#3DGameLab Learning Through Doing

This is another quick reflection on a quest from my 3D Game Lab experiences. This time I had to watch another TED video by Will Wright. OMGosh...this man is wicked smart. Not that the other three TED speakers I already reflected on weren’t smart; however, it is just in this instance he demonstrated a game he built and the game (Spore), and the ideas behind the game, are awe inspiring. I just had to drop my …

...Continued | August 18 2011 | Comments
Posted in Games & Education

3D Game Lab: Philosophy & Ideas about Gaming

There were three quests in 3D Game Lab that had me watching 3 different TED talks about games, gaming, and gamers. Of course, the prompt was…watch and reflect. So I’ve embedded the videos below incase someone wants to watch them (they are thought provoking) and you’ve got my wandering reflection further below. First I watched Tom Chatfield’s “7 ways games reward the brain.” The second video I watched was David Perry’s “Are games better than life?” The video includes an excerpt from ...Continued | August 17 2011 | Comments
Posted in Games & Education

3D Game Lab: “Mechanics” of Game-based Learning

The current activity/quest I am doing in the 3D Game Lab is called the “Mechanics” of game-based learning; however, I’d argue is is more about the philosophy. As part of the quest we need to watch the following video and then blog in response to one of their prompts. The prompt: What reflections or thoughts do you have about Jim Gee’s notion of the paradigm shift?  How will it change your school or institution? At first, Gee’s discussion concerns me because I think lots of faculty are ready to make the …

...Continued | August 14 2011 | Comments
Posted in Games & Education

3D Game Lab: Gamification of Education

I spent some serious time over the past couple of days exploring 3D Game Lab and the concepts related to gamifying education. Learning about the lab environment, and gamifying education, is all done in a game like format (surprise, surprise!). One of the activities had me watch the video below: The Escapist : Extra Credits : Gamifying Education Right now I’m thinking about a couple things as I consider building courses, or major units in a course, as games. First, building in rewards …

...Continued | August 13 2011 | Comments
Posted in Games & Education