Learning Game "Greenbush"

another example - "Greenbush," kids design a neighborhood game
they researched a local area, learned about the ethnic and racial diversity of a community that was bulldozed because it was thought to be threatening
the kids brainstorm how to turn that into an augmented reality game
- 4th and 5th graders did this!
they ended up creating plans for a community museum
students presented their research at a community conference
presented research to the city council and got a resolution passed
the kids didn't want to leave the city council meeting
resolution created an annual "Greenbush" day and committed them to never again demolish this neighborhood

game-based learning is a form of experiential learning
where it's a game and why it's a game is in the sense of everything they do plays a part of creating fantasy; things are more exaggerated in order to provide an experience or solicit a strong emotional reaction

Lake Wingra - a game about a small, local lake that has a lot of controversy around it
it might be dying and would require lots of work to bring it back (addressing storm water rainoff, etc.)
someone wants to put condos on the lakefront (do this to solicit that big reaction)
design the game to tweak the kids' understanding of dirty water, types, solutions, etc.
the game tries to push them and confront them
not just inquiry-based learning
the teacher really pushes them

here they passed out some Dell PDAs we could look at to see how students choose roles and what they see
kids fill out a job application, they have a preference, take into account their real-life experiences
the next day they are assigned a stakeholder they will be representing (fishing club, environmental group, Matthews Enterprises - the evil condo developer, the outdoor rec club, the neighborhood organization, etc.; 3 of the 5 issues are real, the other 2 are fictional)
there are 4 plans - the condo plan, a marina plan with urban development and a bait shop, one to reduce invasive, one to reduce storm drainoff
that's all you need to know to start the game

game is divided into 2 parts
- students play 3 different roles, get different data for each one
get responses from the condo builders, get theories for why the lake is dying from the environmental group, etc.
- the second part centers on the Biology Center where they develop theories about why the lake is healthy or not
introduces "contested space"
the kids take on these identities and argue (in the context of debate) about issues; they do this through the lens of a researcher
they grab that role and learn for the sake of learning
the kids collect evidence and work as a group to come up with what they must persuade is the answer
these games must be tailored to your classroom