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The Fourth Wall: A cautionary tale...

As a big fan of sci-fi I have always been particularly taken with some stories but particularly those that depict a dystopian vision. Particular ones that struck me form my school days were The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury and The Fun They Had by Issac Asimov as well as the movie The Day The Earth Stood Still with the classic, "Klaatu, barada nikto!" call to Gort the intergalactic policeman.

My exposure to sci-fi stories was enhanced in the late seventies when I and many many others became seduced by the magical sci-fi stories that featured in the 2000AD comic. Featuring favourites such as Judge Dredd, Flesh and Strontium Dog I would get totally lost in the amazing future worlds that were beautifully depicted in this comic but the one theme that always used to make me think was Tharg's Future Shocks. Tharg was the alien editor of the comic and he would occasionally throw in a story that always had a quirk or that would kick you right in the backside and make you think.

This blogpost is about one such 'Future Shock' called The Fourth Wall. Published in Prog 85 in October 1978 this cautionary tale warns of the inexorable march of advancements in technology, and in particular technologies for entertainment. In the story we see the young boy, Chris, very excited about nis new TV experience. The Fourth Wall is an experimental televisual experience and works only when you close the door. It then immerses the viewer in a very 'lifelike world' with terrible consequences...

The Fourth Wall from Derek Robertson on Vimeo.

I remember a few years ago when the NIntendo Wii first came out that I couldn't help thinking just how prescient Tharg was. Here, 30 years ago was a short story predicting immersive technologies so lifelike and involving that you didn't just consume the visuals, you participated in them.

Now with the PS3 Move and the Kinect system from Microsoft coming out the future of immersive gaming is getting very to close to The Fourth Wall. However, I am very excited about the prospect of what both these technologies will have to offer and how they can enhance game play but I do have some concerns too. For example, imagine a system that measures the player's body movements and efficiency to score, for example, how well you placed the plastic bag over the hoodlums head  in Manhunt and held it just so and just tight enough to dispatch him! Now that would be immersive gaming but with some sensationally dubious outcomes....maybe not as severe as the boy in the Fourth Wall's but one for us to carefully consider...

Dancing Games: Dance on Broadway is (almost) Jazz hands-tastic 2/2

After reaching the heady heights of the high score/performance domain in Just Dance we have now moved on the the more theatrical dance world of Dance on Broadway. This dancing game for the NIntendo Wii is set in the world of musical theatre and requires that you perform routines as perfect as possible....

For those of you that might wish to emulate John Barrowman, Denise van Outen or even Michael Ball then this game might be right up your street. 

Still thinking about it's educational application but already I have managed to make my young daughters aware of a range of muscial theatre shows and their underpinning storylines as a result of their developing interest in some of the songs that they enjoy playing/performing.

Only problem with this game is that the proper jazz hand technique is compromised when holding the Wiimote ;-)

Dancing Games: Just Dance even if you still say disco! 1/2

Earlier in the week I was chatting with my neighbour's 23 yr old son about music. Somehow we got on to the subject of nightclubs and when I mentioned the fact that i hadn't been to a disco for at least 6 years the young whippersnapper sniggered and took great pleasure in telling me that, "No-one calls them discos anymore!" Sheesh, the ever marching nature of time and how it dates one (even when you don't think it isn't doing so) will catch up on you...as, it so appears, it has with me!

Well, if like me you don't get to go to discos now but still would like to 'get down' (dated disco reference from 1970/80s for younger readers) but in the privacy of your own home then you must get your hands on Just Dance for the Wii. You will be digging out the flares and dusting down your your old Tavares and Earth Wind and Fire records before you know it and show the younger members of your household that you can still do The Hustle!

This game is a huge load of fun and a really good way to exercise too. There are a number of really decent tracks in the game that accompany a choreographed programme of moves that you need to copy in real time in order to dance along with the on-screen dancer. The more accurate the moves the bigger your dance star power build (as with Guitar Hero) and then you can score extra points. Today we must have played this for at least 3 hours with Ring My Bell by Anita Ward and Pump up the Jam by Technotronic my particular favourites ;-)

Have a look at the game trailer:

This game does get the heart rate up let there be no doubt about that. Great exercise with proper movements required in order to score decent points. Check out this game play video. Apart from the engaging game play one does wonder as to the appeal that this may have with younger and pre-early teens/learners particularly in relation to the health and well-being agenda. Two things that have made me reflect on this are:

• I have continually seen children in many primary and secondary school using games such as Singstar and Guitar Hero and technologies such as Crazy Talk in such a fashion that any aspect of shyness or embarrassment about 'performing' seems to disappear when these resources are used. I've often discussed with colleagues whether this technology creates an interface between the player, their self-image and their viewing audience that allows them to suspend disbelief and do their best. I think it does...
• I recently listened to some research about Girl Gamers from Sherbert Research (will blog and tweet link as soon as I have it). It seems that 10-13 yr old girls really go for this type of game. Now we know that research indicates that this is the age group that sees the biggest move of girls away from sports and exercise so is this one, affordable and culturally appealing, way in which we can encourage and entice girls of this age to stay active?

What about boys? Well I have seen 12 yr olds on stage dancing to their own choreographed moves as part of a Guitar Hero project. Not only were they swinging arms and legs but they had the serious face on too! They really meant it so I wonder if this might work for them...

There have been and are a number of exertainment games that require some degree of physical activity. These have worked to varying degrees for me but the fact that I spent so long playing this today and can't wait to get on it again tomorrow night must say something about its engaging game play. Or maybe it's just that I need a night out at a disco ;-)

Why were there no real computer games at BETT10?

If you attended BETT10 how was it for you? For me, it was a disappointment. I could not help but feel a sense of deja-vu as I walked around the exhibition and saw really much of what was on display and offer last year and try as I might I could find little or no evidence of commercially available computer games and games consoles showing their educational face at the event. My tweets at the time captured my disappointment:

Why should I focus solely on computer games you may ask when there was so much else in terms of educational technology available for delegates to engage with and consider how that might be used to support and enrich learning? Why should my experience be such a disappointing one when it appears that Play and Playful learning was apparently a major theme of this years conference? I'll tell you why, it's because commercially available computer games that have been built for entertainment are, in our experience in Scotland in recent years, some of the very very best educational resources that schools teachers and pupils can get their hands on today. Yet, at this huge event they were singularly absent from the exhibition. 

In this article about the theme of Playful Learning at BETT10 Professor Stephen Heppell said, “Playful learning has re-energised classrooms, rekindled school and parent relationships, re-engaged brains, provided a powerfully competitive space for problem-solving, and at other times a place for real individual concentration,”

Prof. Heppell's Playful Learning stand was one of the very few areas in the exhibition that at least made delegates question just what we mean by educational technology and the rationale and underpinning approaches that will have a positive impact on learning in classrooms. It was great to see resources that we are trialling in Scotland, such as 2DIY and Manga High featured on the stand. This is no surprise when you consider how much of a friend and advocate Prof. Heppell has been of the GBL work that we have been involved in over the past few years. However, I was very surprised and disappointed to see that the excellent game based learning practice with resources such as the Wii, DS, PS3, Xbox360 etc that has been nurtured, grown and embraced by schools across Scotland, England and further afield not really at the show. But apparently....

"...signs of a games-based, ‘playful’ approach were in evidence on many stands around the 14,000 square metres of trade show that made up BETT 2010. Arvind Desikan, head of UK consumer marketing for show lead sponsor Google, said tech-savvy, creative students can also come up with new ways to use technologies. Interactive games-type approaches help teachers and students alike."

Where was this? I didn't really see it. I believe that the success that we have had in using commercially available computer games in schools has been down some fundamental principles. One of our GBL principles that is of particular relevance to this post is the fact that COTS belong in children's own cultural domains. For very many young learners game-play with COTS is what they choose to do in their own time, COTS culturally resonate with young learners, COTS have status, attraction, appeal and they are not from the domain of the school. This very fact has an immediate impact on interest and engagement when we work in schools because learning is being linked to a context that has significant cultural appeal and a sense of an "I belong in this activity...this makes sense to me" effect. James Paul Gee articulates this very well when he talks about Semiotic Domains and we use this to help explain the dynamic that we see when we use COTS in classrooms.

Yet what do we see at BETT10? On the most part more educational technologies being sold and linked under the banner of play and playful learning when, to me, they are very much in the domain of the school and the teacher. Yet apparently, as the article from Channelweb.co.uk, it does not have to be about 'conventional computer games. What does this mean? What is a conventional computer game anyway? Is this in some way an attempt to dismiss the world of COTS and the place that they may, and in my opinion, should have in classrooms?

Most of the tools that I saw that were linked with the Playful Learning theme are very interesting and no doubt of great use in the hands of good teachers but for me to not have the some of the most dynamic, appealing and hugely engaging learning resources that are currently available on show or display at BETT10 was a huge own goal. It may be the case that the major game companies wish to remain to be seen as entertainment companies and not to be explicitly linked with education. If this is the case then so be it but I think that horse has well and truly bolted though when you consider how game based learning with built for entertainment COTS is becoming more and more mainstream and widespread in schools.

Maybe BETT2011 will embrace Play and Playful learning in a far more wide reaching manner than it did this year. I hope so, we need to be showcasing the best resources and practice available to teachers to help inspire and engage learners and for me some of what would be 'Best in Show' were not even on the exhibition floor of this trade show.

Cod liver oil and effective learning...

Picture the scene, my daughters are sitting focused, determined, engaged, applying their strategies to win as their faces, illuminated in the light that comes from what they are holding, exhibit the utmost concentration. This concentration must be broken though because the power of the game console is causing this game based learning enthusiast some grief at home ;-) and if a recent report in the Metro has any substance then it appears that I, along with thousands of parents, am causing physical harm to my girls by allowing them to get their hands on these modern day folk devils! 

Are we bad parents to let our children use games consoles?

"Right you two, put those DSs down now and come through for your dinner. I won't tell you again!" This is the shout that I have had to use on quite a number of occasions since Christmas when the girls' grandad so kindly bought my daughters a DSi each. Their DSis came with a few games one of which is the wondrous Mario Kart and they must have played this every day since they placed their excited mitts on it.  I have been secretly watching them as they have played Mario Kart (as well as the odd occasion playing Little Big Planet) and I have to report that I am seeing some incredible things from them in terms of learning and collaboration. I must also say that any externally forced parental guilt that I may be causing irreversible and actual physical bodily harm, to my girls by allowing them to play games is somewhat assuaged by what I have been seeing! Well what have I been seeing?

1. Excited learners: When I watch the girls play or get them selves set-up to play their excitement is tangible. They adore playing Mario Kart and cannot wait to get their hands on it. This is real excitement and of such a level that again you wonder as to the challenge, demand and appeal of the design of such games and why young learners WANT TO PLAY THESE GAMES. My girls like all the other things they do and are involved in but at the moment Mario Kart is the undoubted king of their leisure world. 
2. Challenged learners: Some of the games/races are more complex then others and need some considered thought if you are to become the best that you can be on your own in the game or when playing against others. The girls have worked out much of what needs to be done, what needs to be taken account of in the various games and they have done this without me. They have persevered and are showing an innate ability to unpick the game grammar. This challenge has also been incredibly evident when they have been playing Little Big Planet. Complex and challenging problems do not appear to phase them. They step up to the challenge that games present to them and they want to meet them, there is the intrinsic motivation and drive to meet these challenges.
3. Confident learners: Over the festive period there were many visitors to the house what with family and friends. My daughters took that opportunity to not only show off how good they were becoming at the game but also to teach the adults how to play it and play it successfully. Again, watching them in action I was delighted to see how they took account of the fact that these 'oldies' were new to the game so they started with easy levels and games so that they could manage the controls. They then offered some tips and strategies that should be taken on board and finally they continued to offer encouragement to those who did not exhibit any real games skills. There appears to be an innate ability to differentiate in this aspect of learning, an innate ability to teach. They naturally assumed the role of the more knowledgeable person in the learning dynamic and showed how they could fulfil this in a sensitive fashion. Confidence in themselves shone through here. Isn't it something to give young learners the opportunity to play this role in a serious way that is not embedded in a any falsely constructed adult dynamic? This is something that they can do NOW and  I believe that we must create as many opportunities as we can to allow learners to do this.
4. Social Learners: Although there are times when the girls are lost in the game the amount of dialogue that happens between them when they are wirelessly connecting and connected or when someone achieves a great score or discovers an easter egg of sorts is really impressive. They automatically share this so that both develop the skills that each other discovers individually. Similarly, this happens when they hook up their consoles with their cousins and friends and instantly we have a connected group of learners, independently, successfully and confidently managing the technology. 
5. Learners that need 'guidance': All this is wonderful but I am faced with moans and groans and the occasional tantrum when game play is over, it's time for tea or I tell them that they have spent enough time with their DSi and that it's time to do something else. The reaction from them when I cause them to withdraw from the game and their reactions at times when it is denied to them cam cause some problems. However, as the adult in their lives I feel that my role is to ensure that balance is in place and that this message is one that is consistently given and acted on.

Now my girls do not only play computer games. In fact I limit their time on games consoles believe it or not. They go to gymnastics, trampolining, Rainbows, Brownies, the library, we paint and make things as well as playing various board games like Junior Scrabble, pairs, dominoes etc. Computer game plays a moderated part in the balanced diet of activities that we present to our children. This is the central issue for me, how parents make sense of and decide what experiences their children are presented with. But how can parents make sense of games and how they can be used for good with their children when we are faced with the continual construction of them as modern day folk devils?

Computer games should come with supplies of free VitaminD and Cod Liver Oil!

Now I wonder how many parents ever watch their kids and observe just what can happen when young learners engage in good game play. I have been working in the field of game based learning for a wee while now and what we see in schools across Scotland via Learning and Teaching Scotland's Consolarium initiative is not only what I am seeing from my own children but the added value that comes when a teacher takes a commercially available computer game title and then uses that to drive curricular learning. We are seeing so, so much superb practice and active, intrinsically motivated learning in classrooms...this stuff works. The methodology that we apply sees the game sitting as a contextual hub about which the learning revolves, emanates and grows. Here are just a few examples of this practice that were initiated by the Consolarium and that have now spread to very many classrooms across Scotland and beyond:

• Guitar Hero
• Endless Ocean
• Moshi Monsters
• Nintendogs, 2
• Wii Music

But is it the case that parents most probably won't see or be aware of the potential benefits to their children's development? How can they, in fairness, when the general message that they get from the wider media about games and their impact on their children's development is almost a solely negative one? Take the article in the Metro that led with the headline. Gaming Leads to Surge in Rickets. I won't go in to the debunking of this myself due to the fact the article has no real substance or evidence to support this headline other than a cursory suggestion of a causal link. It seems that the issue most evidently linked to this so called upsurge is poor diet yet computer games are somehow linked to this and pulled into the dock yet again! Some readers from the Times Online forum gave this article the treatment and this more balanced piece did the job of sticking up for the falsely accused 'computer game'. The article did cause the games based learning fraternity to take this accusation seriously and with the Game Based Learning 10 conference organisers ensuring that your health would be supported if you attend the event ;-) ...

 

What can we do to address this continual negative portrayal of computer games?

Whenever I see this kind of article I wonder just how long it's going to be before the good that can come from game play is given the prominence that I feel it merits? Games can be a force for good provided that at home parents play a confident and informed role in engaging with their children in the game play and possibly initiating rules or a framework that provides their children with a wide range of activities. Possibly sites such as As About Games can help here. As for their use in schools then maybe the continued work of the Consolarium and other educators who are exploring game based learning such as Ollie Bray, Steve Bunce, Tom Barrett, Dawn Hallybone and many, many others who are, writing about the appropriate use and brilliant impact of game based learning in their class can continue to promote what are in essence...damn good learning resources.

Loco Roco inspires Air video

One of the games that I think set a standard in terms of its aesthetic was Loco Roco for the PSP. I remember playing this when it first came out a few years back and how transfixed I was by the combination of the incredibly appealing, malleable and down right cuteness of the graphics coupled with the mesmerisingly beautiful soundtrack. Played with earphones on this was just a sheer delightful pleasure.

Watching some music videos in order to chill out tonight I cam across Sing Sang Song by Air. Have a look and just give a nod in the direction of Loco Roco as a possible inspiration for the design of the video.

I wonder if there have been many other music videos that have been inspired by the world of the computer game. 

Hope you enjoy their music anyway.Oh, and Eddie, this is the first of many posts ;-)

Let's Tap: Good, good, good, good vibrations

Sometimes your best ideas for classroom practice can be found in the most unlikeliest of places. Well just the other day I think I stumbled upon another excellent opportunity for learning via a COTS game. I had heard about a game called Let's Tapfrom the Nintendo Wii and that the gameplay involved tapping the desk in order for the Wiimote to pick up the vibrations. Said vibrations would then control what happened in the game. Well. the most certainly do and I found myself playing this game for about an hour on Tuesday afternoon with my Development Officer at the Consolarium Brian McLaren. What larks we had and after an hour of mirth, discussion and competition the ladies in the main office in LTSDundee said that we were, "squealing like a couple of lassies!" (No sexist inference from me...just reporting what was said.)

Well what is Let's Tap? Have a look:

The game involved include:

Tap Runner: Sprint for the finish line in over 16 courses while avoiding obstacles including hurdles, ice wall and electric fields. (1-4 players)

Rhythm Tap: There are a wide range of songs to master in Rhythm Tap. Feel the beat and tap light, medium, hard in sync with the on-screen tap indicators. (1-4 players)

Silent Blocks: Different modes using light and hard taps to strategically remove blocks one at a time from the column without causing it to topple over. (1-4 players)

Bubble Voyager: Clad in a space suit, solo players tap to keep their character afloat through many levels filled with dangerous objects; a double tap will launch a missile. In multiplayer matches, you will shoot each other a number of times to win. (1-4 players)

Visualizer: Everyone will take their turn with several unique stages including Fireworks, Paint, River, Gem Game and Ink. Tapping with light, medium and hard strokes produces on-screen effects ranging from a fireworks display to undersea bubbles. In special tap sequences, various sea animals will appear. (1 player)

I feel that there is scope for the incorporation of all of the games in to the classroom in one way or another but the one that has really resonated with me is the Visualiser and the possibilities that this may have in the ASN context. Brian and I were lost in this part of the game and found ourselves orchestrating the most vivid and wildly beautiful firework displays, causing consternation in the coy pool or creating random Jackson Pollockesque canvases (ok maybe pushing it a little) by by tapping and banging on the table. The impact on a large projection screen within this game as a result of a simple tap or bang is just simply wonderful.

I'd very much like to see what this game could bring to the experiences of learners in the ASN context because of the simple way that players can engage with the game and the incredible return they get from a simple tap on a desk. I hope to report back on ways in which it has been put to use in schools very soon. I wholeheartedly recommend this game just for the fun aspect but yet again within a game designed for entertainment we see great educational potential.

Islay High School: a model for us all?

As you will have seen from the date of my last post I have been a bit busy of late. Or lazy as may be the case! Never quite finding the time to get online what I have been thinking or finding out about in my work and play time. However, my experience at the Education 2020 Unconference in Islay last week was soooo good that I just had to share my thoughts about it.

I first had the pleasure of meeting Ian Stuart from Islay High School a couple of years back when he presented at HHL07 (he also won a Wii in the prize draw). I learned all about how they had been looking to integrate ICT into the life of the school by virtue of the umpc and One Note amongst other things. So after hearing all about this it wasn't too long before I had managed to make my way to Islay to visit Ian and the school, a visit that left me truly impressed with the school's set-up, vision and ethos.

So after this initial visit it was with great pleasure that I received the opportunity of visiting Islay again last week to attend the Education 2020 Unconference. This unconference was a focal point for a group of educators from all aspects of the Scottish (and further afield) Educational landscape who use a range of online technologies to collaborate with professional colleagues in order to develop their own professional practice but also to contribute to their peers development. It must be said that I am less than prolific contributior to this community but to be part of it is something that I greatly value and feel confidence in. I can honestly say that I am a better profesional person for being a part of this community.

The chats we had were excellent, the high jinx and singing in the pub on Friday night just superb but the thing that impressed me the most about my time on Islay was my experience with the young people from Islay High School who presented to the conference delegates on ther Friday morning and then interviewed us on the Friday evening. Here we saw a group of articulate, confident, self-aware and mature individuals who presented a quite analytical yet wholly positive view of how the the opportunities afforded to them by the school had increased their self-confidence and enhanced their levels of attainment in whatever path they chose to take. The interviewers in the evening were also delightfully impressive and more than willing to ask for clarification if they did not understand one of my obscure mutlisyllabic references on innovation or if they felt they need to ask a probing supplementary question. What a credit you were to your school and if this is the kind of student that Islay High School turns out then I hope to send my girls there one day.

There were also interesting contributions to the conference that seemed out of kilter with the general consensus of opinion of the delegates but is it not the case that this debate is one that still needs to be argued? I'm sure that the tipping point is on its way and that the idea that interaction with online technologies offers so much more than just 'staring at a computer screen' will become stronger and will eventually become the norm. Education 2020 and the learners of Islay High School have given me even greater confidence in what I am doing in order to help contribute to the continued evolution of young learners' experiences in school. I am delighted to be in a position to do so.

Thanks to all at Islay High School (and the various distelleries) for a great time on your beautiful island.

Games encourage exercise: The Wii Fit Pentathlon!!!

I am currenrtly involved in the Games in Schools community of practice that is being managed by European Schoolnet. The idea behind this is to share the practice, expertise, experience and thoughts about games based learning in schools across Europe. The community is steadily growing and is proving to be quite enlightening in relation to what's happening in schools from Scotland to Denmark.

A colleague from Aberdeenshire, Jonathan Cordiner, who is heavily involved in all things ICT in schools up in that fine part of Scotland has been working with Wii Fit. I had doubts about how this might be used in schools due to only one board being able to be hooked up to the Wii but look at what Jonathan has organised...the Wii Fit pentathlon!

Find more videos like this on Games in schools

I'm off to meet with Jonathan tomorrow to find out just how he managed this project and what the impact on the children was...and maybe I'll have a go at the ski jumping game. I find that the use of jazz hands helps me keep my balance. ;-)

Is he really playing a PS3? I don't think so....

Have a close look at this picture. It looks like a young boy about 6 years old who appears to be playing a computer game using the sixaxis controller for the PS3. Take a closer look and maybe, like me, you'll begin to think that something's not quite right here...

First of all, look at his face: does that look like the face that children make when they are lost in a game? His bored and indifferent look suggests that maybe the computer game is not switched on at the wall!

Also, look at his posture. Again it shouts out that there is a clear lack of engagement and disinterest in what he is playing.

What on esrth is going with this young man I ask? Does he really have a PS3 that works?!!! I don't think so and neither do I think do Sony! Well this picture was taken from a short video clip that is currently being used in a new campaign by the Department of Health via their Change4Life initiative.

Take a look at the short clip from which this photo was taken and try not to feel the presence of the director at the side asking the young lad to look unhappy and unhealthy.

"That's it son, give me a big sigh, yeah, bored, that's it, you really want to be out playing football don't you son!"

I have recent experience of this attempt to reinforce uninformed and unhelpful stereotypes of game players when I accompanied a BBC crew to a school in Scotland to investigate our use of Dr Kawashima's Brain Training in schools. The editorial take was such that they wanted to show the transition form 'old school' to 'new school' by taking a shot of the kids using pencil and paper and looking 'glum' as they did this. Happy faces would then return when the DS came out! Needless to say we intervened to ask this not to happen because it's not the message that we want to give nor is it the ethos that we aim to nurture. It does look like we still have to fully address the easy negative image that has been associated with computer games. I bet the production team all went home to play with their Wii that's in the living room though ;-)

A tip for Director's who want to construct an appropriately negative image of children and games in future. Get real! Children do not look like that when they are challenged, excited and engaged by the complex environments that games can offer them. Maybe eventually the message will get through...