Game-like learning to grow your school, with Ryan Shaaf
Our guest today is Ryan Schaaf, instructional designer, professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, and author of 5 books.
“Students want to demonstrate what they’ve learned, and they become ‘prosumers’ - they consume information from the video games, and then they produce their own content and share with their gaming community.” - Ryan Schaaf
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Summary
Our guest today is Ryan Schaaf, instructional designer, assistant professor at Notre Dame of Maryland University and adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, and author of 5 books. Ryan thinks and writes about using digital tools and game-like learning experience in the classroom to engage today's learners in new ways. His new book explores learning in the age of disruption. How is this related to school growth you might ask? Well, listen and you will find out. Watch out for when a young student in the future runs a digital project with a scientist in Antartica. The short answer is that parents know and feel the age of disruption is upon us. If you can create a learning experience that will excite young students, word of mouth will spread.
In our discussion, we cover:
- How the Dune Book Series and the Lord of the Rings are like instructional video games.
- How to Ryan uses video games to create exciting and multifaceted learning experiences with his sons.
- Why learning by making mistakes is easier with game-based learning.
- The explosion of energy that you can tap into if you utilize digital tools that students are used to in the classroom, provided you use them in the right way.
- The similarities between game-based learning and project-based or inquiry-based learning.
- Why games are a great tool to break through the industrial-age forces that are keeping your school back.
- How to use game-like learning experiences to grow your school.
Quotes:
3:50 “Gone are the days where you just memorize content and facts; now education is about story lines and seeing relationships.”
4:50 “They (video games) are probably the best medium for learning-growth mindset - where you learn from your mistakes and by trying new strategies.”
6:10 “Students want to demonstrate what they’ve learned, and they become ‘prosumers’ - they consume information from the video games, and then they produce their own content and share with their gaming community.”
7:30 “Game-based learning is the incubator of the next generation skills that we want our workforce to have.”
12:10 “Learning must be relevant, fun, and useful for the learners or you won’t have engagement.”
15:15 “We have to question systems because they have a way of becoming rigid over time.”
Here are some resources mentioned in our discussion:
Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P42WP7K
The Oregon Trail Game - http://www.gameloft.com/en/game/the-oregon-trail-american-settler
Where to learn more about the guest:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/RyanLSchaaf
A Brief History of the Future of Education: Learning in the Age of Disruption - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MW8DZJ2
Game On: Using Digital Games to Transform Teaching, Learning, and Assessment - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M28RHLT
Making School a Game Worth Playing - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C6MV6LG
Using Digital Games as Assessment and Instruction Tools - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XDN5EIO
Reinventing Learning for the Always On Generation - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0113KZGH2
Where to learn more about Enrollhand:
Website: www.enrollhand.com
Our webinar: https://webinar-replay.enrollhand.com
Our free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolgrowth/