15. April 2010 by MrBall.

I’ve got a badge from Empire Ave but I don’t know how to put it into my side bar. I guess I will have to scrape together time to learn how to do that. In the mean time here is my Empire Avenue badge…

Posted in hobbys, Fun, Games, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

7. April 2010 by MrBall.

As I was reading through the TPACK framework here I noticed that one of the papers it refers to is Homemade Power Point games (citation at bottom, link here). At first I was seriously skeptical about the power (sorry) of power point games but they are interesting tools for student review. Not review with any deeper understandings attached. I can’t see the engagement level of these games being very high. I am sure it would be useful for those skill and drill type learning needs.

Here are some examples of the ppt games they have listed. These are taken right from their page.

At first glance they probably don’t seem exciting. All 6 that l have viewed have the same structure. Menupage with a story, directions, and the much needed Play the Game button.

Seems to be a Webquest without the web. What do you think would you use these in your class? Would you consider these are ‘games’ for learning?

Barbour, M.K. , Reiber, L.P., Thomas, G., & Rauscher, D. (2009). Homemade PowerPoint games: Constructionist alternative to WebQuests. Tech Trends, 53(5), 54-59.

Posted in Engagement, Games | No Comments »

24. March 2010 by MrBall.

I have talked with several teachers about games that promote social justice. Within the ECSD community we have outlined our fourth goal as “Be a Highly Responsive and Responsible Catholic District”. The phrase we often banter around is “Think Globally, Act Locally”. This is a very nice thought but I always struggle with how I can demonstrate the”Think Globally” part to my students. Here are three games that allow students to catch a small glimpse of what Think Globally means.

Ayiti The Cost of Life is a web based game where students need to keep the quality of life up so that their family can do well.

http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/rights/explore_3142.html

Food Force shows students how aid is delivered in war torn or crisis areas. How the food is used to pay people to help rebuild thier own community and many of the issues around the transport and delivery of the food aid. This game has to be downloaded.

http://www.food-force.com/

Third World Farmer allows students to make the tough decisions of a farmer in a 3rd world country. 

http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/

There are other games related to poverty  listed here at the http://www.gamesforchange.org/channels/poverty website.

If you and your students are so moved to donate money to a good cause after playing these games I would like to recommend micro loan websites like Kiva.org. It is a great place to make responsible loans that continue to come back to you so you aren’t just thinking about how you can help once.

Access the PowerPoint here.

Posted in Social Justice, Games, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

17. March 2010 by MrBall.

Here is a simple addition game you can use with your students. It is quite open ended in that they need to add up to 10 using the random numbers that drop from the top. There are a certain number of times the player has to add up to that safe number of ten before they can move on to the next level.

I’ve had grade 3 students play this game with success.Have a play through it and see if it would fit your students’ addition abilities.

Don’t forget to debrief them on the game and why they are playing it. The point is to get them using multiples of ten as a safe place to add up to. Giving themselves a mental break for when they add larger numbers.

Sorry about the background sound. They were laying carpet down the hall and I couldn’t block out the noise.

Posted in Curriculum, Games | No Comments »

16. March 2010 by MrBall.

4 Freedoms of Play

What are the barriers that are preventing these from entering the school system? Is it a deeper part of our social structure that dictates that school has to be serious? From the idea that hard work is more important than perhaps joyful work. When we get over the fact that work can and should be enjoyable then I think we will see a shift in education that will dictate that learning should be fun. It can’t always be fun but it should be enjoyable and purposeful.

Posted in Engagement, Games, Presentation | No Comments »

15. March 2010 by MrBall.

Here is my review of a bridge building game.

www.crypticsea.com

www.bridgebuilder-game.com

http://www.chroniclogic.com/

Posted in Curriculum, Simulations, Games | No Comments »

15. March 2010 by admin.

How to get ahead in Empire Avenue without really trying. 

1. Get set up. Add your Twitter feed, Blog RSS, and connect up your Facebook account (I know you have one). Add some categories, interests, and throw in a simple Bio. You get money for doing all these simple things and it will attract investors. If you are on Empire Avenue and you haven’t done these things then go quick and delete your account.  This goes double if you are a business. It is like having a website with an “Under Construction” page.

2. Make posts: Post to your Twitter Account, Blog, and (even thought I don’t value it) post to Facebook. Content creation is how you generate interest in you. If you generate nothing then your stock price will drop because no one will care what you are doing and they will dump you. Post cool, weird, interesting, thought provoking, and creative stuff (sure maybe even offensive) that you care about. 

I shave as a hobby so I’ve started posting about that. Do you care about the? No. Then don’t buy me or follow me. Easy Peasy!

Please do not post for the sole purpose of gaining approval on EA. People will see through that type of behaviour. If you are already a content generator you have a great edge. Don’t change what you do for the EA community; just wait for your followers to get in on the peoples market.

3. Find others and rate them: Look at the people who share interests or categories with you. See what they are doing. If you like it then buy their stocks and keep checking on them. While you check in on them rate what they are doing. This gives them feedback and probably $$ for both you and them. If you contribute to their success their price goes up and your portfolio goes up in value as well. Win Win!

4. Watch those dividends: If you have your money parked in a stock that isn’t getting good dividends then move it. The daily dividends you receive allow you to invest more money and spread your influence around. If you have a small piece of a big pie make sure you care about what they are doing on the interweb.

Finally, make sure you are having fun and finding new people to connect with. This is the peoples market and it relies on us making personal connections with like minded people and businesses we value. Leave the adsense bots behind and let word of mouth drive you to find the things you value.

Posted in Fun, Games | No Comments »

5. March 2010 by MrBall.

I was at the opening of Empire Avenue last week at Transcend and I had a chance to meet the Empire Ave team. They were all very friendly and approachable group. They, like I, believe in word-of-mouth marketing. Empire Avenue hasn’t evolved into the marketing tool that they talk about here but I think it is on its way.

I was lucky to be invited in on day one and I have been having a hoot. Buying stocks in the people I feel are influential and trustworthy in what they create online.

Most of the community so far seems to be of the early adoptor tech crowd. I am eagerly awaiting the Ed. Tech community to join in, especially the educational video game crowd, to see what their thoughts are. I think that there is a high level of engagement that goes along with this site that is further reaching than a video game. It is a peer and computer coded feedback system that as @MrTedMartin says- “#empireavenue Has me, for the first time, really thinking about my online presence… and what I can do with it.”

The current creators like #yeg ’s Mack D. Male  @mastermaq have been doing their work pretty much for free.  I am curious if EmpireAvenue is changing the way they measure their success or how and what they post about.

At this point I am reluctant to admit complexity in the market because I think there are more variables than I could dream up. The basics are like this: 

1. You buy stock in someone you feel is a creator on the interweb.

2. If that person creates content they are rewarded by the market and you are rewarded through dividends at the beginning of the next trading day.

Yeah yeah! I know it is more complex than that. That is why I called it the basics. The market has it s ‘ups’ and I’m sure it will eventually have its downs. It seems to be a bit like a popularity contest right now but I think that will be solved with larger numbers of investors. The market setting right now is one of high volatility. Not a big deal. The beta is small, currently 280 (March 5th 10am), and with those lower numbers there is going to be high volatility in the peoples market. There were some players who are taking advantage of this. These people are just players not content creators so as the market moves forward they will lose value and probably be sold quickly. I hate to burst their bubble (that’s my joke).

If you are lucky enough to get in on the beta of EmpireAvenue.com get me on your ticker by buying ABALL.

Posted in Reflections, Fun, Engagement, Games | No Comments »

18. February 2010 by admin.

Fun word making game. http://club.live.com/Pages/Games/GameList.aspx?game=Chicktionary

Posted in Games | No Comments »

18. February 2010 by admin.

Criteria for evaluating games in education
1. The game has an educationally-accessible context (historical, contemporary, hard science-fiction).
2. Game play has genuinely educationally-accessible content.
3. Success depends on intelligent choices and decisions.
4. Failure exists and teaches when it happens. It is possible to lose.
5. The tutorial is crystal clear, and checks for understanding.
6. There are multiple victory conditions.
7. The feedback model is short - students can quickly see how a decision effects a larger whole picture.
8. The game becomes increasingly challenging and difficult.
Taken from:
http://www.mackenty.org/index.php/site/comments/criteria_for_evaluating_games_in_education/

Websites of note:
http://digiplay.info/
Research papers and other publications on the topic of understanding digital games.

http://powerup.wikispaces.com/ -
Mark Wagner is completing his PhD.

http://www.furl.net/member/ewagner -
A list of educational games.

http://www.socialimpactgames.com/index.php -
Entertaining games with Non- Entertaining goals. (Serious Games)

Games:
Starfall (K- 2)
Multiflier (Gr. 3)
Plupon (3- 6 warm up)
Third World Farmer (Gr. 6-
Games for the Brain (Gr. 7-9)
‘Speare (Gr. 10- 12) password needed
Not a game- Game Maker (Gr. 8- 12)

Posted in Fun, Engagement, Games, Edutainment, Presentation | No Comments »