Games Based Learning 2010 - A few thoughts from moi

With my work at Digital 2.0 I had the pleasure of attending Games Based Learning 2010 at the Brewery, London which has bloody exciting as it happens with the likes of Nintendo and Media Molecule having a presence there alongside a raft of innovative players in the space

From my point of view i was more heavily involved with the exhibition area at the Digital 2.0 stand but managed to make it along to a few of the sessions, not as many as i hoped but those i did attend were most exciting and informative. After a good couple of weeks getting all our new material designed and printed we were ready to debut with our stand displaying our brand new look with strong blacks and vibrant purples. It certainly attracted a lot of attention and i had a great time chatting to seasoned professionals and those exploring game based learning about our accomplishments, goals and where GBL is headed.

Our new display banners and material

Due to my time down at the experience lounge i was only able to attend a handful of sessions but two in particular stood out to me. Firstly came Derek Robertson who vivdly outlined how through the use of commercially available video games, they were able to immerse and teach schoolchildren vital problem solving skills, music and logic. The guy didn’t really have to speak too much himself, showing videos of the kids learning, being engaged and HAVING FUN. Far too often it seems like learning and fun are dirty words in education but Derek hit the nail on the head. He didn’t bore us with statistics, graphs and other metrics that will be forgotten once we hit the social evening but those images of the kids being completely engaged in the learning material and subject stick with me now as a reminder of why games are great tools outside of the violent ‘space marine’ adventures. If i had a hat i would tip it to sir.

The panel debate was also showcasing some interesting discussions, with the IT departments being cast to blame for slower than expected uptake of game based learning which i tended to disagree with on a level. Being at the forefront of GBL technologies we are eager to move on, find the next cool thing in order to innovate and be ahead of the game. I think sometimes we forget that others aren’t as quick to embrace change in the way they work as we are and is something we need to be mindful of as we race ahead.

These few thoughts wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the fantastic social evening at the Elbow Room. Big thanks to Graham from Learning Without Frontiers for making it all possible and giving us all something to take away and remember!

Who could forget the interactive graffiti wall? hours of fun!