QUESTION: Essential Books, Websites and GameBuilding Tools and Online Gaming Forums?

[Ryan Goble]

Hi Everyone, this question is a whopper and I'm hoping folks can help out as gaming is not one of my core areas. If you had to name your ESSENTIAL

- Books
- Websites
- GameBuilding Tools
- Online Gaming Forums

FOR TEACHERS looking to use games in the classroom what would you suggest to get people started?

FWIW here's what I've come up with so far ... big thanks to Nick S. for some great ideas! If you see any massive holes please let me know!

Some terms / concepts related to this medium that students might research: 
- AAA Games
- Alternate Reality Game(ARG)
- Avatar
- Guild
- Intrinsic Moivation
- Massively Multi player online (MMO/MMOG)
- Mud (multi-user dimension/domain)
- Pervasive Game
- PvE / PvP
- Quest
- Serious Games
- Virtual World


Starting Points:

Books:
- Playing to Learn: Video Games in the Classroom (2007) by
David Hutchison
- Reality is Broken Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World (2011) - Jane McGonigal
- A Theory of Fun for Game Design (2004) by Raph Koster
- Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals (2003) by Katie Salen & Eric Zimmerman
- What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy - Second Edition (2007) & Good Video Games and Good Learning (2007) by James Paul Gee
- Student-Designed Games: Strategies for Promoting Creativity, Cooperaton, and Skill Development (2010) by Peter A. Hastie
- The Multiplayer Classroom: Designing Coursework as a Game (2010) by
Lee Sheldon
- Gaming the Past: Using Video Games to Teach Secondary History (2011) by
Jeremiah McCall


Websites:
- Design for Learning Blog - http://deangroom.wordpress.com
- Evoke - http://www.urgentevoke.com
- Games for Change - http://www.gamesforchange.org
- The Games for Learning Institute at New York University -http://g4li.org
- Game Salad - http://gamesalad.com
- IMAGINE (Increasing Mainstreaming of Games In Learning Policies) -http://www.imaginegames.eu/eng
- Interactive Communications & Simulations at The University of Michigan-Flint and Ann Arbor - http://ics.soe.umich.edu
- Quest 2 Learn School - http://q2l.org & the related Institute of Play http://www.instituteofplay.org
- "ScratchED" http://scratched.media.mit.edu


Beyond that I'm really excited to hear what other folks would recommend. After we I cull the list I'll try and make a hyperlinked list above this discussion forum like I did in the Graphic Novels and comics group.

Thanks so much for any suggestions in advance!

Ryan:)

 

[Kelly Farrow]

I'm super jazzed to be starting a club based around Gamestar Mechanic, Scholastic's build-your-own-video-game curriculum aimed at grades 4-9. They also have one for grades 9-12 called Activate! See both and get more info here. I will be starting the club tomorrow, so I'll keep you posted on how well it goes. These 2 curricula could fit the bill for both game-building tools and online gaming forums, as they have both pieces.

[Ryan Goble]

Kelly, thanks for this tip - sounds awesome (like everything you do!)

 

Ry:)

 

[Adam Babcock]

MCP Community:

 

Thanks for making my afternoon.  I had a run-around day.  When I saw a post about gaming in the classroom, I got super stoked.  I started at a New Tech school this year, and I'm completely new to PBL.  If there is one thing I want to take a run with on PBL, it's going to be gaming.  Keep it coming!

[Ryan Goble]

Glad you're finding things useful here - you should really check out Lee Sheldon's book - you would dig it!

 

[Chris]

I don't know how far away Aurora, IL is from Minneapolis, MN, but Jane McGonigal is going to be a keynote speaker at the TIES  conference on December 13 http://ties2011.ties.k12.mn.us/

 

Usually keynote speakers also do a session after their keynote.

[Ryan Goble]

Aurora = far outside suburb of Chicago.  Thanks so much for the tip!  Ry:)