Recent posts for Urban Science
New epistemic grants
The Epistemic Games Group has some great news to announce (courtesy of the University of Wisconsin News Service). Watch this space for the latest updates….
Federal grants power research on computer games and learning
Sept. 29, 2009
A research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently won $4.5 million in federal grants to study computer games and learning.
It is anecdotal data, but nevertheless…
From a 4th/5th grade teacher who used Urban Science in her class:
Students with video gaming did better with the zoning maps; they had developed the visual hand to eye skills to be able to infer meaning with their actions. Students who spent less time gaming had greater difficulty with the maps….
The key point? That the visual skills from gaming are not necessarily just hand-to-eye. They are hand-to-eye-to-mind.
Former students of Urban Science make planning splash with proposal for a Central Park Airport
Just kidding.
A recent hoax, in which the Manhattan Airport Foundation proposed a new airport be built in Central Park, fooled both the Huffington Post and Inhabitat, a weblog about sustainable design.
Urban Science in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
In November 2008, the Epistemic Games Research Group collaborated with the Milwaukee Public Schools’ Division of Recreation and Community Services to run a week-long Urban Science game. This version of urban Science was notably different from previous versions. In-game mentors, who in previous versions of the game had been physically present, guided students remotely, via instant messenger. Over a dozen students from Riverside University High School took on the role of urban planners. In an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Stanley A. Miller writes that, “The students had to consider issues such as affordable housing, parking, ecological issues and crime, while balancing the desires of special interest groups such as businesses, a cultural preservation organization and other community advocates.”
He also quotes epistemic games researcher Elizabeth Bagley, “There are tradeoffs and consequences, and these are things they need to deal with as a planner. They are learning how to really facilitate compromises because there are stakeholders whose goals don’t overlap.”
While the game facilitates collaboration and critical thinking, it also connects young people to the environment and to their neighborhoods. View the full article on the Journal Sentinel website, or a PDF here.
