May 31st, 2011

4/4 Driving Learning with Mario Kart: Healthy Eating and Grannie changes her mind

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: cfe, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, Mario Kart
 : Categories Early Years, Renfrewshire

“This is play but it’s educating them!”

Over the years we have worked with so many teachers and seen them use commercial off the shelf games in such a way that they are able to make purposeful, relevant and appealing links to traditional curriculum objectives. This has been the case in nursery, primary and secondary settings. We have found that handing over ownership of initial GBL ideas to teachers empowers them to bring their own idiosyncrasies to the table and to build experiences that can meet the needs of their learners. Here is another example of how teachers have done just that.

How would you use the context of Mario Kart to help P.2 and P.3 children develop a real interest in and understanding off the healthy eating plate? Well. I wonder if there is anything that we can learn from the children at Bargarran PS,  Mario and his gang in Mario Kart?!:

Changing a Gran’s point of view…

This example of how childrens’ learning can be situated within an appealing context sits nicely with the thoughts of one of the children’s grannies that I had the pleasure of chatting with at Bargarran PS’ Mario Kart Open Afternoon. I first met Mrs Fortescue, who has a grandson in P.2, in the corridor just as the afternoon kicked off. Her first words to me were, “It wasn’t like this at school in my day – this isn’t school, they’re just playing!” As a result of this chat I I asked if I could come back and speak to her after she’d seen what has been happening in the class… Have a listen to what Mrs Fortesuce had to say 30 minutes later:

As you can hear Mrs Fortescue was somewhat taken aback by what she saw, by what her grand-daughter had been doing and what she was able to tell her Grannie all about. Some of Mrs Fortescue’s main points about what she had seen include:

• you’d normally associate computer games with playing; I’d never seen them being used like this way in an educational way
• my granddaughter is so full of information, she’s been telling me all about everything in class as we’ve gone along. I can’t believe how much she knows
• I first thought what a waste of money, you’re there to be educated. That’s not education like how I was taught  but when you look at it they’re playing but it’s educating them.

A consensus from the grandparents on the day?

I also spoke with another Grannie to see if this was a lucky or pressured change of heart. Mrs Hall has a grandson at the school as well and her interview was equally as positive as Mrs Fortescue’s:

The main points raised about the positive aspect of what she had seen at the open afternoon included:

• I think it’s marvellous what I’ve seen in class, I didn’t realise they’d done as much
• my grandson is always telling me about what they’ve done with Mario Kart when he comes home from school
• coming in to class to see what’s been happening helps you make sense of the Mario Kart project

If schools can build purposeful learning experiences that can engender such buy in from the children, their parents and their grandparents then maybe we are doing something right? Let’s not lose sight of what some of the parents and grandparents have said – if the resource has appeal than why not put it to good use to help children learn?

Hopefully this series of posts has helped convey some of the industry, life and sense of excitement about learning that I witnessed in my time at Bargarran PS. Thank you to everyone involved with this project and a huge thank you to those who shared their thoughts with us. Do feel free to leave a comment, question or observation on any of these posts.

May 31st, 2011

3/4 Driving learning with Mario Kart: The parents’ perspective

Derek Robertson

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: cfe, Consolarium, game based learning, games based learning, Mario Kart, Nintendo
 : Categories Early Years, Renfrewshire

In the early days of the Consolarium a big part of our work in promoting the practice of game based learning involved addressing many of the concerns that teachers had about using such resources and contexts in their schools. Informed reference, we hope, was made to the many folk devils and moral panics associated with games back then but one major concern that was invariably thrown up by schools was – what might parents say about children ‘playing computer games’ in school when they should be learning?! Our experience over the past 5 years of promoting this work has been that parents have been more than pleasantly surprised at how GBL contexts have worked for their child/children. This ‘evidence’ in the parents eyes of good learning experiences may also be complemented by the changing nature of how computer games are now placed in family life. When we first started out the games console was still seen as something that kids did in the shadowy solitude of their bedrooms but haven’t things changed now? How many families do you know that have a console in a main living area and who will use this as part of family play? How many dads out there are red hot at FIFA11, how many mums have a Wii Fit or Zumba game as part of their keep-fit regime and how many grannies have Scrabble on their DS? Times have changed have they not? Are computer games still the folk devil of a few years ago?

At the recent Mario Kart open afternoon at Bargarran PS I saw just how far the practice of game based learning has come in relation to how it is being perceived by children’s parents and guardians. At this event I witnessed a classroom packed with mums and dads, grannies and grandads all buzzing with excitement about what the children had been learning. Some of them were also more than keen to have a go at the game and get their name on the parents’ leaderboard!

I took the chance to chat with some mums and dads at the event to try to get their honest views of the use of a games console in classrooms and what impact the experience of the Mario Kart topic was having on their children.

Have a listen to my chat with Mrs Mavers who has a son is in P.2

The first parent that I interviewed was Mrs Mavers, a mum who was very keen to get the No.1 slot on the Mario Kart Parents’ leaderboard.

As you will have heard Mrs Mavers is of the opinion that this experience has been great for her son. Here are some of the points Mrs Mavers raised:

• my son has been learning about Italy and other cultures which is a good thing.
• my son is not the most enthusiastic about school normally but he has been really enthusiastic about this which is good
• the topic has led to good experience of homework that involved using Google Earth to look at Italian landmarks. This is something we wouldn’t normally have done
• anything that motivates children should be used as a tool for learning…why not pick up on things that children love and bring it into the school environment?

Have a listen to my chat with Mr & Mrs Brown who has son is in P.2

I took the opportunity to chat with the parents of a P.2 boy who were keen to let me know just how good an idea they felt the Mario Kart topic was and how it had had such a positive experience on their son. Have a listen:

As you will have heard Mr & Mrs Brown are also of the opinion that this experience has been great for their son. Here are some of the points Mr & Mrs Brown raised:

• since the school brought in the Mario Kart topic his (their son’s) behaviour has improved dramatically
• it’s had a positive impact at home because he’s doing stuff at home like building cars from junk models to bring in to school
• he can’t wait to get to school when he knows he has topic related work that day
• their son is very very keen to learn about things linked to the Mario Kart topic. He’s even learning Italian words!
• the school has monitored the learning and have managed to crack getting that fine balance between learning and playing the game

In my discussions with the class teachers it was clear that they see links between the school and the home as very important. They set out in the initial stages to ensure that good channels of communication were set-up and maintained and that the opportunity to celebrate and share the children’s learning with their parents was built in to the programme. All of this, coupled with the focused way that the Mario Kart resource has been used has again shown just how good teachers can use good resources to effect good teaching and learning. It’s great to see the parents supporting such practice.

May 27th, 2011

2/4 Driving Learning with Mario Kart: The buzz of learning

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: game based learning, games based learning, gaming, GBL, Mario Kart, Nintendo
 : Categories Early Years, Parents, Renfrewshire

Parental involvement in the life and learning of a school can be an incredibly valuable asset. This is particularly true when parent/carers are active agents in understanding and supporting what is going in their child’s classroom. As we heard in the first of this series of posts the teachers involved had kept parents fully informed in relation to the rationale of the Mario Kart project. To further cement this relationship both classes planned a Mario Kart afternoon to share the learning that had been happening with their Mario Kart topic. Here is a short clip of parents coming in to the classroom.  Also look out for the examples of the children sharing their learning with adults. They are so keen to show off what they have been doing.  As you watch the clip do you get a sense that there is a real buzz about learning here? as the children excitedly share what they have been doing? A great thing to see in a classroom.

There was so much learning linked with this topic for the parent s to have a look a through. Literacy was something that was addressed quite heavily through this topic and one task that had the children creating their own Driving Licences was very eye-catching and had proved to be very popular with the children. (Unable to share due to children’s details included on their mock licences).  Another popular writing activity involved the children coming with a basic character bible for a new Mario Kart character. Have a look at some of their work:

Have a closer look at some of them:

New Mario Kart Character: Holly Zoom Zoom

New Mario Kart Character: Queen Niamh

New Mario Kart Character: Queen Lola

New Mario Kart Character: Transform

I’m sure that the parents who came along to the Mario Kart Open Afternoon were very impressed with the range and quality of work that had been going on. The wall displays around the classroom drew many admiring glances and inquisitive comments from the mums, dads, grannies & granddads.

May 26th, 2011

1/4 Driving Learning with Mario Kart: What’s in the box?

Derek Robertson

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: cfe, Consolarium, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, GBL, Mario Kart
 : Categories Early Years, Nintendo, Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire

At the beginning of 2010 the Consolarium team, in their attempts to sow the seeds of innovative practice in schools,  announced a competition that was to be held at that year’s Scottish Learning Festival. Based around the game Mario Kart for the Nintendo Wii the challenge was to se how fast you pupils could complete a lap of one the Mario Kart tracks. Teacher verified times were then emailed to us to be added to our Scottish Schools Mario Kart leaderboard. We must have loaned out over 20 sets of Mario Karts to schools across Scotland with the expectation that the game play would lead to a range of ways in which curricular activity could grow from the contextual hub ofd this game.

Sometimes when you plant seeds unexpectedly beautiful things can grow…

I was contacted by Wilma Leaburn, a QIO from Renfrewshire, a few months back and invited to a Mario Kart CPD evening at a school in Paisley. Apparently a number of teachers had taken this practice forward and a CPD session to share their experiences had been organised and so oversubscribed that another two evenings were to be delivered. The evening itself was a fantastic example of how creative teachers can be and how, when give the chance, their own idiosyncrasies can lead to wonderful learning experiences that meet the needs of their learners. At this event I met a teacher called Julie Paterson who invited me to Mario Kart open afternoon for parents and carers at her school, Bargarran PS in Erskine. This series of posts will feature my observations at this event.

What’s in the box? Creating the context

The children I met at Bargarran PS were just superb. They welcomed me into their class and were so eager to share with me what had been happening and what they had been learning about. In the middle of our earlier conversations it became clear that the arrival of the Wii into their class had been a bit special. Apparently, a gold box arrived one day and the question being asked was ; What’s inside the box? Lets let the children carry on the story…

The writing activity that arose from this early context creation was featured on the wall. Have a look at some of the children’s writing:

The Teachers’ Perspective

Julie Paterson and Jill Day were the P.2 and P.3 teachers that led this project. I took the opportunity to interview them after the Mario Kart open afternoon had ended.

Some of the strong messages about their observations and experiences with the Mario Kart project are:

“The parents have been incredibly supportive.”

“Sharing information and plans with the parents at the beginning of the project helped build that trust with parents.”

“The initial attention-grabbing context creation captured the children’s imagination and interest.”

‘Some children, who maybe don’t engage as well as the teachers would like in class, showed increased levels of motivation and willingness to engage with learning.”

“The Mario Kart project had a particularly positive impact on boys attitudes to learning.”

“Fun, personalisation and choice should be at the heart of learning experiences within contexts for learning in Curriculum for Excellence.”

Thank you to the teachers, the pupils and parents at Bargarran PS for making us so welcome and for sharing the life of learning with in their classrooms with us,

February 21st, 2010

SLF10 MarioKart Challenge

bmclaren

Comments: none Tags: Tags: cross-curricular, Mario Kart, mathematics, SLF10
 : Categories Added Value, Consolarium, Games we have, Glow, Multi-player games, SLF10, cross-curricular, game based learning

Mario Kart Competition @ SLF10

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.

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….!)