On November 14th, the 2007-2008 MOUSE Squad of the Year from Berta Dreyfus Middle School was invited to participate in national education research that utilizes new gaming systems for the exploration of math, physics and other critical content areas in middle and high school curricula. If this doesn't sound like fun yet, take a look the MOUSE flickr stream to see this Squad in action.

Picture this: you arrive at a state-of-the art facility that houses one of New York's premier higher education programs in Technology and Communications Design at Parsons New School for Design. After a brief tour of the school's sprawling design lab - computer and media design stations wall-to-wall - you're led to a corner room. "All game testers will have to take off their shoes," one of our hosts tells us. The room is dimly lit, a panel of computers marks a control station in one corner and, at its center, two orbs glow with mesmerizing neon colors at the center of a white padded floor. "Your first task as a MOUSE Squad is to explore the system" says a facilitator, "the glowing objects at the center of the room are game controllers... pick them up, see if you can figure out how things work."

Squad Members set off exploring. A few go right for the the glowing controllers, others more interested in the elaborate projection system bouncing images from a mirror on the ceiling, a few more huddled behind the control station to ask questions about software that seemed to be monitoring the controllers' presence in space. Each Squad Member then had time to put together a diagram or description of the system's mechanics. A few gave reports on their theories. More discussion revealed key secrets to the system. Two teams of Squad Members then separated to challenge one another to classify "inputs" "processors" and "outputs" of the system.

Having faced the challenge of deconstructing the system, the Squad then continued their gameplay in teams. In the "Constant Velocity Relay," the challenge was to move one entire team across the room, one at a time, at a constant rate. Think it's easy to move at such a steady pace? Try it. Finally, teams went head-to-head in "Pancake," where one team member races the clock (with direction from their teammates) to cook perfect pancakes on a lifesize griddle. Leave a cake on the cooktop and it will burn! Points are given for pancakes properly cooked, and bonus points where three or more are done at the same time.

From their website: A collaborative, inquiry-based learning platform, SMALLab supports situated and embodied learning by empowering the physical body to function as an expressive interface. Within SMALLab, participants use wireless controllers or “glowballs” to interact with each other and with media rich content through full body movements and gestures. SMALLab's open, cube-like framework and light, unencumbered controllers encourage participants to move in and out of the physical interaction space freely. This fluid mix of real and virtual worlds fosters teamwork, active engagement and complex problem-solving between participants in and around the space. Using a custom designed authoring environment, participants can develop scenarios and then interact with them in real time—seeing and hearing the projected sound and image and feeling their physical movements bring their ideas to life.

MOUSE thanks its wonderful partners at Parsons New School for Design and SmallLab. To learn more about SmallLab.

Sound like fun?... join us at PlayTech Saturday, also hosted by CTD at Parsons. Registration is limited, so sign up now!