It was with great delight and utter surprise that I found myself being the lucky recipient of the Special Achievement Award at last night's Handheld Learning Awards event. This is a great accolade for me but mostly for all the local authority partners, teachers and children in Scotland who have so willingly embraced the idea of using non-traditonal ICTs in teaching and learning.
To good teachers who want to use good tools to enable good learning the concept of using commercially available games is an obvious one, particularly when they get a chance to actually play them and reflect on what impact they may have on the cognitive and affective development of children. I'm really pleased that our work has gone some way to changing the discourse about the place of games in learning and I feel that this award in some affirms or/and validates what we have are all about.
It must also be said that this would not have happened had Learning and Teaching Scotland not create the space that allowed me to establish the Consolarium and to get myself out there in schools across Scotland. It's great to be involved with a national organisation that is prepared to take informed risks that will help us continue to explore how we can ensure that the learner experience is as good as it can be.
Thank you to all those who are in some way connected with this award finding its way in to my possession.
Congratulations, Derek! A great recognition for all the work you are doing at the Consolarium.
Posted by: Neil Winton | October 14, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Congratulations on your award - you are thoroughly deserving of it. Your work out of the Consolarium is amazing and truly groundbreaking.
Posted by: Kim Pericles | October 14, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Well done. Really must get you into some Highland Schools.
Posted by: Alan Stewart | October 14, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Nae bad ava (as Jim Buchan would say)!
Posted by: Con Morris | October 14, 2008 at 11:57 AM
Thanks folks. I appreciate your comments.
Posted by: Derek Robertson | October 14, 2008 at 01:54 PM
Well done Derek!
Posted by: Marie Dougan | October 14, 2008 at 05:19 PM
Well done Derek - you're such a star :) Congrats from all your fans in the LTS content team.
What's next? We can hardly wait....
Posted by: Patricia | October 14, 2008 at 05:46 PM
Congratulations for me too, I hope to get involved with 'this sort of thing' soon.
Posted by: john | October 14, 2008 at 06:03 PM
Congratulations on the award and also fantastic to meet you and spend the last day discussing 'gaming'.
Posted by: Dawn H | October 14, 2008 at 08:31 PM
Congratulations Derek!
Posted by: David Gilmour | October 14, 2008 at 11:04 PM
and from me also. Well done and well deserved.
Posted by: jaye richards | October 15, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Congratulations Derek - that's fab news. Your kick off presentation to the EAs which was interrupted by the fire alarm seems like such a long time ago - a lot has happened since then!
Look forward to catching up and hearing all your news soon - but well done again.
Posted by: Sally Fulton | October 16, 2008 at 05:51 PM
Well done Derek!
Posted by: Lynne | October 16, 2008 at 08:16 PM
Speaking to people after the conference it seems you upset some of the old research hands - the usual suspects. At last someone who does something relevant, significant and potentially far reaching in educational research. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Donald Clark | November 03, 2008 at 02:58 AM