This week Fast Company ranked GameDesk #6 in its article about The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies In Education.  Our mission is to rethink education and make serious learning fun.  Playing, making, and the integration of 21st century technology tools are built into every idea and process we use.  Thank you Fast Company for the tip of the hat and helping us lead big change in education!  Check out the full article at Fast Company Innovative Companies in Education 

CEO Lucien Vattel recently gave a TedX closing night talk “Unboxing Education Through Gaming, Playing, and Making” showcasing GameDesk work in transforming education. The talk looked at forming mental models, the digital and participatory generation, and creating engagement and meaning through play and making.

Lucien also spoke to how simulation, games, and interactivity informs learning and ended on a forecast into the year 2013.

By Tanner Higgin

Although the United States educational system has gone through significant structural changes throughout its history, its fundamental mission has remained the same: to nurture the minds of young people. Even in the midst of heated discussion over whether our educational system is “broken” and how it needs to be fixed, we can at least support this fundamental mission. Or can we?

How about if this mission was wrong all along?

Of course, it would be foolish to argue against the value of helping students acquire knowledge. One of the great things about education is how it can open pathways to new perspectives on the world, and lead to innovation and personal and social change. The problem is not that educators are feeding the mind, it’s that we’re all too often starving the body.

When we reflect on powerful experiences that shape who we are and how we view the world, we’re flooded with sensory data that blankets what we learned. We might not piece everything together, but certain things stick out: a feeling of danger, the smell of wet grass, the discomfort of a desk chair, or the intonation of a teacher’s voice. What we learn, even if it’s out of a book, is supported by experiences in the world.

The reality of learning is that it’s not just an act of the mind; it’s situated. Learning is informed by our bodies and perhaps even significantly aided by them. Cognitive scientists call this “embodied cognition,” or the notion that what we think and know is shaped by bodily activity.

Unfortunately, classrooms all too often fix students in desks, and educators reward students for sitting still. Classroom work, occurring in the brain and on the page, does not leverage embodied cognition. Recess or gym provide brief moments of release set off from the “real” learning. This classroom of the mind might hinder the intellectual development of students, but more importantly it’s not representative of knowledge acquisition in the real world.

Innovative educators have long known about the benefits of embodied learning, reconfiguring classrooms, taking students on field trips, doing citizen science outdoors, or making yoga part of the school curriculum. And, using motion tracking technology, companies like SMALLab are designing and assessing games and interactive educational experiences that blend physical and digital space. Once cutting edge and prohibitively expensive, these systems have the potential for widespread educational use as videogame consoles make motion control a standard feature.

But motion control systems are just the latest development in a centuries long legacy of play-based educational activities. In many ways, embodied learning is at the foundation of play but rarely explicit.  We can witness centuries of formal and informal games—from London Bridge to Sim City— across the world that have preserved history, taught people social skills, and provided an accessible way for thinking through complex problems and systems.

By making play and the body central to the classroom we’re not just making education more fun, or more engaging (although those are not necessarily bad byproducts). We’re also, finally, fixing a deeply flawed system that cut off the body and spited the mind.

By Cathy Tran

I spent the weekend catching up with what’s new in the augmented reality app world, browsing the latest and greatest (and not so great). In thinking about what is it that this digital and physical hybrid brings to the table, these three themes below emerged.

1. Adding layers to physical books

In Horrible Hauntings, a book released this month, readers use the accompanying app to find animated ghosts that can be viewed at different angles. Not the best “trailer” to the app, as it shows very little, but this provides an idea of the technology:

2. Enhancing play with physical toys

In Disney AppMATe, the iPad screen is turned into an interactive play mat that allows players navigate toy cars through race tracks and city roads, and choose digital add-ons such as jet wings for their cars.

In Lego’s Life of George, players are challenged with different building tasks that require physical bricks. As the timer ticks, the app camera confirms at which second the tasks are successfully completed, allowing for competition mode against yourself or others. My favorite part of this app is the option to create building challenges for others as well.

3. Providing new visions of the physical world

Google’s Sky Map app provides an answer to those time you wonder what is the bright star in the sky. Users aim their device’s camera up above to learn more about the stars, planets, and constellations in that part of the sky. Or you can type in what you want to find, such as “Mars,” and the app directs you to where it is in the sky.

Which trends have you seen? Have you been impressed by any augmented reality apps?

by Mallory Nagy

Ever dismissively used the phrase, “That’s just child play?” After tuning into Beau Lotto and Amy O’Toole’s TED talk “Science Is For Everyone, Kids Included,” I’ll be refraining from using that idiom. Together, the pair shows the impact children can have in the field of science. Lotto, a neuroscientist and the founder of Lottolab, notes the striking similarities between play and science, with the help of O’Toole, whose accolades include a published paper in the Biology Letters scientific journal. Not too shabby for a 12-year-old.

Science is so much more than white lab coats and precise measurements. It is the spirit of curiosity and imagination, the fearlessness to question why and the ingenuity to answer how. Everything, Lotto points outs, begins with perception. He prompts the audience, “How can we ever see differently?” when clouded by perceptions. This question is answered with Lotto’s own challenge to question the world around us. He boldly asserts, “The best questions are the ones that create the most uncertainty.”

It is through play that uncertainties are discovered and we can begin to see differently. Lotto notes five similarities between play and science: the celebration of uncertainty, adaptability to change, openness to possibility, cooperation and intrinsic motivation. And thus, Lotto turns to the experts of play: children.

Twenty-five eight to 10-year-old Blackawton Primary School students were able do the extraordinary, inspired by their ordinary activity of play. Together, Lotto and the students would go on to conduct fourth months of scientific research that would ultimately result in a published paper. When this idea first arose, the uncertainty of it all was an obstacle Lotto and his team had to overcome. Facing rejection from those who doubted that the children would be able to accomplish the work of trained professionals, the project proceeded without funding.

Fueled by curiosity and zeal, the students started with an interest in finding similarities between the thought processes of humans and bees. The children did it all. From formulating a research question, to designing the experiment, and carrying out the research, their unique perspective was evident. The paper “Blackawton Bees” paper, which was ultimately published by Biology Letters, opens with “Once upon a time…” Continuing the spirit of innovation, “Blackawton Bees” is permanently available for free download. In 2011, it was the second most downloaded paper from Biology Letters.

The beauty of scientific thought is that it knows no limits. At GameDesk, we understand not just the power of play, but the power of believing in youth. It is with great mentors, such as Beau Lotto, that children are able to accomplish their successes. Through the innovative technology of GameDesk initiatives like the PlayMaker School, the potential of children is not just recognized but cultivated. And, what some may disregard as “just child’s play” is understood as the future of science.

by Jeremy Yanofsky

There’s no question that one of the biggest shifts in how we think about education today is toward collaborative learning.  Here on the GameDesk blog, we’ll be taking a closer look at the latest and greatest new tools and approaches being developed to support the ideals associated with trend.

This week, we’re starting things off easy with an app that by now is virtually a household name: Skype.

Thanks to the fact that it’s cross-platform, Skype is a shoe-in for ushering in the flexible and cost-effective BYOD (bring-your-own-device) culture to provide a means to connect with one another no matter what piece of hardware you have, know and love.  Those already familiar with Skype may think of it as video conferencing from The Jetsons or Star Trek coming true, but there is far more that can be done with than simply chatting with a friend or colleague from afar.  Skype can be used to bring entire classrooms together, to engage in roleplay, and even to explore applications of augmented reality!

Of course, there is no contest that one of the best uses of Skype is to connect directly with professionals in fields that young men and women are eager to explore. This facilitates learning straight from the source and can help translate one’s passions into reality.  A classic example of this kind of collaborative learning takes place in the video below, which features a sports and marketing class from Tippecanoe Valley High School in Akron, Indiana, nabbing Gabe Newell for an exclusive peek behind the curtain at his game company Valve:

Have ideas for how Skype can be used to promote collaborate learning?
Sound off in the Comments below!

Today, we think of play as something that children do, for exercise, to blow off steam, or to learn good social skills. And while access to both the resources and time to play are certainly important in developing children, the need for play extends far beyond the childhood years. Using examples from nature, Brown shows the power of a simple playful stance to transcend power structures and firmly held ideas. Across species, we can see that the act of play can improve lives and experiences.

As an example, Brown brings to his presentation the story of a polar bear and a husky that meet in the wild and are captured in a series of photos. Rather than this encounter ending in a violent confrontation, the husky adopts a playful stance and the polar bear effortlessly interprets this signal. Both animals let down their guards and engage in what Brown later refers to as “Rough & Tumble” play during which both are uninjured.

But peacemaking is far from the only product of a playful demeanor. Biologically speaking, from the time our mothers play with us as infants, imaging technologies show that an act of play lights up the brain in ways that most other activities do not. Play improves memory development and fosters important curiosity. Brown even suggests that physical interaction with objects (known as “Object Play”) is one of the most effective ways for students of any age, including highly skilled engineers at places like CalTech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to develop problem-solving skills. Brown suggests that play is not something that is just “good for us,” but that it is a biological necessity for the proper functioning of our brains, just like sleep and dreams.

In the classroom and the education field, the benefits of play can have a far-reaching impact. Play allows us, no matter what our age, to let down our guards in the same way that the polar bear and husky did. While this can allow us to interact with others on a more relaxed and equal playing field, it also allows us to let down those guards that keep us from forming new ideas. The safe, fun environment of play can actually lead to innovation. At GameDesk, this is precisely why we want to bring new technologies into classrooms so that teachers can incorporate the idea of play, which can take a great many forms, into their teaching. By allowing students the time and space to play, we believe that both students and teachers can benefit from the release of play.

By Cathy Tran

As the market for educational apps grows, the market for developing a method to shuffle through these products is expanding, as well.

On Monday,  YogiPlay’s “Parent Center” app was released on iOS to help parents navigate reviews of engagement and educational quality on more than 700 apps, as well as recommendations of new apps.

TechCrunch reports that YogiPlay’s engagement ratings account for user interactions, user experience, intrinsically motivated engagement, extrinsically motivated engagement and socially motivated engagement. Educational quality is indicated by whether the learning is deep, authentic, personalized and differentiated.

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that helps families navigate media for children, is beta testing a rating system on learning within apps. What sets them apart is that in addition to subject areas, the ratings also indicate if the apps touch on other general skills, including critical thinking, creativity, initiative, empathy, teamwork and physical health.

Children Technology Review has been on the ratings and reviews scene since 1993, and is especially transparent, as their rating form is shared online. Educational value is defined partly by feedback and challenge, and entertainment factors in meaningful graphics and randomness. Also incorporated in the ratings are ease of use and design features. For instance, the child should feel in control and experience success within the first few seconds.

What’s fun about these rating projects is seeing what emerges within each framework as being important in children apps and how learning and engagement are defined. It’s a difficult task. With regard to the aforementioned criteria certain questions come to mind. How does one rate “deep learning” by looking at how an app is designed? When children are engaged with apps, is that engagement with the learning content or an unrelated feature? Knowing that an app allows for critical thinking is a start, but how do we know if it actually fosters real comprehension? I would love to see these issues tackled in review databases.

by Mallory Nagy

The makers of tomorrow get the hands-on experience testing an iPhone robot that specializes in facial expression mirroring at Maker Faire 2012. (photo via PC Mag).

Long before 3D printers, the inventors of the world set out with the simple goal to create, to make something out seemingly nothing. Innovator extradoinare Leonardo da Vinci once said, “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”

The Maker Movement is by driven by a shared passion for using technology to actively create. Highlighting the idea that everyone is a maker, these four initiatives help make “making” accessible to all.

1. Cognizant “Making the Future”: With the motto “Today’s inspiration is tomorrow innovation,” Cognizant provides an array of resources to aspiring makers through the Making the Future program. Launched just last year at New York’s World Maker Faire, this campaign has already made an impact amongst makers through funding after school and summer school programs. Fighting declining interest in STEM related fields, Making The Future helps undergraduates pursuing these science, technology, engineering, and mathematics degrees by awarding $5000 scholarships. Visitors to the New York Science Hall can even stop by the Cognizant Maker Space for some hands-on fun. This campaign continues to grow to match the unparalleled spirit of innovation spreading through youth with 2013 plans, including doubling the number of school programs and awarding scholarships to a greater number of recipients.

2. HacKIDemia: A blend of hacking, kids, and academia in both name and purpose, HacKIDemia is a global initiative committed to providing resources to expand the Maker Movement. Started as a two-year experiment at the University of Washington, this program aims to help consumers become creators. HacKIDemia stresses the importance of encouraging those in nontechnical fields to embrace makerism. From recycled plastic projects in Bucharest to the creation of a permanent invention lab in Nigeria, communities of innovation are started by HacKIDemia, and sustained by the creativity of the citizens within.

3. Techbridge: According to research conducted by the Center for the Study of the Workplace, only 11% of today’s engineers are women. Fortunately Techbridge is working to change that. With a doctorate in special education from the University of California Berkeley and a passion for inspiring the next generation of women, Linda Kekelis helps girls blossom in STEM fields with the Techbridge program. This Oakland based, female-focused initiative provides resources specifically targeted at the underrepresented demographic. Inspiring over 5,000 girls spanning between the grades 5-12, Techbridge provides girls with invaluable knowledge and role models.  Mentors, who hail from prestigious companies such as Google, Pixar Animation Studios, and LeapFrog, are able to provide career advice to the girls, helping position them as the leaders of tomorrow.

4.  Ace Monster Toys Hacker Scouts: Kids can “be prepared” for some exciting technological tinkering with the Hacker Scouts program presented by Ace Monster Toys. The makers of tomorrow, children ages 8-14, gather together to form a community of innovators every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month. Launched in September, Oakland youngsters have already had the chance to create self-sustaining biospheres and hydraulic judo bots. Open Lab is a free opportunity to try one’s hand at making, with the option of participating in guided projects or creating one’s own. Hacker Scouts is completely interactive, and encourages parents to get involved in their children’s creativity. Hacker Scouts was created by Chris and Samantha Cook, the proud parents of a Maker family.

As makerism gains momentum, the power of creativity can be fully tapped into. This power can be seen in GameDesk programs such as Dream Lab, which brings teachers and students together to dream up creative curriculum that fuses, technology, play and making. With new initiatives now bridging the gap between novice and professionals, everyone has the potential to be a maker. And, it is through the merger of technology and education that we come to understand life is what we make of it.

There is a plethora of information about edtech, elearning, gaming end education, and STEM swarming the interwebs. From examining the ways cellphones are transforming education to the power of open source studying tools that allow students to access learning opportunities anytime and anywhere, the possibilities are endless. Because there’s so much valuable information penetrating the social web, GameDesk is making it a point to round up our top “EduTweets” of the week.

In addition to finding valuable tweets and stories about apps and digital curriculum, we’ll be scouring the Twitterverse for inspirational insights shared by some of our favorite warriors, leading the way in revolutionizing the classroom.

Knowledge can only get someone so far. A socially and emotionally supportive environment both in and out of school acts as a foundation for to support learning, and to provide knowledge with a comfortable and safe place to be used for personal growth and community transformation. Without social and cultural systems of support, learning is difficult if not impossible. GameDesk wants kids to not only learn but learn well.

Check out our top EduTweets of the week here!