The Spartans Do Globaloria

I couldn't wait to see what East's group was up to last Friday when I finally was able to pay them a visit. This class, co-taught by Abbie and Jim, is unusual in that its teachers are from English/Journalism/Drama and Music backgrounds, demonstrating the versatility of the Globaloria program and its adaptability; these two teachers and their students are proving that 21st century skills can be exciting for anyone from any curricular background. I know I would have enjoyed this "break" from traditional teaching when I was in the classroom. Now I have to enjoy the teaching and learning vicariously as I visit and peer over the shoulders of the teachers and kids.

Taught on an alternating block schedule, the students meet every other day for 90 minutes, giving them a good chunk of time to "play" with their ideas and focus on their Flash drawings. They have completed their initial idea-gathering and their paper prototypes. Knowing I was coming for a visit, Jim had the video of their game pitches ready. It was great to see their smooth presentations and well-thought-out game plans - I must admit, they were better than most of what we teachers were able to "create" in our summer sessions. (OK, better than what I was able to create - I won't lump everyone into my portrayal.) The best part was watching the kids and teacher enjoy the video as much as I did.

After the video, I wandered about talking to the two teams, looking at their drawings, and listening to their explanations of the games they're working on.

TEAM GERM-N-ATOR, inspired by their senior English teacher (yay!), has a Beowulf concept with various monsters at-the-ready to devour the Anglo-Saxon hero. (The cross-curricular possibilities are endless.) While I don't remember a cyclops in Anglo-Saxon England, in the GERM-N-ATOR's world of revisionist history, creativity is the word and creative license is encouraged. This game has excitement and humor, both elements of successful game play. It will be interesting to see what other "monsters" representing human threats come after Beowulf.

The GERM-N-ATORS at work:

TEAM FIERCE-KUNG-FU-LLAMA-KOMBAT-RANDOMNESS is working on an original concept also. Some highly skilled character drawing adds to the game's attractiveness. I think they're out to wipe drunk and/or impaired driving off the map, but I'm not positive that's all they're up to in their game concept. Their game has the unusual offering to a player to take on the role of either the pursuing police officer or the impaired driver - guess who wins!

Game on!