I recently met with Paul Durrant from Abertay University in Dundee. He is heavily involved with the Dare to be Digital competition that challenges teams of students to design a computer game for any context/audience of their choosing. This is an annual event that is gaining in size and reputation. You can view the types of games that have been created as a result of this competition by registering with the showcase area within their site.
This is where I first became aware of Rama Studios Primary Phonics application and now it seems that the educational potential that can be developed via the expertise on show in this competition can maybe impact on school in a a more general and somewhat aspirational fashion.
Learning and Teaching Scotland and Dare to be Digital have teamed up to create the Dare Edu-Challenge. We are asking the students to take a short segment of their game and use it top help illustrate to learners how maths, physics and even art can combine to create events in games. The idea is that learners can see practical applications of subjects that may sometimes appear abstract to them. Read a bit more about the competition here.
What's even more exciting is that as part of the Edinburgh Interactice Festival 07 there will be an exhibition at Dynamic Earth called Protoplay and it is anticipated that successful games in this competition will make an appearance there.
There is a great deal of talent, imagination and innovation on display in this competition and I hope that this can be applied creating some resources that can use the games context to help switch learners on to maths and physics.
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