On April 6, 2019, FableVision and the American University Game Lab will co-host a FREE conference in Washington, DC, exploring Libraries, Games, and Play.
FableVision/Reynolds Center co-founder and CEO Paul Reynolds will provide the closing keynote, celebrating librarians and creative educators who are providing no-tech, low-tech and high-tech tools and programs that support creativity and playful learning.
Reynolds notes that the role of librarians is especially important in light of the increasingly digital landscape that has resulted in seismic shifts in both the functions and offerings of physical libraries.
“Today’s librarians are bravely embracing technological change, as they offer exciting new portals into playful learning, and cultivate critical, future-proofing skills - such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity,” says Reynolds.
Librarians are creating innovative learning environments through the curation of digital resources and play-based learning, as well as scaffolding constructionist learning opportunities – including maker-space activities and game development.
Click above to be taken to a tutorial on making custom dice with Fab@School Maker Studio!
Try It Out in Your Classroom, or at Home!
To celebrate Libraries, Games, and Play, we used Fab@School Maker Studio to create custom cardstock dice (see a tutorial for storytelling dice here). You can also experiment with other geometric forms, decks of cards, or even traditional dice sets.
For older children, two or more custom dice could be combined for:
mythical-creature drawing challenges (one of the dice shows the head, one dictates the body, and one the magical power),
improvisational role play,
rhyming, poetry, and song games,
hand-drawn board games to the theme of a child’s choosing, and so on.
Click here to download a FREE template of the printable shown on the below, which can be used with students to design games that fit into your curriculum!
When building games with students, you can keep it simple with a favorite literary theme; or, you can:
add in artistic or musical tasks,
make skip-ahead squares, reverse components, or one-one-on challenges if two players land on the same space,
add in coding-themed tasks,
cut, paste, and reconfigure on a larger board,
and tie it in to other classroom learning!
These types of games — highly customizable by age and using low-cost and accessible materials — can be used to create experiences at the intersection of playful learning and the constructionist pedagogy, which are both joyful and edifying.
What’s not to love about that?
Do you know someone who’s using games and play in libraries, or would love to learn more about how they can?
Tell them about Libraries, Games, and Play, where they can join fellow librarians, administrators, and educators. Remind them to register before March 15 - travel stipends are available, and again, the event is free!
Everyone who attends will have the opportunity to meet thought-leaders, librarians, administrators, educators, and panelists from around the country who will be discussing and documenting the latest innovations in the integration of games and play in libraries. This will be playful learning at its best!
As part of the Libraries, Games, and Play, FableVision Learning and the Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity will showcase a host of creative makerspace tools that offer opportunities to animate, fabricate and publish.
The team will provide a hands-on experience with Fab@School Maker Studio, the award-winning digital design & fabrication software platform for young learners.
As seen with our card stock dice game, Fab@School Maker Studio uses low-cost, easily-accessible materials to introduce the engineering design process.
FableVision Learning will also share its other signature creative learning software tools – including Animation-Ish animation tools and Get Published digital storybook academy & design studio.