P4Games has created two new galleries on the Scratch website:

1. A set of Scratch Examples used in the programming and play sections of TGI 2009.
2. The first set of games created in Scratch by the teachers in TGI 2009.

1. I'm still working through this question of how I will implement what I have done at TGI. First, I am working (ok, let's be honest. Mohammed is working...) very hard to figure out how to program my game. The idea I have for it should lead to some great discussion and could be a great supplement to what I am already doing.

I can see a discussion about the game I'm making lead to some good discussions about media, video games and other "big ideas." At the very least I want my game to be a valuable tool for my classroom.

Art and Photography
• Do images stay with you vividly in your memory?
I just started getting into photography and love it. I like film and love finding images within footage that is compelling.
• Do you want to capture pictures or recreate images that you’ve seen?
I have seen a lot of photos that I like, a lot of poses or images that then I have tried to recreate or capture for my own.
• Do you doodle or keep a sketch book?
My laptop has an incredibly random collection of ideas and thoughts.
Music
• Do you feel strong emotions when you hear a favorite piece of music?

Some teachers and administrators jump on the bandwagon of every new gadget that comes along. The same is true of music and print. This is the greatest movie ever, or this book has to be the best book i have ever read. These thoughts cross our minds everyday. In the classroom we tend to disregard things that work and gravitate towards the latest and greatest. Things that work and convey difficult content have longevity whereas the latest trend is just that, a trend. Unless you are willing to become an absolute expert, be honest with yourself and use what makes the most sense to you.

I am definitely interested in anything and everything that will make me a better teacher. Across the board I think the thing that helps me be a better teacher, no matter what I am actually doing, is engaging students. This is what intrigues me most about the TGI. To be honest I don't know that I'm sold yet on the idea that video games in Scratch or Greenfoot will actually engage students more than something I already do, but I do know that technology interests students and that some effort in this area will pique the interest of many students since I my interest has been piqued.

Last Wednesday I had my class design a game. This was the exercise in which they were given a few constraints for the game:

1) The game had to be for two players.

2) The game board had to be an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper.

3) The game had to be completable within 5 minutes.

The students were then handed two random game tokens, a die, and colored markers and given 10 minutes to design a game.

The second round of computer is due on Friday. Students were allowed to partner with one other student to develop their games this time and the results are amazing.

Several groups went with more abstract concepts that have an engaging look and intriguing game play. One group is making a Galaga-Space Invaders cross-over game, while a couple of other groups are creating maze games.

On Wednesday, November 12 we had our first release party. Students presented their games to the class, discussed some of the design decisions, and talked about issues they faced in creating their first game and how they overcame their obstacles. Afterward, students rotated through their classmates' games, playing them and providing feedback.

One of our Assistant Principals attended the party. Overall we had an impressive array of games, everything from some maze games to pong-style games, to track/race games.

I am piloting the game programming curriculum using Greenfoot with five students who are in their second semester of computer science. I am also using parts of the curriculum with 20 first semester computer science students but using Scratch as the programming platform. All students are in the computer lab at the same time.

The first semester students are in the process of creating their first games. What is exciting to see is how the students are trying to follow the tenets of humane games. Only one game is a shooter and that is shooting at a bouncing target.

Attached below you will find a zipped version of our group game. We were challenged to make a game about the political system here in the US. We chose to make a game about the 270 Electoral votes needed to win the election.

We did some research, and found on http://www.270towin.com a wealth of information regarding how states are leaning now, how they've voted in the past, and how many times they voted for the winner. All of this went into the algorithms we developed during game development.