Idaho statewide teen game design camp

For immediate release:

CONTACT
Idaho Digital Learning
Mike Caldwell
208.342.0207

Idaho Teens To Learn Digital Game Design as Career Path

Idaho Teen GameLab to teach Idaho students the art of digital game design and coding in an interactive camp.

Screen Shot 2014-01-11 at 1.36.26 PMBoise – January 2014 – Idaho students interested in a career in digital gaming and computer programming have the opportunity to participate in the Idaho Teen GameLab (ITGL). ITGL is a six-week, fully online academic camp that provides career exploration in the exciting field of digital game design. ITGL is taught using 3D GameLab, a quest-based learning platform where students level up by playing educational “quests” at their own pace within Gamemaker Studio, Sploder, Unity, Minecraft and adventure maps. Students will collaborate in virtual worlds to plan and build civilizations, create personalized games, test and provide feedback on fellow-developers games. ITGL is co-sponsored by Idaho Digital Learning (IDLA) and GoGo Labs.

“At Idaho Digital Learning, we are always searching for innovative ways to improve learning opportunities for Idaho Students. Idaho Teen Game Lab provides a rich learning experience that promotes creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking which are essential skills in todays work environment. We are really excited about our partnership with GoGo Labs and have enjoyed working with them on this project” said Mike Caldwell, Idaho Digital Learning Director of Program Development

“Ninety-nine percent of teens play video games. GoGo Labs is focused on engaging students and inspiring teachers through gamified learning opportunities, and what could be more interesting than designing the games themselves? We’re excited to be working with IDLA to bring this opportunity to Idaho teens” said Lisa Dawley, GoGo Labs CEO & Founder

In celebration of Digital Learning Day, registration will open on February 5, 2014.

Up to 200 middle and high school students throughout the state of Idaho can participate in the camp beginning in March. ITGL is great for beginning and intermediate game designers. For more information, or go to http://idahoteengamelab.org/.

Idaho Digital Learning was established as Idaho’s state virtual school by the Idaho Legislature in 2002.  The state virtual school serves 100% of Idaho School districts at over 19,000 enrollments in 2012-2013. Idaho Digital Learning is a nationally recognized program that was ranked 3rd in the U.S. for Online Learning Policy and Practice (Center for Digital Education, 2008) and is the fourth-largest State Virtual School in the United States based on statewide per capita online enrollments (Keeping Pace, 2011)

GoGo Labs, Inc., is a learning technology business based in Boise, Idaho.  Its mission is to empower, inspire and engage teachers and students using quest-based learning, and game-like learning communities. GoGo Labs holds a global exclusive license on 3D GameLab, a patent-pending learning platform that promotes student engagement and feelings of heroic success leveraging game mechanics such as quests, ranks, badges and player cards. Its customers are educators and institutions in over 13 countries that are seeking exciting, new ways to engage their digital-age students.

Teacher Wallets & DonorsChoose

Teacher Wallets promoIf you’re into teachers at all, then you’re probably aware of donorschoose.org, a really cool organization and website where teachers can pitch their projects/needs for the their classrooms, and donors can contribute to help them reach their goals.   Recently, the Gates Foundation and Digital Promise teamed up with DonorsChoose to create Teacher Wallets, a unique pilot program that provides 300 K-8 teachers nationwide with up to $6,000 per teacher to purchase digital courseware in core content areas.  The goal of the project is to study and better understand how teachers choose and use digital courseware in their classrooms.

As a teacher advocate for over 20 years, you can see why this project has personal appeal.  It’s not only asking teachers what works in their local context, but it’s turning over the purchasing decision directly at the class level, and studying actual implementation and outcomes.  SRI International will be doing some of the evaluation work, and I’m really looking forward to finding out more about what they learn.

We are PROUD that 3D GameLab was chosen to be showcased as an option on Teacher Wallets as a result of our recent finalist position in the NY Gap App Challenge.  We’re also curious if teachers will “choose” us, and why or why not.  When developing educational technologies, it’s critical to engage with participatory innovation, and this opportunity to learn systematically about our platform is an amazing opportunity for next phase development cycles.  Good luck with Teacher Wallets.

PS  I’d love to see all teachers have a Teacher Wallet!!

In the News at ISTE

ISTE 2013 has come and gone.  At GoGo Labs, we were incredibly excited to have 3D GameLab showcased in the Epic Leadership event, and have our own Dr. Chris Haskell provide the keynote address for the Games SIG (SIGGS).  Gamification of learning was a HOT topic this year at ISTE, and we’re happy to share two great blogs summarizing some of the cool initiatives happening in this area. Thanks for the love!

Game-Based Learning Ideas from ISTE
Edutopia | Andrew Miller
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/gbl-ideas-from-iste-andrew-miller

Sparks Created at ISTE13
Getting Smart | Susan Lucille Davis
http://gettingsmart.com/2013/06/sparks-created-at-iste13/