A Dummy’s Guide to Gamification
As an English teacher, I pride myself on having a better-than-average facility with words. I like to think I know the meanings of obscure words no one really uses and of course, new words that pop into the …
Making Games Is More Than Just Child’s Play
It’s an understatement to say that today’s kids are smarter than those of previous generations. There seems to be very little that they don’t know or have an opinion about. My kids, for example, can have prolonged discourses …
Learning Affectively Through Games
Most afternoons these days, you will find my kids and I at home playing games. Since the weather often makes it impossible for us to be outdoors, we stay in and bond over “Monopoly”, “Snakes and Ladders”, “Gin …
The Trouble With GBL
Just this week, I sat in class listening to my students give presentations on a topic of their choice. There were interesting ones about saving dolphins and wanting to be a K-pop star but also yawn-worthy ones about …
To game or not to game, that is the question
Having been a parent for the last 9 years, I have become used to worrying about virtually everything concerning my kids. Their physical development, their mental well-being, their social skills, you name it and I’ve probably worried about …
Game-Based Learning: My Journey To The Unknown
These days, I have been thinking a lot about games-based learning (GBL). This is mainly because I have found myself involved in a project to design a game based on a book I am teaching. I have to …
The Rules Of Engagement in Today’s Classroom
With a title like the one above, one would think this writer must be an expert on the subject of engaging young minds. I must admit from the outset that this is definitely not the case. Far from …
Educating the Internet Generation
As someone born in the 1970s, manoeuvring through today’s world of high-tech gadgets can be quite challenging. It seems as though you are spending half your life playing catch-up, trying to figure out how some new device works …
Raising Digital Kids
“Mummy, can we have an iPad?” For those of you with children, a question like this must sound all-too-familiar. Many parents give in and buy their little blighters the latest gizmos for a whole host of reasons. I, …