Serious games are just…games
I keep delving into the different issues clinging to the field of serious games.
I keep pondering whether or not serious games are the right approach to game based learning.
First and foremost, though, I keep wondering why serious games are not better games.
Serious games should be no less “gamey” than any good game out there.
Let’s up the ante, raising the bar even further.
Serious games should be able to…
Read MoreMy 2012
2011 is rapidly drawing to a close, and even though I’m knee-deep in unfinished business, I’ll quickly throw a few pointers for the year ahead of us.
I’m usually most keen to be looking forwards, but a quick glance at current projects might be relevant:
As some of you may know, I’ve been working with GameIT College in Grenaa, Denmark, for some time and happily continue this…
Read MoreWe’re the stupid ones!
Most people working within education are probably familiar with the widespread notion, that during the recent decades, students have been growing less and less intelligent.
Students today, it is said, are simply dumber than they used to be.
To me, this is nothing but self-deception.
Using the “stupid students argument”, we keep reaffirming ourselves, that what we do is not the problem.
Students are.
We’ve been doing like this for years, so why should…
Read MoreCan students save the world?
Due to my huge interest in “games as learning machines“, I’ve been actively pursuing the idea of “challenge based learning” for some time now. In short, good games build a framework for exactly that – challenge based learning. Players are tasked with numerous challenges, and they must learn what is required to overcome those challenges in order to play the game.
At the same time, education is all…
Read MoreLet’s fail more often!
Here’s a small excercise:
Repeat after me:
To support this notion, I could fill this post with quotes from famous researchers, inventors & entrepreneurs, all arguing in favor of failure as a very natural, beneficial, even trivial component of life. I won’t do that, but staying in the realms of popculture, I’ll let J.K. Rowling have a say, quoting her beautiful, touching, deepfelt 2008 Harvard Commencement Address, “The… Read More
Ban pencils!
The Times They Are a-Changin, but not always for the better.
Pencils is the best contemporary example.
Some naive techno-optimists would have you believe, that they’re the only solution to the current so-called “crisis in education”.
This seemingly innocuous tool for writing is really a wolf in…
Read MoreGAMEiT Handbook
The GAMEiT EU-project is nearly over, we’ve had a conference and the GAMEiT handbook has been available in a limited print edition for about a month, and now it’s also online as well. I’ve written several chapters, and as always, I’d be happy to hear your comments, critique, questions.
Read or download below:
Fuck Transmedia
Fuck games.
That’s what games researcher Miguel Sicart said in his really entertaining and thoughtful talk at the Play All! seminar on Wednesday:
Moving along the same lines:
Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment…
Read MoreNFF, Oslo, November 2011
Here’s my presentation from the talk I gave at the NFF-conference in Oslo recently:
I was asked to talk about “gaming theory” and how games can inspire us to design better contexts for students’ learning.
Read MoreBreak down the walls
When looking at the way we structure educational systems, I’m always immediately struck by all the artificial borders we have created in and around schools, effectively walling off education from surrounding society.
When children enter primary school, they’re grouped by the somewhat arbitrary parameter “age”, and remains in most cases divided in this way.
Once organised into these age-homogenous groups, education is again further divided into subjects, which are predominantly taught…
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