K12OnlineConference

I recently attended the K12OnlineConference.  I watched a video from the presenter Ollie Bray.  This presentation was called "Using Computer Games as a Context for Learning and Social Interaction" and it was very interesting.  Teachers in Scotland used the video game, Guitar Hero, to help ease the transition children go from primary into secondary school.  Learning was disguised as a fun game but really they were learning lots, such as math, science, art, and more.  The students at the primary school were creating projects about certain rock bands they created to go along with the Guitar Hero game.  They were doing math problems to see how much money they would need to start up a band of their own.  As a art project the kids created their own musical instruments.  It was the video game that really got the students interested in music and ultimately learning.  I think this is such a creative way of teaching.  Students are learning skills they may really need some day if they choose to be in the musical field.  By using a video game as a template for learning the children really got into their education.

The second stage of the project was to gather children from the primary school and secondary school and have the students play Guitar Hero all together.  This helped the transition of moving schools for the primary education students.  The primary education students got to interact and talk with the secondary students so they would have friendly faces and maybe even develop relationships before they moved up to this new school.  I believe it is important for a student to be comfortable when going to a new school and this is a great way to develop that level of comfort for the primary education students.

I really think this is a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom and to engage the students.  I believe that the students would not have got as much out of this project if they weren't allowed to actually play the video game.