Awesome videos to inspire epic classrooms

Okay, so I realize that everyone and their sister, at this point, has posted their own curated roundup of videos on Game Based Learning and Gamification in the classroom. I'm certainly not doing anything new here. Occasionally, though, I want to share with a colleague or fifty, during workshops or conferences, my cannon of inspirational videos of gaming goodness. It's just more simple to put them all in one place, so here they are.

Ultimately, these videos speak for themselves. I'll keep my commentary to a minimum. I will say that these videos actually started me down the path of actually taking games and game design seriously in my classroom. If I hadn't seen Chellman & Mcgonigal's TED talks one fateful day in 2011, I never would have attended break out sessions on games and gamification with Jeff Mummert at the first Tech.it.u or taken an online course called, "Simulations and Gaming Technologies for the Classroom". I certainly wouldn't be as passionate about this topic today. 

Ali Carr-Chellman: Gaming to re-engage boys in learning




"Should we send this child to the psychologist?" And the answer is no, he's just a boy. He's just a little boy. (Ali Carr-Chellman)



Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world




And when we're in game worlds I believe that many of us become the best version of ourselves, the most likely to help at a moment's notice, the most likely to stick with a problem as long at it takes, to get up after failure and try again. And in real life, when we face failure, when we confront obstacles, we often don't feel that way. We feel overcome, we feel overwhelmed, we feel anxious, maybe depressed, frustrated or cynical. (Jane McGonigal)

Games and Education Scholar James Paul Gee on Video Games, Learning, and Literacy




It's what I call 'situated and embodied learning.' And what I mean by that is being able to solve problems with what you know, not just know a bunch of inert facts. But be able to use facts and information as tools for problem solving in specific contexts." (James Paul Gee)

Gabe Zichermann: How games make kids smarter




Seriously consider the picture you were looking at right now like in my era even my grandfathers era. Sitting down on a Sunday afternoon to read a good book with a cup of tea. Like I just have to say, I don't think that today's kids are ever gonna do that. (Gabe Zichermann)

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