The Scottish Learning Festival is an annual event that celebrates and showcases the work and innovation that is happening in Scottish classrooms. No insular or parochial event this, Keynote speakers from around the world regularly deliver their take on a wide range of topics to packed audiences.
This year's event promises to be yet another successful one with a number of particularly interesting seminars in place. Games based learning is well represented here. This post on the LTS Consolarium blog details what's happening in this field.
However, what I'm looking forward is the Game Zone Challenge! We have set up a couple of computer game competitions for schools across Scotland to get involved with. These are:
We have set up groups within Glow, the Scottish schools national intranet, and this is where we hope that teachers and pupils will share their work and collaborate around the context of the competition, the game and the associated curricular work that can come out of this.
Now if you get along to the Gamezone Challenge be prepared for a show. We hope to have a PA, large screens, lights AND a dry ice machine for the Guitar Hero Challenge.... Rock and Roll! We're still working on ideas for the Olympics challenge...
There will also be a Dr Kawashima challenge on both days with teachers, and pupils if they're good enough, having a go aBest scores will feature on a leader board and the top eight will appear on stage at the end of the day to compete in the x30 download challenge. A rather tasty prize is on offer here...
To end the Gamezone Challenge we aim to have a pass the mic sing-a-long for delegates who want to come up and sing a line or two from a classic rock track. This will use a game called Rockband for the Xbox 360 and the guest vocalists will be ably accompanied by the LTS 'Rockband' backing band.
If you are a teacher in Scotland then get involved with the competitions and if you are a delegate from outside Scotland come along, cheer the players and maybe get on stage and share your best heavy metal howl. Now just off to perfect my Rob Halford high notes ;-)
Really a good challenge.This will bring awareness among the people who are interested in playing guitar and helps them in improving their knowledge.
Posted by: Guitar teacher | September 08, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Hi Derek, spoke to you a few weeks ago at Handheld Technologies Conference. Have been doing a project in a secondary school using DS Lites and Dr Kawashima's Brain Training. Just thought I'd let you know we've just been inspected by Ofsted. An inspector saw a lesson using the Nintendos. Lesson was graded 'outstanding' with an innovative use of IT. Contact me if you'd like to know more!
Posted by: June Fisher | November 12, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Hi Derek, spoke to you a few weeks ago at Handheld Technologies Conference. Have been doing a project in a secondary school using DS Lites and Dr Kawashima's Brain Training. Just thought I'd let you know we've just been inspected by Ofsted. An inspector saw a lesson using the Nintendos. Lesson was graded 'outstanding' with an innovative use of IT. Contact me if you'd like to know more!
Posted by: June Fisher | November 12, 2008 at 01:11 PM
June,
Please do tell me more!!! Give me a shout on d.robertson@ltscotland.org.uk and you can let me know how things were perceived. Great news.
Posted by: Derek Robertson | November 12, 2008 at 11:12 PM