EVOKing in the Classroom

This (work in progress) will become a curriculum package for teachers who want to play EVOKE in the classroom, with or without the EVOKE Ning. Once it's drafted, it will be prepared in an easy-to-use format and distributed as a PDF document, free of charge, to anyone who might like to use it.

Authors
(if you work on this, please list yourself here!):
 * Rachel Smith (Ninmah on EVOKE)
 * Gilad rosenabum
 * Jeff Brain (Jeff Brain on EVOKE)
 * Dario Solina (ob1 on EVOKE)

Ways to Help
Interested? Dive on in! Here are some ideas if you're not sure how to get started:

Got five minutes? List an idea or two in the Brainstorming Needed sections -- we need lots of ideas!

Got twenty minutes? Pick your favorite topic and add a resource, including a link and a brief annotation that tells us what kind of resource it is. We need lots!

Got an hour? Review the curriculum and add whatever is missing. Imagine you're a teacher who wants to run this in your class. What would you need to know?

Whatever you do, please add yourself to the Authors list above so we can credit you in the final publication!

License
I (Rachel) propose that this work be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (by-nc-sa) license (this link goes to the US version, but we can generate versions for any country at Creative Commons ). Essentially, this license gives all of us -- and anyone else -- the right to use, copy, modify, share, and distribute this curriculum, provided (1) attribution to the original authors (us) is given; (2) the work is not used for commercial purposes or sold; and (3) any derivative works that are created from this guide are released under the same licensing terms.

Important: Authors, please indicate below whether you agree or not. If not, please explain why, if you don't mind, so we can understand the issues at play.

I agree to the license as proposed.
 * Rachel Smith

I do not agree to the license as proposed, and I state my reason(s) below.
 * Chris Ke Sihai - I get PAID to teach, and need the money. I'm fine with sharing for free but would like the material to be available in for-profit schools, or for use by teachers who get a salary.

Chris: great point. Would you be easier with this if it were attribution-only? I'd be comfortable changing to that. -- I just left a message on one of your Evoke posts, did not realize at the time that you were *this* Chris!

Overview
We should develop 3 versions of this curriculum: one for teachers whose students have access to computers and the Internet; one for teachers whose students can only access the library; and one for teachers who don't have access to many resources at all. That way, the greatest number of teachers can make use of the curriculum.

All Versions

This curriculum guide will help teachers plan and prepare a challenge-based learning activity in which students will work in groups to:
 * develop appropriate research questions;


 * research a problem of global significance;
 * brainstorm actions they can take locally to solve the problem (or make it less of a problem) in their community;
 * select and develop a single solution;
 * present their solution to their community;
 * organize, plan, and carry out the solution they have proposed;
 * take measurements before and after implementing their solution
 * compare the results of the measurements; and
 * evaluate the effects of their actions.

The guide will contain a description of the process, specific tips to help teachers who are using it for the first time, and suggestions for guiding students as they work on their issues. The process is very student-centered. The teacher kicks off the project and then serves as a mentor or guide as each group of students works through the process of finding solutions.

Version 1 (Internet-Capable)

This version of the curriculum is designed for teachers whose classes have access to the Internet. Teachers may choose to use the EVOKE site in their classes, but the curriculum is also designed so that the site is not necessary -- so that teachers can still use the curriculum after EVOKE is over.

Version 2 (LIbrary Only)

This version of the curriculum is designed for teachers whose classes do not have reliable access to the Internet. This version is adapted to use library and human resources only.

Version 3 (Resource-Poor)

This version of the curriculum is designed for teachers with little or no access to research materials of any kind. This version is adapted to use human resources only.

Learning Objectives
All Versions
 * 1) Students will collaborate to develop a local solution to a problem of global significance.
 * 2) Students will write research questions that will lead to an understanding of an issue of global significance, including designing and taking a local survey or measurements.
 * 3) Students will perform research on their chosen topic.
 * 4) Students will brainstorm several potential solutions to the problem that could be carried out locally.
 * 5) Students will select and develop a single solution per group.
 * 6) Students will present their solutions to their community.
 * 7) Students will carry out their proposed solutions.
 * 8) Students will perform a second survey or measurement and compare the results to the first.
 * 9) Students will reflect on the effectiveness of their actions in written, oral, or other form.

Version 1 (Internet-Capable)
 * 1) Students will understand the driving force of the EVOKE game through Jane Mcgonigal lecture.
 * 2) Students will be exposed to the EVOKE site.
 * 3) Students will use a variety of resources, including the Internet, the library, and human resources (experts), to research a topic of global significance.

Version 2 (Library Only)
 * 1) Students will use the library and human resources (experts) to research a topic of global significance.

Version 3 (Resource-Poor)
 * 1) Students will find local sources of information (experts or other knowledgeable people) on a topic of global significance (where possible).

Materials
Teacher Preparation

Student Preparation

Procedure
The arc of the lesson looks like this:

The teacher introduces the Issue that the students will be working on, using an optional Hook. He or she also poses the Challenge -- the Evokation -- that will be addressed. After that, the teacher steps back and serves as a resource and a guide.

The students work in groups. First, they brainstorm research questions that will help them understand the issue. (The teacher reviews the questions and offers suggestions to make sure the questions will lead to discovery of enough information.) Next, the student groups carry out the research, finding out the answers to the questions they have designed. When they understand the topic, they can prepare a demonstration or a paper or other product to share the results of their research, if desired. The next step is for each student group to brainstorm possible solutions to the local challenge based on what they have learned about the broader problem, then pick one and plan it out. Finally, students carry out the solutions they have developed and measure the results of their actions.

In EVOKE terms, the project consists of:
 * Evokation: The local challenge related to a larger, global problem. (Example: How can we conserve water at our school? or How can we increase the food security of people in our village or town?)
 * Mission:
 * Learn: The research that the students do to learn about the topic, including designing the research questions, finding resources, and preparing the demonstration.
 * Act: The actions related to solving the challenges, including measuring the current situation for comparison purposes, designing a solution, planning how to carry it out, enlisting the help of the community, and putting their plan into action. Also, measuring the results of their work afterward.
 * Imagine: Knowing what they know now, students can do a number of Imagine projects, like imagining what the results of their actions will have brought about in five years, or imagining ways to spread their solutions to others with similar problems.

Question: How to bring in the achievements, points, comments -- the game aspects that are facilitated by the Ning network -- for classes that aren't using the Ning?

Reflection: (hope this is the right place) I find particularly important the "gaming-part" of the project: students' secret identity (and basically all that contents that in Evoke are listes as Quests), the Runes, the Ranking, the Powers. I would give deep attention to these topics, every student have to feel her/his own Agent is rewarded and gaining skills and powers while accomplishing the missions. So I'd suggest a wiki chapter for the design of good-looking tools for this purpose, it could be game cards, costumes, masks... Thank you. ^___^ [Dario]

Brainstorming Needed: The Hooks
Hooks are ways to get the students interested in the project. Every good adventure begins with a hook: why does the adventurer have to take action? What calls him or her to respond? List your ideas for hooks here:
 * Have a community member appear before the class and issue the Evokation. For instance, if the problem is water conservation, the teacher might arrange for a visit from a local ecologist or other interested person who can issue the call for help.
 * Enmesh the students into the world of EVOKE. Is the teacher an agent? The teacher can pass along to the students an Evokation that he or she has received; one idea is described here.
 * Have a figure of authority somewhere in the country or the world send a letter to the class, or record a short video clip with the Evokation. This one might require some persuading!
 * Create or choose a character the students will come to recognise and like (instead of an authority figure) to record the Evokation. Could be an animation, or could be some charismatic dude that we find on Evoke.

Brainstorming Needed: The Issues
What are some important global issues that students might be able to work on locally? List your ideas here:
 * Food security / sustainability / hunger
 * Water security / sustainability / conservation
 * Energy use / alternative forms of energy
 * Poverty
 * Adapting to climate change (as opposed to trying to avoid it by changing energy use/CO2)
 * Overpopulation
 * Human migration
 * Trafficking
 * Organised crime/drugs

Brainstorming Needed: The Challenges and Possible Resources
This table lists the major issues, along with possible challenges and suggested resources for student research. Please help fill it in:

Brainstorming Needed: Specific Resources and Links by Topic
Do you know of good resources for the main issues? List them here, and link them if you can:

Food security / sustainability / hunger
 * resource

Water security / sustainability / conservation
 * Peace Corps World Wise Schools: Water in Africa (a five-lesson guide for grades 4-6)

Energy use / alternative forms of energy
 * resource

Poverty
 * resource

Evaluation
(description of how to evaluate student work here)

Resources

 * Challenge-Based Learning: An Approach for Our Time : This curriculum draws heavily on this paper.
 * Urgent EVOKE : The game that started it all!
 * Chris Crawford on game design : Chapters five and six in particular are useful for game design
 * Project Horseshoe
 * World Simulation : an experiment by Dr. Michael Wesch @ Kansas State University -> Instructions of the game