Games for Health

Carrot not stick.

Almost a year ago, I wrote an article called ‘Games Based Healing’ which featured games that help people learn about illnesses, how to self-heal and more through games.  This article featured games to help those with dementia, autism, cystic fibrosis, depression, stroke, dyslexia and post-traumatic stress disorder.  Since then, I have come across a few more articles about how games are helping people to learn about, cope with and beat health issues.

Depression

Depression featured in our post previously mentioned, however, this great article also argues that games could have great potential to help people with depression.  It lists 3 games/apps: Depression Quest, SPARX and MoodTune which have been developed specifically for people with depression.  The article also discusses a therapist’s use of games in sessions.  She uses them as a therapeutic tool to get children talking and working through their troubles.  A gamer’s perspective is also shared, suggesting that games have positive and negative effects for people suffering from depression, but that games specifically designed to treat depression can be fantastically useful.

Stroke

A game for helping stroke victims recover was also featured in our previous post.  However, a game, Stroke Hero has also been developed to help teach children to recognise the signs of a stroke.  The game has had great success so far.  Click here for more information.

Asthma

Wellapets is a game designed to help children handle their asthma.  The game features a pet dragon which the player must look after, including giving them their inhaler.  It aims to motivate positive behaviour change, reduce stigma, teach about symptoms and how to avoid common triggers.  Read more here.

Autism

Again, Autism featured on the previous list.  However, this article features a list of apps that have been designed to help children on the Autism spectrum to communicate.  There are quite a few apps, some of which are free and some not.

Breast Cancer

Cancer Research UK has developed a game to help them analyse a large amount of genetic data collected from their studies.  The game is called Play to Cure: Genes in Space.  Players are encouraged to go on space missions, but the game environment maps directly to scientific data.  It might be a little difficult to get your head around just how they have managed this, but this sort of innovation is a fantastic use of games and perhaps we’ll see more of it in the future.  Click here to read more.

I hope this emphasises that games can be used in a wide variety of ways and that games based learning is extremely broad.  Games are as varied as any other medium and can be used as such.  And as this post hopefully suggests, games can do a lot of good and help a lot of people.

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Why Organisational Gamification was Inevitable and Not a Fad

I believe that there are several factors which made Gamification of organisations inevitable.  It is often
criticised for being a fad.  I think that there are some aspects of it which could be.  For example, the dreaded ‘badges and leader boards’ definition of Gamification is unbelievably limiting and that aspect might be short-lived.  However, there are elements of Gamification which represent the larger economy, general opinion and the direction for organisations into the future.  It is something much deeper than superficial badges (although they have their merits too).  This is what Gamification should be understood as, what should be taken from games and it is happening right now.

First, the power of gaming as a medium is growing.  The ‘games cause violence’ pack is dwindling, just as it did for every new entertainment medium before (television, radio etc.).  Gamers are not geeky, social outcasts; everyone can be a gamer and many are.  Games are going mobile, casual and social.  Games are big business and on the rise.  If you are interested in the stats, get your fill from PWC here.  I am sure you are all aware of the huge success of Grand Theft Auto Five.  The game made $1 billion in the first three days of being sold.  The fastest film to reach the $1 billion mark was The Avengers, in 19 days.  Games are big news and it is inevitable that they would have an influence over other aspects of our lives.

Second, Gamification has evolved from 21st century organisational needs.  In some cases it has slipped in unnoticed, in other cases it as added an extra twist to an existing management trend.  There are ways that Gamification is relevant today, inevitable and not a fad and the points below show why this is the case and what organisations should be taking from games and translating into Gamification:

• Feedback – games allow constant feedback and Gamification can be used in this way.  This fits with other organisational trends, such as the breaking down of communication barriers across the organisation, at different levels.  It also allows the organisation to exert control and monitor, but in a constructive way that is more carrot than stick.  It also marries up with Generation Y’s need for constant feedback as they move into organisations (see ‘Motivating Generation X and Y with Gamfication’).
• Competition – games can promote competition, against others but also yourself.  Players are able to see feedback about how they performed and strive to better this performance.  This can be a powerful use of Gamification.  Businesses need to remain competitive.  Especially in a recession and when innovation and market dynamism are so powerful.  Encouraging competition within the workforce, giving employees more autonomy and allowing them to self-monitor can help this process along.  Gamification is therefore, a natural and fun progression of this.
• Teamwork – A lot of games and Gamification promote and facilitate teamwork.  There has been a huge move to making use of teams in organisations due to their self-management, innovation and so on.  Teams are a part of the ‘Japanisation’ of the Western organisation.  Gamification, therefore, can be seen as an extension of this, a means to promote collaboration and cooperation.
• Learning and Development – Organisations have come to appreciate the power of their human resources, especially in terms of their capacity for good ideas, creativity and innovation.  They, therefore, want their employees to be lifelong learners and to constantly develop their skills and expertise.  Organisations can no longer promise to offer a ‘job for life’, so they have moved to support employees’ employability.  Games require constant learning and development of skills and Gamification could be the next frontier for this in organisations.
• Creativity – Games are fantastic for generating creative problem-solving and innovative thinking.  They require it and reward it.  These skills are needed for 21st Century businesses to survive and thrive.  Therefore, Gamification should be used to reflect and encourage this.  See our post, '21st Century Skills and Games Based Learning'.
• Change and Flexibility – Games often require the player to be adaptable to change.  The current economic climate and dog eat dog nature of capitalism means that the business world is extremely chaotic and dynamic.  Employees and organisations need to be responsive, flexible and welcoming of change.  Gamification could be great at encouraging this outlook and culture amongst organisations.
• Fun – There is a move to make work more fun.  Organisations are now more aware of the benefits of a ‘carrot’ approach to motivation, as well as the creative benefits of having a fun office.  For example, Google offices have slides, scooters, lava lamps, pianos and so on, all designed to promote creativity, collaboration and innovation (as well as keeping people at work longer and feeling they owe the organisation).  Generation Y also work to fund their lifestyle as this is the most important motivator for them.  So organisations try to bring this ‘lifestyle’ into work.  They are motivated by something more than the money itself.  These things also represent youth and dynamism, which are championed by many organisations.  The Gamification of spaces and processes at work is probably the most apparent usage.

I study management and organisations, so this area as well as GBL and Gamification interest me greatly.  It strikes me that Gamification embodies many of the directions that management is taking in the 21st Century.  The fact that we now have a name for it doesn’t make it a fad.  The term Gamification has more scope than badges and leaderboards and many game-like elements have been translated into management.  Organisations might not see how games can help them yet.  But, with the growing strength and following of games as an entertainment and learning medium, I don’t think it will be too long until they catch on.  This could be just the beginning for Gamification.

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15 Games Based Learning Articles and News

This post is a collection of interesting articles about Games Based Learning.  Some of them are pedagogical, some are more practical; there should be a good mix.

Image courtesy of Kevin Jarrett on Flickr.

1. Video Games Becoming Required Coursework in Schools 
2. Building Social Skills and Literacy Through Gaming 
3. MIT Unleashes New Online Game for Math and Science 
4. The Pedagogies in Games Based Learning: A Case Study of Teacher Attitudes and Perceptions 
5. What Research Says about Game-Based Learning 
6. Designing the Future of Games, Learning and Assessment 
7. Teaching Empathy Through Digital Game Play 
8. Researchers See Video Games as Testing, Learning Tools 
9. Disruptions: Minecraft, an Obsession and an Educational Tool 
10. When to Teach Physics with ‘Angry Birds’ 
11. Making Games Based Learning Sustainable Outside the Classroom 
12. Teachers’ Quick Guide on the Use of Games in Education: Learn how to educationally integrate games into your teaching 
13. How to Use Games With Your Students 
14. Ed Tech Review: Game Based Learning in Education 
15. Success Stories – Compilation on Game-Based Learning Initiatives in Adults’ Education 

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What Can g-Learning Designers Learn from Commercial Games?

First of all, if you don’t know what g-Learning is, have a look at our post “g-Learning: Is this the learning term we have been looking for?”.  Then have a look at the infographic courtesy of topwebdesignschools.org and our insight below.


Source: TopCollegesOnline.org

So, what can we learn from the above infographic?  Does it contain any useful information for g-Learning designers?  We think so.  There are some useful reassurances about perceptions of games and some interesting demographic insight (average game player is 30 years of age).  However, we think that g-Learning designers should take note to the types of games and gameplay that feature on this list as the ‘top’ games.  The top games on the list can be split into several broad genres:

• Adventure (e.g. Assassin’s Creed, Halo)
• Sport (e.g. FIFA, Madden NFL)
• Strategy (e.g. Age of Empires, The Sims)
• Party (e.g. Just Dance, Guitar Hero)

This is useful in itself, as g-Learning designers could design their games around these genres/styles.  However, what interests me, is how most of these games are famously played cooperatively.  Obviously you can play most of them solo, people may only ever play them solo and some of them can only really be played solo (e.g. The Sims).  However, by and large, the top games seem to be the ones which allow cooperation and collaboration.

This is interesting, as it suggests yet again that gamers aren’t all anti-social loners and that this view of gaming is seriously outdated (see our article, “Gamer Myths: Infographic and 10 Facts").  However, for g-Learning designers, it suggests that perhaps we should be creating more collaborative learning games.  Perhaps these are the most enjoyable or engaging.  Click here for a case study of one of our collaborative learning games, to see how we do it.  Interestingly, our market for sim-uni is also adults.  Click here to see our “Adult Games Based Learning and sim-uni” post.

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Women and Game Design

This week, we thought we'd share an infographic with you.  One of our fans from webdesigndegreecenter.org alerted us to it.  Hopefully it will be inspirational for some of our readers (and particularly young women, like myself).  If you would like to learn more about easy ways to get into
programming, click here or click here for more about designing a learning simulation.


Source: WebDesignDegreeCenter.org

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A Games Based Learning Manifesto: 10 Thoughts for Discussion

The following manifesto is some thoughts that have cropped up over the course of this blog and some new ones. We would welcome your thoughts, and together maybe we can create some guiding principles that might help move the technology forward.

1. Use the “G” word sparingly. 
In education you might be able to get away with games based learning, but in the commercial sector it is usually better to stick with terms like learning simulations. “Serious Games” gathered some traction but is somewhat of an oxymoron.

2. Don’t believe the hype (or more accurately understand that clients might believe the hype)
“The minute they see me, fear me
I’m the epitome - a public enemy”
Don’t believe the Hype, Public Enemy.

Games bring with them a lot of baggage. Titles such as Grand Theft Auto are controversial, but games in general are seen as trivial and time wasters. Sell to the believers (innovators and early adopters) and provide them with the ammunition to succeed in their mission of gaining buy-in in their organisation.

3. Don’t sell the sizzle, sell the WHY.
While selling benefits rather than features might be perfectly sensible for products that have become commoditised, that is not the case with innovations. As Simon Sinek says we should “start with why” - . What inspired us to develop games based learning? Sell that why. Tell that story. Inspire others and create a movement.

4. Learning design trumps game gimmicks
If (for example) 3D graphics and a first person perspective help the learning, then use them; if they don’t, then don’t use them. Not only do they add to the cost of development, they are aesthetically tied to entertainment games and make games based learning look trivial and so on.

5. Real enough, not really boring
Whilst the simulation “models” a situation, it is not a model in the strictest sense. A learning simulation needs to be real enough to allow learners to quickly explore a situation without getting too bogged down in detail.

6. Don’t crowbar games into the solution
Just because we can develop games doesn’t mean that they are the correct solution to a particular problem - apropos games.

7. Games = game changers
Games can reach the parts of learning other methods can’t. We need to look for intractable learning problems. Complex issues that are hard to explain with traditional learning methods fit the bill, as does the need to engage large numbers of people. Death by PowerPoint won’t work in these situations.

8. Gamification and serious games / simulations are not the same thing
As Andrzej Marczewski points out, gamification shares some aspects with games such as scores, leader boards, badges (rewards). But, serious games / simulations incorporate game play. And serious games / simulations differ from entertainment games, which are only played for fun. This fact has design and marketing implications and is more than a simple semantic issue ‘about names’.

9. Glammed up quizzes aren’t really games
They are tests in disguise. Games take many forms but they have traits such as problem solving, narrative approach, situational reference (simulations), challenges, jeopardy, interactivity, engagement etc. While a quiz might be engaging if there is a potential to win a million, they are not going to expand learning much.

10. Fads can become mainstream
"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." -- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

The law of Diffusion of Innovation (Everett Rogers) shows how innovations are taken up by innovators, then early adopters, then come the early majority, the late majority pile in and finally the laggards turn up. Games based learning is still in the early adopter phase and we should be marketing to these types of customers. But to go mainstream, as Geoffrey A Moore states, we will need to cross the chasm, by building momentum and creating a bandwagon effect that the pragmatists will take notice of.

---

References
Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey A. Moore (1991, revised 1999)
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, Simon Sinek (2011)
What’s the difference between Gamification and Serious Games? Andrzej Marczewski
Game Mechanics in Gamification, Andrzej Marczewski

10 Serious Games with Serious Messages

I wrote an article back in 2012 called “11 Educational Games for Social Good”.  Since then, more serious games with serious messages have been made.  This list of ten includes games to teach about financial management, the environment, social issues and so on.  The games are all aimed at different ages but many could easily be used in schools.

1. Marine Missions - A game designed by the National Geographic Society to teach children about ocean animals and the importance of water.
2. Budget Hero - This game puts the player in charge of government spending and aims to teach about financial management and decision making.  There is also information specifically for teachers wanting to use the game in class: http://www.teachbudgethero.org/.
3. HeartSaver: An Experimental News Game - The aim of the game is to “Save as many heart attack victims as possible by getting them to the best emergency room in time”.
4. Plan it Green Live - A city builder game to teach about being environmentally friendly and making people aware of the latest ‘green’ technologies.
5. Dafur is Dying - The game “provides a window into the experience of the 2.5 million refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. Players must keep their refugee camp functioning in the face of possible attack by Janjaweed militias”.
6. Bite Club - The game aims to teach about saving for retirement, paying down debt and managing consumption as players manage a "day club" for vampires.
7. Gauging your Distraction - The game shows how external distractions (in this case, texting) affect drivers’ reaction times.
8. Half the Sky Movement - I play this game as a Facebook app and I love it.  It aims to educate people about women’s issues and oppression around the world.
9. Quandary - “Players aged 8-14 shape the future of a new society while learning how to recognize ethical issues and deal with challenging situations in their own lives”.
10. Financial Football - This is a fast-paced game that engages students while teaching them money management skills.  Teams compete by answering financial questions to win their (American) football game.

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Gamer Myths – Infographic and 10 Facts

As you can gather from around our blog (e.g. ‘Games Develop Social Bonds and Communication Skills’, '11 Educational Games for Social Good’ and ‘21st Century Skills and Games Based Learning’), we believe that games can do a whole lot of good.  They can teach people, heal people (see ‘Games Based Healing’), encourage positive behaviour (see ‘The Fun Theory’), impart skills and enlarge existing capacities, promote conversation and friendships (see ‘The Art of Conversation’) and so on and so forth.

I wanted to share with you a fantastic infographic that further ‘debunks’ some gamer myths, followed by some other interesting facts and figures.  Hopefully these will help to convince people (especially parents) that games aren’t all bad and can actually do a lot of good.  And some of the facts suggest that most parents actually do appreciate this.  Hopefully the education system isn’t far behind…?

Infographic courtesy of  Lumosity. Click for larger image.

This article contains many interesting gamer facts, but some stick out in particular:

• 68% of parents believe that game play provides mental stimulation or education
• 57% believe games encourage their family to spend to time together
• 54% believe that game play helps their children connect with their friends
• 61% of surveyed CEOs and CFOs are playing games during their working hours
• 46.6% of surveyed German employees playing games during working hours: daily, 10.0%; several times a week, 15.5%; once a week, 7.0%; once per month, 3.6%; less than once per month, 10.6%
• Average age of gamers in years: 37 (has also been playing for average of 12 years)
• % of female gamers: 42 (In fact, women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater  portion of the game-playing population (37 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (13 percent).)
• % of gamers older than Fifty (2011): 29 (an increase from 9% in 1999)
• Percent of gamers who play games with other gamers in person: 65
• 91% of the time parents are present at the time games are purchased or rented.

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25 Games Based Learning Articles (and Infographic)

The past few weeks I have been discussing the merits and practicalities of teaching children to program (Part 1: Why is Teaching Children to Program so Important?).  This is a topic close to our hearts and is obviously related to games based learning.  However, it is coming at it from a very different angle.  So this week I thought I’d offer you a round up of 25 more traditional games based learning articles (and an infographic).

Infographic courtesy of The Knowledge Guru. Click here for full sized image.

1. Mario Kart in the Classroom: the rise of games-based learning - A great article from a converted sceptic of games based learning.
2. Why Game Based Learning = Good Classroom Practice - Why the rules that govern well designed learning games apply equally well to good classroom practice, including four principles incorporated into most powerful learning games.
3. The School Where Learning is a Game - A case study of Quest, a school in America that uses games to teach.
4. 7 Reasons for Games Based Learning - Reasons why games should be incorporated into children’s learning experience, including narrative, emotional engagement and freedom to fail.
5. How do you Teach Empathy? Harvard Pilots Game Simulation - A group of Harvard education researchers develop a game that enables players to develop their understanding of other people’s perspectives and empathy.
6. Mediocrity versus Mastery: The Case for Game-Based Learning - Explains how games based learning makes sense in the 21st century and how games can train children to get excited about driving their own education.
7. Embalm Your Own Egyptian Mummy On-line! - a game that teaches children about the processes involved with embalming a mummy.
8. Why Learning Games Succeed Where Traditional Learning Fails - Including that they are realistic and social.
9. Using Fantasy in Instructional Games - Research that shows that fantasy can aid learning.
10. Learn to Play and Play to Learn: The Secret to Games That Teach - Some of the merits of games based learning, including the more motivating nature of a Game Over screen than an F on a test, as well as the importance of good design in educational games.
11. CHERMUG mini-games for research methods and statistics - Games to teach university level students research methods and statistics.
12. Games Teach! - A retort to an article, ‘Games Don’t Teach’.  Contains some good pieces of research that show the merits of games, including “Wolfe (1997) found a game-based approach produced significant knowledge level increases. (7 studies)”
13. Teaching Like a Game Designer - A checklist for teachers to design learning games (not just computer games), including defining the goal and rules and how the player receives feedback.
14. Mobile Game Get Water Teaches About Water Scarcity with Good Gameplay and Narrative - A fun game to teach children about social issues such as water scarcity, gender inequality and educational problems.
15. Game based Learning – Why Does it Work? - Defines what fun can mean in games, essential elements for learning and how game elements meet learning needs.
16. Cognitive Flow: The Psychology of Great Game Design - looks at how game design can lead to cognitive flow which is the ideal state for learning.
17. Playful Learning: Computer Games in Education - A presentation from Microsoft Education that explains the merits of games based learning, making games, overcoming challenges and so on.
18. Games For Good - Tired of simply defending games and explaining why they aren’t bad, the author tries to explain how games can actively lead to good.  Includes a run down of what some popular games such as Civilisation and Assassin’s Creed taught them (e.g. history, geography, navigation, Italian…).
19. The Big Five: Five Reasons Why Educational Games Work - Includes less talked about reasons such as the fact that they allow players/learners to continually practice complex concepts, that proper utilisation of avatars can reduce barriers like self confidence, that games can lead to affinity groups and so on.
20. Game-Based vs Traditional Learning – What’s the Difference? - Includes factors such as authenticity and creativity.
21. Lame-based Learning - The author despairs about how people view games based learning.  For example, how they see it as an adjunct to a serious curriculum.
22. APPitic - Not an article, but a site that lists educational apps by age, topic etc.
23. Game Design: The Key to Education? - How to make learning environments more engaging using principles of game play e.g. solving problems builds expertise, learning happens by doing and so on.
24. 10 Ways Teachers Are Using MMORPGs In The Classroom - Including for behaviour management, science, to promote collaboration etc.
25. 50 Awesome Videos for Gaming Teachers - a collection of videos about using games in education.

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Eight Popular Video Games That Should be Integrated into Primary Education

The following is a guest post from Emily Steves, a freelance writer and contributor associated with Cartoon Network.  She has selected eight Cartoon Network games which are a fun way to teach children important skills such as concentration, problem solving and time management.  We welcome guest posts, if you would like to contribute, please send your articles to pfinfo@pixelfountain.co.uk and we will get back to you.

It is always recommended to seek new and innovative methods of education for children. This is especially the case when dealing with those in primary education. Sometimes keeping young children’s attention focused can be a lot more difficult than imagined. However, the utilisation of games and cartoons online can be highly beneficial. They provide a great teaching tool. Read on to discover eight popular games you should consider integrating into primary education.

Tom and Jerry Trap-o-Matic
In this game the child will play as Tom. They will have to use different devices in order to devise a trap that will entice Jerry and result in him ending up in the mouse trap. This game revolves around the utilisation of space, efficiency, problem solving and thinking ahead.

Feedback Jigsaw
This jigsaw game is based on Ben 10. Ben 10 is a favourite amongst many children at the moment and because the cartoon is still in production it is highly relevant. This is a great game to encourage children to play because it enhances their level of concentration and requires a lot of focus.

Tom and Jerry Colour-In
At number three there is another Tom and Jerry game, however this one is extremely different in comparison to the first game that was mentioned. This game requires children to colour in different pictures from the popular cartoon. This is a great way to bring out children’s artistic side whilst also focusing on concentration and precision as well.

Bravo Goalie
This is a Johnny Bravo game and it revolves around the popular sport of football. The child will need to try and score a goal past the goalkeeper who happens to be Johnny Bravo himself. This game is beneficial because it revolves around time management and precision.

Gwen Dress Up
As this is a dress up game it is much more likely to be suited to girls. Nevertheless, it is worth implementing because it brings out a child’s creative side. In addition to this, they develop artistic taste and can learn about colour complimenting and contrasting.

Evil Switch
This game is based on the show called The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. In this game the child must swap tiles so that they can create matching sets of three or more. This game is highly beneficial because it deals with enhancing a child’s logical thinking. Moreover, time management is involved because of the countdown feature.

Whuzzat?
This is another game associated with Johnny Bravo. The concept of the game is simple but highly effective. The player will hear a series of sounds and they will have to play them back in the correct order. This involves using all senses and helps develop children’s memorisation skills.

Astro Quiz
In this game your child gets to play as any cartoon character and they have to answer a series of questions about different cartoons. This gets children used to the format of quizzes and examinations in order to make the transition a lot easier.

If you are looking for innovative ways to get primary children learning then you should definitely consider integrating one of these eight games into the education you teach – or you can even use all eight! They help children with key areas of development whilst also containing the key ingredient of fun. Playing games and experiencing cartoons online are great tools for teaching in the modern day.

Author Bio
Ms Emily is a freelance writer and contributor associated with Cartoon Network. She has experience in writing articles for kids and their activities. She has written various articles on kids games, cartoons online such us Batman, tom and jerry cartoon, ben ten ultimate alien games etc for different kids blogs.

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Games Develop Social Bonds and Communication Skills

For a long time, many people have assumed that ‘gamers’ are unsociable, loners with poor social skills who reside in their dark bedrooms, only venturing outside to fulfil their basic needs.  However, research shows that this is far from the truth.

Some research does indicate that playing first person shooters such as Halo and Call of Duty does impact negatively on the players’ relationships.  However, that seems to be more to do with the way that people play games than the games themselves.  Research from Benjamin Hickerson at The Pennsylvania State University has found that some gamers play the game primarily as a way to reinforce social bonds.  In-game features such as cooperative modes and multiplayer options make playing games socially both easy and attractive.  The research shows that among this group of social game players, the games help build social ties and enhance social support.

Hickerson’s research suggests that indicators, such as the amount of time and money spent on games, are not related to gamers’ success in maintaining social ties.  He  argues that “Players may actually be doing something positive when gaming becomes a way for games to connect with friends who they otherwise may not be able to spend time with, especially friends who they are not near geographically.”

Hickerson’s study measured centrality (the need to organise ones’ life around the activity) against social bonding.  ‘Centrality’ scores indicated that on the whole, peoples’ social lives were not adversely affected by gaming, although there were a minority that were implicated.  However, Hickerson believes that games may be able to help.  He argues that this information could help video game designers create games that identify socially problematic behaviours (i.e. excessive centrality) and include features in the games that help the players maintain friendships and relationships.

But do games not already do this?  As well as playing in cooperative and multiplayer modes as I mentioned earlier, experts believe that MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games), may actually “promote sociability and new worldviews.”  Experts have described these virtual worlds as a new kind of ‘third space’ (a place for social interaction and relationships, outside of home and work).  For many people, they are the preferred way of meeting and hanging out with people, when in the past they may have gone to the pub or to a café.  The study titled, “Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as ‘Third Places.’” suggests that the cause of this phenomenon is the lack of real-world hangouts.

In these games, people can hold multiple real-time conversations using text or their voices through microphones.  The study explains that this can enable them to build “relationships of status and solidarity.”  Often, the games reward people for creating long-term relationships and lasting player ‘guilds’ and it can be difficult to play some MMORPGs without doing so.  This is exactly what Hickerson was talking about.

Researchers Steinkuehler and Williams also found that participation in these virtual ‘third places’ “appears particularly well suited to the formation of bridging social capital – social relationships that, while not usually providing deep emotional support, typically function to expose the individual to a diversity of worldviews… In other words… spending time in these social games helps people meet others not like them, even if it doesn’t always lead to strong friendships. That kind of social horizon-broadening has been sorely lacking in American society for decades.”

The authors explain that “To argue that their MMO game play is isolated and passive media consumption that takes the place of informal social engagement is to ignore the nature of what participants actually do behind the computer screen… It’s really a question of what kind of balance the person has in their life… that reason, online spaces are not a one-size-fits-all phenomenon that can simply be labelled ‘good’ or ‘bad.’”

I completely agree, in that the stereotypical view I described in the first paragraph of this post describes very few people who enjoy games.  In my opinion, you could describe many other people in this way who read books, like films, spend their lives on Pinterest and so on.  In my opinion, it is not the activity, but the personality of the individual that defines whether they are sociable or not.

There is much research like that above which shows that games can encourage social interaction and increase social skills and bonds.  Games are increasingly becoming a social activity akin to the past where a family may have gathered around a piano or radio.  You can hardly argue that consoles such as the Wii and Xbox Kinect weren’t designed to be used socially.

One of the factors that actually encourages learning has been found to be social interaction.  Therefore, there is huge scope for cooperative games based learning such as the games in my blog article: ‘Kinect Games Based Learning’ and those that we at games-ED develop.  We have delivered over 450 workshops using games based learning and we find that our simulations are a great tool for encouraging cooperation, teamwork and building bonds.

We also firmly believe that games can be great talking points and can encourage communication skills.  For more research and expertise in this area, see our blog posts: ‘The Art of Conversation’ and ‘Developing Communication Skills via Games Based Learning’.

Resources:

• Hickerson, B., & Mowen, A. (in press). Behavioral and Psychological Involvement of Online Video Gamers: Gateways or Barriers to Social Integration? Society & Leisure.
• Steinkuehler, C., and Williams, D. (2006). Where everybody knows your (screen) name: Online games as “third places.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(4), article 1.

11 Educational Games for Social Good

As you may have read in my previous blog post, ‘10 Design Considerations when Developing a Learning Game’, I am currently involved in a project developing a science game for students.  However, the game also aims to educate children about certain lifestyle choices: diet, exercise, drugs, smoking and so on.  Therefore, it will be useful in PSHEE (Personal, Health, Social and Economic education) classes and the wider curriculum.  The game has, therefore, inspired me to write about educational games that aim to encourage social good.

I spoke briefly in my blog article, ‘The Fun Theory’ about how gamification can be used to encourage social good among adults.  For example, to encourage drivers not to speed, to encourage recycling, charitable giving, exercise and so on.  However, there are many educational games that have been designed to teach children about social areas such as politics and sustainability and to encourage good behaviours.

A study from the School of Education at Mills College in California has analysed the link between teenagers' gaming behaviour and their civic engagement offline.  The study aimed to discover whether teenagers with more ‘civic gaming experience’ were more likely to engage in real-world activities such as participating in a demonstration and giving or raising money for charity.  ‘Civic games’ include games that allow players to help other players and those that explore social or ethical issues.

The study found that 70% of the teenagers who were frequent civic gamers said they donated to charity, while only 51% with little civic-gaming experience donated.  61% of civic gamers also said they were interested in politics, compared to 41% for infrequent civic gamers.  The study also found that mainstream online role-playing games, such as World of Warcraft, that don't contain explicit social messages could still encourage socially ‘good’ behaviours.  This is because they encourage collaboration, negotiation, mentoring of ‘newbies’ and so on.  Critics argue that students naturally more inclined to donating to charity etc, will be more drawn to these games in the first place.  However, the researchers argue that while that is true, the games still probably do encourage behaviours in all players, just slightly more in these people.

So what games are out there?

Understanding different ways of life

Real Lives randomly assigns players to characters from different parts of the world.  They must guide their characters' decisions regarding work, health, education, and love based on the opportunities and disadvantages of that society.

ICED (I Can End Deportation) allows you to play an immigrant teen trying to earn U.S. citizenship and steer clear of the law - but avoiding trouble is harder than it seems.

Charities and Business

Food Force teaches children about world hunger as well as the challenges of relief work as they guide food-aid missions to an imaginary island called Sheylan.

Karma Tycoon challenges players to earn good karma and learn the financial logistics of running a non-profit organization such as an animal shelter or a senior centre.  They must strike a balance between quality of service and helping a certain number of people.

Sweatshop sees the player in charge of off shore manufacturing.  They must make their business a success while taking their staff into account.  Faced by a series of moral dilemmas, they must choose to put people or profits first.

Politics and Leadership

Democracy2 sees the player ruling an imaginary country.  They must bolster the economy, keep the peace, protect the environment and still win the next election.

PeaceMaker allows players to try their hand at brokering a solution to the Middle East conflict as either the Israeli prime minister or the Palestinian president while juggling the demands and limitations of leadership.

Sustainaville puts a group of people in charge of a virtual community.  They are split into teams such as local council, health and transport and must run a sustainable community.  Sustainaville tackles issues around sustainable development such as environment, health, crime, economy, poverty and resource use.

The Environment and Climate Change

Operation: Climate Control challenges players to choose which new technologies and energy policies to invest in to clear up the skies.  If they succeed in making the right choices, they can watch as clouds of pollution float away.

PowerUp by IBM challenges players with saving the imaginary planet Helios from ecological destruction.  They must carry out missions to supply solar, wind, and water power before severe storms wreak havoc.

The Climate Game looks at the issue of climate change. Eight teams are responsible for reducing the community’s carbon footprint. They need to achieve this while at the same time keeping the lights on and making sure that the community remains a pleasant and economically vibrant place to live and work.

Please follow @paulladley on Twitter, games-ED on Pinterest and like games-ED’s Facebook and Google+ pages for blog updates and other interesting games based learning things.

Three “Games Based Learning” Development Tools Explored

Developing with Adobe Flash

A lot of the games based learning products that I have developed over the years have been done using Flash. Adobe’s Flash is a fantastic tool and creates efficient code (a small file size that is great for web work) but is not necessarily that easy to use for non-programmers. In the last year, I have had a look at some other tools, which can be used to develop games based learning (even if that is not their primary purpose). This blog post is an overview my findings.

Captivate and other Rapid Development Tools
I have used Captivate within the context of e-Learning experiments and have blogged about these before at http://www.games-based-learning.com/2011/10/instructional-design-e-learning-and.html. The Situated example was an attempt to push Captivate to its limits. The SITUATED-training (http://www.pixelfountain.co.uk/captivate-situated-training-demo.html) course puts the trainee in a virtual setting where they need to visit various locations, talk to characters and interact with objects. The instructional design embeds a system simulation inside a dynamic story line. At the end of the training, the trainee is presented with a dynamic end report that shows what they did and didn’t do. The example I developed was a mini project management game, but the approach could be used in humanities and science education.

Captivate is traditionally used for system simulations, but it has a simple scripting language that can be used to control variables, visibility of screen objects etc. It is a bit clunky for people with programming experience, but as you can see from my SITUATED-training example, it can used to develop quite sophisticated solutions. For this reason and the fact that it feels more robust, I would rank Captivate above rapid development tools such as Articulate and Lectora.

Note: My experiments were done using Captivate 5.5 and I note that version 6 is now available.

Construct
Following on from a games workshop design project (http://www.games-ed.co.uk/games-design-workshop.html) with school children in St Helens (Merseyside, UK) I developed a prototype of the chosen design – Eco-Busters. Partly because I wanted to avoid the slow development process of Flash, I fished around the Internet for a game development tool. I settled on Construct 2 from http://www.scirra.com/. Scirra state that Construct allows you to create games effortlessly. They say Construct is a ground breaking HTML5 windows game engine that lets anyone make games without any programming experience.

My experience was that Construct is indeed powerful and easy to get into. But, the caveat I would give is that I have been programming on and off for 30 years – how time flies :( Anyway, I would say that Construct is a tad more difficult than Captivate but is infinitely cheaper in that it is free and Captivate is £850 on the Adobe site.

The Eco-Busters prototype can be found at http://www.pixelfountain.co.uk/Eco-Busters/ Note the game is HTML5, so you will need IE9 or Google Chrome or Firefox. The game is far from complete, but you will get the idea of what Construct can do. Make sure you read the instructions as the children’s design required an intricate method for controlling two characters.  Also, there are other examples on http://www.scirra.com/.

MIT App Inventor for Android Devices
I was recently looking for a tool to develop mobile apps and again I wanted something that was quick to get into. App Inventor lets you develop applications for Android phones using a web browser and either a connected phone or emulator. Originally developed by Google, App Inventor has been made open source and has been taken on by MIT see http://appinventor.mit.edu/.

You build apps by working with:
 The App Inventor Designer, where you select the components for your app.
 The App Inventor Blocks Editor, where you assemble program blocks that specify how the components should behave. You assemble programs visually, fitting pieces together like pieces of a puzzle.

Once I had got the App Inventor loaded and connected to my phone, which was a bit fiddly due to me having to find a USB driver on the HTC website, everything worked smoothly. Overall the programming environment was straightforward and powerful. The blocks editor might be slightly tortuous for accomplished programmers but the visual approach will suit the novice. In fact, I did a little bit of programming with my 11 year old.

At this stage, I haven’t developed any games based learning, but App Inventor shows potential for gamified quizzes and one of the tutorials is a Whack-A-Mole game.

Conclusion
The above three development tools are not the only tools out there. I chose the above tools as they were easy to get into but also were more than simple presentation builders. Please feel free to comment on any tools that you have used.

Digital Games in the Classroom

A recent study by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center has produced some interesting findings about games based learning.  The full article can be found here.  I have selected the best snippets (in black) and provided some of my thoughts (in green).

“New York, NY, May 2, 2012 - The first national survey of teachers who are using digital games as part of their students' instruction, released today by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, found that digital games are becoming a consistent and valuable part of classroom activities. Fifty percent of teachers of grades K-8 reported they are using digital games with their students two or more days a week, with 18 percent using them daily.” 


…  


“Nearly 70 percent of educators reported that lower-performing students engage more with subject content with use of digital games, while three-fifths reported increased attention to specific tasks and improved collaborations among all students. Teachers said games make it easier to teach a range of learners in their classroom. Sixty percent said that using digital games helps personalize instruction and better assess student knowledge and learning.”


We have found similar benefits of games based learning in the classroom, as discussed in Proof of the Pudding parts 1, 2 and 3.  Sir. Ken Robinson argued that collaboration is increasingly important today in the world of work (see blog post) and this is one of the main focuses of games-ED products (as discussed here).


...


“"With over 90 percent of all school age children now playing digital games on a regular basis, and many underserved students struggling to benefit from traditional approaches, it is common sense to deploy interactive technologies to engage students in more personalized and joyful learning," said Dr. Michael Levine, Executive Director of the Cooney Center. "The survey confirms that in many classrooms teachers are asking students to put down their pencils and play."”


Again, these ideas are similar to those of Sir. Ken Robinson (see blog post); that current education systems are based on the ideas of the Industrial Revolution and are therefore, outdated.  Children are bored in lessons and given labels such as ADHD, which may simply be because they are used to being constantly stimulated by technology and their modern environments.  Education as it currently stands may in fact simply be boring and seems to definitely be stuck in the past.  As Dr. Michael Levine says, “it is common sense” to implement more interactive and engaging technologies, as that is what children are used to now.


...


“The number one obstacle teachers cited to integrating digital games into the classroom is cost. The second most reported obstacles cited in the survey are lack of access to technology resources and emphasis on standardized test preparation.”


Some of these obstacles are talked about in the ‘Five Things to Think About When Using Games in the Classroom’ blog article.  With games-ED software, only one computer is needed to play the games.  This avoids the cost of buying games consoles and the hassle of booking IT suites etc.  The Games Based Learning Analysis and Planning Tool by Paul Ladley also talks about initial costs, hidden costs and value for money.  The cost obstacle may be an issue for commercial entertainment games if you have to buy multiple licences.  This is often not true of purpose-built games.  For example, games-ED products only require one license which offers great value for money as they can be used across the curriculum, with different age groups and so on.


...


“A summary of the findings are available for download at www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/images/presentation/jgcc_teacher_survey.pdf.”


Author: Sian Ladley

Michael Gove on education and IT

Michael Gove (Education Minister) speaking at BETT 2012. Text taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jan/11/digital-literacy-michael-gove-speech

What can technology do for learning?

Three points immediately:

• First, technology has the potential to disseminate learning much more widely than ever before. Subjects, classes and concepts that were previously limited to a privileged few are now freely available to any child or adult with an internet connection, all over the world.

• Second, just as technology raises profound questions about how we learn, it also prompts us to think about how we teach. Games and interactive software can help pupils acquire complicated skills and rigorous knowledge in an engaging and enjoyable way. Adaptive software has the ability to recognise and respond to different abilities, personalising teaching for every pupil.

• Third, technology brings unprecedented opportunities for assessment. Teachers can now support pupils' learning by assessing their progress in a much more sophisticated way, and sharing assessments with pupils and parents.

---

The Full Speech ( Bits in red pick up on games and a previous post on the ICT curriculum).

---

Thank you very much, Dominic, for that kind introduction. I'm delighted to be here at BETT today.

And I have to start by congratulating all the companies in this Hall.

British companies are world-leaders in the field of educational technology, and going from strength to strength – the members of Besa, for example, increased exports by 12% in 2010. Crick Software, which has worked in the USA, Chile and Qatar and which already supplies 90% of UK primary schools, recently secured their biggest single order ever, supplying half of all schools in Moscow with Clicker 5 literacy software (fully translated into Russian).

Promethean, which makes interactive whiteboards and educational software, signed a memorandum of collaboration with the Mexican Ministry of Education last June to work in primary and secondary education throughout Mexico.

These are just a few of the hugely impressive achievements of British companies – and there are many more all around us. I'd also like to mention particularly all those shortlisted for the BETT awards tonight. Good luck to all nominees, and congratulations (in advance) to the winners…

How technology has changed the world, and the workplace

All around us, the world has changed in previously unimaginable and impossible ways. Most of us carry more advanced technology in the smartphone in our pocket than Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin used to reach the Moon.

Every day we work in environments which are completely different to those of twenty-five or a hundred years ago.

Where once clerks scribbled on card indexes and lived by the Dewey Decimal system, now thousands of office workers roam the world from their desktop.

Where once car manufacturing plants housed lines of workers hammering and soldering and drilling, now a technician controls the delicate operations of a whole series of robots.

When I started out as a journalist in the 1980s, it was a case of typewriters and telexes in smoky newsrooms, surrounded by the distant clatter of hot metal.

Now newsrooms – and journalists – are almost unrecognisable, as are the daily tools of the trade. The telex machine became a fax, then a pager, then email. A desktop computer became a laptop computer. My pockets were filled with huge mobile phones, then smaller mobile phones, a Blackberry, and now an e-reader and iPad.

And with each new gadget, each huge leap forward, technology has expanded into new intellectual and commercial fields.

Twenty years ago, medicine was not an information technology. Now, genomes have been decoded and the technologies of biological engineering and synthetic biology are transforming medicine. The boundary between biology and IT is already blurring into whole new fields, like bio-informatics.

Twenty years ago, science journals were full of articles about the 'AI Winter' – the fear that post-war hopes for Artificial Intelligence had stalled. Now, detailed computer models show us more than we ever imagined about the geography of our minds. Amazing brain-computer-interfaces allow us to control our physical environment by the power of thought – truly an example of Arthur C. Clarke's comment that any sufficiently advanced technology can seem like magic.

Twenty years ago, only a tiny number of specialists knew what the internet was and what it might shortly become. Now, billions of people and trillions of cheap sensors are connecting to each other, all over the world – and more come online every minute of every day.

Almost every field of employment now depends on technology. From radio, to television, computers and the internet, each new technological advance has changed our world and changed us too.

But there is one notable exception.

Education has barely changed

The fundamental model of school education is still a teacher talking to a group of pupils. It has barely changed over the centuries, even since Plato established the earliest "akademia" in a shady olive grove in ancient Athens.

A Victorian schoolteacher could enter a 21st century classroom and feel completely at home. Whiteboards may have eliminated chalk dust, chairs may have migrated from rows to groups, but a teacher still stands in front of the class, talking, testing and questioning.

But that model won't be the same in twenty years' time. It may well be extinct in ten.

Technology is already bringing about a profound transformation in education, in ways that we can see before our very eyes and in others that we haven't even dreamt of yet.

Now, as we all know, confident predictions of the technological future have a habit of embarrassing the predictor.

As early as 1899, the director of the U.S. Patent Office, Charles H. Duell, blithely asserted that "everything that can be invented has already been invented."

In 1943, the chairman of IBM guessed that "there is a world market for maybe five computers". The editor of the Radio Times said in 1936, "television won't matter in your lifetime or mine".

Most impressively of all, Lord Kelvin, President of the Royal Society, scored a hat-trick of embarrassing predictions between 1897-9, declaring, "radio has no future", "X-rays are clearly a hoax" and "the aeroplane is scientifically impossible".

A new approach to technology policy

I don't aspire to join that illustrious company by stating on record that this technology or that gadget is going to change the world. Nothing has a shorter shelf-life than the cutting edge.

But we in Britain should never forget that one of our great heroes, Alan Turing, laid the foundation stones on which all modern computing rests. His pioneering work on theoretical computation in the 1930s laid the way for Turing himself, von Neumann and others to create the computer industry as we know it.

Another generation's pioneer, Bill Gates, warned that the need for children to understand computer programming is much more acute now than when he was growing up. Yet as the chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, recently lamented, we in England have allowed our education system to ignore our great heritage and we are paying the price for it.

Our school system has not prepared children for this new world. Millions have left school over the past decade without even the basics they need for a decent job. And the current curriculum cannot prepare British students to work at the very forefront of technological change.

Last year's superb Livingstone –Hope Review – for which I would like to thank both authors – said that the slump in UK's video games development sector is partly the result of a lack of suitably-qualified graduates. The review, commissioned by Ed Vaizey who has championed the Computer Science cause in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, found that the UK had been let down by an ICT curriculum that neglects the rigorous computer science and programming skills which high-tech industries need.

It's clear that technology is going to bring profound changes to how and what we teach. But it's equally clear that we have not yet managed to make the most of it.

Governments are notoriously flat-footed when it comes to anticipating and facilitating technical change. Too often, in the past, administrations have been seduced into spending huge sums on hardware which is obsolete before the ink is dry on the contract. Or invested vast amounts of time and money in drawing up new curricula, painstakingly detailing specific skills and techniques which are superseded almost immediately.

I believe that we need to take a step back.

Already, technology is helping us to understand the process of learning. Brain scans and scientific studies are now showing us how we understand the structure of language, how we remember and forget, the benefits of properly designed and delivered testing and the importance of working memory.

As science advances, our understanding of the brain will grow – and as it grows, it will teach us more about the process of education.

What can technology do for learning?

Rather than rushing pell-mell after any particular technology, filling school cupboards with today's answer to Betamaxes and floppy discs, we need to ask ourselves a fundamental question.

What can technology do for learning?

Three points immediately:

· First, technology has the potential to disseminate learning much more widely than ever before. Subjects, classes and concepts that were previously limited to a privileged few are now freely available to any child or adult with an internet connection, all over the world.

Look at 02 learn, a free online library of lesson videos developed and uploaded by teachers. It has already delivered around 25,000 hours of teaching via 1000 lessons from every type of school and college, right across the country: science lessons from The Bishop Wand Church of England Comprehensive School, music lessons from Eton. What about iTunes U, where lectures from the world's top universities are available at the touch of a button, and where the Independent Schools Council, Teaching Leaders and some of the best Academy Chains are working to put materials and lesson videos online? Or the hugely successful Khan Academy: more than 3.5 million students watch its educational videos every month and Google has donated $2 million for its materials to be translated into 10 languages.

I've been lucky enough to see first hand in Singapore how brilliant lessons can be delivered through a mixture of online and teacher-led instruction. And in areas of specialist teacher shortage, specialist teaching could be provided for groups of schools online, giving more children the opportunity to learn subjects that were previously closed to them. The Further Maths Support Programme, for example, is using the internet to give poorer families access to specialist help for the STEP papers, which dominate the best universities' selection process for Maths degree courses.

As online materials grow and flourish, we all need to think about how we can guide students through the wealth of information and techniques freely available and accessible online.

And, of course, I'm not just talking about opportunities for pupils to learn. The Royal Shakespeare Company is working with the University of Warwick on an online professional development learning platform to transform the teaching of Shakespeare in schools. Launching next month, the "rehearsal room" teaching resources will give teachers all over the world access to the insights and working practices of internationally-renowned actors, artists and directors, as well as specialist academics and teachers. The programme will even offer the chance to study for a Post Graduate qualification in the Teaching of Shakespeare.

The Knowledge is Power Programme, one of the most successful and widely-studied charter school chains in America, is already using ubiquitous, cheap digital technology to share lessons from its most proficient teachers. Even the best teachers can hone their skills by watching their peers in action.

· Second, just as technology raises profound questions about how we learn, it also prompts us to think about how we teach.

Games and interactive software can help pupils acquire complicated skills and rigorous knowledge in an engaging and enjoyable way. Adaptive software has the ability to recognise and respond to different abilities, personalising teaching for every pupil. With the expert help of a teacher, students can progress at different rates through lessons calibrated to stretch them just the right amount.


Britain has an incredibly strong games industry, with vast potential to engage with education both in this country and all over the world. We're already seeing these technologies being used in imaginative ways. Games developed by Marcus Du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at Oxford, are introducing children to advanced, complicated maths problems – and are producing great results.

Before Christmas I visited Kingsford School in Newham, where the Department for Education is working with the Li Ka Shing Foundation and the highly respected Stanford Research Institute. Their pilot scheme uses computer programmes to teach maths interactively – for example, showing a race between two people on screen and inviting pupils to plot their time and distance on a graph, then adjust it for variables.

Again, this pilot hasn't been dictated by central government, and we haven't developed the programme. But Stanford already says it is one of the most successful educational projects they have seen and I am looking forward to seeing the results.

· Third, technology brings unprecedented opportunities for assessment. Teachers can now support pupils' learning by assessing their progress in a much more sophisticated way, and sharing assessments with pupils and parents.

Each pupil's strengths and weaknesses can be closely monitored without stigmatising those who are struggling or embarrassing those are streaking ahead. Teachers can adjust lesson plans to target areas where pupils are weakest, and identify gaps in knowledge quickly and reliably.

Sophisticated assessment like this is already being used in schools around the country. Brailes Primary School, for example, a small rural school on the border of Warwickshire and Oxfordshire, uses online tools enabling teachers to use pre-assembled tests, or design tests of their own. One of the teachers, Deborah Smith, has praised the system, saying, "it has enabled me to differentiate my teaching to meet the needs of different groups. The assessments are quick and simple to prepare…leaving more time for planning and teaching."

In Chichester School for Boys, electronic voting pads provide students with instant feedback during classes. Teachers get real-time feedback on how well their material is being understood – even on a question by question basis.

These are just three ways in which technology is profoundly changing education today – and I am sure that there will be more.

We're not going to tell you what to do

While things are changing so rapidly, while the technology is unpredictable and the future is unknowable, Government must not wade in from the centre to prescribe to schools exactly what they should be doing and how they should be doing it.

We must work with these developments as they arise: supporting, facilitating and encouraging change, rather than dictating it.

By its very nature, new technology is a disruptive force. It innovates, and invents; it flattens hierarchies, and encourages creativity and fresh thinking.

I could say the same of our whole school reform programme. In fact, I'm fairly sure I have said the same.

Just as we've devolved greater autonomy to schools, and put our trust in the professionalism of teachers; just as we've lifted the burden of central prescription, and given heads and schools power over their own destiny; just as the internet has made information more democratic, and given every single user the chance to talk to the world; so technology will bring more autonomy to each of us here in this room.

This is a huge opportunity. But it's also a responsibility.

We want to focus on training teachers

That's why, rather than focusing on hardware or procurement, we are investing in training individuals. We need to improve the training of teachers so that they have the skills and knowledge they need to make the most of the opportunities ahead.

It is vital that teachers can feel confident using technological tools and resources for their own and their pupils' benefit, both within and beyond the classroom, and can adapt to new technologies as they emerge. That means ensuring that teachers receive the best possible ITT and CPD in the use of educational technology.

Working with the TDA, we will be looking at initial teacher training courses carefully in the coming year so that teachers get the skills and experience they need to use technology confidently. And we're working with Nesta who, supported by Nominet Trust and others, are today announcing a £2m programme to fund and research innovative technology projects in schools.

We must also encourage teachers to learn from other schools which are doing this particularly well.

Some ICT teaching in schools is already excellent - as reported in the most recent Ofsted report on ICT education and last year's Naace report, "The Importance of Technology".

Sharing that excellence will help all schools to drive up standards. We are already working with the Open University on Vital, a programme encouraging teachers to share ICT expertise between schools. High-performing academy chains will also play a huge role in spreading existing best practice and innovation between schools.

And Teaching Schools across the country are already forming networks to help other schools develop and improve their use of technology. The Department for Education is going to provide dedicated funding to Teaching Schools to support this work.

The current, flawed ICT curriculum

The disruptive, innovative, creative force of new technology also pushes us to think about the curriculum.

And one area exemplifies, more than any other, the perils of the centre seeking to capture in leaden prose the restless spirit of technological innovation.

I refer, of course, to the current ICT curriculum.

The best degrees in computer science are among the most rigorous and respected qualifications in the world. They're based on one of the most formidable intellectual fields – logic and set theory – and prepare students for immensely rewarding careers and world-changing innovations.


But you'd never know that from the current ICT curriculum.


Schools, teachers and industry leaders have all told us that the current curriculum is too off-putting, too demotivating, too dull.


Submissions to the National Curriculum Review Call for Evidence from organisations including the British Computer Society, Computing at School, eSkills UK, Naace and the Royal Society, all called the current National Curriculum for ICT unsatisfactory.


They're worried that it doesn't stretch pupils enough or allow enough opportunities for innovation and experimentation – and they're telling me the curriculum has to change radically.


Some respondents in a 2009 research study by e-Skills said that ICT GCSE was "so harmful, boring and / or irrelevant it should simply be scrapped". The Royal Society is so concerned that it has spent two years researching the problem with universities, employers, teachers and professional bodies – so I'm looking forward to its report, due to be published on Friday. And while ICT is so unpopular, there are grave doubts about existing Computer Science 16-18 courses.


In short, just at the time when technology is bursting with potential, teachers, professionals, employers, universities, parents and pupils are all telling us the same thing. ICT in schools is a mess.


Disapplying the Programme of Study


That's why I am announcing today that the Department for Education is opening a consultation on withdrawing the existing National Curriculum Programme of Study for ICT from September this year.


The traditional approach would have been to keep the Programme of Study in place for the next four years while we assembled a panel of experts, wrote a new ICT curriculum, spent a fortune on new teacher training, and engaged with exam boards for new ICT GCSES that would become obsolete almost immediately.


We will not be doing that.


Technology in schools will no longer be micromanaged by Whitehall. By withdrawing the Programme of Study, we're giving schools and teachers freedom over what and how to teach; revolutionising ICT as we know it.


Let me stress - ICT will remain compulsory at all key stages, and will still be taught at every stage of the curriculum. The existing Programme of Study will remain on the web for reference.


But no English school will be forced to follow it any more. From this September, all schools will be free to use the amazing resources that already exist on the web.


Universities, businesses and others will have the opportunity to devise new courses and exams. In particular, we want to see universities and businesses create new high quality Computer Science GCSEs, and develop curricula encouraging schools to make use of the brilliant Computer Science content available on the web.


I am pleased that OCR is pioneering work in this field, and that IBM and others are already working on a pilot. Facebook has teamed up with UK-based organisation Apps for Good to offer young people the chance to learn how to design, code and build social applications for use on social networks, via a unique new training course which they aim to make freely available online this year to potential users all over the world.


And other specialist groups have published or are about to publish detailed ICT curricula and programmes of study, including Computing At School (led by the British Computer Society and the Institute of IT), Behind the Screens (led by eSkills UK), Naace and others, with considerable support from industry leaders.


Imagine the dramatic change which could be possible in just a few years, once we remove the roadblock of the existing ICT curriculum. Instead of children bored out of their minds being taught how to use Word and Excel by bored teachers, we could have 11 year-olds able to write simple 2D computer animations using an MIT tool called Scratch. By 16, they could have an understanding of formal logic previously covered only in University courses and be writing their own Apps for smartphones.


This is not an airy promise from an MP – this is the prediction of people like Ian Livingstone who have built world-class companies from computer science.


And we're encouraging rigorous Computer Science courses


The new Computer Science courses will reflect what you all know: that Computer Science is a rigorous, fascinating and intellectually challenging subject.


After all, the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, is one of the most innovative and successful proponents of Computer Science today. But his computing skills are just as rigorous as the rest of his talents – which include Maths, Science, French, Hebrew, Latin and Ancient Greek.


Computer Science requires a thorough grounding in logic and set theory, and is merging with other scientific fields into new hybrid research subjects like computational biology.


So I am also announcing today that, if new Computer Science GCSEs are developed that meet high standards of intellectual depth and practical value, we will certainly consider including Computer Science as an option in the English Baccalaureate.


Although individual technologies change day by day, they are underpinned by foundational concepts and principles that have endured for decades. Long after today's pupils leave school and enter the workplace – long after the technologies they used at school are obsolete – the principles learnt in Computer Science will still hold true.

An open-source curriculum

Advances in technology should also make us think about the broader school curriculum in a new way.

In an open-source world, why should we accept that a curriculum is a single, static document? A statement of priorities frozen in time; a blunt instrument landing with a thunk on teachers' desks and updated only centrally and only infrequently?

In ICT, for example, schools are already leading the way when it comes to using educational technology in new and exciting ways – and they're doing it in spite of the existing ICT curriculum, not because of it.

The essential requirements of the National Curriculum need to be specified in law, but perhaps we could use technology creatively to help us develop that content. And beyond the new, slimmed down National Curriculum, we need to consider how we can take a wiki, collaborative approach to developing new curriculum materials; using technological platforms to their full advantage in creating something far more sophisticated than anything previously available.

This means freedom and autonomy

Disapplying the ICT programme of study is about freedom. It will mean that, for the first time, teachers will be allowed to cover truly innovative, specialist and challenging topics.

And whether they choose a premade curriculum, or whether they design their own programme of study specifically for their school, they will have the freedom and flexibility to decide what is best for their pupils.

Teachers will now be allowed to focus more sharply on the subjects they think matter – for example, teaching exactly how computers work, studying the basics of programming and coding and encouraging pupils to have a go themselves.

Initiatives like the Raspberry Pi scheme will give children the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of programming with their own credit card sized, single-board computers. With minimal memory and no disk drives, the Raspberry Pi computer can operate basic programming languages, handle tasks like spread sheets, word-processing and games, and connect to wifi via a dongle – all for between £16 and £22. This is a great example of the cutting edge of education technology happening right here in the UK. It could bring the same excitement as the BBC Micro did in the 1980s, and I know that it's being carefully watched by education and technology experts all over the world.

As well as choosing what to study, schools can also choose how. Technology can be integrated and embedded across the whole curriculum.

In geography lessons, for example, pupils could access the specialised software and tools used by professional geographers, allowing them to tackle more challenging and interesting work. Molecular modelling software could bring huge advantages for science students.

The Abbey School in Reading has already been piloting 3D technologies for teaching Biology, showing 3D images of the heart pumping blood through valves, and manipulating, rotating and tilting the heart in real time. As Abbey School Biology teacher Ros Johnson said, the 3D technology "has made me realise what they weren't understanding...what I can't believe is how much difference it has made to the girls' understanding".

This isn't a finished strategy – but it shows our ambition

The use of technology in schools is a subject that will keep growing and changing, just as technology keeps growing and changing.

But we can be confident about one thing. Demand for high-level skills will only grow in the years ahead. In work, academia and their personal lives, young people will depend upon their technological literacy and knowledge.

And this doesn't just affect our country. Every nation in the world will be changed by the growth of technology and we in Britain must ensure that we can make the most of our incredible assets to become world-leaders in educational technology.

Today has seen the conclusion of the Education World Forum here in London. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is for me, personally, that we learn from the highest performing education systems – some of whom I am delighted to see represented here – and I am very grateful to everyone who has taken the time and trouble to come to London for this event.

I'm not here today to announce our final, inflexible, immutable technology strategy. There's no blueprint to follow – and we don't know what our destination will look like.

I'm setting out our direction of travel, and taking the first few steps. There is lots more to come, and we will have more to say over the course of the year.

I'd also like to welcome the online discussion launched today at schoolstech.org.uk and using the twitter hashtag #schoolstech. We need a serious, intelligent conversation about how technology will transform education – and I look forward to finding out what everyone has to say.

We want a modern education system which exploits the best that technology can offer to schools, teachers and pupils. Where schools use technology in imaginative and effective ways to build the knowledge, understanding and skills that young people need for the future. And where we can adapt to and welcome every new technological advance that comes along to change everything, all over again, in ways we never expected.

Events like the BETT show are crucial in showcasing the best and brightest of the technology industry, showing what can be done – and what is already being achieved. We will depend upon your insight and ideas, your expertise and experience, as you take these technologies into your schools and try them with your students.

Thank you again to BETT for inviting me, and I wish you all good exploring today.