Westminster, VT – You’re encouraging kids to play online games in a classroom? You’ve got to be kidding!
Ben Weiner, who serves as the main guide to the SmartLab at Kurn Hattin Homes for Children, is quite serious about making things fun. He shared his enthusiasm for teaching with games at this year’s SmartLab Annual Conference in Denver, CO. As technology continues to advance, explains Weiner, games inevitably become more complex and varied, but many of the dynamics at work in social and solitary play are as old as humanity itself. Whether it’s competitive robotics, Dungeons and Dragons, or Minecraft, the popular games of today contain multitudes of those dynamics.
“Learning with games is not only fun,” says Weiner, “it involves a range of concepts such as incentives and motivation, player agency, moderating the play space, depth of engagement and more, all of which contribute to making the learning stick.”
The SmartLab Conference, which took place over three days, attracted hundreds of attendees and included more than 50 presenters. Judging by the comments of those who attended Weiner’s workshop, it was one of the highlights of the entire event:
“Oh my gosh!! This was by far the very best session of the conference. You shared so many ideas and whole child strategies.”
“This class was awesome! I learned so much.”
“Great presenter… he must be a wonderful teacher… His students [at Kurn Hattin] must really benefit from having him.”
A self-described “proud hyper-generalist,” Weiner’s background includes significant experience with circus performance, competitive video gaming, audio engineering, media production, and community organizing both in person and in digital spaces. His current passion is for teaching in Kurn Hattin’s SmartLab, a STEAM classroom (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) developed by Creative
Learning Systems. This amazing lab – the first of its kind in New England – offers students an opportunity to explore a wide variety of subjects through challenge- and kit-led learning, as well as functioning as a true maker space where arts, crafts, and designs can come to life.
“I love to explore all that the SmartLab has to offer alongside the students, solving problems together, teaching design thinking, broadening our students’ social and emotional toolkits,” says Weiner. And yes, he adds, that includes playing all sorts of games on a regular basis.
About Kurn Hattin
Since 1894, Kurn Hattin Homes for Children, located in Westminster, VT, has helped thousands of children and their families by offering a safe home and quality education in a nurturing environment. To learn more, please visit KurnHattin.org.
About SmartLab
SmartLab was developed by Creative Learning Systems which, since 1987, has pioneered converting traditional learning environments to project-based learning experiences. Today, CLS partners with the most innovative school leaders nationwide to implement learning solutions that increase a student’s capacity through engaged, active, and social problem-solving. For more information visit SmartLabLearning.com.
