Using gaming to incorporate Information Literacy with Maths

Article on integrating games and Web 2.0 tools into IL instruction

"Gaming and learning: Winning information literacy" by Marsha Spiegelman and Richard Glass in C&RL News, October 2008 Vol. 69, No. 9

This ties in with my last post on using gaming and learning. This time it is with HE students in the US and of particular interest is the integration of IL within Maths and students enjoying using Maths logic to search databases. Examples of IL and Maths are thin on the ground.

Agan it is a collaborative piece of work which I think is important linking people / professions and IL / academic subjects to produce inovative learning. This is reiterated by the writers in the last sentence of the article
"Successful projects like ours require that you leave the confines of your library walls. Approach like-minded colleagues, attend cross-disciplinary conferences, and turn on your inner gamer to make productive collaboration happen."

This is something we try to do within the Scottish Information Literacy Project.

Although this is set within HE, the thrust of the concept could be equally applied within other sectors.

Scottish Learning Festival

Attended the Scottish Learning Festival at the SECC in Glasgow. The event is about learning and teaching and gives me the opportunity to meet up with contacts within Scottish education and make new ones. Also see the latest developments in education, to swap and discuss ideas. The Curriculum for Excellence and GLOW were the main focus with practical advice and ideas about effective use of ICT in classrooms to improve the quality of learning and teaching along with discussions and presentations about the draft learning experinces and outcomes.

There were some really innovative ideas like the transition project at Mussleburgh Grammar School (Ollie Bray) and Stoneyhill Primary School (Seonaid McGillvray) which used the computer game 'Guitar Hero' as a basis for enriched assessment for enriched enquiry learning. The pupils start on the project in P7 and form a Rock Band which they take on the road. They have to plan their road trip, find out information on the country they are going to, look at timetables to work out how to get there. The pupils work is assessed by the teacher and by pupil peer assessment. Transition documents accompany the pupils who take their work with them to continue working on it in S1 at secondary school. Amongst other things they create a card to promote their Rock Band. Once the project is finished a copy is sent back to the pupils primary school teacher.

During the presentation I couldn't help thinking that the skills they were talking about are information literacy skills but there was no mention of information literacy and no mention of the school librarian / learning resource co-ordinator contributing to this project. Missed opportunity.

The project was part of the presentation about Enriched assessment for enriched enquiry: inter/cross-disciplinary studies to develop skills and attributes for learning, life and work in the UK, Queensland and New Zealand.

Will do another post when I have time about the other presentations / discussions I attended.