高能量青少年 Roblox 遊戲之夜

***Summer 2023 Vacation Schedule***
 NO CLASSES July 31 - August 13

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**Before enrolling please note that Usernames/Gamer Handles will be seen by other learners enrolled.  At times gamer handles/usernames may have to be shared with the teacher to connect to each private server to participate in a specific game or class. Upon enrolling in any "Artful Gaming with Maryam Awan" classes, families are giving consent for their learners to participate in classes where gamer handles will be used and referred to by the educator and learners in class for class purposes only, as needed.  Learners are not to ask for or accept friend requests with one another per Outschool Trust and Safety Guidelines.**

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What separates Maryam Awan’s gaming classes from others? 

Let’s face it; teens get the short end of the stick. 

While children 12 and under have endless ways of socializing, teens are far too often clumped together with kids younger than them for convenience. 

The truth is teens desire a space of their own! 

While teens can get along and work well with younger kids, they are on a totally different plain. 

They have different social skills, different joking styles, different topics of conversation, and are definitely at a different maturity level than those younger than them. 

They want and deserve to have social outlets where they can be and act their age, with other teens, without holding back for younger children. 

This is where Maryam Awan’s classes come in. If you are looking for a genuinely teen-focused and relaxed safe environment for teens to exercise fundamental Life and Social Skills through gaming or to simply make friends, you are in the right place!

With Maryam Awan, teens (and mature 12-year-olds) not only spend time gaming with one another they are building genuine relationships while exercising social and life skills in ways that are entirely natural for them. 

Through supervision and the guidance of a National Certified Counselor and Bullying Prevention Specialist, teens finally have a safe place purely for themselves.  

Maryam Awan has been working with children and teens as an educator, counselor, life coach, and mod for over twenty years and has successfully helped teen after teen build social communities with one another casually and effectively through her gaming classes and social hours. 
So hit the pause button on life and enroll your teen in one of her fun classes today! 

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WARNING: HIGH TEEN ENERGY AHEAD!

Greetings Robloxians and Welcome to Teen High Energy Roblox Social Gaming Hour!

Get ready for excitement, laughter, and energy when gaming with this group! Here you will find the high energy and excitement that comes naturally with gaming. During this high-energy class, you will hear exclamations of success, laughter from losses, moments of joy, and some respectful expressions of disappointment when games just don't go our way! 

All of these expressions are welcome in this class and loved!

How else can we celebrate each other's wins, support each other during losses, show good sportsmanship, and learn from our mistakes by getting back up on our feet to try again? 

Gamers in this high-energy class, have tendencies to react to in-game moments so be prepared! What may seem like talking over one another is actually the natural way gamers are expressing themselves and their emotions healthily. So if you are a learner or family member, be warned, this class can be very active and loud!

(Please note, high-energy gaming sessions may not be a good fit for everyone, some learners prefer and need a quieter format, with more structure that is instruction-based. This is a learner-directed social life skills session and not a “learn how to play” instructional course.)

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Why Are My Gaming Classes Listed In Life Skills?

All of my gaming classes are listed in the Life Skills category for a reason. Gaming offers real-life challenges. And when played in safely moderated and supervised groups, conflicts can be resolved while life and social skills can grow in natural and respectful ways. I am there to guide learners through any obstacles as they pop up as much as I am there to help them try on new hats, should *they* choose to. 

Each class offers the option of joining in on the natural progression of building friendships and communities where real-life conflicts and challenges, that arise from time to time, will be worked through together in low-key ways with the help of gamification. 

For me, learners are not students; they are young people I take the time to get to know.  With them leading the way, through gaming and casual conversations, we connect, laugh, and have a great time while casually strengthening social and life skills in ways that connect well with them. 

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What About Parent/Teacher Communication and Collaboration?

Parent/Guardian communication and collaboration are also of great importance to me. Communication is vital to the success of all learners in any setting. Please feel free to reach out before or after class to let me know what you and your learner are hoping to get from this high-energy gaming experience. If ever a parent/guardian has a concern or a question about a class style, setting, or how a learner is experiencing a session, I have a fully open-door policy in which I encourage parents/families to reach out to me so we can assure each learner is getting the most out of each experience. 

Communication is key! 

So families, reach out to me! Together we can improve learner experiences! 

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What Is The Weekly Schedule? 

Weekly Schedule: This class is heavily learner-directed as we play exciting new games (only on private servers) each week which are suggested by learners on a fair and running list. New players will always have the chance to make a game suggestion during their first class. 

Each Week learners will log into class to socialize and strategize with other gamers with the option of working on socializing in ways in which they prefer. The social hour is heavily learner-directed to help foster genuine social connections, independence, creativity, and a sense of autonomy through the challenges of gaming.

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Why do we take turns choosing games and switch to new games each class? 

Life Skills! 

Allowing learners to take turns choosing games opens up many possibilities for practicing life skills. Learners are faced with trying new games, being independent, helping others learn new skills, being challenged, practicing patience, showing empathy, helping others, helping with conflict resolution, accepting failure gracefully, good sportsmanship, and many more. Together we work through the challenges which help learners grow and work on many different areas of life skills perfect for their age. 

During class, we may reflect on social and life skills as they evolve. As the moderator, my focus is on moderating the inclusivity, respect, communication, and engagement between gamers to assure everyone is included and respected in a safe gaming space rather than how well I, as an instructor, am at individual games.  

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What about teen socialization?

Amazing progress and goals can be achieved through gamification! This is not a "how to socialize" instructional class. The way learners present themselves during class will always be honored and respected and is absolutely their choice. In all of my gaming classes, learners lead the way in how *they* choose to present themselves lowing them to make their own informed decisions on how they want to socialize and game. This approach allows personal social goal-setting. Learners can choose to practice different social styles in a safe and inclusive setting to see what clicks well with them. Those who are on the introverted side are honored and respected just as much as those on the extroverted side and everything in between! No one will ever be put on the spot to present themselves in ways in which they are not comfortable by me or by others. We are all works in progress!

Gaming with live groups, in moderated and supervised settings, offers a safe and inclusive space for learners and gamers to be faced with many real-life decisions, challenges, and goals. Through my classes, without handholding, I encourage gamers to take the lead and navigate these challenges safely, at a pace, and in social ways that they choose and are comfortable with. By choosing their social approach and style, learners gain confidence, independence, and autonomy. 

Social skills like patience, empathy, leadership, conflict resolution, how to ask for help, how to help others, confidence and even just being happy with being yourself are practiced in class as opportunities arise. 

As a National Certified Counselor, my training includes a gradual approach to easing teens into new social groups, similar to that of easing a new fish into a fish tank. This approach is used for all sessions allowing new member gets a feel for the environment, our gaming world, and the communication styles of other players. 

Each session allows players to naturally gain independence and autonomy by letting *them* choose what style of socialization and gaming they prefer.

In class, we have a wide variety of gamers with different social norms. Some are very outspoken and continually speak up during class while others prefer to communicate by typing in the chat with one another and some simply enjoy being a part of our group while quietly playing along in ways that are comfortable for them.

Essentially, I foster a stress-free environment where learners have a comfortable and inclusive space to simply be *who they are and how they choose to be* in social settings without pressure. This approach builds stronger connections with others but most importantly creates a sense of confidence, independence, autonomy, and a feeling of belonging without having to change who they are. 

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How About Safety?

No need to log on to "sus" public lobbies. In this class, we will only game on private servers set up by the instructor. 

Learners will be sharing their usernames with the instructor. A lot of learners also want to connect with each other outside of class. 

For Safety And Security please remind and help your learner to:
1. Not to friend request others from class or during class (without following the guidelines in the link below)
2. Only to join me in the class they are enrolled in on Roblox and not during other classes I may be running
3. *Unfriend Me* once you stop the subscription to this class. Learners tend to change usernames often and it is requested that they unfriend me once they stop the subscription to this class with your help as needed.  

Should you like your learners to build friendships outside of class please use the guidance in the following link by scrolling down to the 'Staying in touch after class section:

https://support.outschool.com/en/articles/2086860-how-to-use-outschool-as-a-parent

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What Do I Need For A Successful Class?

Gamers will need to own/download a copy of Roblox.
Gamers will need to access the Outschool Classroom and the ability to game simultaneously throughout the class and may need more than one device to do so. 

A Note About Technology and Troubleshooting During This Class

Before enrolling in this session please be aware that this is not a tech class. This is a heavily “kid-powered” Life Skills and Social Class. Out of respect for all learners and families, very little time is allotted to assist in connection/technology issues.  This includes most components of online/group gaming, mics issues, headphone issues, Zoom, Wifi connections, and all components of online/group gaming. Learners and their families:

*Must* have a basic knowledge of the technology and devices used in each individual home. Due to the wide variety of devices and technology, the teacher holds no responsibility for the troubleshooting or tech support of learners who have difficulties connecting to the games/servers used in this class. Families are welcome to do research during class to help their learners troubleshoot when tech issues arise during class. If a learner or family experiences sound, mic, and issues related to Zoom the teacher may be able to assist. If the teacher cannot help efficiently please reach out to Outschool Support.  

*Must* know how to access and effectively use and/or add the private servers and/or online games used in this class. Please do research and work with your learner *before* class on how to connect with the teacher with usernames if needed, connect to/add private servers if necessary, type in-game codes if needed, and all components of online gaming.  Many of these gaming classes are high-energy, social, and move quickly. Out of the respect for all learners who are here to game, practice life skills, and socialize, in-class time cannot be spent on extensive tech support and troubleshooting. That being said, we sometimes have helpful learners in our groups. As part of the life skills component, they may be invited to exercise their leadership skills to assist with tech to the extent of their knowledge. Please note, the teacher or learners are in no way responsible for conducting extensive tech support. 

*Must* understand that at times learners and families will experience server and in-game technical issues which are out of the teacher’s control. Additionally, to the ones listed above, other tech issues include learners disconnecting from games or servers and learners unable to connect/re-connect to servers due to unforeseen circumstances.  

*Must* understand that during a loss in a game and/or disconnection issues some learners may have to wait for one game to end before joining another round. Wait times vary as some games may take longer at times to conclude depending on the number of players and skill levels. 

*Must* be aware that out of respect of learners and their families and in order to preserve the security and safety of all learners class recordings are only shared with the Outschool Trust and Safety Teams. All Class Recording Requests will be denied. 

*Must* be aware that the “mute all” button is used at times when gaming. Please remind your learner that if they are not heard they may be muted or have mic issues. Learners are free to unmute when they are able and when mute is not required for the game. Also, note if a learner does not get a reply from other learners or the teacher there may be tech issues involved where the learner was not heard. Some learners are more soft-spoken and may need to increase their mic volumes when speaking. Another option is to use in-game chat when available. If a learner does not get a response they may also use Zoom Chat to connect with the teacher. 


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A Little About Me?

As a Counselor/School Counselor, artist, and art teacher for over a decade, it is very important that my classes are structured in a fun way with a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere. Teaching social classes and art are my focus where I put an emphasis on the communication, social styles, and rapport-building aspects of the class to create a relaxing and inviting atmosphere for all learners.

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What Are Possible Learning Goals? 

Learners enrolled will naturally enhance, practice, and learn skills that include:

- Buildings Self Confidence 
- Helping others be successful
- Public Speaking
- Social Skills
- Persuasive Arguments
- Team Building
- Empathy 
- How to work together
- How to defend one's stance/perspective politely and effectively
- The Art of Friendly Debate
- Connection with Others in a Diverse Setting