ISAGA Conf - Interactive Workshop

Welcome to the Ecocity blog.

1) Please identify who you are and where you are from. Briefly, what's your area of work? How is it related to the use/design of games and simulations for learning?

2) Having played the game, could you comment on what you had observed or seen:
i) in terms of the strength or weakenss in the game design
ii) areas of strength or weakness in the pedagogical approach
iii) possible extensions for use in the classroom - to another audience or group of learners

3) We'd like to find out how the use of this game facilitates gains in students' learning. Any suggestions on how to go about doing this?

4) We're dreaming that perhaps one day, there might an inter-linked world - made up of many cities that grow and it's organic in nature... what would you like to see / do in such a world?

Thank you!

Exploration

Other online games to try:

http://www.electrocity.co.nz/

http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/

Reflection

Dear teachers,

We'll need your feedback about the first class.

1) Personal response: How was the overall gaming experience for you? Which part did you enjoy the most? Which part of the game was difficult?

2) From the teacher's view point: Do you see this game as a potential teaching tool for the topic 'Development'? Would you use it? Why/Why not? What is your role like in a classroom where this game is used for teaching? If this game can be used for 'teaching Development' - what concepts or content do you can be grasped by the students?

3) For training purposes: For training workshops - what critical components you think must be included for another teacher to use this game for teaching? What could be some potential challenges that prevents teachers from using this game?

4) Any other comments / feedback you'd like to share?

Post 1

Please answer this question:

How do you go about teaching the topic ‘Development’ usually? (no right or wrong answers)

9 Jun 2009

Welcome to how to use Ecocity game in Geography classroom

In this session, you will get to explore why some people think computer games make sense in the classroom. For this, click on these links here:

James Paul Gee
Marc Prensky

But of course, nothing beats trying your hands at a game.

Ecocity was developed with this intention of engaging students in the classroom on the issues surrounding development (which can get rather complicated at times).

Here are two documents to get you started.

Teachers' Tutorial (Click here to download)
Course Handout (Click here to download)

June

Dear teachers,

We'll need your feedback about the first class.

1) How do you usually teach the topic 'Development'?

2) Personal response: How was the overall gaming experience for you? Which part did you enjoy the most? Which part of the game was difficult?

3) From the teacher's view point: Do you see this game as a potential teaching tool for the topic 'Development'? Would you use it? Why/Why not? What is your role like in a classroom where this game is used for teaching? If this game can be used for 'teaching Development' - what concepts or content do you can be grasped by the students?

4) For training purposes: For training workshops - what critical components you think must be included for another teacher to use this game for teaching? What could be some potential challenges that prevents teachers from using this game?

5) Any other comments / feedback you'd like to share?

Class question

In the event that you are stuck in the game because of lack of resources, you can search for alternatives.

One such alternative is to request for additional funds and resource provision from external organisations like the World Bank.

Write a 60-100 word proposal why you should be given these resources. Your proposal should include reasons why the city is in such a state, what did you learn from the experience, and how you would prevent such an event from occuring.

Note that your request comes at a cost. This will be told to you by the organisation.