Quest Atlantis - Virtual Learning at its Best New |
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Gord will introduce and demonstrate a Multi-player Online Role-playing Edugame called Quest Atlantis (QA), It was developed by a specialized department headed by Dr. Sasha Barab within the University of Indiana’s Faculty of Education. It is free and has been used successfully for a number of years by schools around the world to deliver curriculum and assessment. Gord will share his personal experience with last year’s very successful pilot program at North Island Distance Education School (NIDES), and discuss the broad range of possible applications for all who teach students between grades 4-9. You will leave this workshop with a clear and proven course of action to revolutionize learning in your school at the intermediate grade levels. (This will be followed by a keynote address by Dr. Shasha Barab Friday afternoon, and an opportunity for questions and answers. A QA training session will also be available on Saturday for those teachers who work as specialists, classroom teachers, and distance educators.) |
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Audience: Gr. 4-7 |
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| Schedule for: |
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| Room: | A 126 Library |
| Instructors: |
Gord Holden Courtenay, BC
Gord Holden MEd, is a winner of the Claude Lewis, Maxwell Cameron, and Apex Awards in education. He has been teaching Intermediate classroom in the Comox Valley School District for 15 years, and an additional 3 years with North Island Distance Education School (NIDES). Having long been an advocate and user of computer technology in the classroom, Gord has provided the students at NIDES with an optional curriculum that uses the virtual worlds of Quest Atlantis (QA) as the cornerstone. His successful pilot program causes him to believe that QA, developed by a specialized department within the University of Indiana’s Faculty of Education may well be the MORE (Multi-player Online Role-playing Edugame) engine that powers an educational revolution in B.C. It has been his experience that QA provides both the 21 Century platform and high-interest level to engage both the gifted and challenged populations and everything in between. He has constructed the curriculum to address the learning outcomes for students in grades 5-7, but QA can also be used between grade 4-9, and is FREE. What he brings to this conference has the potential to equip other teachers to add a powerful new dimension to their teacher practice. gholden@nides.bc.ca  Sasha Barab Bloomington, Indiana Dr. Barab is a world-reknown keynote speaker in the area of virtual learning and the founder of Quest Atlantis through Indiana University. His current work involves the research and development of rich learning environments, frequently with the aid of technology, that are designed to assist children in developing their sense of purpose as individuals, as members of their communities, and as knowledgeable citizens of the world. Central to this work has been a focus on the understanding the value of transactive play, referring to a state of engagement that involves projection into the role of a character who, engaged in a partly fictional problem context, must apply conceptual understandings to make sense of and, ultimately, transform the context. sbarab@indiana.edu Website: http://atlantis.crlt.indiana.edu/  |
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