English teaching/learning

For a few years I have been using Facebook Groups in my university courses. One technique that has been especially useful is to have students post comments for homework, then, in the following class, read and respond to others' comments, using their smartphones. I also participate, provoking discussion and reflection. It becomes a kind of instant writing/reading process and the atmosphere is relaxed and fun.

I learned this from Jon Ander Musatadi, a young cooperative entrepreneur from the LEINN program at Mondragon University in Euskadi.

The idea of this activity is to help participants focus on their "Why?" -- the dream or aspiration that drives them -- and give them support from their peers.

The Joker asks participants to write on a piece of paper the answer to this question:

• If money did not exist, what would you be doing right now?

I learned this from my friend Jon Ander Musatadi, a young cooperative entrepreneur from Euskadi.

The Joker asks participants to think about the biggest problem they face in their work and write it on a piece of paper.

Then, in groups, the participants come up with two solutions: the best solution and the worst. The worst solution is like a nightmare scenario.

The game Loud & Proud is designed to played as a rapid-fire competitive matching game. http://store.toolboxfored.org/loud-proud/

It can also be played:

• As prompts or seeds for making speeches or sermons. One card: if you draw "Organic food is...", you have to improvise a speech on organic food (for or against, or other). Two cards (matching symbols): if you draw "Corporation" and "A Democracy" you have to improvise a speech that relates the two concepts.

The card game Buffalo, by Mary Flanagan, is designed to be played as a rapid-fire competition between players. (http://www.tiltfactor.org/game/buffalo/)

It can also be played:

Play the game "Which would you rather be?" (have, do, see, eat...)

Do it first for fun, making the questions challenging, surreal, random, etc.

Then do it thematically: which would you rather be: a boss or a worker? A capitalist or a cooperativist? The questions should be real, not rhetorical or testing people's adherence to a political line.

In pairs, one person is the Engineer the other is the Robot. The engineer gives the robot instructions. The robot does exactly what z is instructed to do, if possible in the spirit of "yes, and...". It is okay for the robot to fail to perform an action -- that requires the engineer to adapt the instruction. This will be most interesting if the instructions are creative: write a poem, pretend to eat ice cream, explain the meaning of life...

Variations:

Sound shiritori, joker is judge of sound match, uses silent way to help people find the right sound.

Play --> Ace (or eight...)

No words ending in -ing.

Can combine with sound color chart that shows letter combinations per sound, but point is more to get people to stop thinking visually (letters) and think aurally instead.

For centuries board games have been used for entertainment, propaganda, and education. Monopoly was based on the Landlord Game, which was designed by followers of Henry George to education people about Land Rent and the single tax. Coopoly is designed to teach the challenges of running a worker cooperative. Some Japanese sugoroku games present bildungsromans or cautionary tales.

Excellent guide to instructions for games:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gv1WqLwVWeagmJiWVuvOeXHbTA4MEpXGV2yV...

Work & Education, Past and Future Sugoroku Process Notes