Consolarium

February 24th, 2010

Consolarium Podcast 5: Samba de Amigo inspired learning

Derek Robertson

Comments: 9 Comments » Tags: Tags: Aberdeenshire, Consolarium, crazy talk, game based learning, games based learning, GBL, Glow, Nintendo
 : Categories Aberdeenshire, Added Value, Glow, Literacy, Nintendo, game based learning, podcast, writing

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

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.

March 25th, 2008

Crazy Talking and exploring Art & Design

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: Aberdeenshire, animation, Consolarium, crazy talk, Elrick PS, LTS
 : Categories Aberdeenshire, animation

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.

November 14th, 2007

Case Studies from Stirling Council

Derek Robertson

Comments: 3 Comments » Tags: Tags: Consolarium, crazy talk, missionmaker
 : Categories Stirling Council

Before I go anywhere with this blogpost can I ask you to have a look at this excellent example of collaboration between LTS and a local authority partner.

I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did!

Today I spent a superb day capturing case study materials in schools in Stirling Council. As with yesterday in Falkirk we had a smashing day with the educational development team, the teachers and pupils in the schools. Yet again, the work that is happening with the games-based-learning initiatives that we witnessed today was delightful and in particular it’s great to hear the pupils talk so positively about what they are doing. The schools we visited today were:

Cornton PS: The P.6 class from last year were using an application called Crazy Talk. I have been very keen to capture this for some time now and at long last I managed to bag it today. I’m sure that this will prove to be a very informative and at times entertaining case study. It’s just brilliant when children spontaneously offer words and phrases that affirm why you put an application in a school in terms of how good it’s been for them. Today that happened. One boy was asked about Crazy Talk and he said that not only was it great fun but that he used to only write a paragraph or two when asked to write but that now with Crazy Talk he is writing pages of stuff! The children were so delighted to have been given the opportunity to use Crazy Talk in their class that when they found out that I was responsible for giving them the programme they asked for my autograph! What next? As you can see, I was happy to oblige. Some great stuff caught on camera here today.

Gargunnock PS: Laura Costello was one of the teachers who attended the computer games design training session that we held back in May 2007. She is using Missionmaker with the children at this school and is delivering it via a computer club.

It’s quite a complex application but Laura is introducing concepts and techniques a bit at a time and the children are so delighted to be making their own computer games. I was really impressed with the way that Laura Costello has taken this forward and with the level of expertise that was displayed by the children. They were able to tell me about volume triggers and props and characters and they also talked about how pleased they were that they have been given the chance to ‘make their own computer game’ in school!
Again, this will prove to be a valued addition to the Missionmaker case study in the Sharing Practice area of the Consolarium’s website.

Thanks to all in Stirling for a great day.