Task Rabbit

You can't judge something if you aren't on the same wavelength. Using the internet with innovation requires redefinition of how we interact.

Task Rabbit Got something you want done? Put it on Task Rabbit.

I read this article on Wired and wondered, can we do this in our class room?

Computer Games Chapter 2

I am combining ideas from Jesse and myself in this post as he is away on vacation with spotty internet access.


Chapter 2 discussed using a computer game, digital zoo, to help students put their problem solving skills to use. The study discussed analyzed what the students learned through this game and how they learned it. I found it most interesting that the retention of the information was increased. It seemed that because the students were using their own discovery processes the information was more personal to them. I really liked how the process encouraged them to make mistakes and to learn and grown from those experiences. It was interesting how the point was made that in a simulation environment all students bring their own ideas and experiences to the environment and the game provides the, "framework in which we make sense of what happens when we interact with the simulation." (69) I think this is why these experiences are so powerful. We have the framework that helps us connect and build our understanding.

Jesse noticed the following in chapter 2:

I don't think that, most teachers, are the problem.  I believe that most teacher's are aware of the "factory" style education that is continuously employed but are pitted against mandates for standardized achievement indicators, and cost cutting administrators/school boards.  Socialization is still a major component of education.  Teacher's would love to employ strategies such as presented in sodaconstruction, however are faced with parameters that make this a challenge.  I also question some of the research that was presented.  The sample size seemed very small, and though the group was composed of "disadvantaged" students, there seemed to be degree of motivation.  Lev Vygotsky, referenced in the book also developed the concept of Zone of Proximal Development, where students learn when new concepts are neither too simple, resulting in boredom, nor to difficult, resulting in frustration.  Non of the students reported reached a frustration point, which I find to be unrealistic.  Surely, there are plenty of students who would be disengaged by the projects because of the difficulty involved.  While I see lots of merit in the programs that were discussed, I can also see how these computer simulations have replaced labs and experiments that demonstrate the same concepts.  In short, I don't think its the technology that will advance teaching, I think it is the ingenuity of the teacher.

Cool Tools http://www.freetech4teachers.com

This a great blog with tons of tools.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/08/anthologize-turn-your-wordpress-blog.html

Cathy Atwood Project Proposal

Digital Portfolios

I want to implement digital portfolios for the students of the Brewer Community School. I think that reflecting on the work they do will help them see what they are learning and apply it differently.  I am planning on having them use google sites and it will be contained within our google apps so that I won’t have concerns about safety. It can be seen by their teachers and should be able to be shared with parents. I want to have them link the work they have in their portfolios to the Common Core standard it applies to as well as to the reflection they write on their work.

I intend to use many different kinds of media for them to showcase their work including videos as well as photos.

There will be new skills they will need to learn especially as 7^th graders new to laptops. I intend to have them make video casts to show other students, from this year or future years, how to do things.

I have talked to several other teachers on my team and they are willing and excited to work on digital portfolios as well.

 This will be an ongoing project and I will consider it done when students graduating from Brewer High School have a digital portfolio that showcases their learning for their school years.  

Erin Morrell - Project Proposal

Project Description
At the beginning of the school year, the freshman classes that I teach do a unit on short stories and elements of fiction.  My plan thus far is to assign one element of fiction to a pair of students, one partner from each of the two sections of the class.  The students will prepare an informative web page using a template that I will create for them in Google Docs, and each one will present the page to his or her individual class.  This requires both students to be involved in every step of the production of the project, and it also presents an element of the unknown to the kids.  Their work will be presented to a class of which they are not a member.  They will have very little knowledge of the chemistry of the class and of the other students’ reactions to their work.  Hopefully this will help to motivate these students to deliver their very best work.  This asynchronous pairing will foster a dependence on technology for the completion of the project, and will help students realize the potential for using Google Docs in a way that they might not have previously thought of.

Throughout the unit, I will consistently update my blog to display some of the students’ work, photos of them working, and examples of what they have done so far.  Because the Google domain in which the students are required to work is already set up to display the students’ full names, I am not able to require students to publish their web pages for public viewing.  However, I do plan to require them to share their pages with their other teachers, and will require them to log in from home to show their work to their parents and guardians.  I will be sending emails (and where necessary, letters) home to parents and guardians to ensure that they have been given consistent access to their students’ work.  If necessary, I will make printouts of the web pages available for parents without Internet access.  My hope is to have the parents give me feedback on the students’ projects and progress in my class.

Project Proposal

My course load isn't exact yet so my project has to be something I can adapt to different areas. Since current events is applicable, in my opinion, to all social studies, I'm thinking of have the students create their own web-based almanac for the year in reviews. I had done some looking at the official world almanac and I believe the project can be broken down into different categories so that students can follow something they are interested in. At this point I'm more familiar with Blogging though I have toyed around with Weebly and Prezi as well. Its possible I suppose to incorporate either or both and get the students doing it.

Computer Games Ch.1

Stupid publishing feature on Blogger...this was meant to post yesterday...

The Debating Game

The introduction of How Computer Games Help Children Learn talks about how computers let us work with simulations of the world which we wouldn't necessarily be able to do otherwise. It also defines epistemology as the study of what it means to know something and therefore epistemic games as ones that are about learning to think in innovative ways. Our world values innovation, not standardization so therefore epistemic games are part of the educational solution. 

Games

Shaffer defines 'game' as collaborative, ongoing and not necessarily connected to winning. He said they should also be personally and socially meaningful and have a set of rules to follow. 

He also says that games allow kids to live in worlds that they are curious about, or afraid of, or want to try out in order to understand the rules, roles and consequences therein.  

The Debating Game 

The Debating Game is a role playing game where students learned to think, analyze and act in a way that is authentic to the 'real-world'. This activity took place before students read about an event in class. A small group of students took on both the pro and con side of a debate on American involvement during the Spanish American war. Other students in the class watched the debate. The teacher served as the mediator and the other students provided detailed, written feedback to the debaters, which made the process authentic. Debaters were expected to use sources to back up their arguments and to follow the guidelines set up by the teacher. This game taught the students to think like historians - not 'if' a source is biased, but 'how' it is and to use that information to shape their arguments. 

My Thoughts

I agree with the assertion that it should be our job as educators to teach children to think. That is my number one goal. Shaffer laid out a solid argument for how 'The Debating Game' does just that. I was very intrigued by the idea as a social studies teacher myself. I've had numerous current events debates, and even some historical debates but they have always taken place after studying a topic in-depth. I am intrigued by the idea of using it as a pre-teaching activity and am anxious to try it myself and see how it goes. 

What I particularly liked about this activity was that it had students analyzing multiple sources of information, reading, writing, speaking, and reflecting all in one activity. What I failed to see was the tie in to computers here. You could use the computer to research or to write the evaluations, but the computer isn't doing anything other than substituting what a pad of paper and a library could do. Did anyone else find that weird? (or maybe I'm just missing something)