Games in Education

I used Sharendipity to create a game, but I was not impressed with any of the options.
I think gaming in education is very important (check out the name of my blog!)
and feel children can benefit from developmentally appropriate games. The games
need to be established beforehand and to used to target a specific task, which
takes planning, preparation, and time. I am a huge fan of the i-pad and the
apps that are game-like for the children, but teach them concepts and skills
without them even realizing that they are learning. Some games allow you to
personalize them to the children's skills and levels and can track their
progress. They are engaged and invested, which leads to a better learning
environment. The games need to be appropriate, but isn't that true of all
things on education?

This is the game I created, but I wish I could change where the answers are, but I
couldn’t figure it out!

cookiesequence - Sharendipity

Videos and Podcasts

I use video in my class a lot since most of my assessment is done through observation. I like to show the parents how the students perform in then school setting. It gives me the ability to allow parents to see certain tasks that I assess the children through observation or listening. In the beginning of the year, I have the children sing the alphabet and count as high as they can from memory. This helps me to build a solid base and gives me validation when I have parent conferences. Many parents find it hard to believe me when I inform them that their child can only count to 12. The statement, “At home they can count to 100!” is quickly dismissed once they witness the video themselves.

I use the free app "videditorfree" on my iPad to cut out background noise and unnecessary interactions and interruptions from the videos. It is simple to use and allows me to trim video to focus on what task I want the parent to see. The kids enjoy "performing" for the video, and since they can see themselves if I change the screen, it adds the extra element of enthusiasm. I find it to be invaluable when it comes to parent conferences and since it is only their own child on the video, there are no issues involving videotaping the children for others to see.

Permission was granted from the father of this child to show these videos.

Collaborative Brainstorming

I used webspiration for my diagram because it was simple and it allowed me to create the cycle I chose without any problems. I think that all the programs were interesting and I love the idea of collaborative brainstorming, especially because there are three different campuses for my school district and being able to collaborate is difficult. Traveling between schools is costly and time-consuming. it would be better to work on curriculum and assessments if we could use these tools to communicate and devise lesson plans and professional development ideas.

Check out my simple diagram

http://www.webspirationpro.com/view/1022041a1ebde

I think the children could understand it and older grades could fill in text to add to the presentation. i am open to suggestions for improvement!

prezi presentation

I really enjoyed using Prezi and was quite impressed with myself! In reality, it was quite easy to use and I think it would be so beneficial to show the kids because it will hold their interest. I know that at my level, I could not use it interactively, but I could use it when I do professional development courses for the i-pad. this would be really beneficial since our pre-k's are on different campuses and it would be easy to share. I did try voki, but I really am not one for avatars. I get too caught up in appearance rather than the content. If that is my case, I am sure it would happen to many people that choose to use this program.

Del.icio.us

This would be thefirst social bookmarking site that I have created. I decided to use Del.icio.us because it is one of the sites I had heard of, but I just never explored before. It took me awhile to become familiar with how to use it and what I wanted use it for. I do see the benefits of using it to organize the sites that I find most interesting and to keep up to date on the most current information about certain topics. It creates an area where like-minded people can easily share information that they find and can cut down on unnecessary browsing or unreliable sites.

This can then lead into the educational arena in a variety of ways. In a classroom setting a teacher can make an area for students to visit that would have resources that pertain to the topic or concept they are working on. The students could contribute to the class site and resources that they find that may be useful. For educators, groups of teachers from the same subject area or level could collaborate and share resources they have found, created, or post questions to help them in their teaching strategies. Why re-create the wheel?

Blogging

This would be the second blog that I have created using blogger.com. This was a small one I created on gaming in education that I later used for a paper. I had to produce one in another class. Personally, I do not feel the need to blog, but I do appreciate those who do, especially when it come to reviews on educational material. I think that in higher grades, bloggiong is useful to promote discussion and to enable learners to have a voice in an atmosphere that they are comfortable.

I think blogging was easy to do, but time-consuming. You also need to have your facts straight and present a blog that is trustworthy, useful, and follows guidelines and netiquette. I think that if I felt confident that I had enough knowledge to offer on a subject that others might benefit from and I had time on my hands, I just might start one!

Digital Game Based Learning

      Digital Game Based Learning (DGBL) involves engaging learners in the process of learning by using both educational and commercial games. It connects students to learning relevant content yet entertains them enough to make them want to play. DGBL challenges students to pursue new knowledge and tools while providing motivation to solve a problem. This combination helps to create a meaningful learning environment and a deeper understanding of subject matter.

     The implementation of DGBL into the classroom takes planning and preparation by the teacher. Many factors need to be considered before integrating games into the learning process. One factor is appropriately choosing what type of game is to be used depending on the content to be learned and/or mental process to be developed. The age of the students as well as the game’s target age level needs to be evaluated. The teacher must determine if the games content is appropriate, accurate, and not offensive to a particular group of students based on gender, race, religion, or special needs. The game must align with the approved curriculum and content. Itr is imperative to meet a compromise.