What's going on everyone?
As of this morning I am officially a published author! Of two books! You can now get “Teaching With Video Games: A Strategy Guide” & “Teaching With Video Games: An English Language Arts Unit.” Both books are available on Amazon Kindle. Both books contain the same introduction sections before they branch off into their own content. They will both contain a forward written by the principal at my school, an intro by me, and sections about pedagogy and everything technical you need to know before starting. Both books are teacher facing versions but there are student versions coming out with handouts associated with each activity and unit. Those will be available physically as class sets sometime soon in the future. This process has been almost two years in the making and I am so happy that they are finally out. Both books can be found here. There are also two student facing versions of each book with handouts that you can provide to your students assuming you don't want to make your own. Those are available directly from the publisher.
There is a lot more value to be found in video games than what is traditionally considered educational. Video games can do more than just build one’s literacy; it can teach mechanics, problem-solving, rules, narrative speaking, and even foster relationships with others. This is how this book is set up - to be a guide for teachers to utilize and incorporate video games - a past time that is well used by our students - to help foster learning experiences, challenge their minds, and further their own career paths.
Teaching With Video Games: A Strategy Guide is your entry point to game based learning. You will find everything you need to know before you play that first video game with your students. Included is a series of 27 activities and video games across discipline areas to bring into your classroom.
Here is a link to the student packet version with handouts. This link will take you directly to the publisher's website.
There is a lot more value to be found in video games than what is traditionally considered educational. Video games can do more than just build one’s literacy; it can teach mechanics, problem-solving, rules, narrative speaking, and even foster relationships with others.
This book offers an in depth look at what an entire English Language Arts unit focused on video games in the classroom can look like. Included is a full 30 day unit utilizing the video games "What Remains of Edith Finch" & "Gone Home" as central texts. Students will be tasked to play both games and identify and analyze the many literary elements and rhetorical devices found across both games. A full unit plan and 30 individual lesson descriptions act as your teaching guide. Also included is a debrief of how each lesson went with my own students with student completed handouts attached.
Here is a link to the student packet version with handouts. This link will take you directly to the publisher's website.
When I first decided to pursue a career in education, my close friends joked that I would be the teacher who watched movies and played video games with his students. I always knew in the back of my mind that both of those activities, especially video games, could be a real asset. My hope in writing this book is that you and other educators will be both inspired and prepared to teach with video games in your own classroom.
Thank you everyone who has kept up with the work being done here on Hey Listen Games. None of this would have been possible without all of your support.
As always, thanks for reading
Zack