Tag Archives: CUNY Games Network

Event: Gamify One Thing! – March 5, 2021

Greetings from the CUNY Games Network!

The CGN has a new upcoming event.
Can you figure out the theme using this randomized announcement?
Scroll below for more info. Drop in any time using the Zoom link below – no registration necessary.

Idea Exchange: Friday March 5, 20201, 12:30-2 PM EST
Topic: Gamify One Small Thing! 

Gamification Idea #1: Add randomness to announcements, like we did here using Flippity: https://www.flippity.net/ra.asp?k=1YGhehKo1THkQo60AuCdgMe54aylxOe2htGxIeuTksBY 

Zoom link: http://bit.ly/CUNYGamesNetwork
Meeting ID: 827 9304 8309  ||  Passcode: 872312

Following our successful virtual conference, the CUNY Games Network aims to provide ongoing opportunities for our community to meet and brainstorm virtually in 2021. Join us Friday, March 5 from 12:30-2 PM EST for a “lunch break” idea exchange session.

The event will consist of four parts. Drop in for any or all portions:

12:30-12:45 PM: Check-In

Many of us are in the early stages of a new semester, or about to begin one. What GBL topics would you like to workshop with peers if we host more online events? If you attended our conference, are you implementing anything you learned? Share activities you’re using in the classroom and come prepared to discuss ideas for how the CUNY Games Network can support your pedagogy in 2021. 

12:45-1:30 PM: Gamify One Small Thing!

While we may dream of incorporating complex games and mechanics into our teaching, in reality we don’t always have time for in-depth design and implementation.In this idea exchange session, share small games or gamified activities that instructors can easily add to their curriculum. If you don’t have anything to share, that’s fine – collect new ideas from your peers. 

1:30-1:45 PM: What’s Your Game Plan?: “One Minute for One Small Thing!” 

Drop in for a lightning-speed variant of Joe Bisz’s What’s Your Game Plan? game design workshop.

1:45-2 PM: Debrief

Debrief on what you’ve learned. Make a plan for incorporating something new into your teaching, and share ideas for future CUNY Games Network online events. 

***Bonus! 2-3 PM: Gameplay***

Drop in for open gameplay, playtesting, and discussion of how to modify games for learning. Sign up to host or participate in games here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UeyLB0X75_sbAbdYf_lIkyGC-aZFea8LjfQKMvsDplA/edit?usp=sharing 

Ongoing: Open Space

We are once again providing an “Open Space” for you to share ideas and resources. Feel free to add to the document at any time: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vJmEVTCdF9-0OYO58ioj-Ixa21k_Mj5FCdjPyLYorHk/edit?usp=sharing 

Four Days Away! Riddles Abound.

The CUNY Games Conference is four days away
To prepare for the event, here’s a game to play
A collection of riddles, of images and cues
Relating to posters which you shall peruse

On the day of the conference please visit the hall
Where you shall find posters and game demos all
Match each of these clues with its poster/demo name
to be entered in a raffle, a chance to win the game. 

One of these riddles is different than the rest 
It relates to 1302, where, to pass the test
When it comes time for Game Play, you’ll enter the room
and find the box with the answer. Good luck, and see you soon. 

Each of these riddles relates to a poster or game demo that will be presented in the Poster and Game Demo sessions on Friday.  Walk around the room and see if you can match each clue to the correct poster/demo.  Then, submit your completed form to be entered in a drawing. Forms will be available at the conference, but you can get a head start by reading poster/demo names on the schedule at our website: https://gamesconf2019.commons.gc.cuny.edu/schedule/

  1. Psychologists claim we remember words best by first consonants. When your first name and last name have identical consonants that makes for memorable superhero names and alter egos. Can you identify these mirrors? DD, WW, PP, NN, RR, BB? 4 of 6 are Marvels!
  2. Which demo/game am I? These tiny bots want to help you solve their problems! Meanwhile, this strange alien robot is trying to stave off disasters, and it’s time to collect some amazing gems!
  3. Stage a coup.  Assassinate your enemies. Avoid exile. Be the one at the bank with the most money and win!
  4. Team-based learning is one way to learn
    And when it is game-based, XP can be earned
    Travel through time, rediscover the past
    Learn how music evolves and legacies last.
  5. Do we shelve this poster in GV1312? Or P96? We seek to describe media literacy games, match them to learning outcomes, and then test which games work best with students. Find the librarians at the conference and we’ll open up a classifying wormhole for you to explore.
  6. For warm fuzzy feelings like poodles
    And emotional awareness in oodles
    For a game about bonding
    This is not worth absconding

    You must come and play ______!

  7. See images below. What poster or demo do they relate to?

8. This presenter sent three cryptic clues, meaning you have three chances to figure out the demo/poster they relate to:

  • There are few codes in the following two sentences that
    describe my game. They include the name of the game, the benefits, and major parts of my process. 
    Our freedom to dream and overcome any anxiety or difficulty by being resilient and taking action with faith or conviction in our interaction with ourselves and the rest of the world to connect every piece of the universe to the source of one nation-the human race- is a path for everyone to achieve his or her dreams and live a life of significance. This journey is a mind booster!
  • Click here for the second and third cryptic clues: my contribution to your blog post. decode and win!

8. Try using Caesar’s technique with a key of 3 to decode this message: FBEHUVHFXUHG

9.
if (scientistsInTrouble)
{
learnToProgram();
honeSkills();
saveTheDay();
}

10. Visit the Game Play room (1302) at any point during the conference to play tabletop games and answer this final riddle:

What will you sell me? What shall I buy?
This game is a fun one, both to play and modify
Bring a banana wand, money magnet, joke parade
In this game approved by Mensa, with slippery deals to be made.


If you have not already, please remember to register for the conference: https://cunygamesconf5.peatix.com/

See you Friday!

Save the Date/Call for Blogs

Exciting news from the CUNY Games Network:

1. Do you write a blog about game-based learning, and/or would you like to contribute to ours? Email us a link to your blog or a specific entry about games in the classroom and we may feature it on our website.  contactcunygames@gmail.com

2. SAVE THE DATE!

The CUNY Games Network of the City University of New York is excited to announce The CUNY Games Conference 5.0, to be held on January 18, 2019, at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York City.

This year, the CUNY Games Conference distills its best cutting-edge interactive presentations into a one-day event to promote and discuss game-based pedagogies in higher education, focusing particularly on non-digital learning activities faculty can use in the classroom every day. The conference will include workshops on how to modify existing games for the classroom, how to incorporate elements of play into simulations and critical thinking activities, as well as poster sessions, playtesting, and game play. For the digitally minded, will also offer a workshop in creating computer games in Unity.

Game-based pedagogy incorporates some of the best aspects of collaborative, active, and inquiry-based learning. With the growing maturity of game-based learning in higher education, the focus has shifted from whether games are appropriate for higher education to how games can be best used to bring real pedagogical benefits and encourage student-centered education. The CUNY Games Network is dedicated to encouraging research, scholarship, and teaching in this developing field. We aim to bring together all stakeholders: faculty, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and game designers. Both CUNY and non-CUNY participation is welcome.

Stay tuned for our schedule and call for posters and game presentations.