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Joan Ganz Cooney Center Launch gamesandlearning.org,

Feb 12

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Games and Learning

Tony Wan, of EdSurge, writes;

“On February 10, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center held a launch party at Zynga’s headquarters in San Francisco for gamesandlearning.org, a website devoted to bringing together the latest in industry news, game-based learning (GBL) research, commentaries from developers, market trends and funding opportunities.

The website is overseen by the Games and Learning Publishing Council, chaired by Milton Chen, a senior fellow at Edutopia, and whose members include thought leaders across the academia, K-12, venture capital, industry and gaming industries. The multi-disciplinary composition, says the site’s editorial director (and former journalist), Lee Banville, helps ensure that the site can be an “honest broker of information” about the industry.

“Game-based learning is no longer on the fringe in conversations about education,” Banville tells EdSurge. “And having all of these different sectors represented will make it difficult for the industry to get too ‘pie in the sky’ about the market realities and how games will actually work in the classroom.”

To read the full article by Tony Wan click here;

https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-02-11-helping-game-developers-tackle-the-toughest-gam

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Senate bill encourages learning via video games

Matt Benoit of Washington State University, writes that Senate Bill 6104 would;

“…create a committee to examine how interactive gaming can boost student involvement and achievement, and create a pilot program for integrating games into K-12 curriculum.

The bill was heard Wednesday in Olympia by the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.

Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said interactive video games could add to the diverse learning styles of today’s classrooms.

“We have all different types of learners,” Brown said. “We need to address that, and this is one of those ways.”

Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, thinks interactive gaming will give students the opportunity to learn while enjoying a game, something she experienced while visiting students of Washington Virtual Academies (WAVA), an online K-12 curriculum program used by the Monroe and Omak public school districts.

Studies from the University of Washington’s Center for Game Science show interactive games can promote creativity and enhance knowledge of science and technology-based fields among students.

“I think we have to bring that technology into the classroom (and) into our schools,” McAuliffe said, “because kids are way ahead of us in that right now.”

Seattle attorney Matthew Hooper testified about academic-based gaming in schools. A report from the Entertainment Software Association indicates 95 percent of American children — and 97 percent of teenagers — play video games, he said.

By the time an average person reaches age 21, he of she has spent more than 10,000 hours playing video games, according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.

“Their brains are learning, from a very early age, differently than we did,” Hooper told the committee. “It’s no longer absorbing passive information; it’s now absorbing interactive information.”

Hooper also cited a brain-based research study by Stanford University professor and neuroscientist Brian Knutson that analyzed the effects of educational video games on youths.

The study used MRIs to monitor student brains in two groups: those engaged in playing interactive games, and those passively watching the games.”

To read the full article click here;

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2014/01/23/2789806/state-senate-bill-encourages-learning.html

SENATE BILL REPORT
SB 6104As of January 22, 2014Title
: An act relating to the interactive gaming in schools public-private partnership.
Brief Description
: Establishing the interactive gaming in schools public-private partnership.

Sponsors
: Senators McAuliffe, Litzow, Hargrove, Hill, Billig, Fraser and Brown.

Brief History:
Committee Activity: Early Learning & K-12Education: 1/22/14.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EARLY LEARNING & K-12 EDUCATION

Staff
: Eric Wolf (786-7405)

Background
: Advances in interactive gaming technology have spurred a recent scholarly focus on how interactive games may be used to engage students and improve academic achievement. For instance, the Center for Game Science at the University of Washington has published several studies on the application of interactive games in education, specifically how interactive games can promote creativity among students; enhance student knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and technology (STEM) fields; and improve critical thinking skills through cognitive skill training games.

Summary of Bill: Interactive Gaming in Schools Public-Private Partnership (PPP). PPP is established, composed of the following members to be appointed by August 1, 2014: four legislators, one member from each caucus of the House and Senate, appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber; four experts in the integration of interactive technology or gaming into education, one expert to be appointed by each caucus of the House and Senate, and appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber; a representative of the Department of Early Learning (DEL), appointed by the director; and a representative of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The chair of PPP must be selected from among the legislative members. To the extent funds are appropriated, PPP may hire a staff person who must reside at OSPI for administrative purposes. Additional technical and logistical support is to be provided by OSPI, DEL, and
–––––––––––––––––––––

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Senate Bill Report
SB 6104

the organizations participating in PPP. Legislative members of the partners hip must receive per diem and travel expenses, and nonlegislative members may be reimbursed for travel expenses.

Purpose of PPP.
PPP is tasked with examining how interactive games may be integrated into primary and secondary education to increase student involvement and achievement. PPP must consider how interactive games and advances in technology may be integrated into curricula from early learning through grade 12, and develop a proposal for a pilot program to integrate interactive gaming in schools to be submitted to the Legislature by December 1,2015. The statute authorizing PPP expires on January 1, 2016.

Appropriation
: None.

Fiscal Note
: Available.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created
: Yes.

Effective Date
: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony

: PRO: Games are al ready being integrated into curricula in order to engage students. Students love the games and are excited to even use the games at home each night. Ninety-five percent of children play video games, and the average time of play is over two hours each day. A scientific study from Stanford showed that educational, interactive video games engaged regions of the brain associated with motivation, learning, and memory. In 2012 the Clark County, Nevada school district tested a program in which interactive video games were integrated into low-performing schools. The schools using the games more than doubled their improvement on assessments compared to schools that did not use the assessment. In San Jose, there is a school that integrated interactive media and video games and has particularly notable success with English language learners. Most of the interactive game systems are set up in computer labs in schools, so students do not always require a computer or iPad of their own to participate.

Persons Testifying
: PRO: Senator McAuliffe, prime sponsor; Matthew Hooper, attorney.
Senate Bill Report
SB 6104
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Games Train Doctors

Nov 23

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PMLiVE declares that;

“Interactive games are set to be the new frontier in education for healthcare professionals (HCPs) according to a leading expert in e-learning.

Speaking at the European CME Forum in London last week, Prof Peter Henning of Karlsruhe University in Germany explained that making learning “fun” could reverse a declining trend for the use of e-learning as part of continuing medical education (CME).

“Current mainstream CME e-learning courses are nice, but the number of participants is going down,” said Prof Henning, references such examples as an online eye surgery video/text course at the Virtual University of Bavaria that has just 56 participants.

He added: “Do we stick to such types of courses that have to be paid for, updated regularly and you have to be registered to participate? The answer is, of course, no.”

Instead, the use of ‘serious games’ with learning aspects should be considered as an alternative, said Prof Henning, noting that gaming has long been used as a form of education.

“Playing a game was one of the earliest strategies for learning complex patterns,” he said. “Whenever we play we are learning. So the question has to be: Why did we ever take out the fun out of learning?”

To support his point, Prof Henning provided example projects submitted to the European E-Learning Award eureleA, for which Prof Henning is head of the jury

These included the INMEDEA Simulator, which allows HCPs to example virtual patients in an online clinic, and a programme designed by Line Communications that educates doctors on the classification of bone fractures via a goal-based approach that incorporates time challenges and other gaming elements.

The hardware for gaming could also be beneficial in healthcare education, according to Prof Henning, who noted the potential of the Microsoft Kinect – a piece of kit for the Xbox console that recognises body movements.

This technology is already finding uses in healthcare, with Microsoft teaming up with Tokyo Women’s Medical University to devise a non-touch system to control a video camera during surgery.”

To read the full article from PMLiVE click here; http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/gaming_to_educate_doctors_520689

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BrainPOP’s Allisyn Levy on video games in education, BrainPop’s goals with animation, and top quality educational games through GameUp

Dec 10

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“In a world filled with boring educational games that are only purchased by grandparents, Allisyn Levy is part of a company that is creating games that are not only educational, but are also entertaining.  Levy received her Bachelors of Elementary Education, Art, and Art History from Skidmore College, and earned a Masters of Education in School Administration and Technology from Western Washington University.  This published scholar has coached a Lego Robotics team, developed documentaries with students, was an elementary educator for 11 years, and has received grants from Donors Choose and Nike.  Now as BrainPOP’s Senior Director of Educator Experience, Levy is using her extensive background in education to help teachers better integrate technology into the classroom. We recently had the opportunity to talk with Levy about her thoughts on using video games in education, BrainPOP’s background and goals, and its latest feature, click GameUp.”

To read the full article by Clelia Rivera click here.

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More efficient learning with games

Jul 24

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Ned Smith writes about how Course Hero makes a game of learning.

“Learning can be fun when you make a game out of it. That premise underlies the decision of an online learning platform to use game mechanics to engage college students. It works by motivating students to join, participate, contribute and share their successes.

Founded in 2007, Course Hero is an online learning tools resource designed to help college students discover a more efficient and productive learning experience. Gamification technology that uses badges, leaderboards that display rankings, social sharing and rewards is integrated throughout the site’s four core offerings: Courses, an extensive series of custom-designed lessons organized into three learning paths, entrepreneurship, business, and Web programming; Flashcards, interactive learning tools on a wide array of topics; Tutors, which connects students with experts on hundreds of subjects; and Study Documents, a library of study guides, lecture notes and practice problems.

“Gamified courses are the fastest growing part of our business,

“Learning can be fun when you make a game out of it. That premise underlies the decision of an online learning platform to use game mechanics to engage college students. It works by motivating students to join, participate, contribute and share their successes.

Founded in 2007, Course Hero is an online learning tools resource designed to help college students discover a more efficient and productive learning experience. Gamification technology that uses badges, leaderboards that display rankings, social sharing and rewards is integrated throughout the site’s four core offerings: Courses, an extensive series of custom-designed lessons organized into three learning paths, entrepreneurship, business, and Web programming; Flashcards, interactive learning tools on a wide array of topics; Tutors, which connects students with experts on hundreds of subjects; and Study Documents, a library of study guides, lecture notes and practice problems.”

– Ned Smith, BusinessNewsDaily Senior Writer

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