Designing Collaborative Tech-Rich Learning: Building a Multi-Player Game Controller with Makey Makeys

Abstract

This lesson challenges learners to consider the educational benefits of using games to support teaching and learning practices through a Makey Makey design challenge. A Makey Makey is a digital toolkit that creates a closed-loop circuit by connecting alligator clips to conductive materials. I introduce the Makey Makey during a unit exploring the use of gaming technologies in PK-12 classrooms. During this lesson, groups of learners use a Makey Makey to build a multi-player game controller. This article describes a lesson that has been successfully integrated with undergraduate students in an Introduction to Technology in Education course and with middle and high school students.