Touro course links computer games and education

A workshop uniting computer games and education in a professional development course for teachers, enlightened some 40 participants earlier this month at Touro College’s Graduate School of Technology in Manhattan.

The six-hour one-day class was held twice by E-Line Media, a publisher of game-based learning products and services. The course instructed participants in how to create educational games to use in classroom settings for students from age eight to 14 to hone technology-based skills.

Most of those who attended the class are teachers of regular subjects, stated Yevgeny Komm, assistant director of the Instructional Technology Masters program at the Touro College Graduate School of Technology. “Some are aspiring to become teachers, some work with technology and some are looking to learn about technology.” Komm noted that overall, the “students loved it, they asked when we will offer this kind of class work again, they asked where the information will be posted. Because of this, many of them want to get into instructional technology, a field that allows them to do this on a daily basis with their various subjects.” They hope to offer the course again with the same company, address and location to be determined.

Katya Hott, the teacher of the course, has a Masters from New York University in Digital Media Design for Learning. “The course covered the basics of how to use game design in the classroom,” she said. “We looked at what comprises a game, why game design is a beneficial learning activity, and how to use the platform Gamestar Mechanic as a design tool.” She noted that the students of the course who were already using technology were “interested specifically in using games and game design with their students.” The goals of the course, Hott explained, “were to explore how game design can be used to teach systems thinking, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving in the classroom. By the end of the workshop, students should understand what makes a good (challenging and fun) game, what game design can do for students, and how to design basic 2D games using Gamestar Mechanic.”

One of the participants in the course, Kathleen Hughes of the Bronx, has a Master of Science degree in Instructional Technology from Touro, and took the course because she said that she “would like to get back into teaching” and she wants to “stay current. Technology is forever changing.” The course taught “how to make games and how to use the game program in the classroom,” she said. They “show how the students can play. They start small and go through different quests and get more avatars and icons that they can use. Their supply and workshop grows. Students can design their own games and come across things that are broken and they have to fix. They drag and drop items as they design and fix the game and get to share games in Game Alley.” She noted that it teaches critical and higher order thinking skills, problem solving skills, creative thinking, collaboration, writing, storytelling, and STEM learning: science, technology, engineering, math. It also has resources for teachers, learning guides, and lesson plans. Hughes said that the course was “geared for teachers to bring technology into the classroom.”

Hughes said that the course was “well done. It was a useful course, very engaging, It develops tons of skills and keeps kids interested. People had ‘wow’ moments. People were amazed in the use of the program.”

For more information contact Yevgeny Komm at yevgeny.komm@touro.edu or call 212-463-0400 x5248.