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Games + School Reform
Posted by Bill Ellis on 10/9/2008
In Reply To:Games + School Reform Posted by Linda Booth Sweeney on 10/6/2008
BE:
I to am looking for unique learning activities for a chapter in by book "A Gaian Paradigm" (draft below).
The book's thesis is that we all have to relearn what life is all
about. Schools don't do it. They inculcate the status quo
social-economic system -- the values of self-interest, competition, and materialism. The current economic melt down shows that the Euro American social-economic system does not work. Social-economic reform much include school reform. The creation of a life-long learning system for a radically different culture. The creation of learning games should be part of it. I would welcome comments on the chapter and additions such as those for which Linda Sweeny is lookfing
>
> Chapter #20
> -- LEARNING ACTIVITIES
>
> Non-school Life-Long Learning provides an opportunity as well as a
> challenge . As we move into the future learning system we have to
> act out -of-the-box as well as think out-of-the-box. Intellectual
> problems and solutions that can be learned or memorized and repeatedly
> applied no longer exist. In moving out of a rote fact demanding
> society we are moving into an information-based society. Its
> knowledge base is continually changing. The value any specific bit of
> memorized knowledge fades rapidly. In today’s world people have to
> renew their knowledge and skills continually throughout life.
> Nothing could be more amazing than to have the same activities that
> worked in the past work for the future. Most educators, parents,
> legislators and the press confine themselves to their “march to
> folly,” and strive valiantly to fix the schools just as they stick to
> the old values system of self-interest, competition, and materialism.
> A few are already using, or at least experimenting with non-school
> techniques for the learning future in society based on A Gaian
> Paradigm.
>
>
> DEMOCRATIC SCHOOLS
> *********** TO BE FILLED IN ********
>
> WALDORF SCHOOLS
> ************* to be filled in ************
>
>
> CHARTER SCHOOLS
> *************** to be filled in *************
>
>
> THE PARTNERSHIP WAY
> Riane Eisler was the founder of The Center for Partnership Studies
> and of a unique new way to look a education. It is so close the
> recognizing that schools pro *** the status quo that it fits well
> into the next section of non-school education. But Eisler also
> recognizes the fact that for some time schools will be the accepted
> way to learn and for the time at least fixing schools is the only
> accepted way to go.
>
> Eisler moved into the field of learning from a beginning as a social
> historian more than a social critic. This beginning was the adoption
> of the research of Marija Gimbutis a paleontologist. Gimbutis in
> researching the Minoan Culture in Crete found that this early culture
> had no weapons or fortifications it seemed to be a culture of peace.
> Gimbutis also found literally thousands of small goddess sculptures
> indicating a worship of the female. From continued digging and
> analysis Gimbutis concluded that the Minoan culture that exited for
> over 1,000,000 years ( ) not only worshiped a goddess but honored
> women was governed by a partnership of women and men. It was based
> on the value of the homes and family. As she analyze later years she
> found that nomads from the steppes or Russia had invaded around
> ****. Their original goal was destruction and plunder. Later they
> built walled cities on high hills for protection. Their way of life
> not only spread across all of Europe, but also drove even he more
> peace loving communities to build defended cities and adopt
> defensive and offensive armies. So into the age of war and violence.
>
> Eisler wrote of this in her best selling book “The Chalice and the
> Blade” expanding the concept of a “partnership way” to a goal for the
> future. This she carried forward in other books e.g. “Tomorrow's
> Children”, “Educating for a Culture of Peace” and “The Real Wealth
> of Nations.” Finally she concluded that the only way to initiate a
> society based to female-male partnership was to introduce it to
> children in their most formative years, K-12. That means designing
> programs for schools. In order to work directly with schools, the
> Center for Partnership Studies, a 501(c)3 non profit education
> organization, works not only in the K-12 schools them selves, but also
> with universities, in both education colleges and research centers, to
> continue both discovering new knowledge and providing life-long
> learning for educators and others.
>
> NON SCHOOL LEARNING
> In Chapter 17 we mentioned many new fix-school modalities of learning
> within the teach/educate/school syndrome. Even those non-school
> modalities often have not unlearned the dangers of the current social
> and society norms. They still hold to the need to brain wash children
> with the values and lifestyle of their parents and this industrial
> culture -- self-interest, competition and materialisim.
> In the above half of chapter 18 we have presented examples of new
> program still within the fix-the-schools mindset, but which have
> attempted to introduce an least elements of personal learning. Giving
> the learners a degree of freedom to choose what, when and how they
> learn.
> In the below examples we have crossed the line. They reject any form
> of schooling for freedom to learn. They rely on a learners inherent
> curiosity and ability to learn what they want, when they want , and
> how they want. These are good examples of learning to be free by
> being free.
>
> SELF DESIGN
> “Self Design” is a modality of learning It is also the title of a
> book and a program designed by Brent Cameron of British . The
> program was founded when Brent’s six year old daughter realized that
> if she went to school she lost control of her life, so she asked her
> father to be her teacher and to learn at home. Inspired by his
> daughter's natural ability to learn and by the experience of watching
> her learn to talk, he worked with her for the next 12 years to design
> a learning program based on every child's natural enthusiasm to learn
> and their ability to generate their own learning path. That learning
> path is now the path of over 800 children. guided by the WonderTree
> Foundation that Brent founded. The SelfDesign modality has also
> been adopted by many other learning centers around the world with the
> help of Cameron and his team of consultants
>
> Brent’s recognition that children were learning from birth, and that
> schools stopped the self-learning process. suggested that he
> established the SelfDesign Learning Community (SDLC) an innovative
> network of families and learning consultants to help nurture children
> learning in their homes and communities. SelfDesign helps learners
> create their own place, time, and way of learning. It supports
> natural, enthusiasm-based learning rather than imposing and teaching a
> government designed curriculum. It supports children and their
> families in a holistic learning model that conserves the disposition
> of wonder in a context of love.
>
> As the SelfDesign program for children spread, the founders saw that
> it was relevant for all ages. Since 1985 they have been working on
> life-long learning programs for career transition coaching, business
> productivity, innovation consulting, experiential learning consulting.
> As well as expanding its age range, SelfDesign Inc. is expanding it
> contacts. It is creating a broad international network of
> affiliations with other organizations such as: Living The Potential
> Network Inc. of Portland Oregon; HOPE Co-op Online Academy in Denver
> Colorado with over 3800 on line learners who visit 79 learning
> centers; Gateway Courses on Barbara Marx Hubbard's Evolve web site;
> Laddie Livingston of VISION in Colorado and Dan Janik, author of
> Unlock The Genius Within and president of the NeuroBiological Learning
> Society. The number of proponents and programs for personal learning
> seems to be growing almost as fast as the need.
>
>
> CYBER LEARNING
> Probably the most profound innovations in the way we earn will come
> from emerging computer technology. The most obvious place to look
> for new way to learn is in the world of cyber learning. Of course
> schools have not overlooked the computer. In fact they have y jumped
> on the commuter band wagon. But they have used this technology to
> produce more of the same, to “fix the schools, and co-opt computers
> to the teach/educate/school ay of thinking. They have hardly explored
> the unique potentials of cyber learning or cyber thinking.
>
> By cyber learning and cyber thinking I mean to convey a new brand of
> using one’s mind in learning and using the knowledge one needs. For
> one example we no longer need to rely on our past education or bound
> volumes of an encyclopedia, nor even the collection of books in
> ones’ library or all of the interconnected libraries that easily
> exchange their holdings. Instead we can quickly check facts and
> ideas with the push of a few keys . That is the way this book has
> been composed.
>
> Not only is all knowledge at our finger tips, but you can now
> communicate any place in the world in nanoseconds. “Ask a
> colleague” not longer limits one to a class room or even a community.
> working with colleagues around the world is a daily, or should I say
> instantaneous, action. In addition rather than composing pages and
> pages of notes for an online text you can allow your reader instant
> linking to any number of resources that expand or clarify your text.
> Actions that make these potentials real are almost too common to need
> elaboration. A bit less understood or well used are computer games.
>
> SOCIAL IMPACT GAMES
> http://www.socialimpactgames.com/
> The value of computer games is emphasized by the web site Social
> Impact Games The goal of this site is to catalog the growing number
> of video and computer games whose primary purpose is something other
> than to entertain. These are also known as "serious games." People
> who want to locate or create serious games can find them, can see
> what others have done on this site.
>
> There are over 500 serious games listed on this web site. They are
> indexed under: Education, Learning Games. Public Policy, Political,
> Social, Health, Wellness, Business, Military, Commercial, and
> Adventure.
>
> One which ends up where this book started is One in line with much of
> this book is “. Media Blackout. This a 3D video game has the
> players face all of the Ills of our current society. -- corporate
> interests, religious fundamentalism and military might. It recognizes
> the media compliant government propaganda, fed by the corporate
> agenda. The game highlights the-march-to-folly controlled by the
> corporate greed and the military-industrial complex that seeks to
> dominate the minds of the people at the grassroots. Today's media
> message is formed by a coalition of militaristic plutocrats,
> right-wing media moguls and neo-fascist populists stridently
> attempting to maintain their dominance. '’Media Blackout’ creates an
> allegorical environment through new interactive technologies –
> attempting to immerse both player and viewer in the true
> 'psychological operations' of our time.
>
> Other games show the transition from working hard to educate a new
> generation in old ways, to using what people enjoy, to help them
> learn. Many games are two faced one is learning the other is
> entertainment. One example of this is "The Monkey Wrench
> Conspiracy." This game has two agenda. It’s game agenda puts the
> player in the role of an inter galactic space agent trying to rescue
> The Copernicus space station from alien hijackers. Its learning
> agenda is t o help advance engineers think and design in 3 dimensions
> (3D). That is the Computer Assisted Design (CAD) of drawings in 3D
> space rather than making a series of 2 dimensional drawings first to
> represent the 3D final product. The CAD program can then take
> blueprint drawings directly off the computer. This eliminating hours
> of tedious drawing .
>
> SECOND LIFE
> Beyond the world of video games is with world of virtual worlds.
> These are not programs in which players win, loose, compete, or play.
> They are more imaginary worlds in which you just live. Just as as
> you live in the real world, but with more freedom. Perhaps the
> largest and most interesting is “Second Life” virtual activities made
> possible by Linden Labs. As they say: “Second Life" is a 3-D
> virtual world entirely created by its "Residents." Since opening to
> the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by
> millions of Residents from around the globe.”
>
> “Residents” buy land, build houses, organize communities, make laws.
> provide learning , play games, use computers, designing computer
> games and take an other action they wish. All this is done in an
> economic system based on Lindon dollars ($L). These you can buy
> before you enter or you can earn them by selling or exchanging goods
> and services you make or buy in that virtual world or outside of it.
> Each resident creates his or her own virtual personhood or “avatar”
> or multiple avatars. You meet others in your “Second life.” And
> work with them just as you work with other people in you first life,
> creating whatever virtual products or organizations that you wish.
>
> One Second Life game that is in line with the thinking of A Gaian
> Paradigm is “Exchanging Cultures.” This is diplomatic game built
> inside "Second Life." It was created to facilitate the creating
> virtual communities and relationships based on the exchange of
> cultural items like: dances, art crafts, food receipts, architectural
> models, clothing, cultural routes and images of real original places
> for travelers and explorers. Each player becomes a diplomat who must
> attempt to understand the cultures of the people with whom he or she
> is building relationships, as well as sharing elements of his or
> her own culture.
>
> ****************END Chapter 20 ***********************
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