#games4ed discussions cover ways in which gaming can be used in education. Games mirror the way the human mind was designed to learn. They motivate players to take risks and actions, persevere through failures, set and achieve increasingly difficult goals, and devote attention, time, and effort to acquiring knowledge and skills. All this while the game is tracking the player’s actions and assessing the player’s achievements and skills. Isn’t this what we want from education?
Hi all! Melissa from Nebraska, 11-12 ELA. My fave recess game growing up: Chicken in the Pen (which was just glorified tag where you went to the "pen" (a tree) if caught and others could get you back out #games4ed
My name is Emma Imrie and I am an education major at Kent State University Kent, OH. My favorite game at recess as a kid was kickball! @barbersclass#games4ed
Hi! My name is Michelle Ott and I am a high school math teacher at Pocomoke High School in Worcester County, MD. My favorite game at recess, as a kid, was 4 square! #games4ed
Q1: Plato said, "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."
What do you learn about students by watching them play (and playing with them?)
#games4ed
Hello, I’m Will 5th Gr teacher in Northern MI. My favorite recess game as a kid was called Boomerang. It was kind of a hybrid of dodgeball and cage ball... #games4ed
A1: Interactions and the ability to give and take. Who makes the rules, who follows them, and is there flexibility in it. Can also really show imagination and creativity #games4ed
Jestin, HS science in frozen Michigan. We have not had school yet this week?! Tetherball has kind of fun at recess. I spent a lot of time just hanging out with my buddies #games4ed
A1: By watching Ss play games, AND playing with them, I am able to discover their strengths and areas in which we could improve, specifically regarding their ability to communicate their thinking, and ultimately their understanding, when "playing" w/ others #games4ed
A1 - One of my favorite quotes is that games are just an excuse to have a great post-game conversation. Students are great at reflecting upon their play! #games4ed
A1- so much. In my social skills classes we could learn more about a students abilities and areas of need by watching them play a board game than hours of traditional classes! #games4ed
Michelle, I like the point you make about communicating their thinking! I don't consider that as much as a HS teacher, but this is great insight! #games4ed
A1: By watching Ss play games, AND playing with them, I am able to discover their strengths and areas in which we could improve, specifically regarding their ability to communicate their thinking, and ultimately their understanding, when "playing" w/ others #games4ed
A1: In watching students play you see a variety of their skills developing. Social interactions they make, gross motor skills, and cognitive development. Can even observe them applying critical thinking and problem solving skills all while having fun at the same time. #games4ed
Q2: The concept of Global School Play Day is to have unstructured play without electronics.
How would your students react to this? Would they struggle or jump on board?
#games4ed
I LOVE playing games w/ my HS Ss. They get intense! AND learning can secretly occur through the process. Many of them are so focused on winning, they don't even realize they're learning. #games4ed
A2: They would make some noise at first, then jump in. TBH I cheat and use some tech during the day...as long as it is multiplayer. We have used Xbox and Minecraft for some good play #games4ed
Q2: The concept of Global School Play Day is to have unstructured play without electronics.
How would your students react to this? Would they struggle or jump on board?
#games4ed
A1- Kids let their guards down and can be themselves when they play a good game. They aren’t afraid to play with others outside their normal circles of friends. #games4ed
A2) I tried doing this schoolwide at lunch one day a week. It didn't take very well. I wish more teachers had been interested. The kids were at first but it needs to keep being pushed. #games4ed
A2: As an Early Childhood major, I feel if students do not have the heavy integration of play with electronics, unstructured play without them would not cause a negative reaction. I think younger students would jump on board with any fun, movement in the classroom. #games4ed
A1 I learn a lot about personalities! Who is a risk taker, leader, hangs back, bluffs, disengages, who's having fun but pretends not to, problem solver, rule follower (or not), etc #games4ed
A2- My studentswould be pumped! I’ve made a conscious effort to teach more table top games this year. They’d love the time to truly get into a good board game. #games4ed
I'm the same way with 11th and 12th graders. I have to be a little more organized and structured or else they really would just sit there...maybe even napping! #games4ed
I teach AP Calculus AB, AP Statistics, and Algebra 1. They LOVE Quizlet LIVE! Quizlet is primarily used to make flashcards, but I do prob/solution cards and they match them w/ their groups when playing Quizlet LIVE! HIGHLY recommend using it! #games4ed
I think kids like to play ... even without electronics. Our 8th graders eat lunch outside and many of them can be seen playing soccer/football ... some hanging out playing Uno ... heck sometimes they are just chasing each other. #games4ed
Agreed. I've been thinking a lot about this and how different ages would work. The older they get, the more prompting and encouragement they need, it seems #games4ed
Q3: Do you have other colleagues in your school who would be interested in joining to a time of unstructured play? Or how might you encourage a colleague to join in?
#games4ed
Emma, I think you're right. And it's wonderful that younger students are so willing to jump right in but they lose that spark and curiosity to play when they get older. Not all, but many #games4ed
The problem with "play" and education is educators think everything has to be related to some sort of academic standard ... structured ... maybe even with a lame rubric and some reflection. That is NOT play ... that is you getting in the way. #games4ed
A3: Have a great neighbour Mrs. Bower who leads the way with unstructured play. Always happy to join her and her class outside for some play and building #games4ed
A3 - It's about finding the game that "hooks" them. For me, I found lots of people love Telestrations (especially after dark after the school day) and 5 Minute Dungeon. #games4ed
A2 I'm starting 2nd semester with mostly new students, but some same faces. Partially introduced our class RPG/DnD the first week - some classes seem really excited and other classes act too cool. Time will tell. Think play day would be similar #Games4Ed
The problem with "play" and education is educators think everything has to be related to some sort of academic standard ... structured ... maybe even with a lame rubric and some reflection. That is NOT play ... that is you getting in the way. #games4ed
A2: I really think Ss would jump on board! My HS actually has some unstructured time in the middle of the day during what we call #You60. Some Ts hold sessions where Ss can play board games as sort of a brain break and these sessions are quite popular! #games4ed
Sometimes I even feel this way with some students (the ones good at school) and have to explain how we're meeting some communication standard. But honestly, often I'm just trying to build and improve class culture #games4ed
A3: At a school I did observations at, their classrooms were in clusters based upon grade. I feel this would be a great environment for classes to encourage unstructured play together. The classes could do an activity together which could help integration to other rooms #games4ed
You'll want to check it out for sure! https://t.co/ad20YzqWrT It's a bit like Quizizz but students earn $$ (fake) and can also buy powerups (such as freezing another team for 10 seconds or increasing the $$ earned on questions) so there's more strategy involved #games4ed
A3- I think I’d have to take the lead and push it out myself. I think there are others at my school that would love it but many who fear breaking away from the standards. #games4ed
You'll want to check it out for sure! https://t.co/ad20YzqWrT It's a bit like Quizizz but students earn $$ (fake) and can also buy powerups (such as freezing another team for 10 seconds or increasing the $$ earned on questions) so there's more strategy involved #games4ed
A3: I feel like many of my colleagues would love to partake in these unstructured times, where we could form relationships w/ our Ss, but time and the pressure of "the test" is always against us in HS. If we don't have recess.. it may be hard to encourage Ts #games4ed
A3 I've a few that might be interested. One guy runs game club - that ends up being 99% Magic - when it's not basketball season. Other guy is part owner of local game store, but just took another job :-( #games4ed
A4 I think I would bring, well, a variety of different types of games and encourage students to think like designers - what would they change about the games to enhance them? #games4ed
A4: Anyone do playing cards? Seems like a lot of students don't know how to play pitch or rummy anymore. Was thinking that might be good to teach sometime and includes good crit thinking, too! #games4ed
I've got kids asking me to start a club/campaign but I'm too stretched even to be a Player much less DM. So I'm trying to do DnD more as our class game #dnd#games4ed
A4: For my Kindergarten classroom, the items I might bring for "play day" include anything that has to do with "dramatic play." I feel the students really use their imagination and their cultural upbringing when playing with each other. This type of play is beneficial. #games4ed
Hi my name is Olivia Graham. I am a Speech Pathology major with a mild to mod sped and ASD double minor at Kent State University. My favorite game at recess as a kid was foursquare! @barbersclass#barbersclass#games4ed
I saw playing cards that had symbols that would make them compatible with Love Letter, Coup, and other games. One deck for multiple games - so cool! #games4ed
I'm can't imagine what it would be like trying to plan one! Just watching my student DM trying to direct 12 of us, mostly noobs, was amazing! He was truly masterful (and patient!!) #games4ed
A4- I would bring everything I have! A million dice and card games are quick to learn to play! Preemptive YouTube videos made by students with some tutorials for how to play some of the games would be great. #games4ed
#games4ed A1 something that i learn from watching my students play a game is their competitiveness and how well students handle diversity and how they may handle losing.
#games4ed A2: I think that My students may struggle with this depending on the game we are playing. if the students really enjoy what is going they will put down the phones but if they haven't bought into it they will check their phones frequently
A4: Top thing on my list would have to be playing cards. One of my favorites used to be War. Also, spoons!!! My HS Ss LOVE playing spoons. I personally think they love putting their tech aside and playing good ol games #games4ed
#games4ed A4: I would probably bring some kind of card game or matching game that gets the kids thinking but also allow ta fun competitive time for them.
A1: since I am a student in college right now I do not get to see many students at play. However, I have been learning a lot about how SLPs can use play to evaluate toddlers' language development which I have found very interesting! @barbersclass#barbersclass#games4ed
A2: I believe that especially with younger students you can easily encourage them to use their imaginations as many of them already utilize symbolic play. It may be harder the older they get but I think any student can benefit from using their imagination. @barbersclass#games4ed
A3: I would encourage a colleague to join in by providing them with evidence based research references and encourage them to recognize the benefits. @barbersclass#barbersclass#games4ed
A4: I would try to incorporate many abstract toys along with typical toys. I would want to incorporate toys that would encourage the students to use symbolic play skills and exercise their minds. @barbersclass#barbersclass#games4ed
A?: Just saw this chat...I use games in my class as a way to build community, encourage collaboration, and all the other great reasons. Favorites include Pit (great for Economics or any class, really, and I made my own Pit decks rather than buy several new games. #games4ed
I had a teacher share a few months ago about how he modified spoons in his anatomy class...Ss had to collect cards with a definition, an image, and one other (the physiology of the body part?) It was a genius idea!! #games4ed
