What happens when resources are unequally distributed? Do citizens learn to cooperate and trade? Or is violence inevitable?
Those were some of the questions pondered by Global Kids’ Playing For Keeps youth leaders at Hungercraft 2.0, an event at the Main Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library on Saturday, March 30. Using a special world created by Minecraft Edu inspired by the popular books The Hunger Games, they faced off against the teens in Brooklyn Public Library’s T4 program (Today’s Teens, Tomorrow’s Techies).
In those books, the central Capital region of the nation Panem is flush with opulent wealth and exercises control over the Districts, the outlying, poorer areas. The game Hungercraft imagines Panem 75 years before the first novel took place, when a failed rebellion left the nation devastated. GK’s P4K leaders assumed the role of Capital inhabitants — equipped with stronger building materials and the ability to make food. The T4s became the citizens of District 12, a desolate region with not much to brag about beyond its coal mine.
Both teams began by rebuilding their territories and mining for resources. When Joel Levin, from Minecraft Edu, the creator of the world, turned on the avatars’ health and hunger meters, the struggle to survive began.
Game play was full of surprises. The T4s in District 12 figured out how to make food without the Capital’s resources. The P4Ks in the Capital figured out how to make coal to cook their food without trading. And both teams had stockpiled so many weapons that it seemed like a battle was the only alternative — many students wound up in “limbo,” the place where players take a penalty time out when they die in the game.
During the debrief, participants drew connections between gameplay and current and historical global events. They talked about the fear that had developed once the two sides were labeled as enemies, the lack of communication within and between teams, and the itchy trigger-fingers that resulted from their growing arsenals.
All agreed that video games, when designed well, have the potential to teach us about complex human interactions.
We are grateful for the support provided by the Hive NYC Learning Network to run this program for a second consecutive year. Thanks to Joel Levin and Pat Hough of Minecraft Edu, Jennifer Thompson and Jackson Gomes of BPL. Special thanks to photographer Owen Long of Minecraft Edu for taking the incredible photos of the youth in action.
It’s the 2nd annual Digital Learning Day, and once again, we’ve compiled a bunch of great resources from within the network to share with you. They are all available to anyone looking for information or inspiration on how to incorporate digital learning practices and pedagogies into their learning spaces. They’ve all been tested in afterschool, out-of-school and summer learning environments, and they’re free for you to use, remix and share.
Today, our own Leah Gilliam is also at the National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks Annual Meeting in DC where she’s participating in two sessions and highlighting some of the exciting work that has come from the rich collaborations and partnerships within Hive NYC. One session explores how to build and sustain digital learning opportunities from a networked perspective and via partnerships. The other focuses on the Maker Movement in the afterschool space, namely, what “making” looks like in informal learning and how it empowers learners. We’ll share more details following those sessions soon!
Check out these resources!
Curiosity Machine – Iridescent.The Curiosity Machine is a hands-on learning platform that brings cutting-edge science research and related engineering activities to children and their families. The Curiosity Machine is supported by NSF and the Office of Naval Research. It is a website and mobile app that hosts a collection of exciting and challenging engineering projects designed to encourage curiosity, creativity, and persistence.
Technovation Challenge – Iridescent. Technovation Challenge’s mission is to support and inspire girls to become creators and innovators. The program offers high school girls an opportunity to learn about computer science and entrepreneurship by partnering with women in technology via an online course hosted on P2PU. Together they bring their unique perspectives together to develop mobile phone applications that solve problems in their local communities.
TASCasaurus After-School Curriculum – Hive NYC and TASC. Developed by The After-School Corporation and Hive NYC Learning Network, this curriculum provides educators in expanded learning time, after-school and other out-of-school time settings with a free, engaging, web-based model to teach kids how to move from digital consumers to active web producers.
Webmaking Hacktivities – Mozilla. For educators looking to introduce concepts around webmaking into formal or informal learning environments, these Hacktivity Kits include everything you need, from icebreakers to more complex lesson plans.
Media in Action Curriculum – Global Action Project. This curriculum, developed by the Global Action Project, is intended to serve as a rough guide for how to harness the power of youth media for cultural expression and political change.
Off the Wall – Institute of Play. Visual-based templates help you take your challenge-based informal learning activities to a new level.
Off the Wall Design by Institute of Play
Off the Wall Design by Institute of Play
Playforce – Institute of Play. Playforce is an online community built for and by players, parents and educators to discover and share learning experiences from games. For parents and educators, this provides a searchable database of games with learning potential, by specific content area or skill. It also trains players to develop critical tools to articulate what they’ve learned in a way that educators can easily understand.
Gamekit – Institute of Play.Gamekit is a digital platform to connect aspiring teen game designers to professionals through curated game design challenges. The site recently launched in beta, and there are currently 4 warm-up challenges on the site. New ones will be published monthly beginning in March.
Short Circuit Guides – Institute of Play. Short Circuit Guides offer complete curriculum and professional development modules for an after-school program in electronics and physical computing. These are free to download, and they include lesson plans and individualized assessment tools for hands-on informal learning activities that encourage DIY digital media skills.
Playmakers – Institute of Play.Playmakers videos explore some of the experiences and innovations that are changing the face of learning design for the 21st century, intended to inspire others to think about how they can use new tools and ideas to address the challenge of student engagement.
Digital Passport – Common Sense Media. Common Sense Media’s Digital Passport is a fun and effective way to teach and test the basics of online life – Digital Citizenship and Literacy! The free web-based games and videos engage 3rd – 5th graders in independent learning. The modules zero in on critical skills related to digital safety, respect, and community.
Here’s another example of digital learning in action:
It’s the 2nd annual 
Curiosity Machine – Iridescent. 
