Building Working Memory with Games & Apps: All is Lost & DuoLingo

Building Working Memory with Games & Apps: All is Lost & DuoLingo

In this workshop, our expert LearningWorks Live Instructors team up with kids to learn and play games and apps to improve their Working Memory skill.

Image result for all is lost game

Today’s Activity: All is Lost & DuoLingo

For this session of LearningWorkForKids’s Working Memory Workshop our LearningWorks Live Instructors and our new Learning Works For Kids Explorers will be exploring the introduction of the thinking skill Working Memory.

We will start with the basics: What is Working Memory? How can it be used? What video games challenge you to use your Working Memory skills? How so?

Let’s learn more about Working Memory together! Learningworks Working Memory Guide

In-session Game: All Is Lost

It’s Game time! Today the game of the day will be the fast paced side scrolling All Is Lost. We’ll start off by talking together about how to play All is Lost and a discussion about what you can learn from the game.

After the discussion it’s time to play! All of our Learning Works For Kids Explorers will be able to hop into their own All is Lost game and individually explore for about five minutes with the instructors checking in to answer any questions or provide help if it is needed.

All Is Lost Game Information 

Reflection / Whiteboard Activity

Whiteboard activities include group discussions, polls, and more!

The Learningworks live instructors and Explorers will discuss the Whiteboard Activity. What was your experience like? How did you use your Working Memory skills to complete the task? What was challenging?

Explorers will be posed with questions, such as: What did you learn today? How can you translate your Working Memory skills to other areas of your life?

In-session App: Duo Lingo

The app of the day is DuoLingo! The instructors will explain DuoLingo and show the basics on how to use the app! We will discuss a bit about what language each explorer has interest in and try the app out as a team.

DuoLingo Learning Works For Kids App Guide

Reflection

The Learning works live instructors will lead Explorers through a discussion with questions, such as: How do you think Duo Lingo can help you in your everday life? Do you know of any similar games or apps?

Assign Homework

See the “Follow-up activities” below to learn more about how your child can practice their Working Memory skills this week!

Games and Apps Used in this Workshop

Game Downloads:

 

Game Downloads:

Workshop Schedule

To join the live session, simply select the appropriate date and time below, then click on the Join Live Session button.  If this is your child’s first session, please make sure to view and follow our setup instructions.

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Workshop Activities

The LW4K method to using video games as teaching tools relies on strategic teaching principles and our approach of “Detect, Reflect, and Connect.” The purpose of the Detect, Reflect, and Connect steps is to mold the child into an active learner who becomes aware of, engaged in, and contemplative of what she is learning. These steps can enhance motivation and concentration. They also assist in extending learning beyond a particular game or technology and connecting it to the real world.

  • Detect

    Detect or identify when and where they are using thinking skills in video game play.

    As the participants start their gameplay of All is Lost the LearningWorks Live Instructors will help them identify how they must use Working Memory as they start navigating new terrains. They will have to use working memory to determine what moves in this new terrain as the encounter obstacles they have previously ran into.

  • Reflect

    Reflect or consider how the thinking skills used during gameplay helps them to achieve their goals.

    With a short break in the middle of game play time and a reflection at the end once the All is Lost game play time runs up, we will hop to the whiteboard and chat with one another about how we used working memory. The LearningWorks Live Instructors will ask working memory based questions about the tasks they performed in game to see if they were efficient and using the memory to help them achieve their goals in game.

  • Connect

    Connect or apply game-based thinking skills to real-world activities.

    After that discussion about Working Memory in All is Lost the LearningWorks Live Instructors will relate the tasks performed and memory used while doing so, to everyday life scenarios the participants encounter outside of video games, such as in school or at home. The guides will also ask for examples from the participants and discuss as a group.

Follow-Up Activities

Activity #1

Students should continue to use the Duolingo app by setting a goal for themselves that they think is reasonable.

-What language they selected (did they pick a new one or stick with the language they initially chose?)

-Which activities they struggled the most with and which they found to be easier?

-Which activities activated their working memory and what did they do to succeed in these activities?