Class Take Away

Today's class was all about our webquest and after today's class I feel so much better about creating a webquest. Coming into class my webquest was as dry as the desert, but after being able to view some examples and see ways in which we can jazz up our webquests I definitely went back and made some changes. It is so funny how a simple picture or change in font size or color can make a page pop and look neater and more engaging. I cannot wait to spice up my webquest and am actually looking forward to having fun with this project!

Games as Resources - Is this a Good Idea??

Games as Resources - Is this a Good Idea??

As I started to read this chapter I was worried it was going to be a lot of technical computer terms that I was going to have to learn to understand in order to fully understand technology. However, thankfully it was just some basic computer terms that most learn when first beginning to use computers. As I continued the chapter I found myself going down memory lane to back when I was in elementary/middle school first learning about computers and using the types of games and softwares discussed, the first being Kidpix.

Kidpix was a program that my friends and I LOVED in 4th/5th grade because we used it in fun ways that still had educational purpose. For instance I remember we had to make a short story on the program where first we did the pictures and then went back to add the words, but we needed to be sure to add all parts of a story. My friends and I made it fun by creating the story about ourselves and others in the class. We created characters that looked similar to us and when presenting the class had a good laugh. Because the program was used for educational purposes in fun ways it made us engaged and we were practicing concepts without even knowing. Another game I remember constantly using was SimTown where we created our own town from scratch and had to build jobs and homes for our people as well as assign them roles. This was introduced to us when learning about landscapes and the economy and how if we had too many people and not enough jobs we would have people in poverty. These where games that to me were just fun to play but looking back I noticed I was learning so much without even knowing and often those are the best games for kids because they forget they are learning, but are still absorbing the information without realizing it. Does anyone have any games similar to these that they really loved as a kid where looking back they actually were learning without knowing?

The next part of the chapter focused on using these games as resources. At one point the book stated a concern from the perspective of parents and teachers being "computer games are a harmful distraction from the process of developing fluent reading, writing, and thinking skills among students." (p. 188). However, if you really stop to think about the games being used they are in fact promoting this skills by having students read dialogue and follow rules, but having them solve problems and obstacles, and in some games writing is used when having to put in formulas or codes in order to move forward in a level. Due to the violent video games being seen and played by most students now a days some might feel all games are like this, but in reality there are a lot of good games out there that teach valuable lessons and are just as engaging as these games where you are just holding a gun and shooting someone. This is shown during the examples on skill-learning games because even "Teachers find many advantages to Math Blaster and similar skills-learning games that focus children's attention to attaining high point tools while practicing mat skills almost without realizing they are acquiring new knowledge." (p. 190). This shows that teachers are using these games in order to engage their students and help practice and learn concepts already taught. I wonder does anyone know if these games (Math Blaster, House Series, Zoombinis) are still being used in school today? I ask because personally I loved Zoombinis Logical Journey and learned so much about trial and error and noticing patterns and strategies that could be used to beat the game.

Finally, the chapter shares useful tips and strategies for using games with your students and I feel one of the most important ones listed is to play the games together. By playing with your students you are able to see what they are learning, can help them to see the educational meaning behind the game and can see what works and what doesn't in order to then find other games similar so you don't risk having your students get bored playing the same game over and over. I feel by playing with your students you could then see what they like and maybe create your own real life game where the class can play it together in the class in order to make the virtual reality game a reality for them. Any thoughts on which strategy listed on page 196 is most useful, or any additional tips not discussed in the chapter on how to use games with your students? 


SimTown incase visuals help remind us of this game. 

Class Reflection 3/14

Take Away of the Day 

After today's class I feel we not only discussed a lot, but a lot of experiences, thoughts and ideas were shared. I enjoyed being able to see visuals of what was discussed in chapter 6 as well as in tonights class. The virtual tours seem like such a great idea and now having actually seen one I can see myself looking into others to share with my students. I also plan on looking into my Google+ and creating information alerts as well as a  social bookmarking section since clearly Google+ is more than just having my friends add me into their circles (I still have no idea what the point of that is, but hopefully now I will find out). Finally and probably the most important thing I took away was that I need to get the ball rolling on my Webquest!! Wish me luck!!   

Following the Tunnel to Technology

After having read both chapters 4 and 6 I can now say my favorite chapter and the one in which I feel I have gained the most knowledge and resources from is chapter 6. It was the one I took the most notes for, went online to look up some of the resources and actually enjoyed reading and didn't see it as an assignment for class.

However, before I go into that let me look back at chapter 4. For this chapter it was useful for me when completing my video project because it opened my eyes to bringing technology into the classroom in a fun and effective way. The main thing I really took away from that chapter was the idea of having a teacher mindset. It was something I had never thought about, and reading about it really opened my eyes to thinking about the technology and how it will be effective for my lesson compared to just choosing any piece of technology just to say I am using technology in my lesson. This made me want to evaluate myself when reading the stages of technology to see where I would fall and after thinking about it I would say I am somewhere between Adoption and Adaptation because I know enough about technology but I use it more than just on a basic level, but not to the point where it is a regular part of my daily lessons.

The last part of the chapter I really got into was the section on the technology integration issues because many where issues I could relate to as well as most of my peers. The ones I found most interesting were the unwillingness to change a favorite lesson to include technology, and using technology as a reward or punishment. This is because these are the two that are very similar to experiences I have had or seen. So I ask of the issues mentioned are there any that you have experienced and found as a real issue when it comes to bringing technology use into your lessons? A second question that I would like to ask regarding chapter 4 is has anyone every used a digital pen or digital notebook in their class? I have never seen or used one before and they sound like an awesome tool.

Now for chapter 6. As I stated before this to me was an excellent chapter. It was about managing information electronically and how to use websites and bookmarking tools for storage. The bookmarking section was my favorite because I didn't think of using social sites for bookmarking. Yes I love the bookmark tab on my computer because I use it to store and organize useful websites I find. I do this because like when they shared the example of losing sites due to multiple windows being open and too much clicking I felt I could relate. Too often I find useful things and when I try to go back and find it I can't. I end up having to retry multiple searches to find the right one. Therefore bookmarking is like a godsend to me, and the use of social sites as a bookmarking tool seems like a great idea for teachers who wish to share these online materials with their students.  So I have to ask, has anyone used social bookmarking sites in their classrooms?  

Another part of the chapter I found interesting and would like to try to use was the use of information alerts. This would especially be useful as a teacher since information is always changing and being added so knowing when new information is being posted would be helpful compared to having to always search for the new information.

Finally, the use of virtual trips was all new to me. I had heard of virtual online tours but I hadn't realized they created these for museums and educational sites as well. I enjoy this idea for times when a field trip isn't an option. However, I wouldn't want to take away from real field trips since first hand and hands on experience is still an essential part of learning for students. What do you all think about virtual field trips?