Consolarium

September 20th, 2007

Rich Tasks with Guitar Hero in Aberdeenshire

Derek Robertson

Comments: 8 Comments » Tags:  : Categories Scotlearnfest07, Sony PS2, cross-curricular, rich tasks

Forget the Rolling Stones, who needs Radiohead and as for Metallica…get out of here, because you’ve got to get ready for the new rock gods of the 21st Century: Full Moon. They are just about to release their new CD called Pure Black Magic and a European Tour is about to begin! Get your tickets as soon as you can because this outfit are the real deal…

…well really they’re not. Full Moon are a virtual band created by the children of P.7 in Oldmeldrum PS in Aberdeenshire. The band members are Tasha Hooch, Charlie Andrews, Lavender Dorset, Scrambled Egg Sam and Carmen Jackal. These characters came to life through a fantastic project that happened in a P.7 class in Oldmeldrum PS.

This project arose as a result of Aberdeenshire Council’s engagement with the Consolarium. It involved the use of a game for the Sony PS2 (and Xbox 360) called Guitar Hero II. This game allows you to engage with the world of rock and roll by using a plastic guitar that lets you pretend to be a rock star performing on stage! You’ve got to see, and play, this in order to appreciate what a tremendous game it is.

However, the fact that this is a great game is neither here nor there if it can’t be applied in teaching and learning contexts. Well, Kim Applin (the P.7 teacher), saw potential in this as a cross-curricular tool and she came up with an array of rich tasks that really exemplify how a Curriculum for Excellence can occur in the classroom. A detailed case study of the project can be found via this link so have a look to find out more about what happened.

The reason for this post is to commend the presentation about this project at the Scottish Learning Festival ’07. Anna Rossvoll (or should that be Anna ‘Rocks’voll by the look of this picture) delivered an inspiring and innovative presentation that beautifully captured the essence of what the teacher called an unbelievably high quality learning experience for the children. This is a presentation that needs to be shared with a wider and larger audience.

She actually brought the PS2 and the Guitar Hero game so that two willing players could have a go in the session. Now, I love this game and have become quite good at rattling up the combos and hitting the high scores but I have an understudy who is fast becoming my main rival for the crown of best guitar hero player in Scottish Education…Margaret Cassidy from Stirling Council.

We had a go at the game and lo and behold, when we paused it , in order not to take up too much of Anna’s time, it just so happened that I was in the lead. better luck next time Margaret! The delegates were on their feet as they were so enthralled in the musical masterclass that they were witnessing but sadly, we had to call it a day. However, we are available for birthdays, retirements and bar mitzvahs.;-)

To finish, what a session this was! Bursting with life, energy, innovation and fun. It goes to show what can be done when teachers are given the opportunity to develop and lead learning contexts that they believe will work with their class. Very well done to pupils, teachers and ICT staff involved in making this happen.