Learners and teachers at Chalfonts Community College have been pushing the digital envelope for online learning. They worked with Bucks e-learning co-ordinator Ian Usher and Chicago-based educator Roxana Hadad to bring in industry-best computer games experts from all over the world (full story at Futurelab).
Their Games Design Workshop, run for the Creative and Media Diploma (higher level), is built on sound pedagogy and emerged from a student voice consultation. The challenge for staff was how to structure lessons to engage learners.
What they found was that the key elements are all there in "traditional" learning and teaching. Roxana Hadad does everything you'd expect a teacher to do, except that she is also keenly aware of – and fluent with – the media she uses.
One big difference is that all the contributions and all the lessons, supporting the students in creating their own computer games with olympic games and disability themes, are recorded. One advantage of this is that student contributions can easily become useful evidence for assessment. Another is that students have playback of the entire lesson online – great for latecomers and absentees, and those who need to go back over concepts they are not confident with.
Roxana Hadad (left) was particularly impressed by the students taking resonsibility for their own learning, and their ability to communicate: "Though I was incredibly pleased with the product the students produced (three great games that feature athletes with disabilities [links below]), what was most gratifying happened during the last online class. The students were talking to each other about their own learning, what worked for them and what didn't, and their process throughout the course, with very little prompting on my part.
"This could happen in a traditional (face-to-face) course, but because the classes were online and the students knew that we were experimenting right alongside them with technology and teaching practices due to our constant requests for feedback, I think the students were very aware and reflective of their learning. Making connections, and feeling empowered to shape their own education and development as people, is something that they will carry with them throughout their lives, and I really couldn't ask for anything more as an educator."
This was the second term the Games Design Workshop, created with start-up finding from Creative Partnerships' Change Schools programme, was run. There is funding for a third and the key players are already planning how it can be extended to other subjects and how the format can be varied.
More information
Read the full Futurelab story
Contacts for those involved
Roxana Hadad - director of math, science and technology at the Chicago Teachers' Center
http://www.roxanahadad.com/
http://twitter.com/rhadad
Greg Hodgson – senior leader at Chalfonts Community College - leading change on digital media, virtual learning and new technologies
http://twitter.com/greghodgson
Hannah Stower – leader for Creative Media Diploma at Chalfonts Community College
http://twitter.com/hstower
James Michie – head of media studies/leader for key stage 4 English at Chalfonts Community College
http://twitter.com/jamesmichie
http://jamesmichie.blogspot.com
Ian Usher – e-learning co-ordinator with Buckinghamshire County Council
http://twitter.com/iusher
http://moodlea.blogspot.com
Creative Partnerships' Change School programme
Sample games produced by students:
Wheels of Lightning
Flame of the Paralympics
Josh Diaz (game designer) on Twitter
Roxana Hadad, Ian Usher and Greg Hodgson are all Adobe Education Leaders
The communications technology used for the workshops is Adobe Connect
