Do you think Sonic is super?

Do you marvel at Mario?

Are you crazy about Crash?

Love Lara?

Fancy yourself as a games designer?  Now is your chance to design, create and market your own computer game with great characters and compelling storylines.  Your game only has to meet two criteria for your chance to win some great prizes.

1. It should be an adventure/platform/puzzle game with a story behind it.
2. The player should be able to control a character and solve a puzzle or collect items to progress to the next level / complete the game.

If you are a pupil at a school in Scotland then you can enter your game in one of four categories:

1. Primary Individual
2. Primary Group
3. Secondary Individual
4. Secondary Group

Check out some examples and find out more by watching this video.

You can download the high quality mp4 here, or an iPod mp4 here.

When designing and creating your game, and think about

• characters and background that will be used in the game
• music and sound effects to be used in the game
• levels / progression through the game

Use any game creation tool to build your game.  For example 2DIY, Scratch, Kodu, Game Maker, SimsCarnival, Greenfoot, Flash, Net Radiant, Unreal Development Kit, Microsoft XNA or any other appropriate platform

Send us the complete game in an email, or a link or on CD/DVD.  Make sure you let us know what software you used.

Need some help to get started?

Consolarium Development Officers, Charlie Love and Brian Clark, are available to offer you some assistance.  They can be contacted via email (c.love@ltscotland.org.uk and b.clark@LTScotland.org.uk ).

The Final

Successful finalists will be invited to attend the Scottish Learning Festival on the 22^nd/23^rd September to present their game to a panel of Game Developers and Industry Specialists.  A number of great prizes will also be on offer including a tour of the studio at game developers, Denki.

The closing date for all entries is Friday 3^rd September 2010

Super samba inspired learning in schools!

This edition of the Consolarium podcast is solely dedicated to a project that came to an end just before Christmas 2009. Meldrum PS and Slains PS in Aberdeesnhire had been working with the game Samba de Amigo for the Nintendo Wii. When this game first came out the team at the Consolarium thought that this would have great potential in schools and so it was duly purchased. Here’s what it looks like:

OK, I think that after that clip you may be asking, “How on earth can a game that requires the player to shake out samba rhythms help children learn?” Well it most certainly has. What has been going on?

Samba de Amigo inspires ‘relevant and engaging learning’

The methodology that the Consolarium invariably employs in our approach to game based learning involves the computer game being used as the central ‘contextual hub’ about which learning can be situated. We have used this approach with many of our previous projects and it has proved to be a successful methodology. The teachers involved in this project worked together to create a collaborative story that focused on a rags to riches tale about a favela dwelling samba musician who made it to the big time. Accompanying this came the story of a plane, that was carrying the newly created Samba music superstar, crashing in the Amazon jungle and the associated learning about that. Here is some of the children’s work. Here is a news report of that event:

Some people may still be of the opinion that the idea of game based learning is something that does not sit with what school should be about but we would argue that game based learning, if used appropriately, can excite, challenge and create relevant and appealing contexts for learners. Just look at how writing has been developed here”

• The children created their own samba stars and wrote a biographies about them. Have a read of one these: The life of Angelo de Rimosto (biography)
• The children were inspired to carry out research about the Amazon Rainforest as a result of the “plane crash’ scenario and other ways in which the teachers had created the settings in which intrinsic motivation to explore the topic. Have a read of this piece of writing: The Amazon Rainforest
• The children from both schools used Glow to begin to explore how they could work together on story start project. Here is the beginnings of their efforts: Trible Troubles Chapters 1, 2 and 3 If you would like to find out more about how Glow was used then join their Samba de Amigo Glow group.
• The children also used Crazy Talk to great effect to bring their writing to life. Here we see how writing about an imaginary Amazonian rainforest creature can be enhanced by this simple piece of technology:

If you take the time to listen to the podcast about the Samba de Amigo project then you’ll here us talking to a pupil about his experience. If we could have written a script for a pupil to read out about the benefits of game based learning then what he said (without coaching or prompting we may add) would have been what we would have said. He talks about his learning connecting up, about it being exciting and active and how he will rmember this project. Great stuff from him. Here is a brief clip of some boys  actively involved in the project and warming up for their Samba music creation lesson.

Hopefully the podcast and this brief blogpost will give you a flavour of just how good this GBL project was. A fuller account of what was done and how this GBL context impacted on learning will be released in the near future. In the meantime can we just say thanks to all at Meldrum PS and Slains PS for working with us on this project.

Calling all Jenson Button and Lewis Hamiltons of the future.

Would you like to race head to head, in front of a live audience and win the title of

SLF10 MarioKarter Champion ?

This year at SLF10 there will be a Mario Kart Grand Prix for Primary and Secondary pupils.  In order to qualify you must be in the top 4 verified time trial times.

Teachers must submit a photo of a pupil’s verified Time Trial time. These times will be logged on a leader board held on the Consolarium Glow Group and blog so you can track your position against the whole of Scotland. The four fastest primary pupils and four fastest secondary pupils will be invited, with  school representatives, to compete in a live race final at SLF10.  In order to submit a qualifying time you must run your time trial according to the criteria below.

A picture of the complete time trial showing character, kart and time should be forwarded to b.mclaren@ltscotland.org.uk

The four fastest pupils from each sector will then race head to head in the

50cc Mushroom Cup Grand Prix

in front of a live audience at SLF10.

The driver with the most amount of points at the end of the Grand Prix will be the winner and crowned Mario Kart Champion SLF10 and win a Wii and copy of Mario Kart for their school.

The closing date for verified Time Trial times is September  3^rd 2010.  Qualifiers will be contacted after this date.

Have you thought about using MarioKart in your class as a contextual hub or topic?  Check out the Consolarium Glow Group for ideas on how you might do this.  You might also want to think about how you might use MarioKart in subject specific lessons also.  Share your thoughts on the Discussion Board at the Wii, Mario Kart section of the Consolarium Glow Group.

We also have a small number of MarioKart kits (console, software and controllers) available on loan until SLF10.  If you are interested in receiving one on loan send us a summary of how you would use it and what you feel the impact would be upon your pupils. Our team will get together and examine all bids and decide upon the lucky applicants.  Please send bids to b.mcmlaren@ltscotland.org.uk and ensure all bids are with us by Monday March 8th.

I am heading back up to Highland to visit schools in Castletown, Dornoch and Alvie who along with Dingwall Primary have been undertaking GBL topics using a range of games as part of the Highland Literacy Project.  Initial reports are very positive and I am very much looking forward to getting reacquainted with the children and schools over the next week or two.  Hear some of the initial thoughts from Dingwall and Alvie below

Dingwall Nintendogs

Alvie Primary African Safari

This week will also see me delivering to a range of Dundee City teachers at a CPD event run by Louise Henderson and the team from Dundee City (check the Glow Group for links to the work they have been undertaking) and then Brian Clark and Myself are heading to Dundee University to show a range of students the kinds of experiences GBL can offer.

As an aside I have also undertaken my Glow mentor training so hopefully the Consolarium Glow Group will continue to improve.  Why don’t you check it out and get yourself involved in some of the conversations or start one of your own.

This edition of the Consolarium podcast consists of the following:

Scottish Action Plan for Child Internet safety

The Consolarium team discuss the Scottish Action Plan for Child Internet Safety and how this also relates to the world of games and children.

Sony Eyepet for PS3 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 her involvemt with the Eyepet project that is being carried out by the Consolarium.

AOCBGBL

In terms of internet safety Charlie Love recommends thinkuknow.org and Ollie Bray recommends the National Education Network’s e-safety site.

Another useful site to help keep teachers and parents informed about safer game play is askaboutgames.com

Part of the campaign is the development of a national competition to design a national resource to help others learn about on-line safety and responsible use.

The team at the consolarium are committed to the safe and responsible use of new an emerging technologies for learning and will be developing a number of resources to support teachers and parents over the coming months.

Details of the competition are below:

INTERNET SAFETY COMPETITION

The internet is a vital part of modern life.  When you log on at home or at school, when you use your mobile phone or i-pod, when you play online games – the internet opens up a world full of fun, new information, and new friends to meet and socialise with.

But with all the opportunities that the internet brings, it’s also important to know how to stay in control when you’re online, and what do to and who to go to if something goes wrong.   This could be anything – like someone stealing your password and getting hold of your personal info; being bullied over text or social networking sites; or chatting with someone online who isn’t who they say they are.

That kind of thing can happen whatever your age.  And as well as keeping yourself safe online, it’s important to help others feel confident about using the internet in a responsible way – people like our friends, parents, brothers and sisters.

That’s why we want you to design a resource that would help teach other people about what they should think about and do to make sure that they stay safe online.

The competition – design an original resource to teach others about online safety.
The competition is about how you would teach others about online safety, and it’s broken down into three main categories:

A.    Resources for primary school-age children
B.    Resources for secondary school-age young people
C.    Resources for parents and grandparents.

There is also a special category for adults, like teachers, youth workers and even parents, to enter a resource that they have developed to help teach children and young people about staying safe online.

D.    Original resources for children and young people

What do I have to do?
First you need to think about who needs to know about using the internet safely, and what kind of risks they might come across on-line.  You could also think about the things that they might enjoy about the internet.  What your younger or older brothers or sisters will need to think about will be different from you and your friends, or your parents and grandparents.

So think about what you would want to tell them to keep them safe, and then think about how you could best communicate that to them.  There are 3 main ways that you could choose to do this:

1) Artwork - you could design a poster, create a game, compose a photograph, or do a sculpture or painting.
2) Creative writing - you could write a poem or song; a rap or a story.
3) Performance - you could direct a short film or animation (5 mins max); write a play, or drama script; or choreograph a dance.

Think about how other people would be able to use what you have created.  Do you need to write instructions to help them understand what to do and what they should think about when they are using your resource?

What could make a prize-winning entry?

We are looking for entries that could easily be used by other people to help raise awareness about internet safety.  Something that is innovative, and original, and that help get people thinking about what internet safety means to them, and what they can do to stay in control online.
There is also a new digital code – Zip it, Block it, Flag it (www.clickceop.net) aimed at helping you remember how you can stay safe.  So you may want to include that message into your resource in some way.

Who can take part?

Anyone under the age of 16 can enter categories A, B and C.   You don’t have to enter the category for the group that is the same age as you – in fact, it would be better if you thought about how you would teach someone younger, or older than you about what they should know about online safety.  For example, if you in secondary school you might want to develop a resource for primary school children; or if you are in primary school, you could think about how you would tell your grandparents about internet safety.

Adults working with children and young people can enter category D and submit an original resource that they have developed to explore issues around online safety.

When is the deadline?

The deadline for all entries is Thursday 1st April, so there is plenty of time to get involved.  Winners will be notified after the Easter holidays.

How do I enter?

Just post us your entry to the address at the bottom of the entry form, making sure that you attach the form to your submission.  Make sure you clearly mark what category you are entering, and whether it is a group or individual entry.  Please complete an entry form for every individual submission.

What are the prizes?

The winners from each category will receive digital video cameras.  Their entry will be posted online, and may then go into a resource pack for people teaching others about internet safety.

Where can I find out more information?

If you are a young person who wants to find out more, call the Young Scot Info Line on 0808 801 0338 or email info@youngscot.org

Alternatively, please email CPRP@scotland.gsi.gov.uk , with the title ‘Internet Safety Competition’ in the subject heading.

You can find other contacts and resources to do with internet safety on the Scottish Government’s website – www.scotland.gov.uk/internetsafety

Looking back now I can hardly believe I felt like that, and how naive I was.  Now I look at a Diary that has almost no free time until the start of April,  the Consolarium Glow Group is attracting more and more traffic and comments, a number of  local authority partners are on board as well as individual schools and clusters doing some fantastic work not to forget an Education secretary quoted as saying

“Computer games are often perceived as solely a distraction to learning, however, alongside traditional learning aids, they can help make learning more engaging. And parents and teachers across the country are starting to see the benefits they can have.”

Just over the last week and the week to come Brian Clark and myself will have presented to over 300 teachers in Aberdeen, Dundee, Girvan, Glasgow and Grangemouth with no sign of abating and now that Charlie Love has joined us as anotherDevelopment Officer the capacity of the team has increased again.

I look forward to blogging about some exciting work beginning with Argylle and Bute and describing some projects with 2DIY and Kodu software that we have coming up, as well as loads of other work in preparation for SLF10 which you will hear about soon.

 Can you hear the drums?

I think we had better take a look around, follow me as we climb this hill for a look around.  Wow! what a panorama – look at all the animals..

Every child I spoke to was enthused and motivated by their topic, as was every teacher. You want creative and imaginative writing? It’s there, from a range of different characters and viewpoints. Functional writing? How many reports, factsheets, biographies would you like? Listening and talking? Interviews, presentations with movies, audio, photographs….

In mathematics the children were learning about measurement in a range of scales (15o kg of elephant poo anyone?) How tall is a giraffe? If an elephant was 2d what would its area be ? Can we draw it to scale in the playground? If we know that can we work out the volume of an elephant? So many mathematical questions.  How far away is the Safari we are going on?  How will we get there, will we fly and how much will that cost? and on and on and on; learning in context

I saw a variety of media and tribal art where the visiting specialists were involved in the planning and delivery, music teachers teaching tribal drumming and African chants, Masai warrior dances by children in Masai robes and class made jewellery.  I heard abou the significance of the jewellery in the different cultures and at every step the use of a range of technology enhanced and extended the learning going on.

And don’t even get me started on co-operation and collaboration as teams completed assignments together and presented their findings, reports and thoughts together.  The desire of the pupils to show their work and explain it’s significance and what they had learned was excellent, not just to me but to other classes and their parents and carers.  I saw children explaining food webs to their visitors, anything you wanted to know about a particular animal? Just ask the resident experts…..

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.

Many families will already be familiar with the range of consoles and software available and most of the folks I spoke to at the meetings had more stuff in their houses than I had; yet very few had ever played with them and almost none had played them with their children.  (Derek Robertson writes a brilliant blog post “Cod Liver Oil and Effective Learning..”on his personal site at HotMilkyDrink which is well worth a read, from a parent’s perspective)

One of the best things about the job is seeing the sparks of enthusiasm and creativity created by the GBL approach and this was evident again as a room full of parents and carers were excitedly discussing the kinds of things their children could be learning.  One of the meetings ended with the Parent Council pretty much demanding (in a good way!) that the school take money from them and get out and buy consoles and implement them in their children’s learning straight away.

A positive partnership between parents and school is really important and ACfE provides a perfect backdrop against which these relationships can be strengthened; and the games based learning approach augments this beautifully.

All of these consoles in homes and all of these learning opportunities. A germ of an idea is beginning to form…………

In the meantime check out the Trailer for Parent Toolkit below