The Innovative Loom Co.

04/22/2023

An article to consider the importance of developing/improving your creative skills in the era of AI tools.

While AI is overtaking some jobs, it's also creating new ones. Prompt engineering in particular is on the rise. Here's what you need to know.

03/22/2023

Are you a Hispanic American working in any technology field? Join our meetup group!

¡Bienvenidos entusiastas y profesionales de la tecnología! We are a group of Hispanic Americans in Gwinnett County involved in diverse technology fields. We desire to help each other improve, personal

03/22/2023

An interesting article on the future of software development.

Large language models like GPT-4 are becoming increasingly capable, at an alarming rate. Within a couple of years, we won't need developers any more! …Or at least, that's the narrative going viral on Twitter. I'm much more optimistic about what these AI advancements mean for the future of software...

12/01/2022

How learning something new - like computational thinking or the basics of software design - can improve your creative skills.

Is knowledge and creativity are connected? Is there a way to increase creativity? Read article with practical steps to boost your creativity.

11/26/2022

For current and (potential) new students, those with some professional experience under their belt.

Improve cognitive performance with creativity - sculpting, painting, or reading. Any creative activity can improve the aging brain.

06/18/2022

We are offering, this weekend, a flash course on the topics of Computational Thinking and Coding. The live stream will include links to the resources needed for the hands-on element of this class. This flash course and its resources are free.

02/10/2022

A workshop for parents of students in middle and high school, coming up this February.

01/26/2022

Creative Momentum.
One element of RPGs that sustains the creative momentum is character creation; this is the part of the game where each player "builds" the character they will use in the adventure at hand. The process can be as simple as making a few decisions regarding race and class (abilities). On the other hand, it can be as complex as writing an extensive backstory or commissioning an original portrait.

Whatever your approach, character creation will fuel your creativity long after the game session ends.

If you want to learn more about RPGs as tools to promote collaboration, community, and creativity, please, let us know.

Photo by Anton Maksimov 5642.su on Unsplash

01/20/2022

Tabletop RPGs are an efficient tool to reinforce the collaboration skills in your team. This reinforcement takes place even after each game session is over; think of it as a creative momentum that can help your team members find more innovative solutions to the challenges they are facing.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you want to learn more about this tool and its implementation.

Photo by Jungwoo Hong on Unsplash

10/15/2021

How RPGs promote collaboration in young students - Post 2 of 2

The game itself is not the players against the gamemaster; if the players reach the goal set for them in the adventure, then everyone wins. When presented with a challenge - there are three types of challenges: social interaction, exploration, combat - the players must collaborate, using their character's skills, to find the solution. Each player describes how their character responds to the situation presented by the gamemaster and dice are rolled to determine the outcome. Players are encouraged (but not required) to describe their character's action in the first person, embodying as much as possible of what makes that character unique.

Based on their accomplishments, at the end of the session, the game master determines if the characters level up. If that is the case, the players can invest time between sessions (normally, two weeks apart) choosing the new skills for their characters, as well as developing any new elements of their backstory. Players can also find out more information about the setting they are playing at, and even exchange in-character messages with the other players if that option was agreed upon before the first session.

RPGs are, then, a rich environment to practice collaboration, problem-solving, social interaction, and creative thinking; all of them beneficial skills for young students.

COMING UP SOON
TILCo. will host an online event for parents of young students, at the end of the month, where we will discuss these topics at length. The event is free of charge, but registration is required.

10/12/2021

Do you have any questions about how tabletop roleplaying games can promote collaboration and creativity, among your team or young students? Ask us via WhatsApp!

10/11/2021

How RPGs promote collaboration in young students - Post 1 of 2

At its heart, a tabletop roleplaying game is an exercise in cooperative storytelling: the gamemaster - the person who leads the game - describes what is happening in the story, then, the players react, in character and as a team, to those events; they are working together, combining their characters’ skills to solve a challenge. After this, the gamemaster determines how successful the players were in their reaction, adjusts the story accordingly, and then describes the new conditions. Of course, the players’ in-character interactions are governed by the set of rules, the mechanics of the game everyone had agreed upon.

To be sure everyone will have a good time during the game, it is important the group agrees on some details even before the game itself begins. These are some of the topics that must be discussed in what traditionally is called Session Zero:

+ Setting where the story takes place (dystopian future, a land of fantasy and magic, outer space, the Roman Empire but with steam technology, etc.)
+ Boundaries to describe actions, conditions, results (think of it as the rating of the story: G, PG, PG-13, etc).
+ Game etiquette - How to show respect and set a welcoming environment for every player.
+ Game system. This includes rules for character creation, abilities, leveling up, etc.

On the next post: What happens at the table, and how players can continue their engagement even in between sessions.

COMING UP SOON
TILCo. will be hosting an online event for parents of young students, at the end of the month, where we will discuss these topics at length. The event will be free of charge, but registration will be required.