Collaboration, Camaraderie & Financial Literacy With @ClashofClans #onted

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Collaboration, Camaraderie & Financial Literacy With @ClashofClans #onted

I am a big fan and advocate for games based learning. In the most trivial form, good games offer complex puzzles, critical thought and creative play. Many good games today require an element of collaboration, creativity, problem solving and communication.

Let’s not forget about financial literacy.

Let me reiterate – good games. There are some not-so-good-games that might just be a complete waste of time, but I see fewer and fewer of these as technology continues to advance.

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I have been playing Clash for a few years now. It started at school when a few students invited me to join their clan. At that time we created a classroom “army” and began to work together on defeating goblins and rival clans. Unfortunately, year end came and we decided to disband and go our separate ways. It was a sad moment, a few hugs and high fives  – but we knew what we had to do.

I went on to join an adult clan who really taught me about attack strategies and allocating resources. It was a good year. Lots of teamwork and levelling up. It felt great to be apart of a winning team. We fought and won most wars and I was able to upgrade most of my walls to Level 8.

You see, every component of Clash requires upgrading – and upgrading requires gold, elixir, dark elixir, and gems. If you wish to remain competitive, you must upgrade armies, defences, walls, barracks, gold mines, spell factories, etc. Upgrading takes time and strategy. Other players can attack you and steal your loot so you must defend accordingly.

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Did you know we have curriculum documents tied to Financial Literacy here in Ontario? It’s a great resource outlining where it can be taught in specific strands and expectations of subjects. I encourage you to check it out.

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From the document:

Since making financial decisions has become an increasingly complex task in the modern world, people need knowledge in various areas and a wide range of skills in order to make informed decisions about financial matters. They need to be aware of risks that accompany various financial choices. They also need not only to develop an understanding of world economic forces, but also to become aware of ways in which they themselves can respond to those influences and make informed choices. It is therefore essential that financial literacy be considered an important attribute of a well-educated population so that Ontarians may continue to prosper in the future.

https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/policy/FinLitGr4to8.pdf

Back to Clash.

The ultimate twist in this game is that certain items require gold, certain items require elixir and certain items require dark elixir. Players must save, adjust and allocate resources accordingly. It’s not as easy as just stealing gold all the time.

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If you find yourself in a bind and need copious amounts of gold or elixir stat, you can boost production of those resources – but that will cost you some gems.

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Don’t fret, if boosting takes too long, you can always use real money to purchase in game resources. Yup, real Canadian dollars. Word of warning here…..

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You could even create math lessons around Clash, like my good friend Jon Orr: http://mrorr-isageek.com/modelling-in-clash-of-clans/

Putting the math and financial learning aside, some kids just want to be a part of a team. You know those students who don’t care much for sports but admire the camaraderie of working towards a common goal with other people. This is a perfect opportunity for extra-curricular from the convenience of your home. I wrote about this before here.

My new clan was assembled yesterday. Currently, I am the only member.

Today I am on the recruit to find those kids and parents who wish to join my team. I’ll find you.

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2 Responses for this post

  1. Jennifer Casa-Todd
    Jennifer Casa-Todd
    | |

    Hey Brian,
    I am not a gamer. Never have been. But I love to learn and in the spirit of Growth Mindset, I’m sure I could learn to be a gamer… I love how you make the connection to the Financial Literacy document which really hasn’t taken hold in Ontario despite its importance to our modern learners. I think about our Learning Strategies courses (among others) and I think you may have struck gold here (pun intended) with this idea! I’ve got lots going on so can I be a lurker for now? I’ll spread the word with my folks.
    🙂 Jen

    Reply

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