Lucas Gillispie

@PCSTechand

@wowinschool

#ncties

Why Games?

“...the designers ofmany good games have hit on profoundly good methods of getting people to learn and to enjoy learning.”

-James Paul Gee, University of Madison Wisconsin

Learning works best when new challenges are “pleasantly frustrating” in the sense of being felt by learners to be at the outer edge of, but within their “regime of competence”. That is, these challenges feel hard, but doable (Gee, 2007, p. 36). -James Paul Gee

“...within games, there are in fact multitudes of literacy practices – games are full of text, she asserted, to say nothing of the entirely text-based fandom communities online that take place in forums, blogs and social networks.”

-Constance Steinkhueler, FuturePlay 2007, Toronto

“Today's game designers have figured out something today's educators are still searching for: how to make learning engaging for today's kids. It would be a shame not to employ this knowledge in our classrooms.”

-Marc Prensky

“Oh, he’s just in there playing some game.”

-Parent

Our students are learning “21st-Century Skills” whether we teach them or not.

Where It All Began

What Does It Mean To Be...

A Guild?

A Guild Is...

Community

A Guild Is...

Relationship

A Guild Is...

About Pride

Being the First Guild FormedOn Your Server

Seeing Your Guild Emblem FlyingAbove A Keep You’ve Taken From

Enemy Players

A Guild Is...

Teachable Moments

A Guild Is...

StoriesRemember The Time We...

What I’ve Seen...

Students in Virtual Worlds

Warhammer Online Screenshot

Why don’t they spend this

much time studying for their

Biology exam?

http://www.ljplus.ru/img4/j/i/jibo/pir2.JPG

Extreme Engagement

They spend hours outside

of the game collaborating

and planning in forums,

researching maps,

statistics, and strategies to

improve their game.

Students Become The Experts

The Playing Field Is Leveled

They are collaborating, online, with people from

all over the world. Differences in race, age,

gender, and nationality are no longer an issue.

http://www.ljplus.ru/img4/j/i/jibo/pir2.JPG

Teacher

Ph.D. Candida

te

Stay-at-

home Mom

County

Sheriff

Researcher

Business

Owner

Editor for the Canadian Senate

Produce

Clerk

Business

Analyst

K-12Instruction

al Technology Coordinato

r

Technology

Engineer

Quality Assurance Superviso

r

Water/Sewer

Technician

College

Student

University Admissions

Representative

Director of IT

Network Administrato

r

Protestant

Minister

Source: http://www.harbingersoflight.com

Who Are They Playing With?

Students Emerging As Leaders

Students are leading people

from around the world (often

40 or more) to accomplish

collective goals. These events

take planning, coordination,

and decision-making skills.

So, what’s the next step?

What is the WoWinSchool Project?

A collaborative project that aims to use World of Warcraft in an after-school program, targeting at-risk or “fringe” students, and focusing on literacy, writing, mathematics, 21st-century skills, and digital citizenship.

What If?

What If we use World of Warcraft to teach:

Statistics? Literacy?

Leadership?Economics?

Culture?

Algebra?Ecology?

Digital Storytelling?

Writing?

What If we use World of Warcraft to engage one disaffected student?

What If we put these students in guild leadership positions?

What If we share the students’ accomplishments with the world?

What If we mix students from distant areas in the same guild?

And that’s exactlyWhat we’re doing!

Meet: The Legacy

Fan Fiction:

Fan Fiction:Holiadore. It is a name of honor and pride. He has not yet lived up to the dream, but this night elf will train and train in the ways of the druid until he achieves his ultimate goal- to be as good as his father. His father never had pride in him so Holiadore ran away from home as a child and has practiced the ways of the druid ever since. He uses the skins of his foes to craft armor to use against stronger foes. He goes through many perils to do the bidding of the townspeople. He, in doing so, trains his abilities until they can increase no more. And when he reaches his ultimate goal, he will return to the place where he was raised, the place that, once, his family lived. And he will place flowers upon his father's grave, and continue in his practices. This is the story of Holiadore.

Student Ownership:

Guild Webpage:

Officer Elections:

Virtual Tours:

Student Perspectives

Watch The Video!

Questions?

The Wiki

wowinschool.pbworks.com

Come Play With Us!

Come Learn With Us!

cognitivedissonanceguild.guildportal.com

Cognitive Dissonance on Sisters of Elune

Server

Lucas Gillispie

Instructional Technology Coordinator,

Pender County Schools, NC

http://www.edurealms.com