Scalable Game Design Thursday Bulletin

Quarter 1, 2009 (Below) Issues 1 - 8

Quarter 1, 2010 Issues 1 - 12

First Issue: October 22, 2009
October 22, 2009 Teacher Class Updates General Updates Possibilities in Process
 * Carol postponed her class for 2-3 weeks depending on her tech guy.
 * Rod changed to Nov 2, 2009
 * Beth has pushed back her class to possibly 11/2, as well
 * Ongoing this week are Mark Shouldice, Debbie Murrell, Robin Benjamin, Pam Birx & Lynn Wohler
 * Please let Lynn know if you plan to visit
 * Pam can’t be visited until after Nov 2, 2009
 * Dave Kuttler is in Mark’s class
 * Elisa & Laura are in Debbie’s class
 * Corey will be starting next week … I need to find out when visiting will be available … as the class is a hybrid between our program & a Spanish class
 * Wiki updated this morning
 * Media Release form & Mileage form are both on the wiki under the “form” category
 * Evan to talk about paperwork protocols at a future meeting
 * First SGDA Thursday Bulletin produced!!!
 * Possible involvement in a Pueblo CC career fair
 * Possible program implementation in the Pueblo Tech High School
 * Laptops from the University (used)
 * Home Schooling Assoc. from Stemapolooza

Communication Corner
 * Quote of the Week
 * From John E Jones & William L Bearley

“Team members are said to have spirit, or a sense of loyalty to and belief in each other. After all, they need each other to do their work. They organize to make work decisions, solve work-related problems, make plans and manage change.” “Group: a collection or aggregation of persons, places or things that have at least one thing in common. We are in this room together. That makes us a group.”


 * Are we a team or a group?

Issue 2: October 29, 2009
Teacher Class Updates
 * Aurora Public School District is out of school this week
 * Sent 2nd email to Corey in Ft. Lupton about the upcoming class … as I have received response     about dates or class times.
 * No word yet from Carol about dates or times of her class, sent another reminder
 * Beth to start on Nov 17, 2009

General Updates
 * Meeting this Monday in ECOT 831 @ 12 noon
 * Wiki updated this morning
 * Agentsheets Practice for CC students & Aurora teachers this Saturday
 * SGDA Thursday Bulletin name changed to Scalable Game Design Thursday Bulletin
 * Have received teacher names from David (thank you, David) … is Diane taking care of this now?
 * Looks like we will potentially be able to get some laptops from IT, although it still depends on some university issues that are yet undecided.
 * Alex to update the group on T & L conference at Monday meeting

Possibilities in Process
 * Possible involvement in a Pueblo CC career fair (making contacts)
 * Possible program implementation in the Pueblo Tech High School (pending)
 * Home Schooling Assoc. from Stemapolooza (possibly next year?)

Communication Corner
 * "Just like Beauty, the message is in the eye of the beholder!"
 * "Just because you believe you are communicating clearly does not mean your message is clearly communicated to your conversation partner."

Email Messages as a Communication Tool
Recently I submitted a conference paper on some of the significant differences between face-to-face communication & email communication during the beginning stages of this project. I thought it would be informative to share some of my research in this issue of the Thursday Bulletin.

Email messages have become the bread & butter of many groups, to help bridge the gaps in communication between group members. However, email messages are NOT the same as face-to-face interaction. The nonverbal part of the message is usually lost, despite the little smiley faces. Plus often, email is used to convey a message that the initiator of the message doesn’t want to communicate to the receiver in person or otherwise in a direct manner. The use of email for this kind of purpose itself, communicates a different nonverbal message, although what this message portrays, can vary depending on the relationship of the people involved. Some people also perceive email to be of less importance than a face-to-face meeting. This perception can result in two different, mostly erroneous ideas about email: 1) The message in an email is only for facts & doesn’t communicate any subliminal message of its own; 2) If a person was serious about an issue, they would make time to schedule a face-to-face meeting.

Another issue resulting directly from these perceptions of email is the ability to avoid face-to-face or direct communication through email. Although relatively common at this point, this is NOT usually recommended when group members are going to have an ongoing relationship. Using email in this fashion can undermine a professional relationship to the point that the communicators distrust each other & the email messages. Using email to avoid communicating to an individual in person, can (& usually is) perceived as disrespectful of that person, especially in the context of the group. Consequently, although email messages are wonderful for communicating facts, figures, events, & duties, using them to let an individual know that their services in a particular venue are not required, by copying them on an email is inconsiderate, disrespectful & condescending. So just remember when using email, that it has limitations & should not be used to avoid direct communication with group members with whom you will most likely be continuing a relationship with.

Issue 3: November 5, 2009
Teacher Class Updates
 * Rod started this week
 * Steve Barron’ still hasn’t sent his roster (Fred will remind?)
 * Steve Barron’ called while I was sick, but still has not returned my call back
 * We still have no class times for Steve Barron’ (Fred???)
 * Carol starting November 16, if we can get her tech guy to install Agentsheets
 * Mark’s class continues
 * Debbie’s class continues
 * No communication from Robin
 * Pam’s class continues … Kyu & I to visit Friday
 * Danny’s class continues
 * Elisa & Laura remain in Debbie’s class
 * Dave remains in Mark’s class

General Updates
 * Vicki’s been very sick … back in office Wednesday afternoon, but still not totally recovered … working at home most of this week
 * Wiki updated over the weekend
 * Clemith says we might be able to expect a donation of 9 laptops from CU (still pending)

Possibilities in Process
 * Possible involvement in a Pueblo CC career fair (making contacts)
 * Home Schooling Assoc. from Stemapolooza (possibly next year?)

Communication Corner
 * Communication, like your signature, doesn’t necessarily get better, the more often we communicate!

Issue 4: November 12, 2009
Teacher Class Updates
 * Steve Barron’ at Ft. Lupton will start the actual Agentsheets in January.
 * Carol starting November 16, Agentsheets installation in progress
 * Debbie’s class continues
 * Pamela’s class visits have gone well
 * No communication from Robin
 * Elisa & Laura remain in Debbie’s class
 * Dave remains in Mark’s class
 * Laura remains in Pam’s class
 * Rod’s class is ongoing
 * Beth still starting on Nov. 17, will do surveys today
 * Sandy’s next class is scheduled for 12/3/2009 … same time
 * Anna to start next class on Nov. 16.

General Updates
 * Wiki update still in progress
 * Team Meeting this Monday in ECOT 831 @ 12 noon
 * Clemith says we might be able to expect a donation of 9 laptops from CU (still pending: no further update)
 * Have started talking to current teachers about next year’s Summer Institute: It’s going slowly, but mostly positive … will update team on specifics at meeting
 * Alex, Kyu & Vicki to visit Beth (Hoehne) & Rod (LaVeta) on Nov. 17. If anyone wishes to join them, you must commit before the Monday meeting
 * Agentsheets update for the CC students went very well.

Possibilities in Process
 * Possible involvement in a Pueblo CC career fair (making contacts)
 * Home Schooling Assoc. from Stemapolooza (possibly next year?)
 * Steve Barron is promoting the program to his entire district
 * Laura Rodriguez has a teacher who is interested (private school)
 * Everyone should start thinking about the expansion goals for the next cycle?
 * (How many teachers, CC students, etc. are we expanding to? Ratio of science/math teachers to tech teachers/school?)

Communication Corner
 * “Creativity doesn’t just happen by chance; the prepared environment nourishes it” R. E. Peterson (2005)
 * “The difficulty in defining teacher beliefs centers on the difficulty and ambiguity of differentiating beliefs from knowledge.” (Calderhead, 1996; Pajares, 1992)
 * One communication perspective stresses that beliefs can be (& usually are) communicated as an undercurrent of almost any type of knowledge/subject that we speak about.

Issue 5: November 19, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Teacher Class Updates
 * Rod’s Class is doing Great!
 * Carol postponed until Agentsheets can be installed (this week)
 * Beth’s Class is doing Awesome … on their first day!
 * Robin will begin 3rd cycle on Monday
 * Anna started 2nd cycle this week
 * Burke to start 2nd cycle on Dec 3, 2009
 * Alyson postponed 2nd cycle
 * Sandy to start 4th cycle on Dec. 3, 2009

General Updates
 * Alex, Kyu & Vicki had a wonderful (5am-9pm) visit with Rod & Beth in their respective classes
 * Wiki is still not fully updated, due to increases in other tasks … soon, though
 * Clemith says we might be able to expect a donation of 9 laptops from CU (still pending)
 * Laura has whiplash & a concussion from a rear-ender … will be awhile until she can return to work
 * Ian traveling to Oglala … hopefully to resolve the stand-off between Carol & Thomas (Yeah!)
 * Vicki will be in Santa Barbara this week (sailing w/Mike) … sporactic email, internet & phone service while on the water.

Possibilities in Process
 * Possible involvement in a Pueblo CC career fair (making contacts)
 * Home Schooling Assoc. from Stemapolooza (possibly next year?)
 * New teacher possibility from Laura Rodriguez
 * New CC student recruitment for southern area from Trinidad CC?

Communication Corner
 * When you want to make sure your message is understood, remember that realizing that your perceptions are not the same as those of your conversational or email correspondent is the key. Just because you have said your piece eloquently, do not assume that your message was received accurately until you get some feedback!