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.

Gaming in Education


“Lions do not learn to hunt through direct instruction but through modeling and play. Games, clearly, make use of the principle of play as an instructional strategy.” - Richard Van Eck

 

The idea presented by Richard Van Eck that games can help learners to understand and retain information can be applied in an educational atmosphere. Using games in the classroom to create effective and engaging learning experiences is increasingly utilized by educators today. Games encourage children to experiment, explore, collaborate, and compete with other children in an environment where they feel confident and comfortable. Using games in the classroom is quickly becoming identified as a valuable learning tool.