Publication: THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE
Published: Wednesday, February 08, 2012
By: BEN CALWELL
Students were playing games Feb. 1 at South Charleston Middle School, but they weren't goofing off.
These games, designed by the students themselves, incorporated science, technology, engineering and math STEM.
During Digital Learning Day, the students demonstrated high-tech, educational games that they started designing at the start of the school year. Some of the games incorporated robotics and 3-D design skills.
Digital Learning Day is part of Globaloria, which is a social learning network, said SCMS technical education teacher C.K. Dolan.
According to a handout, Globaloria is the first and largest social learning network, where students develop digital literacies, STEM knowledge and global citizenship skills through game design.
The World Wide Workshop, a non-profit organization with a goal of connecting students via Internet research and computer skills, developed the Globaloria program.
Following guidelines on the Globaloria website, the students worked as individuals and then as two-person teams on their projects. The goal was to create educational games using elements of STEM.
Globaloria provides the students a �day-by-day� course schedule, Dolan said. The students have been working on their games since school started in August.
Through Globaloria, the students �can collaborate with other schools online,� she said.
The SCMS students joined their counterparts at 60 schools in Florida, Texas, California and New York for Digital Learning Day.
At SCMS, 18 students created nine educational games that deal with aspects of science, technology, engineering and math.
Our goal is to make everything project-based using problem solving and critical thinking skills, Dolan said.
She said the student-designed games use Flash software to boost their performance. Some of the games focused on such topics as ecology and the solar system.
Dolan invited parents to watch their children participate in Digital Learning Day. In her opening remarks, she told the parents that the high-tech skills the students learn would serve them well in the future.
Girls and guys can do engineering, and it can be fun, she said.
Parent Tammy Shuff was there to watch her son, Colton, work on a multiplication game that he designed.
I am amazed at how much Colton has learned in such a short time about designing and programming his own educational web game. The class is also teaching him how to safely use the Internet, gain expertise in online research, be able to determine if resources are good all skills much needed in today's and in the future's digital technology savvy workforce, Shuff said.