For our last class we talked about upcoming papers/projects. I found two people to work on my digital story with and found an article for my second executive summary. It was nice to have class time devoted to working. I'm looking forward to working on my digital story project. It will also be nice to get my first executive summary back so that I have a better understanding of what's expected for summary #2.
My main concern right now is deciding on a "big topic" for our digital story. Issues discussed so far are: WWII (experience in Netherlands/how to teach with technology...Anne Frank, Netherlands, biologically what happened to the Jews in the concentration camps); possibly focus on the Northwest (interest being in Native American literature, living conditions, history)...those are two topics our group of 3 brought up. We are composed of an English endorsee (?), Social studies endorsee, and a Biology endorsee. Whatever topic we choose it will be interdisciplinary education w/technology. Are these "big topics?" Or at least big enough for this project? WWII is huge, so we thought of narrowing it down to experience in the Netherlands. Native American history is huge, so we thought of focusing on our area of the country, the Pacific Northwest.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Reflections on BEDUC 566 #7
Why are we talking about video games in relation to teaching?
*You often don't get to fail in real life -- there is learning that comes from failure
*Risk-taking without the consequences
*Problem-solving
*Collaborative problem solving
*Instant feedback for your work (in the game)
What are the great things about video games? Motivation for education? What does it mean to have kids learn through failure?
How could I use a video game in the classroom? Perhaps in addition to class lessons, something to do at home to reinforce concepts I am trying to teach in the classroom.
Games we talked about: SimCity, Diner Tycoon, Eco Tycoon, Oregon Trail, Betty's Brain, Math Blaster...
With the game that we played we could see direct consequences for our decisions. If we bought the wrong type of food (Diner Tycoon), we would lose customers. Since this is just a game, I could pick whatever I wanted to see what my decisions would bring about. I could see this as being very useful for helping youth with their identity development. This is a virtual environment where they can test different pathways. Do I want to be a small business owner when I grow up? Also, since games such as Diner Tycoon give instant feedback for actions taken, students can quickly know how they are doing and can change pathways if they are failing in a certain way.
We had an interesting discussion about how much we should depend on technology. Learning for the instant (just in time learning) vs. learning as much as possible in preparation for life (school). Sarah - "just in time learning is learning how to find the tools you need in order to do something, when you need that skill." It is about how do I find the resources to solve this immediate problem? It is about a set of problem-solving skills.
Why isn't technology present in classrooms today (outside of computer class). What is the role of the teacher?
What I got from class this evening? I can think about video games in a different way. Our discussion reinforced some ideas that I read in the Gee article.
Something that is missing in many schools is engagement by students in their learning. I could see how video games could be used to engage youth in learning. As far as teaching literature, I am not sure what games are out there, but I'm now interested in doing some research and finding out if there are any games out there that appeal to me, and that I think I could use in a classroom.
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Reflection question:
1. Given the view of schooling in the readings for this week, which technologies (on the wiki) do you think are most likely to be taken up in schools? Why? Which technologies push your thinking about teaching and learning? Why? Do these two lists necessarily line up?
Most likely to be taken up in schools: the games Betty's Brain, Math blaster, Oregon Trail (games that I could see used in schools); http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ (used by teachers as a tool; not in the classroom); Animoto (used for class projects); blogs/class websites...I think that these forms of technology fit into the structures of schools as they are today. These programs can be used peripherally (in computer class, math lab), and for certain class projects. They would not ask teachers to change their entire curriculum. According to the Collins article, technology is only adopted into the school if it is flexible to fit the needs of an already established/structured system. It will not be adopted if it causes schools to have to restructure itself.
Push my thinking about teaching and learning: the video games we tested definitely caused me to question my assumptions about video games. I can see educational benefits to video games now (certain ones of course, not all).
I especially was interested in thinking about how I could use a video game in an English classroom. Any ideas of certain games which could be used in an English classroom? In regards to blogs and other programs like Animoto, I can see the value in letting students create. I remember one of my favorite things about AP English was that I was able to make a diarama ("barbie hell") for Dante's Inferno. I got to be create again. Something I felt I only got to do in Art class.
*You often don't get to fail in real life -- there is learning that comes from failure
*Risk-taking without the consequences
*Problem-solving
*Collaborative problem solving
*Instant feedback for your work (in the game)
What are the great things about video games? Motivation for education? What does it mean to have kids learn through failure?
How could I use a video game in the classroom? Perhaps in addition to class lessons, something to do at home to reinforce concepts I am trying to teach in the classroom.
Games we talked about: SimCity, Diner Tycoon, Eco Tycoon, Oregon Trail, Betty's Brain, Math Blaster...
With the game that we played we could see direct consequences for our decisions. If we bought the wrong type of food (Diner Tycoon), we would lose customers. Since this is just a game, I could pick whatever I wanted to see what my decisions would bring about. I could see this as being very useful for helping youth with their identity development. This is a virtual environment where they can test different pathways. Do I want to be a small business owner when I grow up? Also, since games such as Diner Tycoon give instant feedback for actions taken, students can quickly know how they are doing and can change pathways if they are failing in a certain way.
We had an interesting discussion about how much we should depend on technology. Learning for the instant (just in time learning) vs. learning as much as possible in preparation for life (school). Sarah - "just in time learning is learning how to find the tools you need in order to do something, when you need that skill." It is about how do I find the resources to solve this immediate problem? It is about a set of problem-solving skills.
Why isn't technology present in classrooms today (outside of computer class). What is the role of the teacher?
What I got from class this evening? I can think about video games in a different way. Our discussion reinforced some ideas that I read in the Gee article.
Something that is missing in many schools is engagement by students in their learning. I could see how video games could be used to engage youth in learning. As far as teaching literature, I am not sure what games are out there, but I'm now interested in doing some research and finding out if there are any games out there that appeal to me, and that I think I could use in a classroom.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection question:
1. Given the view of schooling in the readings for this week, which technologies (on the wiki) do you think are most likely to be taken up in schools? Why? Which technologies push your thinking about teaching and learning? Why? Do these two lists necessarily line up?
Most likely to be taken up in schools: the games Betty's Brain, Math blaster, Oregon Trail (games that I could see used in schools); http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ (used by teachers as a tool; not in the classroom); Animoto (used for class projects); blogs/class websites...I think that these forms of technology fit into the structures of schools as they are today. These programs can be used peripherally (in computer class, math lab), and for certain class projects. They would not ask teachers to change their entire curriculum. According to the Collins article, technology is only adopted into the school if it is flexible to fit the needs of an already established/structured system. It will not be adopted if it causes schools to have to restructure itself.
Push my thinking about teaching and learning: the video games we tested definitely caused me to question my assumptions about video games. I can see educational benefits to video games now (certain ones of course, not all).
I especially was interested in thinking about how I could use a video game in an English classroom. Any ideas of certain games which could be used in an English classroom? In regards to blogs and other programs like Animoto, I can see the value in letting students create. I remember one of my favorite things about AP English was that I was able to make a diarama ("barbie hell") for Dante's Inferno. I got to be create again. Something I felt I only got to do in Art class.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Reflections of BEDUC 566 #6
The relevancy of video games
We discussed Gee's and Squire's articles on technology. Bringing up topics of authenticity of virtual experiences vs. real life.
What are the values we get from video games? My small group looked at "Diner Town Tycoon."
We were asked to look at features of design and found:
1. regarding content: the storyline centered around driving a large corporate restaurant out of town (good vs evil), bright colors, lively music (happy sounding)
2. values/ideologies: support the small guys, eat healthy food (which is not in the corporate restaurants like "sneaky" Grub Burger) because unhealthy food turns you into a zombie... symbols in the game reinforce these ideals (such as hearts associated with healthy options and slugs with the Burger X)
3. ways of thinking:
challenge: each level is harder and you can lose
curiosity: being able to lose causes you to be curious about how you can win
learning through failure: you can see direct effects of your advertising and other choices, when you fail you are able to understand why and play differently next time
control: you can see direct effects of your advertising and other choices, you can pick how many restaurants you want to help (if you are good enough with only one, you can actually beat the corporate company with only one store)
developing identities: you work as a consultant for restaurants and you help the restaurants develop their own identities
fantasy: zombie flies and other characters, silly names
I am really looking forward to talking about this next week.
My question for class next week is please could someone explain internal and external aspects of the semiotic domains? I am still confused on this (from Gee)
We discussed Gee's and Squire's articles on technology. Bringing up topics of authenticity of virtual experiences vs. real life.
What are the values we get from video games? My small group looked at "Diner Town Tycoon."
We were asked to look at features of design and found:
1. regarding content: the storyline centered around driving a large corporate restaurant out of town (good vs evil), bright colors, lively music (happy sounding)
2. values/ideologies: support the small guys, eat healthy food (which is not in the corporate restaurants like "sneaky" Grub Burger) because unhealthy food turns you into a zombie... symbols in the game reinforce these ideals (such as hearts associated with healthy options and slugs with the Burger X)
3. ways of thinking:
challenge: each level is harder and you can lose
curiosity: being able to lose causes you to be curious about how you can win
learning through failure: you can see direct effects of your advertising and other choices, when you fail you are able to understand why and play differently next time
control: you can see direct effects of your advertising and other choices, you can pick how many restaurants you want to help (if you are good enough with only one, you can actually beat the corporate company with only one store)
developing identities: you work as a consultant for restaurants and you help the restaurants develop their own identities
fantasy: zombie flies and other characters, silly names
I am really looking forward to talking about this next week.
My question for class next week is please could someone explain internal and external aspects of the semiotic domains? I am still confused on this (from Gee)
Monday, November 2, 2009
Reflections on BEDUC 566 #5
What I most enjoyed about class last Friday was the amount of time we had surfing the net looking for resources. I found a ton of useful sites. One thing I am learning through experiences in this class is how to better evaluate websites. I think that I am simply becoming better at this through forced experience on the web. I am questioning sites...what are their resources? Who wrote the site? is it a .org or .edu?
One thing that I am worried about is the group project. I enjoy working with others (as long as they are equally dedicated and I don't have to pull the weight), but I am a little shy and worried about asking someone to be my partner. I have a couple of ideas, so we'll see.
I am really excited about our portfolio project and I am excited about working on the executive summary because the article I read on Rappin' Reader and Say Say Oh Playmate was awesome. I personally want to use the Rappin' Reader, sounds fun. The questions I had about the executive summary were answered last Thursday.
Something I have a question about? I'm not sure this week. Our class is of course very hands-on and I like that. I learn a lot more from doing or listening...rather than reading. We have addressed the different learning styles in the classroom before, and I am seeing how it can target three of the learning types: visual, auditory and kinesthetic.
Oh, just thought of something...I would like to hear about ways you can combat principles who are not supportive of technology in the classroom. Robin was talking about how some schools are resistant to it...what are some of the ways to combat that?
One thing that I am worried about is the group project. I enjoy working with others (as long as they are equally dedicated and I don't have to pull the weight), but I am a little shy and worried about asking someone to be my partner. I have a couple of ideas, so we'll see.
I am really excited about our portfolio project and I am excited about working on the executive summary because the article I read on Rappin' Reader and Say Say Oh Playmate was awesome. I personally want to use the Rappin' Reader, sounds fun. The questions I had about the executive summary were answered last Thursday.
Something I have a question about? I'm not sure this week. Our class is of course very hands-on and I like that. I learn a lot more from doing or listening...rather than reading. We have addressed the different learning styles in the classroom before, and I am seeing how it can target three of the learning types: visual, auditory and kinesthetic.
Oh, just thought of something...I would like to hear about ways you can combat principles who are not supportive of technology in the classroom. Robin was talking about how some schools are resistant to it...what are some of the ways to combat that?
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