New Creative Learning Systems Lab

I'm in training this week for our new STEM lab from Creative Learning Systems, so I put the video below together for our Facebook page.

This is coming to our middle school.  This lab represents everything I wanted to accomplish in my math class years ago as well as all the technology integration and project based learning I've worked toward the past few years.

Lots of learning and fun ahead!

Back to School Deal from Fair Play Games - What's It to Ya? x4

My friends at Fair Play Games are selling bundles of four copies of my party game What's It to Ya? for only $7.99 plus shipping.

What's It to Ya? is the basis of many of the critical thinking game activities I have on this site.  It's great for several subject areas and works well for Sunday school and youth groups too. (Here's a review from a youth leader.)

The bundle of four copies is enough for 32 students in a class to play, so it's great for group games after doing the other activities with the entire class.

For this price, it's also a great option to give the game as gifts or prizes in a classroom, especially if the students are familiar with the game from the classroom activities.

Be sure to check out my many fun, free games based on What's It to Ya? (a.k.a. Oh, Really!).  

Note:  I made the game What's It to Ya?, but I no longer am receiving royalties on this edition.  I mention it on my blog to help my friends at Fair Play Games and to make it available as a fun learning activity for as many students as possible.

The 4 C's of Success - Tips for students at the start of the year

Here is a presentation I gave students when I was a classroom teacher.  I also tried to consistently use the language throughout the year.

The main purpose of the carefully defined "four C's" is to distinguish between a commitment to improve and the choices one must make along the way to achieve that.  Identifying the key choices and the times those choices must be made is an essential insight for success.

Games and thoughts for the start of the school year

We still have a good amount of summer to enjoy, but with all the back-to-school stuff showing up I figured I'd compile some of my own resources appropriate for this time of the year.

First, here are the presentation games I made for ActivInspire that are great for those first days back:

• Oh, Really* - Students rank items in order from most important to least important.  This is based on my published party game What's It to Ya?*.  Another related way to play online, not requiring ActivInspire, is here.
• Say Anything - This is a very simple creativity game where some students compete to come up with the most popular answer.
• This or That? - Here's another game based on a party game I made.  This one gets attention year round, but it's great for introducing students on the first days.

*Update 8/7/2013:  My friends at Fair Play Games have one edition of my party game What's It To Ya?game on sale for $7.99 for four copies.  That's enough for the whole class to play if you're using the physical party game!  Check this post out for more information.

A new school year means a great time for some fundamental changes to how we run our classes.  Here are some thoughts I shared earlier for engaging students with meaningful work.

• Do something big NOW - I added our music video to this recently too. Why I'm not big on career planning lessons anymore
• Lifelong Learner Challenge - A philosophy for ongoing learning and meaningful contributions
• Learning for Doing - Is it bad that I finally gave up on making everyone love to learn?
• The 4 C's of Success - One way I presented the importance of making commitments and doing what it takes to follow through
• The 3 P's of Success - What I learned about success from working with high school seniors
• Advice to a New Teacher - Some overall lessons I learned that I'd tell myself 20 years ago when I started teaching.  I think every teacher could benefit from writing similar advice to themselves.  Also, this post ends with the "Key to Success" that I always told students on the first day of school.

And here's a favor if you've got any interest.  Let me know if this pet project of mine looks interesting.  

Helping Students Live Better Stories

I haven't elaborated much on it since this original post, but it could be a great, ongoing project for a class.  If you like the looks of it, tell me and I'll work on it some more before school starts!

Six iPad games I recommend for school

I love games of all types and have pride myself on introducing people to excellent titles they have never heard of.  (And when it comes to learning from playing games, I approach it differently than most.  These are not games that will teach students specific skills just by playing them.)

Here are the games I keep in my "School Games" folder of apps on my iPad. Some get played more than others, but I believe these are all great for the classroom. All except one are based on board and card games, which are my favorite types of gaming for thinking and social interaction in and out of the classroom. 

I usually end up play these in math classes, but if time for games arises most can work well any content area--or in the cafeteria or anywhere else I find myself with a group of students. They allow for critical thinking, problem solving and (if played multi-player) practicing communication skills. 

Prices are what I found on iTunes as of 7-19-2013.

Hey, That's My Fish! - $2.99 - This works for 1 - 4 players. Rules are extremely simple and the animations make it all the more engaging. Players compete to get fish points on a shrinking iceberg.  Strategy and tension emerges as players balance getting to the most fish, trapping opponents and maximizing the chances of their own survival. 

Olo - $1.99 - This is the only game here that's not based on an existing non-computer game. It is a two-player action game involving flicking disks of various sizes. It's so intuitive that students can start having fun with it right away, but there's room for skill.  They score points if they stop in the scoring zone and players can reuse them up to three times each if they are flicked or bumped into their shooting zones.  The fun comes in knocking the opponent's disk out of the scoring zones without returning them to the shooting zone where they can be reused. 

Through the Desert - $2.99 - Here's a game I didn't expect to connect with the students from the remedial math class where I tried it, but they really liked it. It has a few more rules than most on the list, but the actions each turn are simple. Put two camels on the board. Points are earned in a variety of ways. The app makes the setup and sometimes cumbersome scoring effortless. If you work with students who like fresh strategy games, be sure to check out this one!

Sixis - $0.99 - This is a push your luck dice game with cards. I don't particularly like it because of some odd rules I never remember and I can't seem to roll the numbers I need!  I have seen students really have fun with it though. 

Can't Stop - $0.99 - This is the classic push your luck dice game. It makes a fun two-player game that my son and I enjoy. I used to have success in the classroom with the original board version and I thought the app would make it all the better. So far I haven't seen it catch students' attention, but there is a lot of potential here, at least for older students. 

Ingenious - $1.99 - I have had a lot of fun with this app and the board game. It is very simple, but has plenty of room for strategy and interesting choices. The app allows two players to compete. I actually have not had a chance to teach students this game yet, but I think it will appeal to many in the upper grade levels.  My big complaint with the app is that it's easy to accidentally place a piece in the wrong place or orientation, but there's no undo on the moves.  

Ra - $3.99 - I keep Ra in my School Games folder, but like Ingenious, I haven't yet used it in class yet. The app does a great job of making a complex, long game very simple and fast.  Each turn can take only seconds most times, but there are a lot of rules and to play well or even to care what's going on, there will have to be some explanation before the first game. So far I haven't been working with a group of students that I felt would sit through that. I absolutely love the game in the traditional form and the app. My son and I can speed through the three rounds of a full game in about 20 minutes on the iPad.