Consolarium

May 29th, 2009

LTS does Dragons’ Den at SLF ’09

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: Consolarium, dragon, games design, SLF09
 : Categories SLF09, games design

Have you got a good idea for a computer game?

Do you have an idea for a computer game that might be the next worldwide smash hit or do you have an idea for a character that could capture the imagination of game players across the globe?

If so, then this year’s LTS does Dragons’ Den competition at The Scottish Learning Festival could be just the opportunity for you to showcase your imagination and ideas to a panel of professional experts from the Scottish computer games industry.

What we are inviting school pupils to do is to devise a concept for a computer game that they will be pitched to the Dragon’s. The time that you will have for your pitch is 10 minutes. The content of your presentation can take any form that you decide but we suggest five areas that you may like you to give consideration to. These are:

• What is the underpinning idea for the game and its game play?
  • Give a clear and concise description of your game
• What is the target audience and appeal of your game?
  • What age range is targeted
  • Who will buy the game and what will motivate them to do so?
• What will the game look like?
  • Design at least two characters and one set to help the Dragons’ visualise your ideas
• What makes your game original?
  • What does your game have that isn’t or hasn’t been on the market
• How would you market your game?
  • Front cover design should be included in your presentation
  • What devices will the game be made for?

* Please note: if you and your team have made a game or have built any associated aspects of your game then please do include this.

Who is the competition open to?
The competition is open to boys and girls from the ages of 3-18

What is the maximum team size?
The maximum numbers of team members is four

Who are the Dragons?
The full and final line-up of Dragons has yet to be confirmed.

What form will the event at SLF’09 take?
The pre-event judging will select four teams to present at SLF’09. At the event each team will be given 10 minutes to make their pitch with 5 minutes questions and feedback from the Dragons. The Dragons will be given a few minutes at the end to decide on which entry they felt proved to be the most innovative and appealing for a games design company.

What presentation facilities are available at SLF ’09
A PC with Powerpoint and a Mac with Keynote will be available to present. We will try, where possible, to accommodate all presentation requirements

Submitting an entry
Entries to the pre-judging aspect of this competition can be sent to [email protected]. A detailed submission is welcome but contestants must realise that any detailed submissions need to be summarised and delivered in the 10 minute pitch that they have to the Dragons. The closing date for submissions to the competition is Friday 11th September with the successful contestants being notified by Monday 14th September.

We ask that competition entries are submitted by a teacher who has been working with the pupils involved.

Travel arrangements
LTS will cover the cost of travel to and from SLF’09 for all the finalists.

Is there a prize?
Yes, more details to follow…

May 29th, 2009

Games-based learning galore at Lairdsland Primary School, East Dunbartonshire!

kaplin

Comments: 1 Comment Tags: Tags: games based learning, Glow
 : Categories Consolarium, East Dunbartonshire, Glow

A day this week at Lairdsland Primary School surrounded by engaged and motivated children and creative and enthusiastic teachers was a real privilege and a pleasure.

I had been invited to visit Fiona Angus and her P4/5 class who have been using the Nintendo Wii game Endless Ocean as a contextual hub for cross curricular learning. Endless Ocean is a game in which the player explores the ocean and swims on a coral reef, interacting with a huge variety of sea creatures.

The children have been keeping diving diaries about what they find whilst exploring the ocean in the game, producing tourist guides, creating newspaper reports about discoveries on the reef, researching the animals they find, exploring many different media in art and design in producing art work of different kinds of marine animals and inventing their own exotic sea creatures. During my visit, we brought some of these creatures to life using CrazyTalk which allows a digital image to be animated and a voice added. The children were keen to share their writing with each other in this way (even those who were usually quiet and reserved!) and had been rehearsing some great accents! What wonderful ideas they had for their creatures and what fun! Children are bringing things in from home connected to what they are doing in school and are keen to continue with their activities even when the bell rings for break time or lunch time!

Fiona is using the Endless Ocean project as a starting point for a study of Australia and the children hope to have the opportunity to ask questions and to exchange ideas with visitors from Australia next month. Endless Ocean has already proved to be a great resource for creating a rich context for learning and has done it again at Lairdsland.

I also had a chance to talk to Vicky Mackenzie and Fiona Morrison about their Guitar Hero World Tour project currently running in P7 and P6/7. They have replicated a lot of what has been highlighted as good practice with this resource but this year the topic has the title ‘Making it BIG in the USA’. The idea is that the children are members of a successful UK band and they are now trying to break into the American market. The children are going on a tour of America and are responsible for budgeting and managing their own tour.

The children have their ‘Making it BIG in the USA’ glow group. This group contains these sections:

Notice board - used to target news such as promotions on hotel rooms, deadlines for budgets etc
Classified Ads - this will be used to advertise for staff (such as security) and will also be used to advertise band merchandise (which they have designed), to raise funds.
Band Banter - this is a discussion page where the class teachers will set questions that the children must respond to in the style of their band.
Useful Websites - this has been categorised into Travel, Accommodation, Restaurant and General Websites. The children will use these when booking their flights to the USA and between states, finding appropriate places to stay etc.
Band Budgets - this is for the children to store their Band Budgets. These are excel spreadsheets that the children are creating throughout the topic. They will keep a record of everything that they have spent and earned. At the end of the topic the band with the most money in their account will be awarded a prize. A good way to use the context for learning about currency conversion and financial education and a great way to use Glow!

My last stop was the P3/4 classroom where class teacher, Catriona Calvert, is using Nintendo’s Cooking Mama World Kitchen as a starting point for another interdisciplinary project. I was shown the chefs’ hats that the children have made and the instructions that they wrote for that process. They have researched countries and have made fact files, they have written menus and are in the process of setting up a restaurant in the classroom for role play. They have just completed a really successful enterprise project in which they wrote, produced and sold their own cookery book, selling over fifty copies on the first day! I have been promised photographs and examples of the children’s work as the project develops which I can’t wait to see. Well done Vicky and Catriona for spotting the potential of the game for classroom use!

What a great day!