#etlead Week 12 Finalizing the presentation.

This was a week of online meetings and fine-tuning. Our group met online twice this week to work on our Prezi presentation. We were able to work on the Prezi simultaneously while we chatted which provided immediate feedback and allowed us to work very efficiently. At the end of each session, we all selected parts to work on. By the time we finished our last meeting, we had a reasonably complete presentation. At the end of the week, I was called out of town because of a family emergency. My group graciously took over. They made a couple of minor adjustments, added some background music, and posted our final product Sunday afternoon. One aspect of this project I enjoyed the most was working with the members of our group. I was impressed with their professionalism and their wonderful sense of humor. My hope is that I get the opportunity to meet these fine teachers face-to-face someday.

I was supposed to host this week’s Twitter session with Brandi. Unfortunately, I was heading out of Alaska when the class met. Brandi came to the rescue and kept the session rolling. I managed to email her a list of possible questions prior to leaving. I logged into Twitter Saturday afternoon to get a recap of Thursdays discussion and was pleased that she was able to use some of the questions during the discussion. It appeared the groups were all getting close to completing their presentations. As usual, the discussion was lively and diverse. I am looking forward to seeing the results of each group’s effort. It appears that our class is having fun with this project. The Minecraft group never ceased to amaze me. I’m wondering if we need to start a support group to help wean them off

#etlead Week 11 Finalizing the Game

Our group continues to finalize the details our game. We met twice this week to discuss ideas and to determine how we want the game played and how we can present it. We are leaning toward using Edmodo for playing the game. The benefits are that it’s education based and that teachers have control over who is allowed in. Most of us have little knowledge of Edmodo so we decided to do a little research. We discovered a couple of additional benefits that we didn’t know about. In Edmodo, the teacher can split classes into subgroups, which is ideal for our game concept. There is also the option to award badges, which also fits our game very well. We plan to present our game using a Prezi. Most of us have little or no knowledge about creating a Prezi presentation, which is forcing us to learn as we go. One of the things I like about Prezi is that it allows us to add images and video. The challenge I’ve found is trying to find relevant videos that are not copyright protected that we can use in the presentation. This may prove to be too difficult so we may end up having to use images exclusively. My goal this weekend is to do some intense searching online to see what I can find.

Overall, I am very pleased with our game idea. It focuses on realistic situations that are important to many people living in Alaska, which should make it appealing to people living here. Because Alaska and Alaska wildlife have such a broad appeal to people outside the state, it should also be interesting to people in different locales. The other aspect of the game I like is that the game will require cooperation between different groups to make it successful. Winning will not be an individual achievement. Individual groups can achieve different degrees of success but ultimately, all of the groups must come together in the end to achieve total victory.

#etlead Week 10 Group 3 game development

The beginning of this week could best be described as carefully contemplated confusion. My efforts to develop an idea for a game repeatedly came up empty. Our group discussion on the Gamifi-ed wiki made me realize I wasn’t the only one having a difficult time. We met Wednesday in Eluminate along with Lee in order to determine what we were supposed to do. This session turned out to be extremely valuable. The biggest benefit was that we were able to develop a basic framework so we could begin to focus our ideas. Our goal was to develop a game that focused on protecting Alaska resources. Our connection to the Hunger Games was to portray the Capital as an aggressive society that was trying to force us under their control. As we tossed ideas around, it became apparent that we needed to keep things simple otherwise the development process could spiral out of control. We chose to schedule a second Eluminate meeting the following day.
During our second session, we were able to narrow our ideas down significantly. I believe we developed a good framework in which we can build our game. After bouncing several ideas around, we managed to control our impulses at making things too complicated and set up a few basic concepts to work on over the weekend. We will meet again Tuesday evening to share our ideas. If all goes well, we should be able to develop a draft version of our game

Week 9 reflection

It’s been a busy week despite being spring break for my school district.  While traveling, I was able to find Wi-Fi spots at convenient locations so I was able to stay on top of things reasonably well.  Thankfully, I found a signal in time for Thursdays Twitter session.  I had to do a creative schedule adjustment to make that one work.  I spent the beginning of the week playing and evaluating games.  I am amazed how easy it is to spend a significant amount of time once you get engrossed in a game.  I feel like I should start wearing overalls after playing with Farming Simulator.  Somehow, it seemed appropriate that I was tending to virtual crops while traveling around Minnesota.  Our group began looking at game mechanics.  We are narrowing the list of mechanics that we feel are the most important and how they can be used.  We have not discussed any specific game ideas although I believe that will be our next step.

As I was reading and responding to blogs this week, I focused on opinions from this week’s readings.  Several of us mentioned that ideas presented as “new” did not really seem new.  Although I agreed with most of the comments, there are still areas that education has seen dramatic change.  Students have almost immediate access to vast amounts information.  Unfortunately, that quick access can just as easily lead them to misinformation.  One of my jobs as a teacher is to help them find reliable sources and sort through the information they find for accuracy.  I also need to encourage them to keep searching if they run into a dead end.  One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is that students have less patience for things that don’t work out quickly.  I mentioned this in one of my responses this week as a reason why games may be an effective tool for keeping kids engaged.  Even though games may take a long time to play, students are willing to stick with them.  I believe this is due to the inherent rewards that occur throughout the game.  These rewards serve as motivation to continue.   Educational games are a way for students to achieve several smaller rewards as they work toward a larger goal.  The issue for many of us is finding the time to add games to our curriculum.  This has always been my biggest challenge when I want to add a project or investigation to my schedule.  I find that I often have to shorten other lessons to make time for these new activities.  As teachers become more familiar with available games, I believe they will become more adept at using them in their classrooms.  I believe my role is to lead the way.

 

#etlead Week 9 Initial Blog: What are the challenges in shifting content from “what” to “where” and “how”?

This week’s question deals with a topic that challenges all teachers.  We all must meet the demands of our school district’s standards.  For schools adopting (or looking to adopt) Common Core standards, not only are there specific criteria to meet but the order in which topics are covered is also dictated.  To make things even more complicated, some districts specify the number of days allocated for each topic.  This creates a challenge when determining where and how we can apply our ideas.  In the area of mathematics, I am constantly looking for non-textbook activities that complement the topics I have to cover.  I’ve included my “go-to” list of favorite websites at the end of this blog post.  If there is specific vocabulary I want students to use, I try to create simple games that help students learn the terms.  In order to meet the modeling component of the Common Core standards, I try to create word problems that require research and discussion.  The biggest challenge is coming up with questions that have realistic application and significant rigor which are reasonable given the time constraints of our standards.  I find myself cutting other lessons short in order to allow for in-depth activities.  It is especially frustrating when I have an idea for a project but can’t find the time to fit it in.  I originally thought the Common Core standards would open up more time for deeper thinking investigations but I am finding the opposite to be true.  When I find an interesting computer-based lesson, I find that we have time for hanging out and messing around but there is little time for geeking out.  One exception is when I use Geometer’s Sketchpad with my low-level geometry classes.  I have enough freedom with the schedule where I can allow my kids to research ideas that they can design and build using the Sketchpad program.  Chapter 7 of our text mentioned an example where students used a computer to find Iraq instead of memorizing its location on a map.  (Thomas & Brown, 2011)  The students discovered far more than its location.  I do something similar with my geometry kids.  We briefly discuss symmetry and tessellations in the classroom.  Instead of focusing on definitions and examples, I tell them in the computer lab to start researching and start creating on the Sketchpad program.  This is one instance when my kids are able to spend significant time messing around and begin to delve into geeking out.  This is when I get to see rampant creativity.  I believe this is what our text was talking about when they discussed building context.  When kids begin to do more than look at one topic in one context, they begin to develop knowledge that includes visual and auditory imagery.  They are also able to make connections between the topics they are studying and the world around them.  I wish could do this regularly with all of my classes.  For me, the issue is always time.

Resources:  (My go to list for creative lesson ideas.)

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/

http://hoodamath.com/

http://www.brainpop.com/

http://education.ti.com/en/us/home

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. (1st ed.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Week 8 Reflection: What are your thoughts about “learning in the collective”?

This is going to be a short reflection.  I am in the midst of travel in order to deal with one of life’s difficult curve balls but do not want to shirk my responsibilities for this week’s reflection.

I started this week evaluating math games with the intent of finding things I may either use or recommend to other teachers in my district.  The games I looked at were for younger students than I work with which actually made them more interesting.  It’s always a good thing to get a first-hand look at topics kids experience prior to making it to high school.  Although the topics were very basic, I still found myself pushing as hard as I could to complete the various levels.  I also looked at some of the evaluations from other teachers.  It was interesting comparing the teacher evaluations with the students. I found similarities between many of the evaluations but there were a few with significant differences.  I wondered on a couple if the teachers were being a little harsh with their expectations or evaluations.  As I am travelling around this week, I will search for wifi signals and will continue to evaluate more games.  Since this project is turning out to be so much fun, I probably will not stop after five games. 

As I was responding to blogs this week, I found myself focusing on comments that struck an emotional nerve.  It is always interesting to read and respond to all of the varying ideas.  Most of the time, I focus on ideas from other students that are different from my own.  This week, I felt compelled to respond to students who have experienced frustrations that I have also encountered.  Gary mentioned how collective learning can be difficult and ineffective in a classroom setting.  Instead of just agreeing with his frustrations, I tried to pose several questions to redirect the frustration toward motivation.  I hope they are helpful.  Shauna also mentioned a level of frustration with changes that have occurred in education.  It was easy for me to identify with her frustration and decided to share my perspectives on the issue.  As usual, I shared words of encouragement to persevere and embrace the changes we all face in our dynamic teaching environment.

 

 

#etlead Week 8 initial blog: What are your thoughts about “learning in the collective”?

Reading through our text has been a little perplexing.  I expect the book to address topics that are new and innovative yet I find myself thinking that the ideas presented have been around for decades.  I have to force myself to read from a different perspective.  When I come across a topic that seems old and familiar, I ask myself how technology and our current culture have altered the way events take place.  I also try to look at things on a different scale.  Although many of the learning ideas presented in our text have been around for a long time, the scale at which they occur has expanded exponentially.   Industry has been on the leading edge of collective learning for years.  Large corporations that use outsourcing for production are doing more than saving money; they are sharing resources from a larger community in order to compete.  Many companies use social media such as wikis to pool ideas and to develop strategies.  (Kukharenko, 2011).  The medical field has created online networks for healthcare workers to share their knowledge, observations, and trends.  The field of telemedicine has been growing significantly which allows vast amounts of medical knowledge to be shared with remote locations that do not have adequate medical facilities or staffing.  In Alaska, this has been an enormous benefit.  Twenty years ago, it wasn’t even a possibility.

The collective, as our text describes it, is a collection of people, skill, and talent that produces a result greater than the sum of its parts.  ((Thomas & Brown 2011 ).  I grew up in a collective.  My community knew me, talked to me, shared their ideas, and made sure I followed the straight and narrow.  Some of my learning came from books but much of it came from interactions with the people around me.  Most importantly, I was expected to be a contributing member of the community.  I was also expected to be part of organizations that focused on community service.  Within these organizations, knowledge and ideas were shared and problems were solved as part of a group effort.  Together, we were able to learn more and do more than if we tried to do things on our own.  We learned valuable lessons on teamwork and developed skills that would otherwise been impossible or improbable to achieve.  How is this different from the collective discussed in the book?  The main difference is the magnitude of today’s collective.  My community was small in comparison to the world collective that exists today.  My resources were people that spent most of their lives in or around the community we lived.  Their perspectives were valuable but limited in comparison.  Today’s collectives do not have geographical boundaries.  They also lack financial boundaries due to the ease in which information can be shared electronically.

Human beings are naturally collective learners.  We rely on each other to share knowledge.  I came across a video on Khan Academy while I was searching for ideas this week.  The video did a fantastic job of diagraming the way humans learn collectively and how we differ from the rest of the animal kingdom in our ability to use this complex form of intellectual development.  I’ve included the link in my resources below.  It is this ability that allows an educational environment to function.  The idea of learning in a collective is not new but the playing field sure has changed.  When I began teaching, I was the expert in the room and it was my job to impart as much of my knowledge as I could on my students.  Today, the teacher’s role is less focused on disseminating knowledge and more on teaching kids how to learn.  I spend more time directing conversations than I did twenty five years ago.  When my kids don’t know how to do something, I don’t just refer them to a textbook but to other electronic resources.  I also have them utilize tutorials from sites such as Khan Academy to give them different perspectives from my own.  I encourage them to work together to find solutions and to come back with more questions.  I can’t say it’s been an easy transition.  Old habits are hard to break but I feel it is important for me to develop a more global view of education.

Resources:

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. (1st ed.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Kukharenko, V. (2011, October 06). Collective learning examples. Retrieved from   http://littlebylittlejohn.com/change11-position-paper/collective-learning-examples/

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/life-earth-universe/humanity-on-earth-tutorial/v/collective-learning

Week 7 Reflection: What does the way you play have to do with embracing change….

This week’s question made for a difficult initial blog posting.  I spent more time writing Friday’s blog than in previous weeks.  I found myself writing a few sentences, reading them, then deleting and starting over.  I’m not sure why it was so difficult to formulate a response.  Regardless, the question forced a lot of thought over the course of the week.  Play is an important part of my life and always has been.  I just never thought about the number of things I do that could be considered play.  While writing my initial blog, I tried to narrow the list down to things that have had the most impact on my life, which in turn, influence me professionally. 

As I was responding to blogs, I noticed a few similarities.  Apparently, several of us share the same “Explorer” DNA when it comes to gaming. Except for Megan, who declared she has the “Killer” personality.  I now know that if I ever become an online gaming enthusiast, I had better make sure she is on my team.  I also noticed that many of us do not consider ourselves big gamers.  This made answering questions on the Bartle test a little challenging.  Another common thread I noticed in the blogs was that many of us consider creativity an important component to play.  Most of my play activities require considerable creativity.  To me, that’s what makes them interesting.  When kids are involved in play, their conversations are full of creative thought.  This type of creative thought is the thing that leads to innovative ideas.  I always become concerned when I hear of cuts to arts or music programs due to budget shortfalls.  These courses are the epitome of creative thought.  They help my math kids develop creative ways to solve problems.  Creative thought is the thing that helps me come up with new ideas for my classroom.  Last (but not least), I have found that creative thought leads to countless robot jokes during twitter sessions.  Apparently, our group enjoys playing with each other.

#etlead What does the way you play have to do with embracing change…Week 7 intitial blog

My attempts to answer this week’s question began with researching how play affects people’s lives.  My initial search yielded thousands of websites mostly devoted to early childhood development.  In children, play is an important component to social and emotional development.  It allows kids to practice communication by experimenting with different roles and different scenarios.  (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2006).  It provides a means for kids to express their feelings by removing them from reality into a safe environment.  When I was in law enforcement, the most difficult situations I had to deal with were crimes against children.  It was especially difficult when we had to interview these kids in order to determine the events they experienced.  Most often, the interviews were done using role playing as a means for the kids to explain what happened.  This allowed them to remove themselves from the trauma they just experienced and let them transfer the experiences to a doll or toy.  They acted out the events as though they were happening to the toy instead of themselves.  This typically was done with a counselor or child psychologist in a safe, friendly atmosphere where the kids could act out the events without fear.  It was amazing to see how this form of play allowed a child to act out a horrific event knowing the negative consequences were eliminated.  Many of these kids also received counseling following the events to help them understand and cope.  During these counseling sessions, kids used play to control emotions and to make sense of the situations they experienced.  It allowed them to cope by acting out their feelings.  It was a way for them to conquer their fears.  This is equally important for any child.  In fact, the United Nations High Commission for Human rights places such a high value on play that it has declared it a right of every child.  The American Academy of Pediatrics declares that play is essential to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of a child.  (Ginsburg, 2006).  It’s no wonder play is a common activity in elementary schools.

When I think about how play helps me embrace change, my thoughts immediately turn to music, cooking, and travel.  All of these require thought, experimentation, and reward.  Playing guitar or banging away on a djembe is a way to let daily stresses disappear.  When I find myself stuck in a never-ending routine, I force myself to stop for a music break to break the cycle.  It taps into the creative parts of my brain, which often leads to creative approaches to the rest of my life.  Attempting to create a gourmet meal is a way to experiment without fully knowing the outcome.  If it fails, it doesn’t matter.  No harm, no foul (and possibly no fowl).  I can laugh at my failures and moan with delight at the successes.  Travel immerses me in unfamiliar cultures where people don’t know me and probably don’t want to.  It forces me to play by their rules in a way that is honoring and respectful to the people I meet.  When I get it right, it typically results in long conversations where I learn more about the culture than I could ever learn from a travel guide.  Travelling to new locations forces me to change the way I interact with people which broadens my perspectives when I return home.  It encourages me to learn more about my students and their experiences.  This creates an atmosphere where kids feel safe to share their ideas.  The biggest factor for embracing play is that it prevents me from becoming stagnant.  As our text has repeatedly stated, we are in a world that is constantly changing.  If I don’t embrace it, I’m going to be left in the dust.

Resources:

Ginsburg, K. R. (2006). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. Pedriatics, 119(1), 182-191. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.full

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. (1st ed.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Isenberg, J. P., & Jalongo, M. R. (2006). Creative thinking and arts-based learning preschool through fourth grade. (2006 ed., pp. 53-55). Pearson Education Inc. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/importance-play–social-emotional/

Week 6 Reflection: How does the culture of your current teaching environment differ from…

I thoroughly enjoyed our essential question this week.  The discussions it generated on our twitter session made for a walk down memory lane.  It was encouraging to hear that a few of us had similar experiences in the early days of computing.  I imagine some of the younger students in our class were rolling their eyes as we discussed our nostalgic adventures.  I found myself laughing several times during our Twitter time.  For that, I thank our wonderful twitter hosts.  It also created interesting blog responses.  Many of the blogs I read this week commented on how far we still have to go in order to serve our current group of socially connected students.  It’s easy to stick with things we’re used to doing.  Change can be a difficult to handle.  It requires additional planning and often puts us outside our comfort zone.  Since teaching is such a time consuming career, trying to revamp lessons may seem overwhelming.  As I responded to blogs this week, I tried to point out the slow but positive trend that has been emerging over the years as teachers try to adapt to the changing learning styles of their students.  I encouraged those who are trying new things to keep on pushing themselves.  I also encouraged them to share their ideas with their peers and to help them implement the ideas in other subject areas.  I find it challenging to build long-term projects into my curriculum due to my school districts academic plans.  Our schedule is so tight that there is little wiggle room to experiment.  I try to develop ways to follow our standards based curriculum that meet the mindset of our twenty-first century students.  When my schedule becomes overwhelmingly busy, I find myself resorting to the old, familiar methods I am used to.  It’s been a slow process but I am improving. 

Watching the videos this week opened my eyes to the enthusiasm students and adults have toward gaming and game creation.  Hearing the accolades of a parent was encouraging.  My guess is that most parents would not understand how and why games are useful.  I have been talking with a few teachers at my school about serious games.  Most of the initial responses I received from them were not very positive.  They typically thought serious games sounded fun but unreasonable until I started filling in the topics these games addressed and the requirements of the players.  I managed to get one of our history teachers hooked on Peacemaker.  We have begun discussing ways she can use it with a couple of her world history classes.   My department is looking at creating another class in the next couple of years.  One of the topics we discussed was a problem solving class.  My immediate thought was that a problem solving class would be a perfect platform for implementing serious game activity.  I will have to sell it to our administration and the rest of the department but at least there is some potential and interest from other math teachers.  If we get approval to develop this class, I can see where technology should play a significant role.  Part of the requirements for the class could be for students to find and discuss topics that interest them.  The possibilities would be endless.