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Aalborg libraryplay in HE workshop
This document discusses how play and games can inform learning in higher education. It provides background on the author and their expertise in play, games, and creative teaching approaches. The author believes play has many benefits for exploring ideas, active learning, and constructing knowledge in a low-risk environment. They argue the main purpose of games is to deliver play. Potential benefits of using games and play activities in teaching are discussed, such as problem solving, orientation, and building activities. The author advocates giving permission for adults to play and seeing playfulness as an attitude for work.
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Aalborg libraryplay in HE workshop
- 1. How play caninform learning in HE Andrew Walsh, National Teaching Fellow. Managing Editor of Journal of Play in Adulthood. @PlayBrarian http://innovativelibraries.org.uk
- 2. Who am I? •National Teaching Fellow / Academic Librarian at University of Huddersfield • Run workshops on Play, making games, creative teaching approaches • Write books / articles / stuff • Recently founded the Journal of Play in Adulthood • Heavily into Information Literacy, using play in work and teaching, and generally mucking about
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- 4. "Summing up theformal characteristic of play, we might call it a free activity standing quite consciously outside 'ordinary' life as being 'not serious' but at the same time absorbing the player intensely and utterly. It is an activity connected with no material interest, and no profit can be gained by it. It proceeds within its own proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed rules and in an orderly manner. It promotes the formation of social groupings that tend to surround themselves with secrecy and to stress the difference from the common world by disguise or other means.“ Huizinga (1955) Homo Ludens play is Apparently Purposeless (done for its own sake); Voluntary; has Inherent Attraction; Freedom from time; Diminished consciousness of self; Improvisational potential; and Continuation desire. Brown & Vaughan (2010) Play: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination, and invigorates the soul.
- 5. But really… … tome, if you think it’s play, it probably is. Likely to have certain attributes, including control resting within group of players.
- 6. Are games playwith added rules? “All games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system, and voluntary participation.” Assuming play is embedded in this too? McGonigal (2012) Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world.
- 7. But all playhas rules. In Bernie DeKoven’s words… “In a Game Community, the rules and officials decide if the players are good enough to play. If not, they change players. In a Play Community, the players decide if the game is fun enough to play. If not, they change rules.” www.deepfun.com To me, this flexibility is a key reason to use games and play in education.
- 8. Difference between gamesand play is a bit more subtle… AN EXAMPLE SPECTRUM OF PLAY FORMS, WITH APOLOGIES TO CAILLOIS* (NOT TO SCALE.) Caillois, R. and Barash, M. (2001) Man, play, and games. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. I see one of the biggest benefits of using “games” in HE is the potential for “play” to happen.
- 9. Gamification is abit of a weird beast… … but means applying game elements to non- game settings.
- 10. What are thebenefits of play (in HE)? This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
- 11. Play has loadsof benefits… … I see the main purpose of games as delivering play. • Good for exploring ideas • Safe • Creative • Inviting • Low risk (for participants) • Thinking with your hands • Good for active learning • Construct own knowledge • Expose people to new ideas • Reinforce facts by repetition • Memorable!
- 12. Teaching through games/ play… • Simple “active learning” style activities • Problem solving games • Orientation / exploration activities • Building / creating activities
- 13. Your current practice… …discuss in groups: “what elements of your teaching could be replaced by games / play activities?”
- 14. Your current practice… …discuss in groups: “what elements of your teaching could be replaced by games / play activities?” “What problems do you think you might encounter doing this?”
- 15. But play isa “political act”… … it demonstrates intent publicly. We need to give permission to play.
- 16. Walsh A. (2019)“Giving permission for adults to play”, The Journal of Play in Adulthood. 1(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.5920/jpa.565
- 17. Use the chatterboxto pick a topic to discuss…
- 18. Playfulness? Another idea alittle different to play / games… …playfulness is “being full of play or fun.” For us, it might be an attitude to work.
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- 20. Thank you fortaking part… More stuff: Twitter: @PlayBrarian Email: a.p.walsh@hud.ac.uk https://gamesforlibraries.blogspot.com/ http://innovativelibraries.org.uk My book on games and play: “The librarians' book on teaching through games and play”; ISBN 9781911500070
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Editor's Notes
- #2 Will try to model certain playful approaches throughout this…
- #3 Brief intro – who am I?
- #4 Polleverywhere – activate one at a time? Login = library@hud.ac.uk Password = textvote 2 questions, 1=tree. 2= “Do you currently…” 3rd question save until the end…
- #5 Theory on play – definition, etc…
- #7 Definition of games
- #8 Competitive & formal games try to change the players – think sports. The more “playful” the environment, the easier it is to change the game instead… to suit the players! T
- #10 Different things to different people. Just point that out before carrying on! Badgification…
- #11 Balloon exercise …. Write down a benefit of play, stick in balloon, knock around the room. Burst, chat on tables about what they feel the benefits of play might be… Share some to the front after. Next slide is a few of my “key benefits”
- #13 Active Learning (card games, reference building games, quizzes, etc) – practice skills, introduce facts, test knowledge Problem solving (escape rooms in a box), Alternate Reality Games – much more playful Orientation / belonging activities like treasure hunts, ARGs again, walking / psychogeography ideas Creative activities – often using metaphor. Allow people to express ideas in a way they might not otherwise. Reflective, creating knowledge. (All often have a team building element)
- #14 Remember, librarians often try to teach “all the things”, but does anyone actually learn much from this? Might need prompts and examples? Cards that say: Simple card game does x, escape room in a box, y…. THEN
- #15 Remember, librarians often try to teach “all the things”, but does anyone actually learn much from this? Might need prompts and examples? Cards that say: Simple card game does x, escape room in a box, y…. THEN, discuss what problems they might encounter – again in groups and feed some back to the front. Hopefully this will feed into “permission to play”.
- #16 How often do people play in lectures? It can be scary, unexpected, etc… so need to give permission to play, to make that statement that we are playing / playful. About setting the environment, etc… refer to exercises we’ve done! Lead into my research.
- #18 Created – in Dropbox! 4 topics about enabling play (Space, authority, Play drivers, transition)
- #19 Not sure whether to talk about “playfulness”? Maybe in attitude to work? One of experimentation, innovation, a willingness to embrace challenge and to try and fail, but to learn from that and try again. It doesn’t require formal games, or to be given explicit invitations to play. If we can encourage a playful attitude amongst our staff (and ourselves) it can help bring about some of the benefits of play we talked about earlier.
- #20 Polleverywhere – activate one at a time? Login = library@hud.ac.uk Password = textvote 2 questions, 1=tree. 2= “Do you currently…” 3rd question save until the end… reflective word cloud!
- #22 Too many people when teaching, try to teach *all the things*. Have you not heard of youtube? Forget about mechanics of doing stuff, think about quality over quantity.
- #23 Link via images. Duplicate this slide after each example, then go to end? 4 slides SEEK!, #clschallenge (gamification in a way!), Lego model (make an animal! – need lots of bags…), escape room puzzle?
- #24 Link via images. Duplicate this slide after each example, then go to end? 4 slides SEEK!, #clschallenge (gamification in a way!), Lego model (make an animal! – need lots of bags…), escape room puzzle?
- #25 Link via images. Duplicate this slide after each example, then go to end? 4 slides SEEK!, #clschallenge (gamification in a way!), Lego model (make an animal! – need lots of bags…), escape room puzzle?
- #28 If time, include this video about play…