Global Kids' Online Leadership Program

Computer Graphics World published an article covering AMD's Changing the Game program which included Global Kids Playing 4 Keeps Program. It highlights how video games are an ideal platform for not only youth education.

A number of companies, organizations, schools, foundations, governments, and more are expanding the use of video games beyond their entertainment value. In fact, one such entity that is making a difference in this area is Games for Change (G4C), which provides support, visibility, and shared resources to individuals and groups using video games to spur social change, giving special assistance to nonprofits and foundations entering this field.

Recently, AMD teamed up with G4C to expand this initiative with an online tool kit, a guide to assist nonprofit organizations that are creating games containing social-­issue content focused on such topics as the environment, energy consumption, poverty, and health, for example. Offered through the AMD Foundation’s AMD Changing the Game initiative, the “Let the Games Begin: A Toolkit 4 Making Social Issue Games” contains resource information for those interested in creating these types of games. The kit (available at GamesforChange.org/toolkit) includes examples of successful titles with social content as well as in-depth presentations by game-design experts.

Continue reading "[p4k] Game Theory" »

Posted by joyce at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many of the staff here at Global Kids have been thinking about how to respond to the recent events in Haiti (e.g. some of our students spoke about it on the local news last night). As a diverse staff which includes many with connections to the country, as well as a student body with a considerable number from Haiti, this is something close to our hearts and will shape much of our work in the current period.

Global Kids has two resources from previous programs for those who, after donating funds, want to learn more. Both are games produced with Global Kids youth leaders in past years (more information here).

Ayiti: The Cost of Life
Ayiti, which is creole for Haiti, is a game in which the player manages a family of five in a rural town. The game doesn't provide any significant background content about Haiti, per say, but offers a simulation of how a life in poverty leaves people living too close to the edge, to which events this week can attest. It is designed to build understanding about the complex interplay of social forces that determine one's access to education and healthcare. Play Ayiti.

Hurricane Katrina: Tempest in Crescent City
Perhaps even more relevant is this game about the response by local heroes to Hurricane Katrina. While not about Haiti, it IS in fact about disaster readiness and the key things to track and support during a natural disaster (information from locals, access to clean food and water, etc.). Like Ayiti, it comes with educational material for use by educators. Play Tempest.

Posted by Barry at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This Friday, December 4, Global Kids is leading a Games Based Education Training for educators at our headquarters in New York City. If you are a school teacher, librarian, youth worker or other educational professional that would like to learn about our innovative approach to learning using digital games, we highly encourage you to sign up!

Since 2002, Global Kids has been a leader in the use of online games to promote global awareness, engaged citizenship, and 21st-Century learning skills. In this training, educators will learn how to use online games that directly or indirectly address core literacy and content areas, and how to use free, web-based tools to support students in designing their own games.

For more information or to register, please call: 212-226-0130 or e-mail pdtrainings@globalkids.org. The official announcement follows after the jump...

Continue reading "Training for Educators on Games-based Learning this Friday at Global Kids HQ" »

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LIBRARIES AND COMMUNITY CENTERS USE GAMES TO INSPIRE YOUTH TO TAKE ACTION

Report Finds Program Effectively Trains Educators To Teach Game Design

Selen Turkay, a doctoral student in the Instructional Technology and Media program at Teachers College, Columbia University, recently prepared an independent evaluation of Global Kids’ Playing For Keeps Capacity Building Program, which trains educators to combine games and social issues in their work with youth.

The findings, based on 45 interviews with educators from the New York public libraries and Boston-area housing projects, revealed that Global Kids successfully prepared youth workers to inspire and guide teens to learn and create game prototypes about social and global issues.

Continue reading "[p4k] Report Finds Program Effectively Trains Educators To Teach Game Design" »

Posted by joyce at 6:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor focuses on video games that let you play with topics taken from the news around us. It spotlights Tempest In Crescent City as an example.

Another featured news game, “Hurricane Katrina: Tempest in Crescent City,” developed by Global Kids and Gamepill, focuses on how residents and the government coped after the 2005 storm hit. Players walk through New Orleans after the hurricane, communicating with neighbors and reporters to find a family member.

Read the full article here.

Posted by joyce at 3:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We hope everyone thinks good thoughts for us going into the first annual Knight News Game Awards ceremony Wednesday night as part of the Games for Change Festival. Some of the Playing 4 Keeps student designers will be showing Ayiti: The Cost of Life off to the crowd before the winner is announced.

Wish us luck!

Posted by joyce at 3:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hot off of Business Wire, AMD just sent out a release about the launch of their new educational toolkit entitled "Let the Games Begin" which is focused on helping organizations create games on topics of social issues. This is all part of their latest support of games based learning and projects like our Playing 4 Keeps game Tempest in Crescent City which was sponsored by their Changing the Game initiative.

Let the Games Begin Toolkit Captures Content from 2008 Games for Change Festival 101 Workshop

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the availability of Let the Games Begin: A Toolkit 4 Making Social Issue Games, which helps nonprofit organizations to create social issue games on such topics as the environment, energy consumption, poverty and health. Produced by Games for Change with support from the AMD Foundation’s AMD Changing the Game initiative, the toolkit includes examples of successful games with social content as well as in-depth presentations by key game-design experts.

Much of the content focuses on materials that went into the development of Global Kids' renowned Ayiti: The Cost of Life. You can download the free toolkit online at www.gamesforchange.org/toolkit.

Posted by joyce at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you haven't already checked out the review that was written by the Conscious Gamer blog site about Hurricane Katrina: Tempest in Crescent City, it is definitely worth the read and offers up a good game play summary.

According to Tempest's website, the three main goals for the game were 1) Teach players about how everyday residents of New Orleans acted heroically to help each other. 2) Emphasize what are perhaps the two most important priorities in any disaster: communication and use of local resources, needs, and knowledge. 3) Draw attention to the continuing struggle in New Orleans as residents fight for housing in 2008.

Tempest did a good job at 1) and 2), highlighting how many residents helped each other during the rescue efforts by sharing food, shelter, medicine, tools and hope. I appreciate the game's positive portrayal of the survival efforts during the disaster because at the time it seemed like all the mainstream press wanted to focus on stories of "looting", "pillaging", "general chaos" perputrated by people of color. Although Tempest was created in 2007 after the Katrina converage had ended, I believe the positive portrayal of all Louisiana citizens both white and people of color sends a subtle, yet very powerful message to players that everyone can be a hero.

Unfortunately in terms of 3), the focus on the continuing struggle for housing, I didn't get the sense that the game raised that issue other than the fact that Vivica is not living back home in Louisiana even one year after being evacuated. A whole new game to focus on the contining struggle for housing and infrastructure could be useful because it's a multifaceted issue facing many communities both in the US and internationally.

Read the full review here.

Posted by joyce at 5:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As part of our ning social media site for our P4K game, Hurricane Katrina: Tempest in Crescent City, we have launched this past week new curriculum workshops. They include an online and an offline workshop.

Tempest in Crescent City Online Workshop Global Kids workshop to be used in conjunction with Tempest in Crescent City.

Tempest in Crescent City Offline Workshop
Global Kids workshop which can be used without playing Tempest in Crescent City or as a supplement to the online workshop.

You can find out more details at http://tempestincrescentcity.ning.com/educators where you can download both workshops in their entirety along with other resource materials focused on Hurricane Katrina. We would love any comments or thoughts on them as well.

Posted by joyce at 6:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Berkely Beacon published a recent article entitled Pushing Buttons: What's in a game? Education, for starters, should play a part. In it they go through their thoughts on serious game and the importance of keeping a fun sense of game play regardless of subject matter. They also bring up Tempest:

Hurricane Katrina: Tempest in Crescent City: Developed as part of Global Kids’ Playing 4 Keeps Program, which uses and teaches kids how to build games as a way to promote learning, citizenship and social awareness, this Web game has players helping and rescuing neighbors during the Katrina crisis. It does a decent job in both the gameplay and message department, has a great comic-book look and tries to give the player some motivation through a storyline.

Read the full post here.

Posted by joyce at 1:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)