Serious Gaming

After researching through some of this week’s resources I feel as though I have a better understanding of serious gaming.  I have to admit when I think of gaming, I think of students playing games for entertainment.  What I discovered was that serious gaming is really designed for the primary purpose of using more simulations of real world events and solving a problem through a self directed exploration.  Many of these games seem to be important teaching tools because they are interactive, engaging, and immersive activities.  In the article, Why Game and Learning (http://www.instituteofplay.org/about/context/why-games-learning/) serious gaming is said to support the higher order thinking skills.  These skills include the ability to think, solve complex problems, or interact critically through language and media.  This article also stated three key elements in game play which will play a significant role in learning.  The first is when a player takes interest in a game and expresses a wish to participate.  The second key element is when a player shows they are deeply invested in his or her project or experience and want to save their work. The last key element is when a player reaches a level of mastery and then offers help to a friend.  This creates a learning environment of students teaching other students. 

I already use a few of the given resources for the primary ages.  Our class has used ABCya, PBS Learning, and Fun Brain.  These games have been used during a workstation time when students were exploring on their own.  In order to make this gaming time essential to my student’s learning, it is crucial I test out some of the games before allowing them to play. Using games as a last minute, let’s do this, never really works out well.  I want to make sure whatever I use as a game will enhance what my students have already learned.  I see value in those games that allow the students to make mistakes or fail but then explain or show them why their answer didn’t work.

Cost typically is not a big issue because most of what I have found useful, has been free.  First grade teachers have talked with our principal about paying for an IXL membership because the skills were aligned to common core and it provided a student tracking system.  We are fortunate to have a principal who supports us and is willing to spend the money on educational resources as long as they are meaningful to our student’s learning. 

After looking at a variety of serious games I found one which seemed to be appropriate for my first graders.  I found a game that will help to teach my kids something they struggle with on a daily basis, conflict resolution skills (www.coolschoolgame.com). The game Cool School:  Where Peace Rules is an interactive website that teaches younger children how to solve familiar interpersonal conflicts peacefully in a fun, colorful, and imaginative way.  This game was born after studies showed one in three elementary school children complain about being teased, bullied, and even hit.  In an effort to reduce violence in schools, Congress turned to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service which usually settles labor disputes.  This agency determined a video game as the answer in order to reach students effectively by using technology.  The launch of this program took place in 2007.  The best part of this game is that it is free to both educators and parents.  It was developed with taxpayer funding and contributions of commercial and philanthropic organizations.  Students are taught invaluable social, communication, and problem-solving skills that promote conflict resolution through negotiation, compromise, cooperation, and reconciliation.  For example, a student is given a situation that could happen at school.  The student is asked what he or she should do and then is given some options.  If the student chooses the wrong choice, the situation will play out and result in a regretful situation.  Every selection made will play out and demonstrate to the student the right or wrong outcome of the choice made.  This gives the students opportunities to make the wrong choice and learn from the situation without hurting others physically or emotionally.   After students successfully resolve conflicts, they earn letters, praise, and trophies.  I can see how this game could benefit and meet the needs of my first grade students.  I don’t feel my students are violent or bully but they do have a difficult time knowing how to solve simple conflicts effectively and it can cause many disruptions throughout the day.  

Additional Notes:

Some resources I would like to spend more time in the near future researching are:  http://www.brainrush.com/, http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/, http://www.gamequarium.com/, http://www.gameclassroom.com/, and www.gynzy.com.  

The Flipped Classroom

I have always enjoyed watching other educators teach.  Most of the time, it inspires me to try something new or reminds me of a teaching strategy I haven’t used in awhile.   I found the Teacher Channel (http://teachingchannel.org) to be a great resource for teachers looking for teaching strategies or ideas on a wide variety of content.  The videos I found most helpful were those pertaining to teaching math using the Common Core Standards.  Counting Collection to 100 video (https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/counting-by-ten-lesson ) gave me a great idea for my Number Sense Math Station.  This video demonstrated how a teacher distributed Ziploc bags with counters and instructed students to count the number of items in their bag.  The students would write down how many items they had in their bag and how many more they would need to make 100.   They would also explain their strategy of counting the objects, whether it be making groups of ten, or placing the items on a number-grid.  The impressive part of the video is when the students explained their thinking and strategy to the rest of the class.  This video has inspired me to try this idea during my math stations.   I am always looking for new ways students can show an understanding of numbers.  Sometimes I think too much into the stations when really they can be as simple as counting a group of objects and explaining their thinking.  Powerful learning comes from students explaining their thinking; it influences and teaches the other students a variety of different approaches when solving problems. 

Flipping my first grade classroom may look a little different than a typical “flipped classroom.”  As many teachers would have their students watch the lessons or lectures at home, I would have students watch them at school during a reading or math station time.  I especially would like to focus on using the flipped concept with my small group reading lessons.  I have a reading group who would benefit from previewing their reading book the day before their small group reading time.  I envision this working by uploading pictures from the book onto the Show Me app and then putting voice to this book by previewing the pictures and focusing on getting students to think about how the book relates to them, another text, or something they have seen before.  The video lesson could also focus on new vocabulary words or a word found consistently throughout the book.  The Show Me app will allow me to circle any focus words, underlining the words when reading, or circle different parts of the book.  By using the flipped classroom concept, I would be allowing more time in small groups for listening and working with students on reading strategies and comprehension skills.  I got this idea from exploring some of the already made Show Me Videos prepared by different teachers.  Click on the link to view the video (http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=rhYyUxU ).  The best part about using the Show Me app is it doesn’t cost anything to upload the app.

I have many ideas on how this model could benefit my students.  I just need to put my thoughts into action and see how the students respond and whether they seem to benefit from this idea of flipping the classroom.  I see the need for providing more time for student collaboration.  If this is the way to achieve that goal, then I will be doing more of this in my classroom.

Mobile Learning Devices

After reading the article Why iPads? It’s a Question of Innovation by Tom Daccord (http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/04/24/why-ipads-its-a-question-of-innovation/), I was not surprised to read that by the end of 2012, Apple reported to have sold more than 4.5 million iPads to educational institutions.  Why so popular?  The iPad has a reputation of creating innovative young minds.  This article emphasized how just the tool alone would not create innovative thinkers.  Schools need to agree on their vision, objectives, and develop an assessment that would measure progress towards student’s creativity, innovation, and collaboration.

Just this year we were given two student iPads to use in our rooms.  This limits our students to only working in groups or with a partner during reading or math stations.  Although there is significance in students using the iPad to collaborate in groups, I would like to use it in my math lessons as an individual tool.  The Show Me app or Voice Thread app is a great tool to capture a student’s way of thinking on solving a math equation.  The Show Me app was originally created to support teachers, creating a lesson and sharing whiteboard style lessons with the recording of a voice on the iPad.  I can also see how valuable and beneficial this app would be in allowing students to develop and share short lessons with each other.  This allows the teacher to get a glimpse of the student’s thinking and understanding of the skill. 

Another mobile device I could see beneficial if used the correct way is the Clickers, or also known as the Classroom Response System.  Our school has one classroom set of clickers that can be checked out to use.  I personally have not used this tool but do plan to give them a try. After reading the article from the osu.edu website, I have a better understanding of how this tool could be used in my classroom.  I can see my first graders using this tool to ask questions such as opinions on their favorite kind of pizza or ice-cream and then collecting the data for graphing.  I could also see the importance of using the clickers to collect information on math pre-tests.  One of our first grade standards is students being able to recognize if a math equation is true or false.  This tool could be used to determine if students understand this concept.  The article stated the various questioning styles that could be utilized when using clickers.  Some questioning styles mentioned were knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation type questions (http://ocio.osu.edu/elearning/toolbox/depth/clickers/).   I like the idea of using this mobile device because all students are engaged in learning.  Students are also less likely to be hesitant when answering questions because their click is an anonymous response.

Another mobile device I was really intrigued by was the SmartPen.  I had never heard of such a tool before and really could see how this tool would have been beneficial to me in middle school or high school.  I seemed to struggle when trying to keep notes.  Just about the time I would begin to write something of importance down on my paper, I would forget the ending to what was said and have a portion of my notes left with question marks.  This SmartPen is used to record a teacher’s voice by capturing words, audio, scribbles and syncs everything written to what is said (http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/solutions/k12/ ).  After taking notes on the what is known as the Livescribe paper, the student can tap anywhere on their notes to playback what was said at that exact moment in time.  This tool also allows the student to slow down or speed up the audio, control volume, or even bookmark key information.  The SmartPen is not real expensive averaging around $120.  I’m not sure this is a tool I would find useful in my first grade classroom but I can definitely see how it would positively impact the note taking of a middle or high school student.