Auckland Games for Learning Workshop 2018
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Want a crash course in game design for the classroom?
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Looking for other game based activities that are working effectively?
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Keen to network and share ideas with other game-using and game-curious educators?
Book now for the Auckland Games for Learning Workshop, brought to you by Mission Heights Junior College with support from NZCER.
When: Saturday, 3 November, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Where: Mission Heights Junior College, 103 Jeffs Road, Mission Heights, Manukau, Auckland
Cost: $99/person, includes lunch and morning tea.
Together, NZCER and MHJC will bring you a variety of interactive presentations and workshops to share and showcase the power of games and game design in the classroom. The workshop covers both digital and non-digital games and has three themes:
1) Get started: captivate learners with games in the classroom
Find out why game-based learning is so engaging for students, and get top tips for incorporating games into your teaching practice.
2) Dive into digital game design: discover tools and techniques
Learn how to kick start a Game Development Club, and hear how Pakuranga College made VR games a reality in its classrooms.
3) Unpack complex issues with games: play in the real world
Experience how role-play and simulation games are effective at introducing complex concepts, and how games can help students engage with big ideas about the future.
Registration has now closed. If you are still interested in registering, please e-mail Catherine Hunter directly at chunter@mhjc.school.nz.

Featured sessions
Theme 1: Get started - captivate learners with games in the classroom
Getting Started with Games with Diana-Grace Morris
Are you keen to bring game play and game design into your classroom curriculum in a meaningful way, but unsure where to start? Are you wondering what kinds of learning you can build around a games focus? This session will take the form of an introductory workshop on making and playing games. I’ll show you how game-based learning can transform your classroom into a more creative, collaborative, and inclusive community, and bring out the best in your students. I’ll share insights from research and my own practice with Y 7 and 8 students, AUT pre-service teachers, and as an RTLB, including transforming the classroom into a game design studio space, making games for a national game design competition and PB4L, writing game reviews, and establishing school-wide Chess and code clubs. This session will leave you with lots of ideas you can put into practice on Monday.
Game Fit for Purpose with Rich Durham
Learn some principles to applying playful design and games in teaching. From making current activities playful, to designing for single-skill acquisition, to providing group experiences for critical reflection. Participants will collaborate to develop playful and game activities for their own use. We will modify a template for future-you to use when designing playful and game-like activities in your own context.
Theme 2: Dive into digital game design: discover tools and techniques
How to foster game development in your school with Tyne Crow
Tyne Crow will share how Pakuranga College has incorporated game development into extra-curricular groups and digital technologies classes. He will share practical tips for enabling all students to make authentically engaging games in class, and detail how several groups of students from the game development club have developed virtual reality games for the HTC Vive, with one group going on to release a game for sale worldwide on Steam.
Making 2D digital games in Gamefroot with Dan Milward and Dave Thornycroft
Note: This session is hands-on and requires a laptop with a Chrome browser.
Dan and Dave will help you quickly develop an authentic top-down RPG (role play game) in Gamefroot, using coding concepts from the digital technologies and hangarau matihiko curriculum. Dan and Dave will also share their insights about supporting senior primary, intermediate, and junior secondary students to learn through making games, and what they've learned from setting up after-school Game Dev Clubs at schools all over Wellington.
GameMaker! with Julie Baker
MOTAT offers GameMaker! - an educational experience. Use a design process to troubleshoot arcade-style games and build your own digital game, using glyphs to create hazards and challenges. It’s easy, fun and you’ll have a functioning game within an hour. No coding experience is required
Theme 3: Unpack complex issues with games - play in the real world
Matrix Games with Andrew Savage
You will be introduced to Matrix simulation games (tabletop roleplay) as a method for introducing complexity and critical thinking in the social sciences. Participants will play a game examining the complexity of peace-making. Get a taste of what to expect from this session here.
Gaming the Future with Chris Clay
The future only exists in our imagination - so what an awesome context for games based learning and game-design!
In this session you will explore some games to help develop systems thinking, get creative about the future and become more aware of why we act the way we do in the present.