What interested you in video games as a form of teaching?
I wanted to find a way to engage those studetns who are disengaged from traditional learning sessions. I knew that most of todays students are "entertainment" oriented, in other words it has to be high color, high action, high stimulus in order to get and keep their attention. With this in mind I looked to my own son for some inspriation. He was an add child who hated to read and was often disengaged in school - but he could spend hours moving Laura Croft through mazes and solving mysteries! This brought me to believe that this would be an excellent way to get students to engage the content that I wanted to learn. That being said I hope that I will be able to make a game that truly validates this hypothesis.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Day 2 Shutdown
Great Day!!!1
we got lots of ideas for building the game and lots of cooperative engagement with the team. Team is working very well together. We learned a lot of useful things about virtuoso - things that did work and things that didn't. SAm has been amazing helping everyone get things accomplished working with Oliver to find ways ot do things that are not in the program so far.
I think the rest of the week will be very successful!!
we got lots of ideas for building the game and lots of cooperative engagement with the team. Team is working very well together. We learned a lot of useful things about virtuoso - things that did work and things that didn't. SAm has been amazing helping everyone get things accomplished working with Oliver to find ways ot do things that are not in the program so far.
I think the rest of the week will be very successful!!
Day 2 Lunch
How does technology you currently use enhance your students learning and your teaching? How do you know?
I think that the computer programs and tools that I am currently using help my students to see things outside their own world - expand their horizons and see things from other perspectives. Honestly I sometimes wonder if they are really are learning anything because I find that far too often my students can't recall the learning or produce their own thoughts on the topic no matter what I use. Sorry to be a downer on this but this particular topic has frustrated me all year. WIth mulitlevel learners this year I have struggled with how my students learn best and Have really not had any diffinitive answers on this question.
I think that the computer programs and tools that I am currently using help my students to see things outside their own world - expand their horizons and see things from other perspectives. Honestly I sometimes wonder if they are really are learning anything because I find that far too often my students can't recall the learning or produce their own thoughts on the topic no matter what I use. Sorry to be a downer on this but this particular topic has frustrated me all year. WIth mulitlevel learners this year I have struggled with how my students learn best and Have really not had any diffinitive answers on this question.
Day 2 morning
How do you think your students learn best?
I have seen my students learn in all modes - however, I think that the majority of studenst learn best when they can connect with the material either by physically being engaged with the content or have a significant connection to thier own lives. THis can take many forms in terms of physical engagement such as a laboratory experiment, a field experiment, models and manipulatives. Engagement of the content with the students lives can come in the form of how the content affects the person directly (physically - emotionally - spritually) or how it affects them economically. These are all ways that the student can engage the curriculum and when they are engaged they are learning.
I have seen my students learn in all modes - however, I think that the majority of studenst learn best when they can connect with the material either by physically being engaged with the content or have a significant connection to thier own lives. THis can take many forms in terms of physical engagement such as a laboratory experiment, a field experiment, models and manipulatives. Engagement of the content with the students lives can come in the form of how the content affects the person directly (physically - emotionally - spritually) or how it affects them economically. These are all ways that the student can engage the curriculum and when they are engaged they are learning.
Monday, June 25, 2007
shutdownpoweroff
WOW!!!!!!!
Lots of stuff going on. My kids were GREAT!!! very knowledgable and helpful. Everyone successfully downloaded and logged on. they were eventually able to play with thesoftware and get a feel for the things they could do.
THe software is alittle frustrating for those who knew the old software. IT seems liek there are more capabilities than the previous version. Its just going to take time to get up to speed on how to do things again. I'm ok becuase I didn't have much created in my game yet and have made some fundamental changes to my ideas so I'm sort of starting over again anyway. However, I doubt seriously if I will have anything much to show at the showcase in terms of the game but for testing in the fall and spring - most likely I can make those deadlines (worry???)
great facilities as usual. Contorlled choas!!!!! but a fun day.
Lots of stuff going on. My kids were GREAT!!! very knowledgable and helpful. Everyone successfully downloaded and logged on. they were eventually able to play with thesoftware and get a feel for the things they could do.
THe software is alittle frustrating for those who knew the old software. IT seems liek there are more capabilities than the previous version. Its just going to take time to get up to speed on how to do things again. I'm ok becuase I didn't have much created in my game yet and have made some fundamental changes to my ideas so I'm sort of starting over again anyway. However, I doubt seriously if I will have anything much to show at the showcase in terms of the game but for testing in the fall and spring - most likely I can make those deadlines (worry???)
great facilities as usual. Contorlled choas!!!!! but a fun day.
Day 1 afternoon
How do you currently use technology in your classroom?
Primarily by utilizing power point demonstrations and lectures, computer photos, websites and united streaming movies. I will have my students use the computer to research topics - using web searches and data sites. My AP students have used web quests and international data sites to do research, write papers and develop demonstrations. Other technology that is available that I have wanted to utilize but not found the time yet are CBLs and probes that we have for water testing. OUr school utilizes the PLATO learnign system for remediation and practice. PLATO is an online learning system that uses visualizations, text and audio to teach subject matter. Many students find this system preferrable over the classroom setting and are often more successful using this system than they were taking the class in a traditional setting. Individual teachers can use the system with their whole class in the computer lab or assign modules for students to use for remediation.
Primarily by utilizing power point demonstrations and lectures, computer photos, websites and united streaming movies. I will have my students use the computer to research topics - using web searches and data sites. My AP students have used web quests and international data sites to do research, write papers and develop demonstrations. Other technology that is available that I have wanted to utilize but not found the time yet are CBLs and probes that we have for water testing. OUr school utilizes the PLATO learnign system for remediation and practice. PLATO is an online learning system that uses visualizations, text and audio to teach subject matter. Many students find this system preferrable over the classroom setting and are often more successful using this system than they were taking the class in a traditional setting. Individual teachers can use the system with their whole class in the computer lab or assign modules for students to use for remediation.
Day 1 Morning
What are feelings about video games in general.
I personally find them difficult to use but I think that is a personal problem. I have a hard time thinking in the three D world and manipulating objects. But I think they can be very good for children who have problems focusing because it has a lot of interaction and action in general. My own son has been able to improve his attention skills and his eye hand motor coordination by playing video games. I am personally opposed to violent video games that desensitize (sp?) children to violence but there are many other types that are useful for the purposes stated above.
As learning tools?
As a learning tool I think they will be very useful because students today are very entertainment oriented and it may be far easier to engage them in learning with something that they are familiar with and that they find "entertaining". I guess its like trying to get kids to eat their vegetables - if you can sneak them in to the things they like they will at least get them in!
I personally find them difficult to use but I think that is a personal problem. I have a hard time thinking in the three D world and manipulating objects. But I think they can be very good for children who have problems focusing because it has a lot of interaction and action in general. My own son has been able to improve his attention skills and his eye hand motor coordination by playing video games. I am personally opposed to violent video games that desensitize (sp?) children to violence but there are many other types that are useful for the purposes stated above.
As learning tools?
As a learning tool I think they will be very useful because students today are very entertainment oriented and it may be far easier to engage them in learning with something that they are familiar with and that they find "entertaining". I guess its like trying to get kids to eat their vegetables - if you can sneak them in to the things they like they will at least get them in!
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