachers to use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zimmer and other experienced Minecraft teachers say it’s important to manage expectations when using Minecraft in the classroom. Many students already have experience playing the game for fun, so the teacher needs to explicitly set the goals and expectations for conduct within the game at the outset. Zimmer says most kids will be so excited to be playing the game in school that they won’t mind the extra rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>MINECRAFT IN HISTORY\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Miller has been using Minecraft to teach 7th grade history at Chalone Peaks Middle School in California for the past three years. Designing lessons in Minecraft has reinfused his teaching style with creativity and has helped his students become independent thinkers. “We're not really teaching them to be independent,” Miller said. “So that’s what got me thinking about putting kids in a virtual world and letting them explore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"I've gotten the best writing I've ever gotten in 21 years from kids.\"\u003ccite>John Miller\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Teachers are finding ways to use Minecraft in every subject, but in some ways the game is best suited to history because it’s so easy to download worlds other people have already made in Minecraft. Without much effort or time, a teacher can have a three-dimensional, accurate map of medieval London at his fingertips. Students can then see and experience the time and place in a new way, bringing history to life and giving them a personal stake in it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miller’s students are generally poor at reading and writing, so it was important for him to \u003ca href=\"http://minecraft.edtecworks.com/2015/02/16/literacy-through-minecraft-lesson-design-model/\" target=\"_blank\">inject lots of literacy skills\u003c/a> into his content teaching about medieval world history. He collaborated with \u003ca href=\"https://chaosgatebook.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Robert Walton\u003c/a>, a former teacher and current young adult fiction writer, to write vignettes introducing each part of his curriculum. Then he’d set his students loose in Minecraft to explore a “map” that he’d downloaded from the MinecraftEDU website and customized for his purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each vignettes tells a loose story about some aspect of Dark Ages history. The quests Miller designed take the narrative further and ultimately lead students through the Minecraft map and into the next story and part of history. For example, Walton wrote \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jNqYmMklwPbdOApGsHGIbRdI5L1oc2lbz3srkioJ3aA/edit\" target=\"_blank\">a story\u003c/a> about the first Viking raid in England, told from the Viking viewpoint. Miller had his students close-read and annotate the story to be sure they understood it. Then he set the kids loose in Minecraft to wander around the village post-raid, interacting with various characters who told them a different side of the story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miller asked his students to write reflections about what they’d seen and learned about each period of history. “I’ve gotten the best writing I’ve ever gotten in 21 years from kids,” Miller said. Normally he would dread reading 160 essays about the same moment in history, but because each kid wrote from his or her own perspective, each piece of writing was different. “I enjoyed it so much because every kid wrote from a different perspective, from how they saw it,” Miller said. And by the end, kids had written much more than they ever thought they could.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Kids who were struggling to write a paragraph at the beginning of the year had written 40 pages of amazing storytelling,” Miller said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like many public schools, Chalone Peaks doesn’t have an art or music program. Miller has found that Minecraft has not only helped fuel a passion for history in some of his students, but it also provides a creative outlet for them. When he teaches about medieval Japan, he asks students to write \u003ca href=\"http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/poetic-form-tanka\" target=\"_blank\">Tanka poems\u003c/a>, a precursor to the haiku usually focusing on nature of emotions. Then in Minecraft, students built paths that represented the themes of their poem. As a player moved down the path and stepped on each block a line from the poem would pop up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/uWTKlfynSuo?list=PL41iJfA2iBPHyuNHpxsa80hJaXKvZDdWH\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When the kids are creating these things, I’m not only seeing on the screen what they are creating, but in a way I can see their thinking,” Miller said. He plays the game with them, interacting with them there, which also allows him the time to build relationships through a medium that they like. Talking with them about what they are making and why is also a great way to assess their learning. The game also allows for differentiation - more advanced students are free to make more detailed and impressive projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The creative aspect was critical to see if they really understood what the words of the poem really meant,” Miller said. Even though his students speak English, about half of them come into 7th grade writing and reading at a 3rd grade level. Writing verse is a particularly hard task for them. The middle school textbooks and primary source documents are often inaccessible to them, but Miller has found that Minecraft helps them experience the history and then participate more in constructing new knowledge about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miller understands that some teachers may feel intimidated to get started with Minecraft, but he’s never regretted taking the leap. He suggests starting a Minecraft club after school to build interest and give the teacher time to familiarize herself with the game. The \u003ca href=\"https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/minecraft-teachers\" target=\"_blank\">MinecraftEDU teacher community\u003c/a> is also \u003ca href=\"http://minecrafteduclassroom.weebly.com/teacher-resources.html\" target=\"_blank\">robust and generous\u003c/a>. Most teachers freely allow downloading of worlds and lessons they’ve created and Miller often copies parts of other worlds and then positions them in his own map for a specific lesson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s surprising how much is out there and the vast majority of it is free,” Miller said. And if it doesn’t already exist, many Minecraft enthusiasts are happy to build it. That network of educators has also been an inspiration to Miller who likes having a cohort of colleagues with whom he shares ideas and gets feedback. He does note that schools need computers to run the MinecraftEDU software, not iPads or Chromebooks. But MinecraftEDU is affordable (\u003ca href=\"http://minecraftedu.com/faq#question_1-4\" target=\"_blank\">roughly $18 per seat\u003c/a>) and doesn’t require that a school have its own server.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>MINECRAFT IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Minecraft might not be an obvious teaching tool for a Spanish language teacher, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk56bQDNBHv8bc6G7Nahc2A\" target=\"_blank\">Glen Irvin\u003c/a> has found that his high school students are using language more often and in more complex ways since he started using the game. He was worried teenagers would find Minecraft stupid, but was blown away by its success when he gave it a try.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s nothing built for second language teachers, so I had to come up with some scenarios myself,” Irvin said. For example, in a unit about the language of business, Irvin asked students to collect resources like lumber and iron in Minecraft’s “creative mode.” Students then set up businesses, bartered with one another and posted prices in Spanish, all the while speaking to each other and conducting business in Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/kIbuSM_nZoc?list=PLXIHcDHyXD4hEZyekIdl2_uElIjDa23ys\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was way better than what we normally what we would have done, which would be a fake skit,” Irvin said. “It blew that thing away.” Students were so into the project they even started looking up extra vocabulary words and grammatical constructions so they could communicate better with one another. Irvin also always stops the play with enough time for students to write a reflection of what they’ve done in the game in their online journals. He finds the reflection helps solidify their learning and gives them practice with both oral and written communication skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because none of the pre-built lessons in MinecraftEDU are explicitly for language teachers, Irvin finds himself purusing what’s out there and generating lots of creative ways to work his curriculum into what he finds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, in an upper level Spanish course students take for college credit, Irvin assigned a survival world created by MinecraftEDU founder \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUZUXHA7owwfnld4U8mWY3A\" target=\"_blank\">Joel Levin\u003c/a> for the unit on environmental conservation. In Levin’s scenario, classmates are the last remaining people on earth and there is only one tree still alive. The rest of the human race is waiting for the world to be inhabitable in outer space. To win the challenge the team must repopulate the forest and make earth safe for life again. But the only way the class can alert survivors in space that earth is safe again is to send up a rocket, which they must make by smelting iron. That can only be done by burning trees to make a hot fire. The goals are at cross purposes and students have to decide the best course of action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my class they’re discussing all these scenarios and what to do or not do in Spanish, which is awesome because it’s super high level thinking,” Irvin said. “It’s way beyond anything I would have expected them to do.” And it was easy for Irvin to set up. He downloaded the pre-built world and then went in and changed all the signs from English to Spanish. It took him ten minutes and he got an engaging lesson that gave students a chance to use new vocabulary and language skills to argue their position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A teacher who doesn’t really have experience playing a lot can still do awesome things because the kids are going to be so fired up,” Irvin said. Experienced players in his classes often offer to be teaching-aids, helping other students hone their basic Minecraft skills. Irvin often records what his students do in the game, both for assessment and to keep a record of the awesome things they’ve built.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Irvin says it’s easy to keep students on task in the game because as a teacher-player in the game he has more powers than other players. He can instantly teleport to wherever a student is working and remind them to stay on task, or freeze a player who has wandered. He can also go into an invisible mode to see what students are doing when they don’t know he’s there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Irvin has three tips for teachers looking to get started.\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Use MinecraftEDU. It’s cheap, easy, and there are a lot of worlds to steal from or use, along with lesson tips.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Get a more experienced player to walk you through the basics and mess around a little in the game to become familiar.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Start with a single project that you’d like to improve, maybe a poster project. Tell the students they will be able to demonstrate their knowledge in three dimensions instead. Set parameters and guidelines for how students should interact within the game.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>MINECRAFT WITH MATH AND SCIENCE\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Minecraft \u003ca href=\"http://services.minecraftedu.com/worlds/\" target=\"_blank\">lends itself well to teaching math\u003c/a> because everything is built out of blocks, making it easy to do geometry. Area and volume problems at the bare minimum. Math is also a subject many students find difficult and a different way of engaging them could help spark enthusiasm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/user/EduElfie\" target=\"_blank\">Stephen Elford\u003c/a> is a secondary math and science teacher at a rural public school in Victoria, Australia. He played Minecraft for fun at first, but then realized how much math was involved and began experimenting with using it as a classroom tool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elford has found Minecraft’s “crafting mode” to be an effective way to teach basic algebra because Minecraft players have to craft all the tools they use to build out of raw materials harvested in the world. Different implements like an axe or a torch require different raw material recipes. Elford’s students wrote their own recipes (which look a lot like equations) using base materials. For example, one log = 4 planks. If you had 52 logs how many planks would you have and what formula would be used to represent the problem?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elford doesn’t ever force students to use Minecraft for projects, but he likes to offer it as an option because he’s noticed that some of his most disengaged learners excel when given an alternative to traditional pen and paper equations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The four students who did that project got a very good understanding of how algebra can be used in virtual life situations and how to go about converting and simplifying units,” Elford said. In other lessons Elford has used a more straightforward method, asking students to solve problems to earn access to new parts of the world. Elford says one student in particular stands out because he had done almost no work in school for more than three years. But when Minecraft was involved he perked up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He showed a depth of understanding that I just didn’t think was possible given his participation,” Elford said. “It blew my mind.” It was that “ah ha” moment many teachers live for, but that doesn’t always come easily or often.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elford has found Minecraft to be powerful in science as well, where he mostly uses the game to simulate scientific experiences that kids wouldn’t otherwise get in public school. For example, in his senior biology class, Elford uses Minecraft to give students a tour of an animal cell. Then, they get to watch as a single strand of DNA is transcribed into mRNA, which conveys the instructions to create complex proteins that do most of the work in the body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/kBUesxvMw74?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I’ve done this lesson in the past it’s been a lot more powerful and longer lasting for the students,” Elford said. He’s also uses Minecraft to start discussions. For example, his rural school doesn’t have the tools to measure Earth’s gravity, but his students can measure the gravity in Minecraft and then discuss what their findings mean for earth. Or, Elford might let students destroy the world with a plague in Minecraft as a way to discuss evolution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elford, like Irvin and Miller, is clear that Minecraft is just one more tool he can use to effectively communicate his content and the skills that accompany it. However, he’s encouraged by the staying power of lessons he’s taught using Minecraft and by the excitement even poor students often show for projects within the game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>GET STARTED\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Any new initiative feels daunting, but the only way to get started is to jump in. The educators profiled here saw Minecraft as a potentially powerful tool and started experimenting with how it could fit their pre-determined curriculum. They continue to seek help and ideas from peers and use the many free resources available to them. In addition to the positive changes they describe in their students, many teachers noted that Minecraft has helped reignite the creativity and passion that first brought them to teaching.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>If there’s any video game that has successfully made its way into the classroom, it’s Minecraft. There’s a small subset of teachers using all kinds of digital games in interesting ways, but the blockbuster hit Minecraft and its educational counterpart \u003ca href=\"http://minecraftedu.com/about\" target=\"_blank\">MinecraftEDU\u003c/a> have reached much wider audiences. But getting started with MinecraftEDU can be intimidating for teachers who don’t consider themselves “gamers” and aren’t sure how to harness the engagement and excitement of Minecraft. Luckily, there’s a robust and global Minecraft teacher community to supply tips, support and even lesson plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers who already use Minecraft in the classroom love it because of the flexibility it offers -- almost any subject can be taught with a little creativity. And like other powerful learning games, well-structured Minecraft lessons give students opportunities to fail and try again, improve their skills, and participate in an immersive environment that aids retention because students can attach the academic concepts to their personal experiences within the game.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">“It’s surprising how much is out there and the vast majority of it is free.\"\u003ccite>John Miller, 7th Grade Social Studies teacher\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“When you are in a game, all that information in the immersive world is tied to your heart and your emotions and that becomes a very powerful retention tool,” said Garrett Zimmer, president of \u003ca href=\"http://www.minegage.com/\" target=\"_blank\">MineGage\u003c/a>, a company that makes Minecraft lessons with extra programming to track progress. Zimmer became famous among Minecraft players for \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/user/PitchblackItai\" target=\"_blank\">videos of his own play\u003c/a> and has since turned his coding abilities and Minecraft prowess towards creating pre-made worlds and lessons for teachers to use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zimmer and other experienced Minecraft teachers say it’s important to manage expectations when using Minecraft in the classroom. Many students already have experience playing the game for fun, so the teacher needs to explicitly set the goals and expectations for conduct within the game at the outset. Zimmer says most kids will be so excited to be playing the game in school that they won’t mind the extra rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>MINECRAFT IN HISTORY\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Miller has been using Minecraft to teach 7th grade history at Chalone Peaks Middle School in California for the past three years. Designing lessons in Minecraft has reinfused his teaching style with creativity and has helped his students become independent thinkers. “We're not really teaching them to be independent,” Miller said. “So that’s what got me thinking about putting kids in a virtual world and letting them explore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"I've gotten the best writing I've ever gotten in 21 years from kids.\"\u003ccite>John Miller\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Teachers are finding ways to use Minecraft in every subject, but in some ways the game is best suited to history because it’s so easy to download worlds other people have already made in Minecraft. Without much effort or time, a teacher can have a three-dimensional, accurate map of medieval London at his fingertips. Students can then see and experience the time and place in a new way, bringing history to life and giving them a personal stake in it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miller’s students are generally poor at reading and writing, so it was important for him to \u003ca href=\"http://minecraft.edtecworks.com/2015/02/16/literacy-through-minecraft-lesson-design-model/\" target=\"_blank\">inject lots of literacy skills\u003c/a> into his content teaching about medieval world history. He collaborated with \u003ca href=\"https://chaosgatebook.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Robert Walton\u003c/a>, a former teacher and current young adult fiction writer, to write vignettes introducing each part of his curriculum. Then he’d set his students loose in Minecraft to explore a “map” that he’d downloaded from the MinecraftEDU website and customized for his purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each vignettes tells a loose story about some aspect of Dark Ages history. The quests Miller designed take the narrative further and ultimately lead students through the Minecraft map and into the next story and part of history. For example, Walton wrote \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jNqYmMklwPbdOApGsHGIbRdI5L1oc2lbz3srkioJ3aA/edit\" target=\"_blank\">a story\u003c/a> about the first Viking raid in England, told from the Viking viewpoint. Miller had his students close-read and annotate the story to be sure they understood it. Then he set the kids loose in Minecraft to wander around the village post-raid, interacting with various characters who told them a different side of the story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miller asked his students to write reflections about what they’d seen and learned about each period of history. “I’ve gotten the best writing I’ve ever gotten in 21 years from kids,” Miller said. Normally he would dread reading 160 essays about the same moment in history, but because each kid wrote from his or her own perspective, each piece of writing was different. “I enjoyed it so much because every kid wrote from a different perspective, from how they saw it,” Miller said. And by the end, kids had written much more than they ever thought they could.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Kids who were struggling to write a paragraph at the beginning of the year had written 40 pages of amazing storytelling,” Miller said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like many public schools, Chalone Peaks doesn’t have an art or music program. Miller has found that Minecraft has not only helped fuel a passion for history in some of his students, but it also provides a creative outlet for them. When he teaches about medieval Japan, he asks students to write \u003ca href=\"http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/poetic-form-tanka\" target=\"_blank\">Tanka poems\u003c/a>, a precursor to the haiku usually focusing on nature of emotions. Then in Minecraft, students built paths that represented the themes of their poem. As a player moved down the path and stepped on each block a line from the poem would pop up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/uWTKlfynSuo?list=PL41iJfA2iBPHyuNHpxsa80hJaXKvZDdWH\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When the kids are creating these things, I’m not only seeing on the screen what they are creating, but in a way I can see their thinking,” Miller said. He plays the game with them, interacting with them there, which also allows him the time to build relationships through a medium that they like. Talking with them about what they are making and why is also a great way to assess their learning. The game also allows for differentiation - more advanced students are free to make more detailed and impressive projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The creative aspect was critical to see if they really understood what the words of the poem really meant,” Miller said. Even though his students speak English, about half of them come into 7th grade writing and reading at a 3rd grade level. Writing verse is a particularly hard task for them. The middle school textbooks and primary source documents are often inaccessible to them, but Miller has found that Minecraft helps them experience the history and then participate more in constructing new knowledge about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miller understands that some teachers may feel intimidated to get started with Minecraft, but he’s never regretted taking the leap. He suggests starting a Minecraft club after school to build interest and give the teacher time to familiarize herself with the game. The \u003ca href=\"https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/minecraft-teachers\" target=\"_blank\">MinecraftEDU teacher community\u003c/a> is also \u003ca href=\"http://minecrafteduclassroom.weebly.com/teacher-resources.html\" target=\"_blank\">robust and generous\u003c/a>. Most teachers freely allow downloading of worlds and lessons they’ve created and Miller often copies parts of other worlds and then positions them in his own map for a specific lesson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s surprising how much is out there and the vast majority of it is free,” Miller said. And if it doesn’t already exist, many Minecraft enthusiasts are happy to build it. That network of educators has also been an inspiration to Miller who likes having a cohort of colleagues with whom he shares ideas and gets feedback. He does note that schools need computers to run the MinecraftEDU software, not iPads or Chromebooks. But MinecraftEDU is affordable (\u003ca href=\"http://minecraftedu.com/faq#question_1-4\" target=\"_blank\">roughly $18 per seat\u003c/a>) and doesn’t require that a school have its own server.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>MINECRAFT IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Minecraft might not be an obvious teaching tool for a Spanish language teacher, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk56bQDNBHv8bc6G7Nahc2A\" target=\"_blank\">Glen Irvin\u003c/a> has found that his high school students are using language more often and in more complex ways since he started using the game. He was worried teenagers would find Minecraft stupid, but was blown away by its success when he gave it a try.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s nothing built for second language teachers, so I had to come up with some scenarios myself,” Irvin said. For example, in a unit about the language of business, Irvin asked students to collect resources like lumber and iron in Minecraft’s “creative mode.” Students then set up businesses, bartered with one another and posted prices in Spanish, all the while speaking to each other and conducting business in Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/kIbuSM_nZoc?list=PLXIHcDHyXD4hEZyekIdl2_uElIjDa23ys\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was way better than what we normally what we would have done, which would be a fake skit,” Irvin said. “It blew that thing away.” Students were so into the project they even started looking up extra vocabulary words and grammatical constructions so they could communicate better with one another. Irvin also always stops the play with enough time for students to write a reflection of what they’ve done in the game in their online journals. He finds the reflection helps solidify their learning and gives them practice with both oral and written communication skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because none of the pre-built lessons in MinecraftEDU are explicitly for language teachers, Irvin finds himself purusing what’s out there and generating lots of creative ways to work his curriculum into what he finds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, in an upper level Spanish course students take for college credit, Irvin assigned a survival world created by MinecraftEDU founder \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUZUXHA7owwfnld4U8mWY3A\" target=\"_blank\">Joel Levin\u003c/a> for the unit on environmental conservation. In Levin’s scenario, classmates are the last remaining people on earth and there is only one tree still alive. The rest of the human race is waiting for the world to be inhabitable in outer space. To win the challenge the team must repopulate the forest and make earth safe for life again. But the only way the class can alert survivors in space that earth is safe again is to send up a rocket, which they must make by smelting iron. That can only be done by burning trees to make a hot fire. The goals are at cross purposes and students have to decide the best course of action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my class they’re discussing all these scenarios and what to do or not do in Spanish, which is awesome because it’s super high level thinking,” Irvin said. “It’s way beyond anything I would have expected them to do.” And it was easy for Irvin to set up. He downloaded the pre-built world and then went in and changed all the signs from English to Spanish. It took him ten minutes and he got an engaging lesson that gave students a chance to use new vocabulary and language skills to argue their position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A teacher who doesn’t really have experience playing a lot can still do awesome things because the kids are going to be so fired up,” Irvin said. Experienced players in his classes often offer to be teaching-aids, helping other students hone their basic Minecraft skills. Irvin often records what his students do in the game, both for assessment and to keep a record of the awesome things they’ve built.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Irvin says it’s easy to keep students on task in the game because as a teacher-player in the game he has more powers than other players. He can instantly teleport to wherever a student is working and remind them to stay on task, or freeze a player who has wandered. He can also go into an invisible mode to see what students are doing when they don’t know he’s there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Irvin has three tips for teachers looking to get started.\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Use MinecraftEDU. It’s cheap, easy, and there are a lot of worlds to steal from or use, along with lesson tips.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Get a more experienced player to walk you through the basics and mess around a little in the game to become familiar.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Start with a single project that you’d like to improve, maybe a poster project. Tell the students they will be able to demonstrate their knowledge in three dimensions instead. Set parameters and guidelines for how students should interact within the game.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>MINECRAFT WITH MATH AND SCIENCE\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Minecraft \u003ca href=\"http://services.minecraftedu.com/worlds/\" target=\"_blank\">lends itself well to teaching math\u003c/a> because everything is built out of blocks, making it easy to do geometry. Area and volume problems at the bare minimum. Math is also a subject many students find difficult and a different way of engaging them could help spark enthusiasm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/user/EduElfie\" target=\"_blank\">Stephen Elford\u003c/a> is a secondary math and science teacher at a rural public school in Victoria, Australia. He played Minecraft for fun at first, but then realized how much math was involved and began experimenting with using it as a classroom tool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elford has found Minecraft’s “crafting mode” to be an effective way to teach basic algebra because Minecraft players have to craft all the tools they use to build out of raw materials harvested in the world. Different implements like an axe or a torch require different raw material recipes. Elford’s students wrote their own recipes (which look a lot like equations) using base materials. For example, one log = 4 planks. If you had 52 logs how many planks would you have and what formula would be used to represent the problem?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elford doesn’t ever force students to use Minecraft for projects, but he likes to offer it as an option because he’s noticed that some of his most disengaged learners excel when given an alternative to traditional pen and paper equations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The four students who did that project got a very good understanding of how algebra can be used in virtual life situations and how to go about converting and simplifying units,” Elford said. In other lessons Elford has used a more straightforward method, asking students to solve problems to earn access to new parts of the world. Elford says one student in particular stands out because he had done almost no work in school for more than three years. But when Minecraft was involved he perked up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He showed a depth of understanding that I just didn’t think was possible given his participation,” Elford said. “It blew my mind.” It was that “ah ha” moment many teachers live for, but that doesn’t always come easily or often.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elford has found Minecraft to be powerful in science as well, where he mostly uses the game to simulate scientific experiences that kids wouldn’t otherwise get in public school. For example, in his senior biology class, Elford uses Minecraft to give students a tour of an animal cell. Then, they get to watch as a single strand of DNA is transcribed into mRNA, which conveys the instructions to create complex proteins that do most of the work in the body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/kBUesxvMw74?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I’ve done this lesson in the past it’s been a lot more powerful and longer lasting for the students,” Elford said. He’s also uses Minecraft to start discussions. For example, his rural school doesn’t have the tools to measure Earth’s gravity, but his students can measure the gravity in Minecraft and then discuss what their findings mean for earth. Or, Elford might let students destroy the world with a plague in Minecraft as a way to discuss evolution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elford, like Irvin and Miller, is clear that Minecraft is just one more tool he can use to effectively communicate his content and the skills that accompany it. However, he’s encouraged by the staying power of lessons he’s taught using Minecraft and by the excitement even poor students often show for projects within the game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>GET STARTED\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Any new initiative feels daunting, but the only way to get started is to jump in. The educators profiled here saw Minecraft as a potentially powerful tool and started experimenting with how it could fit their pre-determined curriculum. They continue to seek help and ideas from peers and use the many free resources available to them. In addition to the positive changes they describe in their students, many teachers noted that Minecraft has helped reignite the creativity and passion that first brought them to teaching.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "What Do Sixth Graders Say About Learning With Games? It Works",
"title": "What Do Sixth Graders Say About Learning With Games? It Works",
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"content": "\u003cp>By Alexandria Neason\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://hechingerreport.org/\">The Hechinger Report\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Read more about \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://hechingerreport.org/special-reports/blended-learning/\">\u003cem>technology in the classroom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NEW YORK — One morning, just before classes at New York City’s \u003ca href=\"http://q2l.org/\">Quest to Learn\u003c/a> Middle School broke for lunch, Etai Kurtzman found himself transformed into a lemon tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a warm day in late April, and his chatty sixth-grade class had been corralled from a narrow hallway into a classroom at the end of a short hall. Etai, tall and lanky, lugged a gray backpack to a desk that had been pushed up against a wall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each student had been cast for a role-playing game either as a honeybee sent out from the hive or as a plant. In a flurry of organized chaos, the students simulated the pollination process: student honey bees, wearing pipe-cleaner antennae, approached classmates pretending to be plants and received small, colored building blocks. When a plant ran out of blocks, it meant their flowers had been pollinated. But the bees had to be careful: some of the plants randomly gave them white blocks, which represented pesticides and caused the bees to die.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their teacher, Kate Selkirk, was using this game as a starting point for an eight-week unit on math concepts — data analysis and graphing, proportions, probability and slope. But what does a beehive or a lemon tree have to do with any of that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The designers behind Quest to Learn believe that student engagement is so significantly enhanced by narrative role-play, analog games and digital games that every subject — from health to math — begins or ends with a game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"GlWxhCUW0jgcNTQbOsMGKovi0xHKoV78\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lesson about power and privilege, for example, might begin with a card game in which some players are deliberately and arbitrarily more disadvantaged than others. This type of simulation creates real empathy, which helps to make abstract concepts more concrete — and boosts engagement as a result.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while blended learning — a mix of teacher-led and computerized instruction — is proliferating across the country, schools that wholeheartedly embrace games-based learning remain rare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a very small number if schools that really try to redesign the school around games-based learning,” said Justin Leites, vice-president of Amplify Learning, a company that makes digital education games. One of the biggest challenges, he says, is bringing games into schools that are bogged down by accountability demands—often ones that rely heavily on standardized testing. Attempts to use games as assessments ruin the playful experiences that make them an effective learning tool, he said. And designing good games is no easy task.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very hard to design a good game of any sort,” he said. “And a really good learning experience, that’s even harder.” The training teachers need to design strong games for the classroom takes time and money—a hard sell at schools strapped for cash and resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this type of classroom, while unusual, makes perfect sense to Etai and his classmates. At the core of gaming is the concept of a challenge, and a player’s journey to meet it. That makes perfect sense inside a school building, Etai told me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not competitive,” he said. “It’s more about ‘let’s figure it out.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41618\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-41618\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/GamesStudent-173-e1439445468256.jpg\" alt=\"Etai Kurtzman, 12, at Luna Park in Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Etai Kurtzman, 12, at Luna Park in Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \u003ccite>(Kevin Hagen for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Quest to Learn is housed in the Bayard Rustin Educational Complex, a massive brick fortress that is home to six schools on West 18th Street in Chelsea. The overlapping schedules of each school create a steady echo of activity in the hallways: a couple of teens who showed up late for school explaining themselves to a school safety officer, teachers ushering wayward kids into classrooms, the sharp beeping of the heavy service elevators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On that day in late April, the new unit in Etai’s “Codeworlds” math class was built around a narrative about a restless honey bee named Buzz, who leaves the monotony of the hive in search of real fun. The obvious metaphor for bored kids stuck inside a stuffy school building all day immediately seemed to resonate with the class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “roll out,” as it’s known in Quest lingo, was intended to get the class invested in the plight of Buzz. The actual math concepts would be delivered as the class returned again and again to this character.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Etai’s old school, P.S. 41 in Greenwich Village, these concepts would likely have been taught through daily lessons and note-taking. There were no games or role-playing. There were workbooks and worksheets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I definitely learned a lot, but it was not as fun, not as interesting,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mor Armony-Kurtzman, Etai’s mother, said he rarely talked about school while at P.S. 41. “I expected that when he got to middle school, we’d start hearing [even] less about school,” she said. “It’s the exact opposite.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41619\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-41619\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/GamesStudent-100-e1439445680375.jpg\" alt=\"Etai Kurtzman, 12, and Terrell Gantt, 12, on a ride at Luna Park in Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Etai Kurtzman, 12, and Terrell Gantt, 12, on a ride at Luna Park in Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \u003ccite>(Kevin Hagen for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When I visited his class again, during lunch one day early in May, Etai munched on mini bagels slathered in cream cheese while he taught me to play a dice game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The game, called Skunk, was a primer for a lesson in probability. Students roll dice to earn points. You can roll the dice as many times as you want through each of five rounds, but if you roll a one on either die, you earn no points. And a roll of double ones erases all your points. When I asked Etai what the purpose was, he said that he was supposed to learn about the relationship between choice and chance. These two concepts later helped him understand how calculating probability could help him make a decision about whether or not to take a risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Etai, it is easy to find places in his life outside school where probability matters. In games he plays for fun, like Monopoly and another board game called Settlers of Catan, players make strategic decisions that can be more expertly executed if they understand the probability of rolling a particular combination of numbers on the dice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Settlers of Catan, Etai explained, players choose which parts of an imaginary new world to settle. Different types of terrain come paired with different numbers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In that game, you strategize where you place pieces based on the likelihood of numbers you’ll roll,” he said. “I never took into account the number of choices, the possibilities when rolling the dice. I thought the numbers were there just because. Now I know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And suddenly, the bee role-playing game that he had participated in weeks earlier also made sense. “I realized that the activity actually had something to do with probability, because there were only three white blocks,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This sort of indirect entry into a Common Core standard — in which students are supposed to realize the \u003cem>usefulness\u003c/em> of a concept before they learn how to use it — is at the root of all teaching instruction at Quest, according to Rebecca Rufo-Tepper, the director of professional development for the Institute of Play, which promotes gaming in schools and designed Quest to Learn. The old mantra that demands kids work before they play doesn’t apply. Here, playing enables the learning. But the two cannot exist in isolation. Traditional learning must still happen to help students master standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A game can’t do everything, and that’s a mistake we often see,” said Rufo-Tepper. “The game has a very specific role.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Skunk, that role was to get kids thinking about how and when they can use choice to beat chance. Only then were the kids ready — eager, even — to learn how to mathematically calculate the likelihood of rolling any particular combination on the dice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The games demonstrate to the kids why the skills they’ll soon learn matter beyond tests and grades. Teachers then move on to use more traditional, straightforward teaching practices. Warm-up and group activities and quizzes appear regularly in Etai’s class, sometimes to help settle the kids after a rowdy lunch period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41621\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-41621\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/GamesStudent-1194-e1439446077925.jpg\" alt=\"Students fill out games analysis worksheets at the Roll-A-Ball game during a trip to Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students fill out games analysis worksheets at the Roll-A-Ball game during a trip to Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \u003ccite>(Kevin Hagen for The Hechinger Report )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the sticky May humidity, Selkirk wrote definitions on the whiteboard with a squeaky black marker while the class fidgeted and copied them down. Video lessons, worksheets and group work followed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are, after all, sixth-graders. “There is a routine, a regular structure,” Selkirk said. “You can’t abandon traditional teaching practices. It’s not ‘Play a game and you’re never going to have to demonstrate that you’ve learned anything.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After playing Skunk, the kids had two days of more straightforward math lessons. They charted all the potential combinations they could roll on two dice to help them visualize how probable it was to roll any particular combination. They practiced expressing probability in fractions, in their notebooks and on worksheets. That learning was then reinforced with yet another game, called Caterpillar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Caterpillar, students used their knowledge of how likely it is to roll a specific dice combination to place blocks, called mushrooms, on a plastic game board. Etai’s favorite parts of this game? Doing the math quickly. Strategizing. And winning as a result.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then it was time for the quiz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Etai peered at the screen of a silver MacBook laptop, his notebook open on the desk next to him. He moved quickly through the multiple-choice questions, including one very confusing-looking chart full of fractions; he told me that it was a frequency chart. He scanned it, considered his options and paused. Click. Swipe. Remembering the chart he’d completed with his class a few days earlier, he answered all but one of the questions correctly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the class average score on the probability quiz was just 76 percent, a reflection of the sometimes-difficult task of getting kids to use game strategies when no games are present.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yet, middle schoolers at Quest perform well on state standardized tests. For example, in 2013, the school reports, 56 percent of Quest middle school students scored higher than their citywide peers on the statewide English language arts test. Richard Arum, an education researcher based at New York University, is working with the school to study its efficiency by tracking things like student test scores over time. But administrators stress that test scores are not the primary clue that a school is working. The games teach students how to think and how to design their own learning opportunities—skills not easily measured on a test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By May 20, Buzz, the honeybee who fled the hive, had tried new food at a picnic (a lesson in proportions and bar graphs) and evaded the Queen Bee’s scheme to lure him back. The class had created line graphs and histograms, and had also learned about how bees see color differently from humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the beginning of one lesson, Etai worked on a crossword puzzle filled with algebraic terms like “linear,” “absolute” and “y-axis.” I asked why he thought they were reviewing the terms, and what this had to do with Buzz. “In the beginning of the year, we learned about coordinates, so I think this may eventually get into that,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the rest of the period, he sat hunched over a table with his classmates Alex, Sydney and Kevin. Linear equations flashed on a laptop screen. The game, called Get to the Point, required them to solve equations and plot all the possible coordinates on an oversized plastic graph. For example, “If x+y = 6” appears, the players put cubes on all the potential answers. It was a fast-moving game, but Etai seemed less concerned with winning than with getting the problems right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They used quick mental math, their pens and notebooks banished to the corners of the desk, until one problem stumped them. “The product of x and y is positive or negative 12” flashed across the screen. Etai and Sydney reached for their pencils while the others worked through the math out loud, brows furrowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I stood by, the most confused in the bunch, while the boys tentatively placed blocks on the board, looking for validation in one another’s eyes. Kevin and Etai placed their last pieces on the board and peered at each other. “Are we done?” one boy asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it turns out, they weren’t. An answer key on the laptop revealed that they’d forgotten one coordinate — grounds for lost points, according to the rules of the game. The next few minutes were spent arguing over who exactly would lose the point. And then they clicked to the next challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41624\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-41624\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/GamesStudent-1217-e1439446276692.jpg\" alt=\"Student Etai Kurtzman, 12, wins a bear at the Roll-A-Ball game at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Student Etai Kurtzman, 12, wins a bear at the Roll-A-Ball game at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \u003ccite>(Kevin Hagen for The Hechinger Report )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In two years, Etai will start the high school application rat race in New York City. While Quest does extend to high school (they’ll graduate their first senior class next year), whether Etai will stick around that long remains to be seen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His parents say the games have made him a risk-taker, unaffected by the frustration he often felt in elementary school if something didn’t work the first time. It was not until he got to Quest that he realized just how good he was at math, said Armony-Kurtzman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some parents worry that if their children leave Quest for a more conventional classroom, the absence of games could be detrimental to their learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anita Ramsey, whose daughter Mia is in Etai’s class, said her daughter used to be shy and reluctant to participate in class. Now she raises her hand frequently and comes home energized about her schoolwork. Ramsey worries that a return to rote memorization might push her daughter back into her shell, putting her at a disadvantage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2014, according to Rufo-Tepper, 52 percent of Quest eighth-graders returned for ninth grade, while a sizeable 28 percent went to selective or specialized high schools around the city, a sign that the model is working well so far. Although 20 percent of students left after middle school, that is partly attributable to the fact that Quest to Learn has no track record yet for high school (it will graduate its first senior class next year).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Selkirk said narratives like the one about Buzz the bee teach her students creativity and problem-solving. “Those are skills that will lead them to be successful in any classroom,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Etai agrees. When I asked him if he thought that growing accustomed to learning with games would make high school harder if he left Quest, the answer was a definitive no. And for high school, he has no doubt he’ll be at least as prepared as anyone else — no matter what kind of school he attends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of May, the sixth-grade class left the bubble of their school. They’d spent three humid days drudging through lessons about slope — where to find it and how to calculate it. Now Buzz was on the hunt for something fun to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A long, noisy subway ride dropped them off at Brooklyn’s Coney Island for a good old-fashioned field trip. Chaperones ran after Etai and crew as they zipped on and off of rides at Luna Park. The students huddled together to answer questions from a handout about how they’d experienced slope in real time on the rides, and about how the games they had played illustrated probability and other terms they’d learned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41623\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-41623\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/GamesStudent-466-e1439446030700.jpg\" alt=\"Thea Jones, 12, at left, Etai Kurtzman, 12, Seth Samuel, 12 and Terrell Gantt, 12, fill out game analysis worksheets at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thea Jones, 12, at left, Etai Kurtzman, 12, Seth Samuel, 12 and Terrell Gantt, 12, fill out game analysis worksheets at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \u003ccite>(Kevin Hagen for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After a ride on a bumpy red roller coaster that dipped up and down and spun around sharp corners, Etai crouched near the exit and pulled out a pencil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No-slope is more thrilling because you’re going against gravity and it kind of makes you feel weird,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after waiting in line for another ride, he changed his mind, darting out of his seat and bolting for the exit. That ride — mini-airplanes that spun and flipped their passengers vertically — had no slope, he told me. And no slope was a no-go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience at the park would later help him design his own roller coaster in class — complete with an example of each different type of slope — using Minecraft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the park, Etai and his classmates looked like kids from any other middle school: energetic, loud, a little bit hyper. They seemed as concerned with re-riding the Steeplechase roller coaster as many times as possible as they were with finishing their assignment packets. They laughed and ate candy, but they were also talking about math, even while on the rides. When Selkirk rode a roller coaster with a group of students, they shouted out the different kinds of slopes as the ride whipped up and down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41622\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-41622\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/GamesStudent-1412-e1439446361299.jpg\" alt=\"Students Terrell Gantt, left, and Etai Kurtzman, 12, share an Icee during a class trip to Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students Terrell Gantt, left, and Etai Kurtzman, 12, share an Icee during a class trip to Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \u003ccite>(Kevin Hagen for The Hechinger Report )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The larger point of the trip — to see where math happens in real life — didn’t seem lost on the bunch. Playing games, whether at an amusement park or in the classroom, is no gimmick, said Ella Reyl, a classmate who was in Etai’s group for the trip. The games and activities and trips, Ella said, are for the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not to just copy stuff down,” she said. “It’s for next time, when we don’t have a game. We have a way to think about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And learning how to think is arguably the point of it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://hechingerreport.org/\">The Hechinger Report\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Read more about \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://hechingerreport.org/special-reports/blended-learning/\">\u003cem>technology in the classroom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>By Alexandria Neason\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://hechingerreport.org/\">The Hechinger Report\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Read more about \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://hechingerreport.org/special-reports/blended-learning/\">\u003cem>technology in the classroom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NEW YORK — One morning, just before classes at New York City’s \u003ca href=\"http://q2l.org/\">Quest to Learn\u003c/a> Middle School broke for lunch, Etai Kurtzman found himself transformed into a lemon tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a warm day in late April, and his chatty sixth-grade class had been corralled from a narrow hallway into a classroom at the end of a short hall. Etai, tall and lanky, lugged a gray backpack to a desk that had been pushed up against a wall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each student had been cast for a role-playing game either as a honeybee sent out from the hive or as a plant. In a flurry of organized chaos, the students simulated the pollination process: student honey bees, wearing pipe-cleaner antennae, approached classmates pretending to be plants and received small, colored building blocks. When a plant ran out of blocks, it meant their flowers had been pollinated. But the bees had to be careful: some of the plants randomly gave them white blocks, which represented pesticides and caused the bees to die.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their teacher, Kate Selkirk, was using this game as a starting point for an eight-week unit on math concepts — data analysis and graphing, proportions, probability and slope. But what does a beehive or a lemon tree have to do with any of that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The designers behind Quest to Learn believe that student engagement is so significantly enhanced by narrative role-play, analog games and digital games that every subject — from health to math — begins or ends with a game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lesson about power and privilege, for example, might begin with a card game in which some players are deliberately and arbitrarily more disadvantaged than others. This type of simulation creates real empathy, which helps to make abstract concepts more concrete — and boosts engagement as a result.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while blended learning — a mix of teacher-led and computerized instruction — is proliferating across the country, schools that wholeheartedly embrace games-based learning remain rare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a very small number if schools that really try to redesign the school around games-based learning,” said Justin Leites, vice-president of Amplify Learning, a company that makes digital education games. One of the biggest challenges, he says, is bringing games into schools that are bogged down by accountability demands—often ones that rely heavily on standardized testing. Attempts to use games as assessments ruin the playful experiences that make them an effective learning tool, he said. And designing good games is no easy task.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very hard to design a good game of any sort,” he said. “And a really good learning experience, that’s even harder.” The training teachers need to design strong games for the classroom takes time and money—a hard sell at schools strapped for cash and resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this type of classroom, while unusual, makes perfect sense to Etai and his classmates. At the core of gaming is the concept of a challenge, and a player’s journey to meet it. That makes perfect sense inside a school building, Etai told me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not competitive,” he said. “It’s more about ‘let’s figure it out.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41618\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-41618\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/GamesStudent-173-e1439445468256.jpg\" alt=\"Etai Kurtzman, 12, at Luna Park in Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Etai Kurtzman, 12, at Luna Park in Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \u003ccite>(Kevin Hagen for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Quest to Learn is housed in the Bayard Rustin Educational Complex, a massive brick fortress that is home to six schools on West 18th Street in Chelsea. The overlapping schedules of each school create a steady echo of activity in the hallways: a couple of teens who showed up late for school explaining themselves to a school safety officer, teachers ushering wayward kids into classrooms, the sharp beeping of the heavy service elevators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On that day in late April, the new unit in Etai’s “Codeworlds” math class was built around a narrative about a restless honey bee named Buzz, who leaves the monotony of the hive in search of real fun. The obvious metaphor for bored kids stuck inside a stuffy school building all day immediately seemed to resonate with the class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “roll out,” as it’s known in Quest lingo, was intended to get the class invested in the plight of Buzz. The actual math concepts would be delivered as the class returned again and again to this character.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Etai’s old school, P.S. 41 in Greenwich Village, these concepts would likely have been taught through daily lessons and note-taking. There were no games or role-playing. There were workbooks and worksheets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I definitely learned a lot, but it was not as fun, not as interesting,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mor Armony-Kurtzman, Etai’s mother, said he rarely talked about school while at P.S. 41. “I expected that when he got to middle school, we’d start hearing [even] less about school,” she said. “It’s the exact opposite.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41619\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-41619\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/GamesStudent-100-e1439445680375.jpg\" alt=\"Etai Kurtzman, 12, and Terrell Gantt, 12, on a ride at Luna Park in Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Etai Kurtzman, 12, and Terrell Gantt, 12, on a ride at Luna Park in Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \u003ccite>(Kevin Hagen for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When I visited his class again, during lunch one day early in May, Etai munched on mini bagels slathered in cream cheese while he taught me to play a dice game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The game, called Skunk, was a primer for a lesson in probability. Students roll dice to earn points. You can roll the dice as many times as you want through each of five rounds, but if you roll a one on either die, you earn no points. And a roll of double ones erases all your points. When I asked Etai what the purpose was, he said that he was supposed to learn about the relationship between choice and chance. These two concepts later helped him understand how calculating probability could help him make a decision about whether or not to take a risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Etai, it is easy to find places in his life outside school where probability matters. In games he plays for fun, like Monopoly and another board game called Settlers of Catan, players make strategic decisions that can be more expertly executed if they understand the probability of rolling a particular combination of numbers on the dice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Settlers of Catan, Etai explained, players choose which parts of an imaginary new world to settle. Different types of terrain come paired with different numbers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In that game, you strategize where you place pieces based on the likelihood of numbers you’ll roll,” he said. “I never took into account the number of choices, the possibilities when rolling the dice. I thought the numbers were there just because. Now I know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And suddenly, the bee role-playing game that he had participated in weeks earlier also made sense. “I realized that the activity actually had something to do with probability, because there were only three white blocks,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This sort of indirect entry into a Common Core standard — in which students are supposed to realize the \u003cem>usefulness\u003c/em> of a concept before they learn how to use it — is at the root of all teaching instruction at Quest, according to Rebecca Rufo-Tepper, the director of professional development for the Institute of Play, which promotes gaming in schools and designed Quest to Learn. The old mantra that demands kids work before they play doesn’t apply. Here, playing enables the learning. But the two cannot exist in isolation. Traditional learning must still happen to help students master standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A game can’t do everything, and that’s a mistake we often see,” said Rufo-Tepper. “The game has a very specific role.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Skunk, that role was to get kids thinking about how and when they can use choice to beat chance. Only then were the kids ready — eager, even — to learn how to mathematically calculate the likelihood of rolling any particular combination on the dice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The games demonstrate to the kids why the skills they’ll soon learn matter beyond tests and grades. Teachers then move on to use more traditional, straightforward teaching practices. Warm-up and group activities and quizzes appear regularly in Etai’s class, sometimes to help settle the kids after a rowdy lunch period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41621\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-41621\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/GamesStudent-1194-e1439446077925.jpg\" alt=\"Students fill out games analysis worksheets at the Roll-A-Ball game during a trip to Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students fill out games analysis worksheets at the Roll-A-Ball game during a trip to Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \u003ccite>(Kevin Hagen for The Hechinger Report )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the sticky May humidity, Selkirk wrote definitions on the whiteboard with a squeaky black marker while the class fidgeted and copied them down. Video lessons, worksheets and group work followed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are, after all, sixth-graders. “There is a routine, a regular structure,” Selkirk said. “You can’t abandon traditional teaching practices. It’s not ‘Play a game and you’re never going to have to demonstrate that you’ve learned anything.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After playing Skunk, the kids had two days of more straightforward math lessons. They charted all the potential combinations they could roll on two dice to help them visualize how probable it was to roll any particular combination. They practiced expressing probability in fractions, in their notebooks and on worksheets. That learning was then reinforced with yet another game, called Caterpillar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Caterpillar, students used their knowledge of how likely it is to roll a specific dice combination to place blocks, called mushrooms, on a plastic game board. Etai’s favorite parts of this game? Doing the math quickly. Strategizing. And winning as a result.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then it was time for the quiz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Etai peered at the screen of a silver MacBook laptop, his notebook open on the desk next to him. He moved quickly through the multiple-choice questions, including one very confusing-looking chart full of fractions; he told me that it was a frequency chart. He scanned it, considered his options and paused. Click. Swipe. Remembering the chart he’d completed with his class a few days earlier, he answered all but one of the questions correctly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the class average score on the probability quiz was just 76 percent, a reflection of the sometimes-difficult task of getting kids to use game strategies when no games are present.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yet, middle schoolers at Quest perform well on state standardized tests. For example, in 2013, the school reports, 56 percent of Quest middle school students scored higher than their citywide peers on the statewide English language arts test. Richard Arum, an education researcher based at New York University, is working with the school to study its efficiency by tracking things like student test scores over time. But administrators stress that test scores are not the primary clue that a school is working. The games teach students how to think and how to design their own learning opportunities—skills not easily measured on a test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By May 20, Buzz, the honeybee who fled the hive, had tried new food at a picnic (a lesson in proportions and bar graphs) and evaded the Queen Bee’s scheme to lure him back. The class had created line graphs and histograms, and had also learned about how bees see color differently from humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the beginning of one lesson, Etai worked on a crossword puzzle filled with algebraic terms like “linear,” “absolute” and “y-axis.” I asked why he thought they were reviewing the terms, and what this had to do with Buzz. “In the beginning of the year, we learned about coordinates, so I think this may eventually get into that,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the rest of the period, he sat hunched over a table with his classmates Alex, Sydney and Kevin. Linear equations flashed on a laptop screen. The game, called Get to the Point, required them to solve equations and plot all the possible coordinates on an oversized plastic graph. For example, “If x+y = 6” appears, the players put cubes on all the potential answers. It was a fast-moving game, but Etai seemed less concerned with winning than with getting the problems right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They used quick mental math, their pens and notebooks banished to the corners of the desk, until one problem stumped them. “The product of x and y is positive or negative 12” flashed across the screen. Etai and Sydney reached for their pencils while the others worked through the math out loud, brows furrowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I stood by, the most confused in the bunch, while the boys tentatively placed blocks on the board, looking for validation in one another’s eyes. Kevin and Etai placed their last pieces on the board and peered at each other. “Are we done?” one boy asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it turns out, they weren’t. An answer key on the laptop revealed that they’d forgotten one coordinate — grounds for lost points, according to the rules of the game. The next few minutes were spent arguing over who exactly would lose the point. And then they clicked to the next challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41624\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-41624\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/GamesStudent-1217-e1439446276692.jpg\" alt=\"Student Etai Kurtzman, 12, wins a bear at the Roll-A-Ball game at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Student Etai Kurtzman, 12, wins a bear at the Roll-A-Ball game at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \u003ccite>(Kevin Hagen for The Hechinger Report )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In two years, Etai will start the high school application rat race in New York City. While Quest does extend to high school (they’ll graduate their first senior class next year), whether Etai will stick around that long remains to be seen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His parents say the games have made him a risk-taker, unaffected by the frustration he often felt in elementary school if something didn’t work the first time. It was not until he got to Quest that he realized just how good he was at math, said Armony-Kurtzman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some parents worry that if their children leave Quest for a more conventional classroom, the absence of games could be detrimental to their learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anita Ramsey, whose daughter Mia is in Etai’s class, said her daughter used to be shy and reluctant to participate in class. Now she raises her hand frequently and comes home energized about her schoolwork. Ramsey worries that a return to rote memorization might push her daughter back into her shell, putting her at a disadvantage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2014, according to Rufo-Tepper, 52 percent of Quest eighth-graders returned for ninth grade, while a sizeable 28 percent went to selective or specialized high schools around the city, a sign that the model is working well so far. Although 20 percent of students left after middle school, that is partly attributable to the fact that Quest to Learn has no track record yet for high school (it will graduate its first senior class next year).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Selkirk said narratives like the one about Buzz the bee teach her students creativity and problem-solving. “Those are skills that will lead them to be successful in any classroom,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Etai agrees. When I asked him if he thought that growing accustomed to learning with games would make high school harder if he left Quest, the answer was a definitive no. And for high school, he has no doubt he’ll be at least as prepared as anyone else — no matter what kind of school he attends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of May, the sixth-grade class left the bubble of their school. They’d spent three humid days drudging through lessons about slope — where to find it and how to calculate it. Now Buzz was on the hunt for something fun to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A long, noisy subway ride dropped them off at Brooklyn’s Coney Island for a good old-fashioned field trip. Chaperones ran after Etai and crew as they zipped on and off of rides at Luna Park. The students huddled together to answer questions from a handout about how they’d experienced slope in real time on the rides, and about how the games they had played illustrated probability and other terms they’d learned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41623\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-41623\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/GamesStudent-466-e1439446030700.jpg\" alt=\"Thea Jones, 12, at left, Etai Kurtzman, 12, Seth Samuel, 12 and Terrell Gantt, 12, fill out game analysis worksheets at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thea Jones, 12, at left, Etai Kurtzman, 12, Seth Samuel, 12 and Terrell Gantt, 12, fill out game analysis worksheets at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \u003ccite>(Kevin Hagen for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After a ride on a bumpy red roller coaster that dipped up and down and spun around sharp corners, Etai crouched near the exit and pulled out a pencil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No-slope is more thrilling because you’re going against gravity and it kind of makes you feel weird,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after waiting in line for another ride, he changed his mind, darting out of his seat and bolting for the exit. That ride — mini-airplanes that spun and flipped their passengers vertically — had no slope, he told me. And no slope was a no-go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience at the park would later help him design his own roller coaster in class — complete with an example of each different type of slope — using Minecraft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the park, Etai and his classmates looked like kids from any other middle school: energetic, loud, a little bit hyper. They seemed as concerned with re-riding the Steeplechase roller coaster as many times as possible as they were with finishing their assignment packets. They laughed and ate candy, but they were also talking about math, even while on the rides. When Selkirk rode a roller coaster with a group of students, they shouted out the different kinds of slopes as the ride whipped up and down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41622\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-41622\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/GamesStudent-1412-e1439446361299.jpg\" alt=\"Students Terrell Gantt, left, and Etai Kurtzman, 12, share an Icee during a class trip to Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students Terrell Gantt, left, and Etai Kurtzman, 12, share an Icee during a class trip to Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY May 28, 2015. The group of students from Quest to Learn School took the day trip to Coney Island to analyze user experience on games and rides at Luna Park as part of their late-spring school curriculum. \u003ccite>(Kevin Hagen for The Hechinger Report )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The larger point of the trip — to see where math happens in real life — didn’t seem lost on the bunch. Playing games, whether at an amusement park or in the classroom, is no gimmick, said Ella Reyl, a classmate who was in Etai’s group for the trip. The games and activities and trips, Ella said, are for the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not to just copy stuff down,” she said. “It’s for next time, when we don’t have a game. We have a way to think about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And learning how to think is arguably the point of it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://hechingerreport.org/\">The Hechinger Report\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Read more about \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://hechingerreport.org/special-reports/blended-learning/\">\u003cem>technology in the classroom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The students in Scott Jackson’s eleventh grade American History class have almost no common knowledge about the country’s early beginnings and important moments. His students at \u003ca href=\"http://www.mybihs.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Brooklyn International High School\u003c/a> are recent immigrants to this country who are learning English and how to be American school students at the same time. Jackson uses the immersive role-playing game \u003ca href=\"http://www.mission-us.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Mission US\u003c/a> to give his students a common experience of what it would have been like to live during important historical moments. The game is designed to encourage students to empathize with the game’s characters, make connections to their own experiences and ultimately remember what happened in history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It levels the playing field,” Jackson said. “Everyone is able to see the history, jump into the history and describe what they’re seeing.” Even if one student can read and understand 95 percent of what’s happening in the game and another student only gets 15 percent because his language skills are less developed, they can each talk about what they saw in the game. The game becomes a shared experience to discuss the choices each made in the game and how those choices changed their experience of the historical moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">The most encouraging to see is the games being launchpads for really in-depth conversations in which kids at varying academic levels feel equipped to participate and draw on their experiences with the game and the learning materials.\"\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Mission US currently has four missions based around different important points in history. Jackson has found the game to be such an \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/01/16/forget-the-textbook-video-games-as-social-studies-content/\" target=\"_blank\">effective stand-in for a textbook \u003c/a>that he structures several units around the game’s themes, using them as the basis of inquiry that branches far beyond the core narrative of the missions, and most importantly, giving his students lots of chances to use their language skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first Mission called “For Crown or Colony?” is set in pre-Revolutionary War Boston and leads up to the Boston Massacre. Students take on the identity of Nat Wheeler, an apprentice in a printshop. As they play, students make choices in the game that build up a personality for their version of Nat Wheeler. Aside from the specific knowledge about the events of the Boston Massacre, the game asks students to consider how history changes when told from different perspectives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/wyHiNU3oBmc\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When students experience the Boston Massacre in the world of the game, students in the same classroom may have very different experiences of the same event,” said Chris Czajka, senior director of education at WNET on an edWeb webinar about games and learning. WNET, the public television station in New York City, produces Mission US in collaboration with video game designers at \u003ca href=\"http://electricfunstuff.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Electric Funstuff\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second mission, “Flight to Freedom,” places students in the shoes of Lucy King, a fourteen year old slave girl in Kentucky. This mission explores the US pre-Civil War, focusing on the idea of cause and effect. Many students think Lincoln freed the slaves with the stroke of a pen, but know little to nothing about the many people working hard to abolish slavery long before the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“'Flight to Freedom' shows that many actions by people over a long period of time and in many locations all contributed to the end of slavery,” Czajka said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This mission in particular has \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2015/02/slavery_simulation_digital_game.html\" target=\"_blank\">generated controversy \u003c/a>over whether it is appropriate to simulate slavery. Some educators have been trying to get the \"Flight to Freedom\" mission \u003ca href=\"http://rafranzdavis.com/because-slavery-should-not-be-edtech-gamified-slavesimulation/\" target=\"_blank\">banned from schools\u003c/a> pending further review, arguing that simulating slavery minimizes the atrocities real people faced. They also contend the game could be traumatizing to children , especially for students of color.*\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"1za4A38PRzCHiWmoWcOI4mUSbacXnSWN\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The third mission looks at how westward expansion affected Native Americans living on the Great Plains. “A Cheyenne Odyssey” puts students in the role of Little Fox, as he and his tribe interact with colonial settlers. The mission focuses on trying to understand the various issues behind the conflicts between settlers and Plains Indian tribes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We worked very closely with the Northern Cheyenne tribe in Montana and really wanted to illustrate that this is a culture -- alive and thriving -- in the United States,” Czajka said. Jackson noted that his immigrant students particularly empathize with the story of Native Americans. It's a favorite mission, even though it makes them sad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fourth and most recent mission focuses on early twentieth century New York and the surge of immigrants entering the country at that time. In “City of Immigrants” students become Lena Brodsky as she navigates a ship voyage from Minsk to New York, settles in the Lower East Side and make choices about her employment. Along the way there are interesting themes to follow including women’s rights and the burgeoning labor movement. The big theme in this mission is turning points and how they resonate throughout history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP14t7I1RpE?rel=0&start=105&end=234&w=640&h=360]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All these games are available both to stream online and download. They are Flash-based and won’t work on iPads or Android tablets that don’t support Flash. WNET producers said iPad compatible versions are currently under development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mission US producers are aware that bandwidth and access to technology are often issues in public schools, so they tried to provide several options for educators to access the games. In addition to the free games, each mission has hundreds of pages of supporting materials, including lesson plans, writing prompts, vocabulary lists, primary document activities and suggestions for discussion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jackson often has his students play the game in pairs so they can discuss their decisions together. The choices students make cannot change the outcome of history, but they can affect how the student-player experiences the time period. For example, when Lena arrives in New York she is given three options for work: sewing, accounting and singing. Depending on which path the student chooses Lena ends up in different places, taking on different personality traits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kids in the same class are having different experiences of history, which makes for a great classroom discussion. Seventh grade social studies teacher Matthew Farber likes to keep his students in their characters even once they aren’t playing anymore, asking them to write from the character’s perspective or to discuss historical events from the perspective of the character. He finds bringing characters into the classroom helps students transfer the historical knowledge they’ve gained beyond the game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many educational games track student clicks in a game and localize that information in a teacher dashboard. Jackson said that would be a helpful way to remind his students the choice they made, along with the accompanying consequences. Farber, on the other hand, is skeptical of any attempt to assess through the game. He points out that the game is replacing the textbook, helping to bring history alive, but it’s up to the teacher to sustain that energy and deepen students’ thinking around the themes and topics raised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41501\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-41501\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/boston-map-800x450.jpg\" alt='Screenshot of \"For Crown or Colony?\"' width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/boston-map-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/boston-map-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/boston-map-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/boston-map-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/boston-map-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screenshot of \"For Crown or Colony?\" \u003ccite>(Mission US)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mission US producers say 1.3 million people play their games and that “Crown or Colony?” is the most popular. That may be because it aligns well with many middle school social studies curricula. Jackson has more freedom to use all the missions in his lessons because his school, Brooklyn International School, is part of of the \u003ca href=\"http://performanceassessment.org/\" target=\"_blank\">New York Performance Standards Consortium\u003c/a>, a group of 28 schools across the state exempted from state standardized tests. Jackson has a lot of freedom to create his own curriculum and to make it as engaging as possible. Since his students are still learning English, the middle school materials that Mission US offers are about right for his students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>External evaluators of the game want to ensure that students are learning the historical content, as well as the broader historical thinking skills. So far those evaluators are reporting gains in domain specific vocabulary, content knowledge and historical concepts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The most encouraging to see is the games being launchpads for really in-depth conversations in which kids at varying academic levels feel equipped to participate and draw on their experiences with the game and the learning materials,” said Leah Potter, an instructional designer with Electric Funstuff. Farber says they are great for inculcating his students with the idea that everything is connected and that changes in one arena of life affect what happens everywhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the Mission US games and materials are free. The team is currently working on a fifth mission due out soon tentatively titled “The Hardest Times” about the Great Depression and the Dustbowl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>*The paragraph about controversy over \"Flight to Freedom\" was added after publication when it was brought to the author's attention by a reader.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The students in Scott Jackson’s eleventh grade American History class have almost no common knowledge about the country’s early beginnings and important moments. His students at \u003ca href=\"http://www.mybihs.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Brooklyn International High School\u003c/a> are recent immigrants to this country who are learning English and how to be American school students at the same time. Jackson uses the immersive role-playing game \u003ca href=\"http://www.mission-us.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Mission US\u003c/a> to give his students a common experience of what it would have been like to live during important historical moments. The game is designed to encourage students to empathize with the game’s characters, make connections to their own experiences and ultimately remember what happened in history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It levels the playing field,” Jackson said. “Everyone is able to see the history, jump into the history and describe what they’re seeing.” Even if one student can read and understand 95 percent of what’s happening in the game and another student only gets 15 percent because his language skills are less developed, they can each talk about what they saw in the game. The game becomes a shared experience to discuss the choices each made in the game and how those choices changed their experience of the historical moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">The most encouraging to see is the games being launchpads for really in-depth conversations in which kids at varying academic levels feel equipped to participate and draw on their experiences with the game and the learning materials.\"\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Mission US currently has four missions based around different important points in history. Jackson has found the game to be such an \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/01/16/forget-the-textbook-video-games-as-social-studies-content/\" target=\"_blank\">effective stand-in for a textbook \u003c/a>that he structures several units around the game’s themes, using them as the basis of inquiry that branches far beyond the core narrative of the missions, and most importantly, giving his students lots of chances to use their language skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first Mission called “For Crown or Colony?” is set in pre-Revolutionary War Boston and leads up to the Boston Massacre. Students take on the identity of Nat Wheeler, an apprentice in a printshop. As they play, students make choices in the game that build up a personality for their version of Nat Wheeler. Aside from the specific knowledge about the events of the Boston Massacre, the game asks students to consider how history changes when told from different perspectives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/wyHiNU3oBmc\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When students experience the Boston Massacre in the world of the game, students in the same classroom may have very different experiences of the same event,” said Chris Czajka, senior director of education at WNET on an edWeb webinar about games and learning. WNET, the public television station in New York City, produces Mission US in collaboration with video game designers at \u003ca href=\"http://electricfunstuff.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Electric Funstuff\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second mission, “Flight to Freedom,” places students in the shoes of Lucy King, a fourteen year old slave girl in Kentucky. This mission explores the US pre-Civil War, focusing on the idea of cause and effect. Many students think Lincoln freed the slaves with the stroke of a pen, but know little to nothing about the many people working hard to abolish slavery long before the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“'Flight to Freedom' shows that many actions by people over a long period of time and in many locations all contributed to the end of slavery,” Czajka said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This mission in particular has \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2015/02/slavery_simulation_digital_game.html\" target=\"_blank\">generated controversy \u003c/a>over whether it is appropriate to simulate slavery. Some educators have been trying to get the \"Flight to Freedom\" mission \u003ca href=\"http://rafranzdavis.com/because-slavery-should-not-be-edtech-gamified-slavesimulation/\" target=\"_blank\">banned from schools\u003c/a> pending further review, arguing that simulating slavery minimizes the atrocities real people faced. They also contend the game could be traumatizing to children , especially for students of color.*\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The third mission looks at how westward expansion affected Native Americans living on the Great Plains. “A Cheyenne Odyssey” puts students in the role of Little Fox, as he and his tribe interact with colonial settlers. The mission focuses on trying to understand the various issues behind the conflicts between settlers and Plains Indian tribes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We worked very closely with the Northern Cheyenne tribe in Montana and really wanted to illustrate that this is a culture -- alive and thriving -- in the United States,” Czajka said. Jackson noted that his immigrant students particularly empathize with the story of Native Americans. It's a favorite mission, even though it makes them sad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fourth and most recent mission focuses on early twentieth century New York and the surge of immigrants entering the country at that time. In “City of Immigrants” students become Lena Brodsky as she navigates a ship voyage from Minsk to New York, settles in the Lower East Side and make choices about her employment. Along the way there are interesting themes to follow including women’s rights and the burgeoning labor movement. The big theme in this mission is turning points and how they resonate throughout history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/MP14t7I1RpE?rel=0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/MP14t7I1RpE?rel=0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All these games are available both to stream online and download. They are Flash-based and won’t work on iPads or Android tablets that don’t support Flash. WNET producers said iPad compatible versions are currently under development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mission US producers are aware that bandwidth and access to technology are often issues in public schools, so they tried to provide several options for educators to access the games. In addition to the free games, each mission has hundreds of pages of supporting materials, including lesson plans, writing prompts, vocabulary lists, primary document activities and suggestions for discussion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jackson often has his students play the game in pairs so they can discuss their decisions together. The choices students make cannot change the outcome of history, but they can affect how the student-player experiences the time period. For example, when Lena arrives in New York she is given three options for work: sewing, accounting and singing. Depending on which path the student chooses Lena ends up in different places, taking on different personality traits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kids in the same class are having different experiences of history, which makes for a great classroom discussion. Seventh grade social studies teacher Matthew Farber likes to keep his students in their characters even once they aren’t playing anymore, asking them to write from the character’s perspective or to discuss historical events from the perspective of the character. He finds bringing characters into the classroom helps students transfer the historical knowledge they’ve gained beyond the game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many educational games track student clicks in a game and localize that information in a teacher dashboard. Jackson said that would be a helpful way to remind his students the choice they made, along with the accompanying consequences. Farber, on the other hand, is skeptical of any attempt to assess through the game. He points out that the game is replacing the textbook, helping to bring history alive, but it’s up to the teacher to sustain that energy and deepen students’ thinking around the themes and topics raised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_41501\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-41501\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/boston-map-800x450.jpg\" alt='Screenshot of \"For Crown or Colony?\"' width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/boston-map-800x450.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/boston-map-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/boston-map-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/boston-map-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/boston-map-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screenshot of \"For Crown or Colony?\" \u003ccite>(Mission US)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mission US producers say 1.3 million people play their games and that “Crown or Colony?” is the most popular. That may be because it aligns well with many middle school social studies curricula. Jackson has more freedom to use all the missions in his lessons because his school, Brooklyn International School, is part of of the \u003ca href=\"http://performanceassessment.org/\" target=\"_blank\">New York Performance Standards Consortium\u003c/a>, a group of 28 schools across the state exempted from state standardized tests. Jackson has a lot of freedom to create his own curriculum and to make it as engaging as possible. Since his students are still learning English, the middle school materials that Mission US offers are about right for his students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>External evaluators of the game want to ensure that students are learning the historical content, as well as the broader historical thinking skills. So far those evaluators are reporting gains in domain specific vocabulary, content knowledge and historical concepts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The most encouraging to see is the games being launchpads for really in-depth conversations in which kids at varying academic levels feel equipped to participate and draw on their experiences with the game and the learning materials,” said Leah Potter, an instructional designer with Electric Funstuff. Farber says they are great for inculcating his students with the idea that everything is connected and that changes in one arena of life affect what happens everywhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the Mission US games and materials are free. The team is currently working on a fifth mission due out soon tentatively titled “The Hardest Times” about the Great Depression and the Dustbowl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"radiolab": {
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},
"rightnowish": {
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"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
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"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
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