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Derek Robertson - Hero Innovator
Written by Graham Brown-Martin on Sunday, 23 March 2008
Derek Evaluating game-based learning.

With the Byron Review, that looks into the influence of videogames on children - led by child psychologist Dr Tanya Byron, about to be published it seemed apt that we should kick off our hero innovator series with Derek Robertson of the Consolarium, Learning & Teaching Scotland.

By kind invitation I headed North to Aberdeen to visit two primary schools and a teachers training session. Having followed Derek's work and ideas for the past 2 years I had expected to be impressed but what I experienced, and hope I've gone some way to capturing, was something bordering on an epiphany.

Derek and the Consolarium initiative are studying whether learning could be dramatically enhanced by using the kind of technologies and experiences that are already a part of many young learners lives. The Consolarium is manufacturer independent, receiving no industry sponsorship and purchases all the devices and software used themselves. Derek informs me that he believes this is a critical factor in the work that the Consolarium is engaged given that platforms typically wax and wane in their popularity. The only guidance is what learners are already using and the relevance of the software. Technology platforms used include Nintendo DS and Wii, Sony PSP and PlayStation, Xbox as well as mobile phones.


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It's the Learning, Stupid!
Written by Graham Brown-Martin on Saturday, 01 March 2008
handheldA thirteen year old from Peckham taught me a new word this week. We'd been looking at some new devices from gaming tech to the new breed of ultra low cost laptops when he said of one particular model, "that's not a laptop, it's a craptop". Perhaps a little harsh but it did get me thinking about young people’s relationship with technology.

My 7 year old, a keen iBook owner, an iPhone want-to-have and Nintendo Wii demon, is quite taken with the RM miniBook / Asus EEE PC wanting one in pink to go with her DS. She's not especially unusual in her collection or interest in gadgets, many of her friends from the same inner city primary are hooked. Unfortunately none of these devices can be taken and used in school so any learning with them is performed outside hours with little motivation to share it at school.

The argument about technology being embedded in the lives of learners has been rehearsed many times in these forums and at our conferences. So let's not dwell on whether we want to call these learners "digital natives" less the fogies that are clinging on to their respeck get offended. Let's accept the principle that these guys wear their tech like clothes. By this I mean they take it for granted and use it/abuse it, often in ways that previous generations haven't considered. Also like clothes their gadgetry and use of tech are used as identifiers of trend, fashion and tribe.
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