0:00:09.375,0:00:12.525
Hello, my name is Mr. Anderson

0:00:12.525,0:00:16.725
and my classroom is a video game

0:00:16.756,0:00:18.632
I can't think of a better way to start[br]

0:00:18.632,0:00:21.224
a story better than Alice falling down the rabbit hole

0:00:21.224,0:00:23.788
and she comes upon a bottle

0:00:23.788,0:00:26.571
and the bottle says simply "Drink me"

0:00:26.571,0:00:30.051
and so I am a teacher, so I wanna try to recreate that

0:00:30.051,0:00:33.752
so what I did is I left my computer in my class

0:00:33.752,0:00:38.130
and I had angry birds on it and then I had a card next to it[br]

0:00:38.130,0:00:40.802
and it simply said the word "play"[br]

0:00:40.802,0:00:42.437
and then I walked away[br]

0:00:42.437,0:00:43.897
but I want to see what happened[br]

0:00:43.897,0:00:45.977
so I left the webcam on[br]

0:00:45.977,0:00:49.056
so I got a little video that kids come into class[br]

0:00:49.056,0:00:50.811
so... Would you like to see that?[br]

0:00:50.811,0:00:53.160
(Audience: Yeah!) Yeah... As if you have an option[br]

0:00:53.160,0:00:54.686
Ha... Yeah...

0:01:05.932,0:01:09.658
I love how they take turns[br]

0:01:09.658,0:01:11.614
And I love Jackson's eyes[br]

0:01:11.614,0:01:14.006
if you watch him[br]

0:01:17.283,0:01:21.333
Yes! Success![br]

0:01:21.333,0:01:26.065
So that look in his eyes, that look of learning[br]

0:01:26.065,0:01:30.263
try something new and failing and try it again[br]

0:01:30.263,0:01:33.031
is something we inspired to see in the eyes of our kids[br]

0:01:33.031,0:01:36.131
we don't do that, a lot of the time it's glazed over look[br]

0:01:36.131,0:01:42.327
and so I want to try to apply some of these dynamics into my classroom[br]

0:01:42.327,0:01:43.848
so I grew up in 1980s[br]

0:01:43.848,0:01:47.156
playing video games, and these video games taught me lessons[br]

0:01:47.156,0:01:49.140
that I think we could apply to schools today[br]

0:01:49.140,0:01:52.782
the first thing I learned, is the video games are fun[br]

0:01:52.782,0:01:54.808
and school should be fun as well[br]

0:01:54.808,0:01:58.395
unfortunately, most kids wouldn't say their school day is fun[br]

0:01:58.395,0:02:02.863
however there are elements of school that all students love[br]

0:02:02.863,0:02:05.785
they love seeing their friends, and they love learning[br]

0:02:05.785,0:02:09.982
unfortunately they spend most of the day, just passively sitting down in front[br]

0:02:09.982,0:02:12.525
Sitting, listening to a teacher lecture¶[br]

0:02:12.525,0:02:14.338
so I think school should be fun[br]

0:02:14.338,0:02:17.331
second thing I learned, is that failure is OK[br]

0:02:17.331,0:02:24.861
If it takes you 8 times to clear the third elevator stage in donkey kong, that's OK[br]

0:02:24.861,0:02:27.462
failure is simply part of a learning process[br]

0:02:27.462,0:02:31.086
however, in schools, we tend to stigmatized failure[br]

0:02:31.086,0:02:33.682
you don't take a quiz over and over and over agian[br]

0:02:33.682,0:02:35.169
until you finally pass it[br]

0:02:35.169,0:02:37.866
in fact, failure individuals[br]

0:02:37.866,0:02:41.111
right now, failure in schools is highly stigmatized.[br]

0:02:41.111,0:02:43.556
so I think we need to send a message that failure is OK![br]

0:02:43.556,0:02:47.163
The third thing I learned is the importance of leveling[br]

0:02:47.163,0:02:50.064
This could be applied in schools in two ways[br]

0:02:50.064,0:02:52.830
When a teacher decides to move in a specific pace[br]

0:02:52.830,0:02:55.544
that's ok for some of the students in their class[br]

0:02:55.544,0:02:58.045
but some of the students are automatically to be bored[br]

0:02:58.045,0:03:01.764
some of the students are quickly gonna be confused[br]

0:03:01.764,0:03:06.667
so I think students should be able to move on their own pace through mastery system[br]

0:03:06.667,0:03:09.114
where they master a level and they can move on to the next one[br]

0:03:09.114,0:03:11.635
they also should be able to level up[br]

0:03:11.635,0:03:14.977
becoming more powerful as they learn new material in the class[br]

0:03:14.977,0:03:21.466
I also think that, we give the wrong lecture at the beginning of the year[br]

0:03:21.466,0:03:24.029
as I said the lecture at the beginning of the year, I would say,[br]

0:03:24.029,0:03:34.521
You all have an A, from this point forward, you will fall precipitously , until eventually you land your final grade

0:03:34.521,0:03:38.038
no game will ever be designed this way[br]

0:03:38.038,0:03:41.061
so one of the great thing to be a great teacher[br]

0:03:41.061,0:03:42.602
is you have a summer break[br]

0:03:42.602,0:03:48.769
Summer break is great because you get a break from school, but you also can reinvent your class[br]

0:03:48.769,0:03:50.981
make it something that's never been before[br]

0:03:50.981,0:03:57.704
if you try to do that during the year, if you try to make a radical changes, kids will just simply be confused[br]

0:03:57.704,0:04:01.945
but if you change it during the summer, you make huge, swiping changes in your class[br]

0:04:01.945,0:04:03.906
the kids will never know what hit them

0:04:03.906,0:04:11.263
So, this was my dream. I wanted to reinvent my class as a video game

0:04:11.263,0:04:14.162
but i didn't want kids just sit in front[br]

0:04:14.162,0:04:16.717
and watch the video game like Oregon Trail [br]

0:04:16.717,0:04:18.487
where the world in common Sandiego[br]

0:04:18.487,0:04:20.669
I want to take them in most compelling elements [br]

0:04:20.669,0:04:23.203
of gaming, then applied in the classroom[br]

0:04:23.203,0:04:28.550
this took a lot of work, and so I had created a class, it's called "Biohazard 5"[br]

0:04:28.550,0:04:32.442
It's got narrator, got the narrative, all the kids come together there[br]

0:04:32.442,0:04:36.964
I've created about 150 podcast that take them through the lecture[br]

0:04:36.964,0:04:39.713
and so when they get that point, they get kind of learned[br]

0:04:39.713,0:04:42.426
I have all the special activities in class[br]

0:04:42.426,0:04:47.565
that kids can applied the material that we're learning in the real world[br]

0:04:47.565,0:04:52.349
I have a bunch of inquiry labs, this one right here, is a photo of synphetheis lab[br]

0:04:52.349,0:04:56.354
you can see my students very riveted

0:04:56.354,0:05:01.876
they're studying photo synthesis using little chop we cut from a leaf[br]

0:05:01.876,0:05:06.182
I've developed hundreds of questions that I have a mastery where the system[br]

0:05:06.182,0:05:08.550
students can take quizzes over and over and over again[br]

0:05:08.550,0:05:09.927
until they finally get it[br]

0:05:09.927,0:05:11.743
I have a leveling system [br]

0:05:11.743,0:05:14.999
so they start with zero experience point at the beginning of the year[br]

0:05:14.999,0:05:18.193
I borrowed this from Lee Sheldon in the University of Indiana[br]

0:05:18.193,0:05:20.428
so basically they coming on day 1[br]

0:05:20.428,0:05:24.548
I invented the button level as the primordial soup cause I teach Biology[br]

0:05:24.548,0:05:28.614
So they gain their experience point, and they can move their way up like dumble octpus,[br]

0:05:28.614,0:05:32.864
and mountain gorilla, and maybe grand master at the end[br]

0:05:33.028,0:05:34.781
I also have a leader board, so they play with the avatar[br]

0:05:34.781,0:05:38.407
and they can see how they're doing in the class[br]

0:05:38.407,0:05:40.683
how they're doing to against everybody else[br]

0:05:40.683,0:05:43.278
this is the most popular resource in the class[br]

0:05:43.278,0:05:46.137
kids are constantly logged in and see how they're stacked up[br]

0:05:46.137,0:05:48.984
I also got a piloting set that of a iPad[br]

0:05:48.984,0:05:52.497
so kids got an internet connected devices at all times[br]

0:05:52.497,0:05:55.435
Finally, the summer was over[br]

0:05:55.435,0:05:57.568
and I stood in front of the class[br]

0:05:57.568,0:05:59.801
Like this, apparently[br]

0:05:59.801,0:06:04.596
[laugh] and I said[br]

0:06:04.596,0:06:08.256
Hello, my name is Mr. Anderson[br]

0:06:08.256,0:06:11.813
and my class is a video game, so what I want you to do[br]

0:06:11.813,0:06:13.300
is grab an iPad[br]

0:06:13.300,0:06:16.139
I want you to logging into Biohazard 5[br]

0:06:16.139,0:06:19.654
I want you to watch a video, I want you to do some reading[br]

0:06:19.654,0:06:23.127
I want you to take a quiz, and head off the class[br]

0:06:23.127,0:06:26.705
now if I have done this with my students' parents[br]

0:06:26.705,0:06:29.756
that would be the most frustrating day of my life[br]

0:06:29.756,0:06:33.219
but the kids grew up with the technology[br]

0:06:33.219,0:06:36.254
and the technology today simply works[br]

0:06:36.254,0:06:38.797
so they were headed off on their own[br]

0:06:38.797,0:06:41.718
So my class, is a learning classroom[br]

0:06:41.718,0:06:47.055
if you come in, you'll find the kids are reading, watching videos, applying,[br]

0:06:47.055,0:06:53.247
doing special activities, trying to solve challenges, working together or working alone[br]

0:06:53.247,0:06:56.434
so it's really need at the teacher come[br]

0:06:56.434,0:07:00.334
we were just talking in the half way through the class[br]

0:07:00.334,0:07:05.781
he said " well you created is like a shop class" cause he was a shop teacher once[br]

0:07:05.781,0:07:06.814
he said[br]

0:07:06.814,0:07:10.212
the shop teacher, you teach them some skills and the kids can apply that[br]

0:07:10.212,0:07:12.811
so it's like that[br]

0:07:12.811,0:07:15.148
I would love to keep telling you how great it is[br]

0:07:15.148,0:07:18.843
how the test score seem to be going up[br]

0:07:18.843,0:07:21.958
and how the kids learning how to learn independently[br]

0:07:21.958,0:07:24.232
but I am a science teacher[br]

0:07:24.232,0:07:26.317
and that's not what get us excited[br]

0:07:26.317,0:07:28.792
in science, what gets us excited[br]

0:07:28.792,0:07:31.620
is discovering something new[br]

0:07:31.620,0:07:35.856
so I wanna talk about 3 ways that I failed[br]

0:07:35.856,0:07:37.039
Number 1[br]

0:07:37.039,0:07:39.825
a conventional classroom is like a school bus[br]

0:07:39.825,0:07:42.350
where all the students were all logged in they just get on[br]

0:07:42.350,0:07:44.337
and the teacher is like the bus driver[br]

0:07:44.337,0:07:47.023
and it drives from point A to point B[br]

0:07:47.023,0:07:48.875
you can make sure that all the students get there[br]

0:07:48.875,0:07:52.257
so what I have done is like I get each of them[br]

0:07:52.257,0:07:55.520
a brand new car, keys, and I said "Drive"[br]

0:07:55.520,0:07:58.058
so some of them stalled out[br]

0:07:58.058,0:08:00.371
and some of them raced ahead[br]

0:08:00.371,0:08:02.622
and some of them drove right into a wall[br]

0:08:02.622,0:08:06.382
so I need to get them more scaffolding next year[br]

0:08:06.382,0:08:08.964
next thing I learned is the importance of reading[br]

0:08:08.964,0:08:13.142
kids struggled with reading when you make your class independant[br]

0:08:13.142,0:08:17.459
and I should've seen this coming because this is the biggest indicator of success[br]

0:08:17.459,0:08:19.886
and I think the reason I didn't see it coming is that [br]

0:08:19.886,0:08:24.444
I never stopped talking, because that's what good teachers do[br]

0:08:24.444,0:08:29.087
we read the book, and then we come out with really good examples[br]

0:08:29.087,0:08:31.846
then we present it in a really dynamic way[br]

0:08:31.846,0:08:33.360
and the kids can just sit there[br]

0:08:33.360,0:08:34.987
and then they can learn it[br]

0:08:34.987,0:08:37.826
why would they want to read the book? we read it for them[br]

0:08:37.826,0:08:40.067
so when I forced them to read the book[br]

0:08:40.067,0:08:42.532
a lot of them struggled and we have to work with that[br]

0:08:42.532,0:08:46.936
the last thing I learned, is that we're not Vulcans[br]

0:08:46.936,0:08:49.560
In the most recent star trek movie[br]

0:08:49.560,0:08:54.998
young Spock sits in a little module and he surrounded by computer screens[br]

0:08:54.998,0:09:00.101
and the computer keeps throwing questions at him, and philosophy, and relativity[br]

0:09:00.101,0:09:03.383
and that's his school day, just sits in a module like that[br]

0:09:03.383,0:09:08.620
so a lot of people think they can change education by somehow use videos [br]

0:09:08.620,0:09:10.695
or automating the learning process[br]

0:09:10.695,0:09:14.421
that sucks, who would want to be at a school like that?[br]

0:09:14.421,0:09:16.788
kids are coming to school to be social[br]

0:09:16.788,0:09:21.906
so I add elements of social learning at the class to make it more compelling[br]

0:09:21.906,0:09:26.871
This is a TED talk, all the good TED talks always end with a call to action[br]

0:09:26.871,0:09:28.819
so what can you do?[br]

0:09:28.819,0:09:35.155
I think schools need to move from a passive teacher-centered learning environment[br]

0:09:35.155,0:09:38.705
to an active student centered environment[br]

0:09:38.705,0:09:39.977
that's what I did[br]

0:09:39.977,0:09:42.594
I was off to the side now, there's a mentor in the class[br]

0:09:42.594,0:09:43.910
so how do we do that?[br]

0:09:43.910,0:09:48.494
If you are a student, you get feedback to your teachers, everything I do in my class all I got[br]

0:09:48.494,0:09:52.443
is a result of feedback I got from my students[br]

0:09:52.443,0:09:58.306
what you do if you are a parent? Your write an email if you want your schools to change[br]

0:09:58.306,0:10:04.074
the only emails I get from parents are complaining about their students grades[br]

0:10:04.074,0:10:09.290
I never get "My students had an A in your class, [br]

0:10:09.290,0:10:12.926
but I have a problem with the philosophy in your class"[br]

0:10:12.926,0:10:17.269
that doesn't happen, so message you are sending to teachers[br]

0:10:17.269,0:10:19.493
is that the grade is the only thing that's important[br]

0:10:19.493,0:10:22.628
but maybe you're not a parent, and maybe you're not a student[br]

0:10:22.628,0:10:24.309
but you are human[br]

0:10:24.309,0:10:27.556
so what's the lesson? what's in the bottle?[br]

0:10:27.556,0:10:33.499
what's in there it's your passion, it's the one thing you wanna do[br]

0:10:33.499,0:10:39.834
can you figure out what my passion is? I love my family and I love teaching[br]

0:10:39.834,0:10:46.456
and if you can drink that bottle, also remembering to fail, learn[br]

0:10:46.456,0:10:51.207
and repeat the process over again, then I think you'll have a life worth living[br]

0:10:51.207,9:59:59.000
Thank you[br]