As you all know, late last year we all saw the launch of the next generation of consoles from Microsoft and Sony. The Xbox vs Playstation rivalry continues, while online, most kids are enjoying the re-birth of old school PC gaming. Yet, from my research and talking to teachers, all the talk about technology in schools is about 1:1 mobile/tablet devices or BYOD policies, and how to maintain a technology ecosystem, so that students can be exposed to a breadth of devices, operating systems, and programs. As such, consoles rarely get a look in. Which is sad really, considering the power of these awesome platforms. An old mentor of mine used to say that schools missed a great opportunity with interactive television, and that its potential as an educational tool was never fully realised. I would totally agree with him, and I honestly think that consoles could help facilitate this. Just look at the quality of experiences that consoles offer. For example the Wii can be an awesome learning technology, with its collection of Wii Sport games, which could be used to explore physics, movement, or even statistics. Even talking about the actual hardware itself, accelerometers and gyroscopes in the wii-motes etc. There is obvious potential for great education opportunities here. Sure, it challenges some old parents that may have like, “popular culture and children’s entertainment don’t have a place in a school environment”. Well, sorry you oldies, I believe there is a role for consoles in the classroom. Just food for thought guys.
Consoles in schools
Published by theirishduck
I love the ability where I can plan, prioritise, design, develop and deliver blended learning solutions for a variety of markets. I love to consult and advise about the best use of digital learning and improve design standards in line with evolving ways of working. I also enjoy to keep up to date with, understand and regularly recommend emerging technologies and practice to improve individuals, teams and organisational capabilities. With over 12 years digital learning experience and demonstrated experience in both instructional design and eLearning development, I have also a lot of experience conducting training needs analysis including how to leverage principles such as design thinking and root cause analysis to understand and address performance gaps. I also have led many facilitation workshops and even presented at iDesignX and Game Developers Conferences both here in Australia, Wales and in the United States. I bring loads of coding experience in Java, ASM, C++, HTML, JavaScript, SCORM and xAPI, as well as proven capability using Adobe Captivate, Trivantis Lectora and Articulate Storyline 360 Studio authoring programs. Of course, Adobe Creative Cloud is also part of my toolbox which I also use daily. Being taught traditional and advanced 3D animation techniques, I love hand drawing and polymer clay sculpture, but can also use the Blender, 3D Studio Max, Maya and Softimage applications. With strong multimedia, training and programming backgrounds, I understand modern learner behaviour including micro and social learning, I am very familiar with most LMSes and app-based (XCode and Android Studio), adult learning models and e-solutions. I also possess the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, whilst being pro-active in delivering work independently with minimal supervision, but enjoy working in teams. I've been told I am a resilient, relationship focused guy which can manage and navigate conflicting views and stakeholders/subject matter experts. View more posts
Campbell Craig 