Winner! City Sim – Fort Couch Middle School

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Pittsburgh Student Challenge

The Pittsburgh awards event was hosted at the Heinz History Center by the Sprout Fund on June 10, bringing together over 120 people to celebrate the winners and play students’ games. Finalists and winners received their prizes onstage with introductions from theme partners including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Department of Innovation & Performance for the City of Pittsburgh.

Prizes included a tour of the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) NavLab where they’re making autonomous vehicles, a behind-the-scenes tour of Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the National Weather Service station, work with Heinz Center museum educators to lead Hello Neighbor, a new exhibit and education program they’re launching around immigration, and a tour for all winners of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center.

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Winner! Adventures in New York – The 30th Avenue School (Grand Prize Winner)

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On June 10, G4C hosted the second annual Student Challenge awards ceremony and arcade at the Museum of the Moving Image. Nearly 200 attendees came to celebrate NYC’s best young game designers, including families, teachers and program partners.

All 18 finalists were showcased in an interactive arcade where students demoed their games. The awards ceremony was held in the Museum’s theater, featuring remarks by three teachers, Alex Fleming from our national curriculum partner Mouse and Matt Farber who recapped our Moveable Game Jam series.

Prizes were presented to 10 winning teams, including games from Ubisoft, a tour of NYU Game Center, Arduinos, tours of the American Museum of Natural History, Museum of the City of New York, New-York Historical Society and a walking tour of DUMBO by a Brooklyn Historical Society scholar.

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Winner! Through The Eyes of the Beholder – Brooklyn Generation High School

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On June 10, G4C hosted the second annual Student Challenge awards ceremony and arcade at the Museum of the Moving Image. Nearly 200 attendees came to celebrate NYC’s best young game designers, including families, teachers and program partners.

All 18 finalists were showcased in an interactive arcade where students demoed their games. The awards ceremony was held in the Museum’s theater, featuring remarks by three teachers, Alex Fleming from our national curriculum partner Mouse and Matt Farber who recapped our Moveable Game Jam series.

Prizes were presented to 10 winning teams, including games from Ubisoft, a tour of NYU Game Center, Arduinos, tours of the American Museum of Natural History, Museum of the City of New York, New-York Historical Society and a walking tour of DUMBO by a Brooklyn Historical Society scholar.

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Winner! Climate Controller – Irwin Altman Middle School 172

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On June 10, G4C hosted the second annual Student Challenge awards ceremony and arcade at the Museum of the Moving Image. Nearly 200 attendees came to celebrate NYC’s best young game designers, including families, teachers and program partners.

All 18 finalists were showcased in an interactive arcade where students demoed their games. The awards ceremony was held in the Museum’s theater, featuring remarks by three teachers, Alex Fleming from our national curriculum partner Mouse and Matt Farber who recapped our Moveable Game Jam series.

Prizes were presented to 10 winning teams, including games from Ubisoft, a tour of NYU Game Center, Arduinos, tours of the American Museum of Natural History, Museum of the City of New York, New-York Historical Society and a walking tour of DUMBO by a Brooklyn Historical Society scholar.

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Winner! Green Hero – High School of Art and Design (Grand Prize Winner Runner-Up)

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On June 10, G4C hosted the second annual Student Challenge awards ceremony and arcade at the Museum of the Moving Image. Nearly 200 attendees came to celebrate NYC’s best young game designers, including families, teachers and program partners.

All 18 finalists were showcased in an interactive arcade where students demoed their games. The awards ceremony was held in the Museum’s theater, featuring remarks by three teachers, Alex Fleming from our national curriculum partner Mouse and Matt Farber who recapped our Moveable Game Jam series.

Prizes were presented to 10 winning teams, including games from Ubisoft, a tour of NYU Game Center, Arduinos, tours of the American Museum of Natural History, Museum of the City of New York, New-York Historical Society and a walking tour of DUMBO by a Brooklyn Historical Society scholar.

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Winner! Cleaning the City – J.H.S. 157 Stephen A. Halsey

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On June 10, G4C hosted the second annual Student Challenge awards ceremony and arcade at the Museum of the Moving Image. Nearly 200 attendees came to celebrate NYC’s best young game designers, including families, teachers and program partners.

All 18 finalists were showcased in an interactive arcade where students demoed their games. The awards ceremony was held in the Museum’s theater, featuring remarks by three teachers, Alex Fleming from our national curriculum partner Mouse and Matt Farber who recapped our Moveable Game Jam series.

Prizes were presented to 10 winning teams, including games from Ubisoft, a tour of NYU Game Center, Arduinos, tours of the American Museum of Natural History, Museum of the City of New York, New-York Historical Society and a walking tour of DUMBO by a Brooklyn Historical Society scholar.

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Winner! Adventures Through Smart Cities – Herbert H. Lehman High School

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On June 10, G4C hosted the second annual Student Challenge awards ceremony and arcade at the Museum of the Moving Image. Nearly 200 attendees came to celebrate NYC’s best young game designers, including families, teachers and program partners.

All 18 finalists were showcased in an interactive arcade where students demoed their games. The awards ceremony was held in the Museum’s theater, featuring remarks by three teachers, Alex Fleming from our national curriculum partner Mouse and Matt Farber who recapped our Moveable Game Jam series.

Prizes were presented to 10 winning teams, including games from Ubisoft, a tour of NYU Game Center, Arduinos, tours of the American Museum of Natural History, Museum of the City of New York, New-York Historical Society and a walking tour of DUMBO by a Brooklyn Historical Society scholar.

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Announcing the winners of the 2017 G4C Student Challenge

We are pleased to announce the 18 winners of our second annual Games for Change Student Challenge in NYC, Pittsburgh and Dallas! Over 2,000 middle and high school students participated in the 2017-2018 Student Challenge, learning game design in public schools and at local game jams. 

Students created nearly 400 digital games about three topics: Climate Change (with NOAA), Future Communities (with Current by GE), and Local Stories & Immigrant Voices (with National Endowment for the Humanities). The winning games share the hardships of immigration to the United States, teach strategies for building a greener city to combat climate change, explore the future of transportation infrastructure, and much more.  

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5 Tips to Gamify Your Training Infographic

To make the learning experience more enjoyable, impactful, and memorable, many organizations are now adopting a gamified learning approach, which makes sure that learning is fun as it is informative. Thin infographic presents 5 tips that can help you gamify your training

1. Set goals. Learning and Development managers need to decide and finalize the kind of the training golas. Gamification elements have to be then aligned as per the logical progression of the training event.
2. Evaluate ans display trainee progression
3. Give instant feedback. In video games, instant feedback is the act of returning information to the player immediately after the completion of an action. As part of a training, the answer would be given immediately after the learner has answered a question or performed an exercise. This technique is used by game designers because it is one of the conditions to create flow, an optimal state of mind that increases the concentration and pleasure of the player.
4. Put some rhythm in your training. Avoid time-outs. Learning with instant feedback is more dynamic! In the context of an eLearning, each action of the trainee produces an immediately observable effect on the situation of the game.
5. Reward trainees for their successes

But above all… Fun, fun and fun!  

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Literacy is for Life: Helping All Students Succeed Infographic

You became an educator to improve children’s lives—a process that begins with literacy. With th McGraw-Hill Education continuum of differentiated literacy programs and learning platforms, you can precisely tailor literacy instruction to the needs of all your students. At McGraw-Hill Education, their shared commitment and expertise can transform them all into the skilled readers, writers, and thinkers of the 21st century. Together, you can ensure that literacy is for life. Here is how you can help all students succeed. (Continue Reading)

Gamification: The Future of Education

Is gamification a futuristic fad, or does using video games to teach children promise a meaningful advance in education? UCF experts explain why we aren’t seeing more games in school yet. 

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The Gamification Spectrum

Gamification  is applying the science and psychology of gaming in a non-game context to motivate and reward your customer  to perform certain desired behaviors

In this paper Dr. Michael Wu chief scientist takes a deeper dive into what he has "patented "as the game if Gamification Spectrum . This spectrum examines a continuum of gamification techniques that can help you choose the right gamification   plan for your learners depending on the behaviors that you want to drive. 

This Guide collects all of his works from his blog the Science of Social  and places them in one place. Really amazing work.  

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4 WAYS TO BRING GAMIFICATION OF EDUCATION TO YOUR CLASSROOM

Gamification: the use of game design and mechanics to enhance non-game contexts.

We’ve seen gamification alredy in a variety of settings: completing a punch card to win a free sandwich, receiving a badge for being the first of friends to check in at a particular restaurant, or expanding our profiles on LinkedIn to bring the “completion bar” up to 100%. Gamification has even worked its way into the automotive industry with the innovative dashboard of the Ford Fusion hybrid. A high-resolution display features a rendering of vine-like leaves. Waste gas, and your vines wither. Conserve, and they blossom. The idea is to encourage brand loyalty, so how will gamification impact the education sector? (Continue Reading)

Top 9 eLearning Predictions for 2017 Infographic

Past, present and future make us think about what has gone, what we are currently into and what we are expecting in the coming days. Talking about the eLearning domain, with every passing year advancement in technology brought fruitful results. As online learning as a whole is expected to bolster in the coming days, there is a lot to ponder upon when it comes to usability and functions. The Top 9 eLearning Predictions for 2017 Infographic guides you through the eLearning trends and predictions that will play a key role in 2017. This will help the L&D enthusiasts get a clearer picture of the global eLearning landscape which will help them make necessary changes in their existing strategies. (Continue Reading)

Learning Economics with Minecraft: Productive Resources

Economies depend on the availability of resources. This lesson introduces the concept of productive resources to students through discussion. Students learn how the use of natural, human, and capital resources impacts outcomes while building houses in Minecraft.

This lesson is also posted on Minecraft Education's website of lesson plans.  For more lesson plans using Minecraft, please visit: https://education.minecraft.net/class-resources/lessons/ .

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3 Key Steps to a Successful eLearning Course Infographic

Instructional design is the backbone of any successful training course. The systematic development of instruction affects how well your audience comprehends and retains the material. Understanding the learners and determining the most effective way to transfer information to them is crucial to getting the most out of your training investment.

This 3 Key Steps to a Successful eLearning Course Infographic outlines the 3 steps in the course building cycle that should be considered closely when selecting the instructional design best fit for your learning objectives. 
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6 Key Teamwork Personality Traits Infographic

Many things in life work better when you have other people alongside you. Think about it, whether it’s a game of football, a night out on the town or doing the washing up, you can get things done quicker, more effectively and have a lot more fun along the way if you’re working in a group or team.

A strong team needs good team players who are all committed to working hard together to reach a shared goal. This is why employers place such value on team working abilities when recruiting, every team member is a vital cog in the company machine!

Some people take to teamwork like a duck to water, whereas others find it a little harder. The good news is, whether you’re a natural team player or not, your ability to work with other people is a skill that can be developed and improved.

So, what makes a good team player? Here are some excellent traits to bear in mind whenever you’re working in a team. (Continue Reading)

Gamification Design Tips Infographic

Everyone loves a game, and for good reason too. The addictive nature of gaming is one that we’d all like to harness in our learning. But the science behind also means that you increase learners’ knowledge retention and makes your learners more engaged with learning.

Our experience tells us that well-designed learning games lead to a better learning experience for your employees. Gamification is all about using game-based thinking, mechanics and aesthetics to engage and motivate your learners through training. Games that tap into the addictive and competitive nature of humans are more likely to grip your learners’ attention, meaning increased memory recall and knowledge retention far beyond their pass date. Games can connect your learners with organisational training and drive impactful and positive culture shifts and behaviour changes over time.

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Gamification And Serious Games: Differences And Benefits eLearning Pros Need To Know

Differences Between Gamification And Serious Games

Gamification and serious games are often grouped together. It's true that they both motivate online learners and enhance their eLearning experience. However, there are certain characteristics that set them apart. As such, it's important to distinguish these two eLearning strategies so that you can find the best solution for your eLearning course.

Let's take a closer look at what differentiates gamification from serious games.

What Is Gamification?

Gamification blends game mechanics with traditional eLearning activities and modules. Leaderboards, points, and eLearning badges add that extra incentive online learners need to actively participate. You can also use levels to fuel their motivation, which also serve as eLearning benchmarks. For example, online learners must complete the first eLearning module in order to unlock the next level. Choosing the right game mechanics is of the upmost importance. You must conduct in depth audience research to determine what drives them. For some, leaderboards may cater to their need for friendly competition. While others prefer to earn eLearning badges, points, and other asynchronous rewards.

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The Digital Diet of the American Teen Infographic

Teens are now spending more time consuming digital media than sleeping. Yep, you read that right. Digital media consumption, aka digital diet, is now the most time-consuming teen activity—above all else.

Digital media is any digitized content that can be transmitted electronically via the Internet, cable or computer networks. This content includes TV programs, movies, videos, music, text messaging, gaming, social media, websites, newspapers, novels, and more. Technological advances provide more devices to access that content, namely smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs, and MP3 players. 

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