Library Gamer

DriveThruRPG is offering specials and highlighting RPG experiences for kids at their website. Their goal is to increase social interaction, critical thinking and problem solving skills amongst children; a cause I can very much get behind. I wrote about parsley games a while back and what a wonderful tool they are for group problem solving and reasoning as well as a space for collaborative projects between ELA and Math/Science for creative writing blended with logic/deduction. I discovered DriveThruRPG because they used to carry the Parsley line of games and have started exploring their resources since then.

Speaking of Parsley Games, they are kickstarting a new Parsley Game right now. Kickstarting is a newer way that people can get a project going. Many  smaller and independent board game publishers have been using it as a way to crowdfund their projects. If the project raises its target goal, it goes forward otherwise the backers get their money back. Flashpoint: Fire Rescue was a game that I Kickstarted a little while ago and did a preview video here on my blog. The new Parsley game: Z-Ward looks to be interesting. It would definitely be for high schools, though not necessarily for every school as it has a darker edge than many of their other titles. Still, it should be worth checking out for the more daring HS libraries and any public library as well.

I just came back from the American Associations of School Librarian’s annual conference where I had the opportunity to to two pre-conference sessions on utilizing games as curricular resources. A big thanks to Playroom Entertainment as well as Hungry Robot for providing takeaways for the attendees. Each person at the elementary session got a copy of Number Chase and the secondary attendees got a copy of Strain

Each session was filled with hands-on time with the resources as well as a discussion on the value that games hold as resources and how they support AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner, the new Common Core standards as well as local state content standards.

I also was thrilled to take part in this year’s Exploratorium, a showcase of some of the best practices in School Libraries across the country. Christopher Harris and I shared our game library that we have worked on over the last four years. Talked about the methods and practice that we have found to work for introducing and making our program a success.

This year’s conference was a rewarding experience, with an opportunity to share gaming with a large audience of school librarians and administrators. Thanks to everyone who took part and I can’t wait to start building new programs to share in two years!