New Things and What Is Coming

Just like that the 2012 - 2013 school year is coming to a close and with it my first year of LBP Classroom.  First and foremost you can find the LBPClassroom Design Club's levels...

HERE!

Each group that I work with will have its own page.  On that page you will find a screen shot, the title, the creator's nickname, which game that they worked with, the focus of their level/race, and a general description.  If you are curious whose level is whose, you can cross reference with the group photo at the top of the page.  The title of each level is linked to the level's lbp.me or karting.lbp.me page just to make it a little easier.  The kids did a really amazing job.  I helped with some tech, but made a point to teach them how to do it, rather than just do it for them.  The ideas are theirs and they were cool.  Please enjoy!

As for what is coming.  Here is a glimpse of what you can expect on the site in the next few weeks.

• A reflection on the year as a whole.
• Where I plan to take both the project and the site.
• A way you can help us move forward.

Until then, enjoy the levels and never stop learning.

The Level Makers Celebration 2013

My schools 2013 LBP Design Club

So, last night was one of the most special things that I have had the privilege of being involved in since I started teaching. In just over a year the concept of creating a Little Big Planet design club went from pipe dream to full execution in my school.  We celebrated the students work in the right way.  We filled my classroom with these students and their families to play their completed works for the first time.  We ate (jalapeno Cheetos at the request of my students), we played, we laughed.  It was also the first time the Karting kids played the LBP2 kids levels and vice versa.  That made for some great conversation about how things were achieved and where different ideas came from.  For me, that was the coolest part.  Well, that and of course, watching the families interact through Little Big Planet was pretty amazing.  I have shared some of those moments below.

Here, Zeebie and her dad tried out her race, Cheshire Cake, for the first time.  He was really impressed by all that she had done and that others would be able to enjoy what she had made. 

Blizzard Lightening and his little sister climb to the top of Frostfern Mountain together.  They were laughing hysterically as blew each other up with the 'Helmet of Flames'.

There was, of course, cake.  The first time I have had my name on a cake that 

did not also say Happy Birthday.

Beta Testing in the LBP Classroom

When I began this project I had several things that I wanted to do. One of those goals was to create a small team of students who would come in, look at the projects the creators are working on, and offer peer feedback.  It would be kind of like having what the video games industry calls testers or QA.  When the design group became a reality I thought back to last school year and really considered who I heard talking about games a lot.  There were two boys that came to mind.  I approached both of them in February, and these two young men both seemed very interested.

The finest in fifth grade gaming fanatics.

Unfortunately, due to the time it has taken to get projects ready, I have not been able to utilize the boys as much as I had hoped in the process.  However, I am happy to say that Friday after school my feedback team was able to play each level and fill out a feedback sheet for the creators.  The page that they filled out was very basic.  It consisted of the following questions,

1.       How fun was the level?

2.       Would you play it again?

3.       Was it easy to understand what you were doing?

4.       What was something you liked?

5.       What was something you would change?

6.       Did anything not work while you played?
(Note: Questions 1 - 3 were on a 5 point scale)

They played the races in split screen and I even joined them for one of the LBP2 competitive games.

The creators will receive their feedback on Tuesday and Thursday and be able to make some adjustments as we draw closer and closer to our publishing date.  I truly think that this process was and will be helpful.  It is my hope that next year I can start the group earlier and make better use of a testing group, but these two certainly given me a nice starting point to work from.  

This race was a crowd pleaser.  

We will get into that in the next week or so.

Thank You Media Molecule!

Okay, so it didn't just arrive.  However, with all of our preparation for our upcoming standardized test this is the first opportunity we have had to celebrate its arrival.  A big thank you to Rex, Spaff, and the guys at Media Molecule.  Thank you for choosing our picture.  It is amazing and will always have a place of honor in my classroom.

On a different note, Tearaway is the most wanted game in my classroom.  There are many students who have made comments about being able to get a Vita and Tearaway for birthdays, or being excited about asking for it for Christmas.  It makes me happy to point them to more age appropriate games.  There is so much fun to be had.

Here is a special message from the kids and the picture we won.

The Deadline is Out

WATCH OUT!!!
DEAD LINE INCOMING

Today, the calendar was passed out.  Immediately, they noticed the BIG, BOLD letters.  Level Showcase on Thursday, May 30 at 6PM.  On that date the game club will meet as a group and celebrate our hard work and successes.  Then on Saturday, June 1st I will publish all six of the LBP Classroom levels and they will be open to the public.

I will share a lot more with all of you leading up to the event.  However, I am truly excited to share what they have come up with you.  There are a lot of really neat things going on.  From a multiplayer coin collecting mini-game, to a daring school escape, a climbing expedition, a race around a giant cake, twisty track, and trip to challenging bog.  Some may not be completely finished, but we will make sure that they are as close as we can get them.

Thank you all, more for you soon.