Consolarium

A few weeks back I was up at Fraserburgh South Park PS because of visit from the BBC Newsround team who were interested in doing an article about the Dr Kawashima work that we did. I met a propbationer teacher called Jo Barcas Buchan and got to see what she had been doing with Nintendogs in her P.2 class.

It was great to see that Jo has written about her experience with this games based learning approach on the GTCS probationerscotland.org.uk site.

Great to see you sharing your experience Jo and hopefully other probationers may learn from what you have done.

Hello, I’m Kim Aplin.  I’ve been working in the Consolarium with Derek Robertson since January.  I was interested to read in The Times today that Scottish children are falling behind in science because they see science as ‘uncool’.  Well this certainly was not the case at Meldrum School last week where children had been investigating friction and gravity and excited by their learning!….. 

Kororinpa at Meldrum School: The project is now in full swing in P5.  I was very pleased to see how enthusiastic and excited the children and their teacher, Hazel Sim, were about their whole learning experience. The work that had been done with the game involved the investigation of friction and the designing of the class marble run. The game had been used to analyze what they could incorporate into their designs for their marble runs.   The class have worked together to create a wall mounted run that they are immensely proud of.

The Consolarium’s approach to the use of games is somewhat exemplified by the Nintendogs project we carried out last year. Nintendogs is a game that was made for commercial sale and one that is very much for entertainment. Look a little closer though and you can see how powerful this game/learning environment is and with a little bit of imagination and a big bit of belief that it is appropriate to use this you can do tremendous things with it.

I met a probationer teacher during my time at Fraserburgh PS called Jo Barcus Buchan. A P.2 teacher, Jo recently graduated and was lucky enough to get a chance to try out the Nintendogs project with her class. She replicated a lot of what has been established as a good practice with this resource. Have a look at some of the photos .

She has though extended the learning that may be achieved through the context of Nintendogs by moving into the world of art & design and to engage her P.2 children in dialogue about artists craft and what paintings make you feel or think. She introduced four paintings about dogs to her class and these were observed and discussed. These observation’s and discussions were then taken into the children’s own work where they had to think about what choices they were making in the creation of their pieces of art based on what they had seen.

Have a listen to the latest Consolarium podcast to hear our more detailed discussion, some perspective from the children and the view of the Headteacher.

Thanks go out to all Fraserburgh South Park PS for allowing us to come and see and record the excellent work that is happening up there. Well done to you all.

Earlier last week LTS was contacted by BBC Newsround and asked if we’d be able to accommodate a visit by them to a school that has been using Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training. Apparently they had picked up on an article in The Scotsman that was questioning the costs of such a venture and the suggestion that schools were being ‘urged to spend’ on games consoles. At short notice Fraserburgh South Park PS were able to offer a venue for the ‘shoot’ and it was all systems go and up to the Broch everyone headed!

The BBC crew arrive and duly made their way to the P.6 class who were to play the starring role. Fraserburgh South Park was one of the primary schools involved in our extended Kawashima trial that we carried out last summer. The school was, however, one of the control groups and after their go with the consoles and games they decided to allocate some of their own funds to purchase their own set of consoles and some games.

The BBC engagement was interesting. They spent a bit of time interviewing me and asked me to remember that I was speaking to a young audience, Now, I thought I would manage that quite well but it became quite difficult to distil what we have been trying to do into a quick soundbite for children’s TV. I was directed in some way to saying that using the game was fun and better than boring maths but I don’t believe that that’s what it is about. There’s so much more to this than having fun with a computer game. They eventually got something that they were happy with and then made their way to the class.

The eager Newsround stars of P.6 were very excited by the arrival of the BBC Newsround people and it must be said that each and every one of them conducted themselves in a manner that must have delighted their Headteacher. They were polite, friendly and very willing to talk openly about what they thought the use of games in the classroom meant for them. If the story about costs is what the BBC Newsround team were more focused on then I think they really missed the point. If you have a look at the clips on the Newsround website where the children are interviewed you can hear how much they think the intervention has helped them. Each response from the children was better then the previous one with one boy in particular talking about how the game has really helped him with his maths because he now feels much more confident and doesn’t feel that it’s such a struggle any more. Every time I hear comments such as this I smile. I have to ask Newsround a question though and it is was the decision to go on the costs issue the right one in terms of presenting this idea as an issue for debate to their audience? Shouldn’t they have been debating the efficacy of such an undertaking? I can’t help feeling that they may have missed an opportunity here to present the real issue to their audience.

Irrespective of whether the children were asked to look glum by the BBC people as they constructed their piece that talked about moving from old school pencil and paper (look glum please) to new school (games consoles and now smile) or if I was slightly disappointed about the focus of the piece the visit and subsequent coverage turned out to be another positive experience for Scottish children and further positive exposure of the work we are doing.

One last thing, the Campaign for Real Education person they rolled out this time talked about schools having money to burn, this being a crazy idea and that children need to do maths - well have a look at this. On my arrival at the school I was told about a boy who was able to do the x20 game in Dr Kawashima in 9 seconds! Yes 9 seconds!!! I had to see this for myself so they went and brought this ridiculously talented lad to me as I couldn’t believe he had bettered my best time of 10 seconds! Who did he think he was! I watched him do it in 13 seconds but saw his profile and look for yourself…9 seconds:

Brilliant stuff young man! This is why we feel games have a place in school. We believe that our work in this paricular context has helped make it an aspiration for children to be as good as they can possibly be at mental maths,. How can anyone suggest, with such fundamental zeal, that this is a crazy idea?

Thanks to all in Aberdeenshire, Fraserburgh South Park and the BBC for a great day and for showcasing the innovative, yet informed, work with games and learning that we are willing to explore in Scotland.

I am delighted to see that Anna Rossvoll from Aberdeenshire Council has been selected as one of the three finalists for the Primary Practitioner award at this year’s Handheld Learning Conference in London. This is truly an accolade and excellent recognition of the work that Anna does. Anna has been a particulalry strong supporter of the work of the Consolarium does and in relation to the development of Glow in her authority. Her nomination entry included this description of her:

“We need leaders in education who are prepared to take informed risks, leaders who can see the relevance of new ideas and technologies but who can embed them in sound principles for teaching and learning, leaders who can build relationships with teachers in order to take new ideas and practice forward. Anna Rossvoll is an example of this. She has proved to be a particular creative and dynamic colleague of the Learning and Teaching Scotland’s Consolarium initiative. An initiative that aims to take games based learning forward. She has been very influential in supporting and promoting this work but also has her own ideas. She approached the Consolarium to ask if we would support an idea she had to put Nintendogs in a P.2 class. We teased this out and agreed to fund this initiative. Anna put the equipment in two schools and worked with the teachers to help plan what they might do. It must be said, and Anna will say this too, that both teachers who were involved in the project did all the work but without her initial idea, her passion for teaching, the relationships that she has built with teachers in Aberdeenshire this initiative would never have started. “

If you need reminded of the Nintendogs project that Anna has been nominated for then have a look at this link.

If you wish to vote for her then text ANNAROSSVOLL to : +447786203140

Good luck Anna.

The voting for this is by text message and if

Time flies when you’re playing Brain Training in the classroom it seems. The extended research study into the use of Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training that I am doing with Dr David Miller from the University of Dundee is coming to an end. I can hardly believe that it’s been ten weeks since this began and that we are already at the post-test data collection stage.

Last week we went up to Aberdeesnhire to carry out the post tests and were ably assisted in this by the ICT Staff Tutor team that comprises of Anna Rossvoll, Alison Butcher and Caroline Denning. The same tests were given out within the same framework although this time the beautiful weather made the travel betwen the schools hugely enjoyable. What a beautiful part of the country Aberdeenshire is.

We still have Dundee, the Western Isles and East Ayrshire to visit over the next two weeks and then we’re in to the data analysis. At this stage it seems that the experience has been an enjoyable one for the children and that they do feel that the game has helped them with their mental maths. My feelings were that the schools that were using the Nintendo DS machines were very much quicker with the number test this time around but as yet I don’t know about their accuracy.  There’s quite a lot of marking to be done now.

Thanks to all in Aberdeenshire for their support with this leg of the LTS Dr Kawashima research project.

[ltsflash intranet/Newsround]

Watch the CBBC Newsround report from an Aberdeen school showcasing how its using games-based learing across the curriculum to encourage game designers in the future.

The past two weeks have been rather hectic, with the promise of more of the same next week. I’m writing this post from the Western Isles EDC offices in Stornoway having completed another leg of the LTS extended Dr Kawashima project.

Last year we carried out a small-scale intervention using Nintendo DS & Dr Kawashima in a P.5/6 class in Dundee. Thew results proved to be so interesting that we managed to access funds that has allowed us to extend this to 16 schoolsd with Nintendo with 16 control groups. The methodology is very similar to what we did last year with the exception that we only have Nintendo groups and control groups this time around and the fact we are using different measures to the Burnett Self-Scale that we used last year. So now things are well under way…

We had a great start last week in Aberdeenshire schools that are taking part. It was an experience, to say the least, to have some headteachers waiting at the front door for my arrival and then to be welcomed with the excited exclamation, “It’s the Nintedno man!” The pre and post tests went like clockwork, no small thanks to Anna Rossvoll, Alison Butcher and Caroline Denning from the ‘Shire’s ICT team as well as Elizabeth Cole from HMIe.  What a team!

This week has seen me carrying out the needful in the Western Isles with my colleague from the University of Dundee, Dr David Miller doing likewise in the participating Dundee schools. Next week will see us both doing the same in our partner schools in East-Ayrshire.

I’ve always said that teaching is a great career but it’s an added bonus to see the gleeful reactions and to hear the gasps of disbelief when we tell ther children that they are getting to use the DS in class, and that we are giving them one each for the 10 week duration of the project. Good times.

We’ll all be back to visit the schools to carry out the post-tests in 10 weeks time and then for the analysis…

At SETT ‘06 I saw an application called Crazy Talk at one of the stands. Totally bowled over by this application I bought 25 licences for the Consolarium so that I could share them with my early adopter partners. The reason that I liked it was that it made bringing digital characters to life so easy, particularly in regard to the fact that I had been attempting to teach my students at University of Dundee to use Flash to animate computer goodies and baddies! This application lowered the technology threshold so much that it allowed anyone to achieve great success with the animation process which could then enable/allow the teacher to focus on what the learner had written…

I managed to get some great stuff going on, particularly in Stirling Council where they used it to great effect with a collaborative writing project that was showcased at a seminar at SLF 07.

Whilst at Elrick PS to se the Nintendogs project in P.2 I was asked to pop in to the P.7 class to see their Crazy Talk work. What they have been doing was again incredible in terms of pupil engagemewnt and enriching the learning experience. A visit to Aberdeen Art Gallery was organised and during this visit the children were going to focus on portraits. This focus would look at the style of the painting but also at the social history behind the subject matter/person. The main character they were finding out was an artist called Edward Burne-Jones.

The children had found out so much about so much about him and they were able to tell me all about how he studied under William Morris and that there was a supposed relationship with Queen Victoria. I learned quite a lot about this chap from the children.

It was clear that this application had again encouraged these learners to find out about their subject matter and then write it up so that they could bring their characters to life.

Have a look at the P.6/7 class blog where the children have published their animated Crazy Talk portraits.

What was the name of the first dog in space? You don’t know…well the children in a P.2 class in Aberdeenshire do and they were able to tell me all about him. (Answer at the end of this blogpost!)

A previous blogpost talked of the Nintendogs project that we  initiated in two P.2 classes up in Aberdeenshire. I managed to arrange a visit there in order to capture (video, audio and image)  all the practice that we could for case study presentation. Unsure of what we were going to find, we made our way up to that beautiful part of Scotland full of hope and anticipation that the practice that we would see would be something special.

To say that is what we found would have to be one of the biggest understatements ever. I can’t wait for the case study to be shared with everyone because the learning that we captured, saw, experienced, in both these classes, was incredible.

First of all we went to Elrick P.S. and found ourselves in a class that was bursting with life and learning. The class teacher had used the context of Nintendogs to create a rich mix of cross-curricular activities that had the concept of dogs at its very heart. The main thrust of the game is to look after your puppy and to ensure that it is healthy, happy and well exercised. You can also train your dog and take it to dog competitions, kind of like a virtual Crufts, and win money that you can then spend in the virtual shop on toys, clothes, brushes etc for your dog. What learning has been happening in the class:

• Children making stop motion animations of dogs playing together
• Children role playing in the class Veterinary Surgery. You can imagine the writing and talking activities inherent in such a context: appointments, role playing as a vet, dealing with money etc…
• Exuberant approach to writing stories about the life of their Nintendogs and how they were getting on in the virtual competitions. Children with gleeful and proud faces desperate to show the ‘new adults in the room’ their writing and paintings.
• P.7 children helping P.2 children type up blogposts and scanning in their drawings so that the children’s learning could be shared beyond the classroom. Mum, dads and grannies and other people offering formative and encouraging comment on what they were reading. A great way of developing structures that allow children to become the co-constructors of knowledge.
  • Elrick PS Top Dogs blog
  • Banchory PS Doggytails blog
    
• Who says that children won’t read or become interested in books because they spend too much time playing games? The topic bookshelf was packed full of books about dogs and it was apparently hugely popular.
• A vibrant wall display about Hairy Maclary. Writing and paintings associated with this text
• An informative wall display about Crufts. This became a topic of great interest to the children because of the competitions that you take your dog into in the game. The teacher had made stickers for 1st, 2nd & 3rd places in the virtual competitions and these were worn with pride by the children in the class.
• Some of the children already had Nintendogs and so were pretty skilled in understanding the menus and the narrative of the game. They became the Top Dogs in the class (a name chosen by the children) and with this title came the responsibility to be a peer tutor, someone who could help develop players new to the game so that they too could reach the level of top dog. Tremendous self-esteem being developed here but also an approach that creates an ethos that sees the learner as an active agent in the learning process in the class. Superb idea!!!
• A dog walking service has been initiated, not Nintendogs but real dogs. Parents involved and safety issues all taken into consideration. Children have learned to understand dogs a bit better and some children who were frightened are much less fearful and now more confident around dogs.
• The local dog warden paid a visit to the school and helped the children understand the six rules of keeping and being around dogs. These rules were all acted out to us by the children with gleeful abandon.
  

At the heart of all this was a very good and creative teacher who has approached this project in an imaginative yet thoughtful and structured way. For me a first class exemplification of how to use a good resource to help develop good learning.

We then went to Banchory P.S. where we saw another class of children doing a range of very similar activities. Again here we had an imaginative teacher focusing on the learning that could be developed through the context of this game.

What I couldn’t help notice in some of the talk that was happening was the children’s very impressive ability to recognise place value in to the hundreds and thousands of pounds. Remember, these children are 6/7 yet they were reading out how much money they had accrued in the game with apparent ease. One young lad took great in delight in reading out his bank balance which was£4228.22!!!

We also managed to interview some parents about their attitudes to the idea of games in the class and this turned out to be a great session. We really could not have scripted their responses any better in terms of convincing those who may still be sceptical. Comments made included:

“I wasn’t too happy when I heard about a computer game being used in the class at first. But it’s been great…my son talks about school and what he has learned now.”

” My son has had his confidence boosted because he needs a bit of extra help with his work but because he’s very good at the game he is now in the position of helping others for a change.”

“I’ve heard on the news about other schools in Scotland using computer games and I now think it’s the way to go. I mean, the children are really excited about school and my child tells me all about her day at school now where before she really didn’t.”

We also had Graham Brown-Martin from Handheld Learning as a guest visitor on the day and I think it’s fair to say that he was rather impressed by what was on view in both schools. A full case study of this initiative will appear on the Consolarium’s website in due course but in the meantime some clips can be viewed on Handheld Learning TV.

1. Parents talking about the project
   
2. Learner voice
3. Headteacher comments on the project
4. How to engage teachers
5. The children animate their dog
6. Derek Robertson talks about the project
7. The game as the contextual hub for learning

This for me was an exceptional day. It’s great to be passionate about learning and to use this passion to argue the case for games based learning in the classroom but when you see teachers actually making the learning come to life and such rich, dynamic and varied ways then it only reaffirms what we are trying to do.

Very well done to all associated with this excellent project.

By the way, the first dog in space was Laika.