Game Programming teacher receives top award.

Margaret Meijers has been recognised as one of the world's 4 most outstanding teachers in recognition of her work with computer games programming:

Award-winning Tasmanian Government school teacher Margaret Meijers is now officially one of the most outstanding teachers in the world.

Margaret, a teacher at New Town High School, won the Content category for her Games in Learning programs at the Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Teacher Awards announced in Philadelphia in the United States this week.

http://www.media.tas.gov.au/release.php?id=19518

Margaret uses Klik&Play and GameMaker with primary and secondary school students
See her work at http://www.mindtools.tased.edu.au/gamemaker

Congratulations Margaret

you-gotta-share-your-good-stuff

In reply to Graham Wegner http://gwegner.edublogs.org/2006/04/04/you-gotta-share-your-good-stuff/

When I learnt that Marc Prensky would be in Australia, I jumped at the opportunity. In collaboration with ACMI and DE&T the ASISTM Games Cluster was able to bring him to Melbourne. Marc is an excellent communicator and was able to fill the venue easily, something that would be harder to achieve with an Australian speaker. We were able to spread the message about games in education to a wide audience.

Richard Van Eck, in his paper Digital Game- Based Learning It’s Not Just the Digital Natives Who Are Restless suggests that proponents of digital game-based learning (DGBL) should move from the promotion of DGBL to a critical analysis of DGBL.

“Like the person who is still yelling after the sudden cessation of loud music at a party” we now have the world’s attention and its time to do critical analysis of what exactly we are promoting. Though I don't agree with his conclusion that we should adopt off the shelves games ahead of game making, he makes a good point.

Its a bit like the 80's and Logo. The educational literature of the day was strong on advocacy but weak on analysis. There was lots of hype but a shallowunderstanding of the pedagogy, teachers were understandably disappointed and Logo got a bad name.

We are fortunate in Australia to have world class practitioners of DGBL. To mention some, there's Bill Kerr, Margaret Meijers, Al Upton and Mark Piper and the Games In Learning group.

Doug Johnson is right, part of our national psyche is a totally undeserved inferiority complex. We need to recognise the position of leadership we hold in game programming and as Doug says "I do hope you start recognizing and speaking more of the contributions you make"

SA Computer Educator of the Year

Congratulations to Al Upton, SA Computer Educator of the Year. http://www.cegsa.sa.edu.au/awards/history/2005/al_upton.asp
Al's work in ICT education including game making was recognised by the Computers in Education Group of South Australia.

Al is the second member of the ASISTM Games Programming Cluster to be recognised.
Margaret Meijers received The National Awards for Quality Schooling Best National Achievement by a Teacher http://www.teachingaustralia.edu.au

Congratulations Margaret, Hi Marc

The Games Programming Cluster in association with DE&T and ACMI was pleased to sponsor Marc Prensky to Melbourne last night. He spoke to a packed house of teachers and education administrators to a packed house at Melbourne's Federation Square.
Marc's talk, "Engage me or Enrage Me" was about technology and teaching in a rapidly changing society and what Computer Games have to teach us. You can see a previous presentation of his at http://www.surfnet.nl/bijeenkomsten/owd2005/prensky/

Congratulations to Margaret Meijers, Cluster member on your award.
The National Awards for Quality Schooling
Best National Achievement by a Teacher
Margaret Meijers, New Town High School, Tasmania
http://www.teachingaustralia.edu.au/

This is the first year of these awards