Consolarium

April 25th, 2011

School of Rock 1/10: Epic with Immortal Love

Derek Robertson

Comments: 5 Comments » Tags: Tags: apple, cfe, Consolarium, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, Gavinburn, GBL, Guitar Hero, ilife
 : Categories Curriculum for Excellence, Literacy, MFL, Music, Numeracy, West Dunbartonshire

The band Epic hails from P.7 at Gavinburn PS, Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Their song Immortal Love is due for imminent release and will, the band hopes, be featured on playlists on your music player very soon! Have a listen to their song and watch the accompanying video that the band made to go along with it:

Look at what children can do when they are faced with a challenge that is set within a context that resonates with them. Look at what children can do when a school embraces and integrates ICT in such a way that children’s skill levels progress and develop over the years. Look at what children can do when ICTs are embedded in sound teaching and learning experiences. Just look at what our children can do!

The video that you have just watched clearly demonstrates a high level of ICT literacy in the use of video editing software to tell the story of their song. In this case (and in the other nine examples in this series of posts) iMovie, from the iLife suite of software from Apple, has been used and techniques such as green screen, time lapse and transitions have been confidently and competently employed by these children in amongst the basic skills of shooting, uploading and editing their movie. A question for us to consider is where do these chidren sit in relation to progress in the Curriculum for Excellence Technology Outcomes. What would you use in order to assess performance and progress here? Your comments in relation to this would be most welcome…

Meet the children behind the band

I managed to grab some time to chat with the children behind Epic and I asked them a bit about their experience of the band in a Box project at Gavinburn PS. Have a listen to what they had to say:

The whole idea of the Guitar Hero (Band in a Box) Project was that in keeping with methodologies that Primary teachers have employed for many years, the actual game is used rarely in class but it acts as the source from which a collaborative story can be constructed. This collaborative story acts as the contextual hub around which learning in other curricular areas can be structured in a cohesive, purposeful and relevant fashion. The main thrust of the collaborative story that is created in this project is that the children develop a character that joins a rock band. This character then lives and breathes along with the other band members and is the vehicle through which learning is situated. As a result, associated tasks are directly linked to the developing life of this ‘rock character’ and the suspension of disbelief is continually in play as these older P.7 children get themselves lost in the developing experiences of their character. This kind of activity has the potential, if used thoughtfully, to position the aims of Curriculum for Excellence in purposeful, challenging and appealing ways.

Let’s explore how aspects of curricular learning have been developed in this project by looking at some work done by the pupils in this band:

Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy

Literacy is at the heart of this project and in particular the need to work as an effective member of a team is central to success in this project. The teachers involved in the planning of this topic wanted to focus on developing children’s ability to work effectively in teams and so decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

The children were also presented with literacy tasks that were challenging but that sat perfectly within the collaborative story that developed as their band took life. Here we can see how the band comes to life in a magazine article that has been written by the children. Look at how they have also demonstrated their ability to use a desktop publishing application in a confident and skilled way.

Epic’s Rock Rumble Article

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Our experiences over the past few years in using the Guitar Hero/Band in a Box idea have been that the initial stages of setting up the band and developing a rock alter-ego to partner the pupil on the collaborative learning journey they undertake as their ‘band’ evolves can be very powerful. Here we meet some of the band members of Epic as described by the children in these biographies (ENG 2-31a) written in the early stages of the project:

Meet Rocky De Lorean from Epic

Meet Metal Rock from Epic

Meet Heavy Rock from Epic

The teachers involved were very interested to ensure that the performance aspects of children’s work over the course of this project and so ensured that the following outcomes were also at the heart of the planning process: Spelling LIT 2-12a, Punctuation and Structure LIT 2-22a, Sense and Purpose LIT 2-23a

Curriculum for Excellence: Numeracy
One of the earlier ideas that came with the beginnings of the Guitar Hero in class project work was the opportunity to include a European Tour. This allowed exploration of European countries but also an opportunity to present purposeful, challenging and appealing tasks involving the use of money. The idea of costing a tour was born. At Gavinburn PS, however, they have taken that a step further… Direct links with learning French are maximised because each of the bands receives a letter from a French music agent who invites them to visit a French city and play a gig there. A budget is in place and the children then have to work out all travel and accommodation costs to fulfil that gig.

Epic’s Toulouse trip itinerary

Epic’s Toulouse trip budget breakdown

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to MNU 2-09a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Curriculum for Excellence: Music

With the use of Garageband from the iLife suite of tools that comes installed on Mac computers, the group was able to structure and compose an original song.  The music you are listening to was put together using the preset loops available within Garageband. Inspired by contemporary music from the rock and R’n’B world as well as the Guitar Hero tracks, the group decided on the style of song the group wanted to compose.   They auditioned and selected guitar riffs, drum patterns, bass lines and piano fills, as well as textures and other loops from hundreds of samples available.   The group then created the track by arranging and layering their selected loops into verses, choruses and musical breaks.  Once the original backing track was created, they then recorded the vocals.  Looking at the Expressive Arts Music outcomes, it is clear to see that these young learners are displaying evidence of EXA 2-18a and EXA 3-17a.

Curriculum for Excellence: Modern Foreign Languages

Following on from the budget task the children then had to script and record their interview with a French music journalist. It is interesting to note that the Headteacher and the class teachers noting a marked change in attitude to learning French as a result of it being situated within this context. This also came through in discusions with the children.

Epic’s French music interview script

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-07b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Have a listen to Epic’s interview with a French music journalist:

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-03b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Congratulations to all the children involved in the band Epic and to the staff at Gavinburn PS for enabling these pupils to meet the challenge of Band in a Box in such a confident and successful fashion.

Visit the other nine posts as well to see how this work was not a one-off.

April 25th, 2011

Gavinburn PS – The REAL School of Rock

Derek Robertson

Comments: 7 Comments » Tags: Tags: cfe, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, Guitar Hero
 : Categories Curriculum for Excellence, West Dunbartonshire

The movie School of Rock starring Jack Black is a fun movie. Although it has the very best of Hollywood’s cinematic licence to hook you in it also contains  a truth about education in that there really is the need to ensure that relevance, purpose and appeal should be at the heart of learning for learners. Make school like this and who knows what our children can do?! It also makes a great point about the appeal of rock music and how it has great potential as a context that could excite and create scenarios that would have cultural resonance with learners in schools. This post showcases Scotland’s very own School of Rock, Gavinburn PS in Old KIlpatrick, West Dunbartonshire and shows how effective leadership can create that feel good factor with impact on learning in a real setting…

Guitar Hero in schools: How did it begin?

Back in 2006 when Guitar Hero was first released we bought it for the Consolarium. I remember playing against the LTS technician that afternoon when Laurie O’Donnell (Head of Future Learning at LTS at that time) peeked his head in to see what we were doing. “How on earth are you going to use that in schools?!” he enquired. “Just wait Laurie, I have a a plan!” was my reply. Since then the initial use of Guitar Hero in Aberdeenshire schools has led to its mainstream use in a huge number of classrooms across Scotland and further afield, two National Scottish Schools Guitar Hero competitions and has even seen an award winning use of it in East Lothian Council!

As a teacher I always believed in the benefits of contextualising learning and how a collaborative story could create the framework, or a contextual hub as I referred to it, about which learning could flourish. I firmly believe that using this approach appropriately and imaginatively can create the space in which learners will ‘suspend their disbelief’ and willingly go with the teachers on their journey through this evolving collaborative story. Having seen primary and secondary kids wearing Ramones, Thin Lizzy, Kiss, Guns N’ Roses etc. t-shirts I thought that the time was right to use Guitar Hero to suspend disbelief and impact on learning…

Move over Jack Black – Gavinburn PS is the REAL School of Rock

Over three years ago the Headteacher of Gavinburn PS, Gillian Penny, saw a Consolarium presentation about Guitar Hero at a Leadership event and she asked if she could try it out in her school. What she, her staff and the pupils at Gavinburn PS have done with Guitar Hero since then really is one of the finest examples of effective, sustainable and aspirational examples of game based learning that I have been involved with or seen. The Guitar Hero, or Band in a Box project as Mrs Penny has now christened it is firmly established in the school calendar. The children now expect to do this and await it with relish. The project comes to a crescendo with the Gavin Awards where parents and dignitaries are invited to a wonderful evening that celebrates learning. At this event the children’s creative energies are shared and the music and videos that they create as part of the project are premiered to an audience that I have always seen amazed at the quality of learning.

This year we have set up a series of posts to showcase the incredible learning that has been happening at Gavinburn PS. Please do take time to look at the work the children have done and feel free to leave comments for them to read.

1. School of Rock 1/10: Epic with Immortal Love
2. School of Rock 2/10: Papercut with Just be Yourself
3. School of Rock 3/10: Peas on Earth with Timeout
4. School of Rock 4/10: Red Hot Ice with Burning Love
5. School of Rock 5/10: Skulls and Rockbones with Fear
6. School of Rock 6/10: Explosion with Poison
7. School of Rock 7/10: Starstruck with High School Boy
8. School of Rock 8/10: Kcor with Party on our Own
9. School of Rock 9/10: Riot with The Start of the Beginning
10. School of Rock 10/10: Sting with VIP in NYC

These posts show how we can make learning relevant, purposeful and appealing but most of all, they show just what our children can do when the bar of expectation and aspiration is raised!

January 28th, 2010

Consolarium podcast no.3: BETT10 reflections and Wii Winter Olympics

Derek Robertson

Comments: 1 Comment Tags: Tags: bett10, Consolarium, educational games, fun inc, games based learning, Nintendo, Tom Chatfield
 : Categories West Dunbartonshire

This editon of the Consolarium is now available. You can subscribe to the podcast from itunes via this link or listen to it via the embedded player.

This edition of the Consolarium podcast consists of the following:

Reflections on BETT10

Derek Robertson and Ollie Bray attended the BETT10 educational technology exhibition at London’s Olympia. They offer their reflections of how this visit was for them…

Mario and Sonic at the Olympics at Gavinburn PS

Ollie Bray interviews Gillian Penny, the headteacher of Gavinburn PS from Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Mrs Penny has become a real ally and asset to game based learning having carried out some tremendous initiatives in conjunction with the Consolarium over the past year or so. Ollie talks to her about the planning process involved in leading game based learning projects in a school and they take the chance to focus on how planning for the Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympics project is progressing.

AOCBGBL

Brian McLaren talks bout how he is using the lovely www.buildyourwildself.com resource to support his work in schools with Wild Earth African Safari.

Olie Bray recommends an website called www.blabberize.com that allows you to turn images into talking, or blabbering, animations. Very nice!

Derek Robertson mentions a new published book about computer games called Fun Inc. Why Games are the 21st Centuries Most Serious Business by Tom Chatfield

Brian Clark recommends the website www.tutpup.com. Online numeracy and spelling challenges.

July 1st, 2009

Mario Kart revs up the learning!!

kaplin

Comments: none Tags: Tags: games based learning, Mario Kart
 : Categories West Dunbartonshire, cross-curricular

I love watching the Grand Prix so it will be no surprise to learn I also love Mario Kart for the Wii.  I could see an opportunity here for a great context for learning so I was delighted that Head Teacher, Gillian Penny at Gavinburn Primary School could also see the potential and was happy to trial it for me with a P5 class.

I visited on June 18th and class teacher Lorna McNicol had done a great job.  The P5 classroom was festooned with pieces of writing, maths and art work all arising out of the context facilitated by Mario Kart.  When I arrived the children were busy rehearsing advertisements about an up and coming racing championship. Later on these were captured on the computer complete with sound effects and music, ready to be burnt to CD to take home as a memento of the project, all done with the help of a P7 tutor. Nice to see ICT permeating through the learning!

The children had been organised into seven kart teams of four. The teams competed on Mario Kart and a championship had been created out of that. All the teams had names – Killer Karts, Wheels on Fire, Mega Mushrooms – and everyone had their own name badge.  Team logos and pod stickers for their karts had also been designed. 

Writing: Each kart team comprised a driver, a mechanic, a press agent and a manager and they had written biographies about imaginary characters who are drivers, mechanics etc.  The children had interviewed each other in role as their imaginary characters and produced an account of that interview.  They had drafted letters to a company asking for sponsorship and had also written reports about an accident at the race track.  Lorna explained that drama had been used where ever possible to help with the writing process. She said that it had really helped the boys in particular to be immersed in this imaginary world with the visual aspect of the game helping them with a starting point for writing activities.  One boy said, “ I don’t like writing but I liked writing The Accident Report.  We had pictures of a racing car accident and imagined that we were there and of course we have crashes when we play Mario Kart!”

Maths: Problem solving in maths fitted easily into this context with opportunities to calculate fuel consumption, speed and costs.  The children had looked at decimal places for lap timing using a model race track and had also investigated the cost of flights and accommodation to visit a Grand Prix location.

Art and Design: Logos had been designed, karts made from junk material, suits designed for racing drivers and a crowd scene witnessing the crash had been created.

Next week, the plan was to focus on Science and some of the science teachers from the secondary school were coming to get involved in the investigation of friction, air resistance, stream lining and water and fire proof materials in the classroom.  Great – and an opportunity for cross sector working too!!

Lorna is a probationary teacher and this is her first experience of games – based learning and she has been delighted with the enthusiasm and motivation that the children have shown. The children were obviously still motivated, energetic and excited and were producing work of high quality – and there was only a week to go before the holidays!!   Lorna has been enthusiastically sharing her experiences with other probationary teachers which is great news.

Much more had been planned for the project, but the end of term was looming.  Drama, music, animation, web design and a trip to a kart track will all be on the agenda next time they run the project….(and Gillian says they will definitely be doing it again….!)

November 8th, 2007

The Dunbartonshires come to the Consolarium

Derek Robertson

Comments: 3 Comments » Tags:  : Categories Consolarium visits, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire

We had the great pleasure of welcoming colleagues from West and East Dunbartonshire to the Consolarium today.

We spent some time discussing the role that new technologies and in particular, games, can play in teaching and learning in the classroom of today. Luckily enough we had some game literate people although this did not stop everyone else having a go at playing the games. Again, we have found that much of our rationale for games based learning received an understanding and willing ear from today’s visitors and it looks as though both authorities will feature in the ‘Sharing Practice’ area of our site before long.

Two of the primary representatives spent some time looking at Cosmic Family for the Wii. This game is in a similar vein to Buzz Jungle Party in the sense that it contains lots of mini-games that teachers could use particularly in the Nursery setting. Pre-reading, pre-number activities also colour recognition and problem-solving tasks abound in this quirky and enjoyable game. This is one game that we suggest is worth looking at for nurseries…
Accompanying the local authority people were two representatives from Engineering the Future at Glasgow University. Games based learning is reaching out to a number of agencies and the interest from this one is all about looking at how games may impact on developing school children’s interest in engineering. Hopefully this initial meeting will be something that we can report on in future. In the meantime if anyone can recommend any games that they feel have relevance to engineering then please let us know.