Gamification has to do with the learning that comes from playing the game. In Edutopia’s video “Katie Salen on the Power of Game-Based Learning (Big Thinkers Series)” focused on the school Quest to Learn: School for Digital Kids. This school believes that design-thinking is a meaningful way to look at the world, and wants students to be in charge of their own learning so that they can stay motivated to learn throughout their entire lives. This school acknowledges that students learn in different ways, and they look at how students learn outside of school. They have developed a pedagogical approach to game-based learning. The students are presented with a complex problem to solve. Mission and quest-based-quests get harder as students develop the knowledge and experience to reach the next level. This video supported the statement that game design can help students think deeper and more abstractly. This gave a clear picture into gaming and game-based learning being used effectively.
In Edutopia’s article, “3 Ways to Use Game-Based Learning” I read that in effective game-based classrooms students are provided with, “gameful learning experiences driven by play.” Games could be shared experiences. For example students can build in Minecraft, and then have a meaningful conversation about the difficulties of building Jamestown and setting up a colony. One crucial point of this article is that the game is not the teacher; the game is just an activity. Edutopia’s article, “A Game-Based Approach to Test Prep” by Pete Barnes discusses the powerful impact that using games for test prep can have for students. Barnes states that giving students choice about where to start and how to complete the tasks empowers them in the process. To make this happen, Barnes created an online scavenger hunt with optional links. When students are motivated by a game, they rarely rush through just to finish. Instead, they are motivated to correctly answer the questions. I have seen this firsthand with using Prodigy in my classroom. My objectives are for students to increase student performance in mathematics and collaboration through this game. This Common Core-aligned math game motivates students to correctly answer questions by entering into battles they win through correctly completing math problems. There is embedded help through clicking a question mark that will guide students to completing the problem correctly. This site also provides beneficial feedback to the teacher on each individual student in relation to Common Core math standards. Another game-based learning tool I have used is Quizlet. My objectives are to increase student performance in Language Arts and vocabulary. This is a program I learned about through class. This program creates games, flashcards, etc. in order to help students review material before an assessment. I have used paper flashcards and white-board review for vocabulary in the past. When I implemented Quizlet this year, I saw an increase in student motivation and in test scores. Another powerful tool I have learned about in class is Google’s Be Internet Awesome. This awesome interactive game helped solve my problem of teaching effective Digital Citizenship in the classroom. My students love using code.org and have participated in the national Hour of Code. My objectives are to get students involved in design thinking and in problem solving.They love getting to choose which game to build, especially with popular options like Star Wars and Minecraft. They also are motivated by the videos from popular celebrities and athletes endorsing using coding. After reviewing different gamification and game-based learning tools this week, I also want to try out Seterra, WriQ, No Red Ink, and Kahoot. In the Handbook of Games and Simulations in Teacher Education I learned that, “…games and simulations can effectively engage students in direct experience with casual mechanisms and structures of systems, and through experiment and discover, assist them in acquiring higher order knowledge and skills.” Gaming is so much more than sitting in front of a computer screen. It is a way to have student use design thinking to solve complex problems and engage in critical thinking skills through a method that is engaging, fun, and motivating. In Jane McGonigal’s TED Talk she states that games make us motivated to do something that matters, collaborate, and apply persistence in order to achieve. McGonigal wants these principles to apply to real-life. She talks about how a quest in a game is given at a level the player can achieve. It may be difficult, but it is possible. There are many collaborators along the way to help, and gamers get feedback and rewards. These are motivating factors for success we want to see happen in real-life. A statistic from Carnegie Mellon University stated that the average gamer will have spent 10,000 hours playing online games by the time they are 21 years old. This is an interesting statistic because 10,080 hours is the same amount of time spent in school from grade 5 to grade 12. It makes sense that we need to start integrating gaming into education. McGonigal says there are four things that gamers are “getting good at.” They are:
McGonigal states that these four components create people who feel they are super-empowered, hopeful individuals. The goal is to bring these strengths from the virtual world to the real world. McGonigal has created games that have real world problems and challenges. She encourages gamers to imagine the best case scenario for our future, while giving them the means to make epic wins. Bringing people together to help solve real-world problems is going to be a powerful part of our future.
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In Edutopia’s article entitled, “Flipped Classroom 101” by Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams, we learn that the benefit of a flipped classroom is that it creates an environment where the teacher moves from, “sage on the stage” to the, “guide on the side.” To do this effectively there are many factors involved. Students should not watch a video and then come to class, rather they should interact with video content. Methods that help students interact with the digital content include students writing down interesting questions, using an organizer for the students to interact with within the video, providing a short quiz, or inserting pop-up questions.
“Flipped Classroom 101: Challenges Benefits, & Design Tips” by Catlin Tucker addresses the benefits as well as concerns that teachers have about a flipped classroom design. One benefit that I had not thought of before was that a flipped classroom design creates a foundation for me to build with small group instruction. I really like the idea of an “in-class flip” where video content is part of a station rotation. This eliminates concerns such as students not having access to technology at home, adding screen time to homework, or overloading students, especially at an elementary school age. What is awesome about doing in an-class flip is that it works into the structure I have in my day already. Right now I have four different session groups that rotate. I have one group, and the three other groups work on independent assignments. I could seamlessly introduce video content into a session. I liked the three clear pillars of designing a flipped classroom that Tucker laid out:
“Modifying the Flipped Classroom: The ‘In-Class’ Version” by Jennifer Gonzalez synced up with what Catlin Tucker discussed in her article. By having direct instruction (via a video) in a session rotation, then it frees the teacher for more small group or one-on-one time with students. It is important to be prepared and lay the foundation. After taking the time to create the video content, then those videos can be used year after year. In “Start a Reading Revolution: Flip Your Class With Blogs” by Brian Sztabnik, a teacher created a flipped ELA class. This was achieved through choice and blogs. This teacher had students choose what they wanted to read in class. Then, instead of responding to a study guide, students wrote about their reading in a blog format of their choice using the Writing to Learn method. Through blogging, students can choose the theme, images, and gifs. It extends learning outside of the classroom and out to a real-world audience. Edpuzzle is awesome! This will be another great tool to use in a session rotation for an in-class flipped classroom. This site has a ton of great content. I like that you can choose from many options such as TED Talks, YouTube, National Geographic, Khan Academy, or more. I made an account and played around with the tools in VideoScribe and thought there were some great features. You can add text, select an image, a hand to “draw” that image or write the text, and then record your voice while this process is happening. The free trial does limit the options for images and other options, but you can still do a lot. My only issue was that I wanted to show a math concept, and I wasn’t able to find a way for me to “draw” the math out like I would if I were writing on a white board. This video making tool would be awesome to describe something conceptual, and/or difficult to understand. I used Kami for my video lesson plan. On Kami you can upload a PDF, annotate, and interact with the document. Students can type, draw, highlight, and more. You can put these PDFs in your Google Classroom to make for a seamless integration. What is great about Cami is that you can draw, not just type, which is exactly what I needed for the math video I created for my students. I used Screencast to record my work on Kami. I created a document with multiplication problems to be used with the Array Method of Multiplication for my students to practice with. I placed this link into my Google Classroom for the students to access. I plan to use the lesson I created with Kami in our small group session rotations. While I am working with my small group of students, another session group will watch the video, and then do the interactive document (which will be linked into my Google Classroom). I am excited to try this out! Google Forms are awesome! They provide a quick, straight-forward ways to get feedback from students. Google forms can be used to gather personal data on students, as an exit ticket to check for student understanding, to quickly generate a data table that displays the answers to the questions asked, or in a multitude of other ways. I have used Google Forms in the most basic form, but after this week I learned about add-ons, and other components already embedded within the Google Forms that have enhanced the user experience.
I used, “Advanced Summary by Awesome Tab” for “PERTS Growth Mindset Survey.” This add-on was awesome! This add-on provides pie charts or line graphs (depending on the data collected). It generated pie graphs for my data. They provide more information than what comes in Google Forms originally. I particularly liked how I could scroll over a percentage, and then see the number of students that made up that percentage. I could definitely see myself using this add-on for any time I need to display data (i.e. Capstone Project). I can specifically use this to present my Growth Mindset data. I used “Form Limiter” for “Number Corner Inquiry Questions.” This allows me to do two things. First, I can limit the number of submissions (i.e. I have 34 kids, so I only accept 34 responses). Second, I can set a date and time that the form is due. I really liked the option to have it due by a certain date. All of my other class assignments (digital and on paper), are due by a certain date, so it was great to find an add-on that allowed me to set these same parameters for a Google Form. I also inserted pictures of our classroom Number Corner and Data Collection Chart. This was my first time using this feature, and it was very beneficial. In this survey I was asking my students to create Depth of Knowledge questions based off of our Number Corner, and it was great to be able to drop those images straight into the Google Form. This is definitely something I will continue using in the future. Inquiry is one of the focuses for my Capstone Project, and this is an effective way to share data. For my third Google Form I assigned a, “Getting to Know You” survey. This survey had both checkboxes, and paragraph responses. For my Capstone Project, I am discovering my “End User Profile.” I am in the process of looking at my class as a whole, to narrowing it down to a specific groups of students, or just one individual student. The questions in this survey had students let me know how they learn best, what their favorite class activities are, what motivates them to learn, and more. This type of survey allows me to further understand and relate to my students. I will continue to use Google Forms to help me better understand each child. Overall, it was a successful week for Google Forms in my classroom! Social media can be used in an effective way within the classroom. It is a form of communication that students are comfortable and familiar with. It also provides immediate feedback to teachers for each individual student. One huge benefit is the teacher’s ability to respond/provide feedback to each individual student in a quick and effective way. With this being said, it is crucial that district social media guidelines be strictly followed. In the beginning of a school year, I teach all of my classroom rules, routines and procedures to establish a strong classroom management system before I begin academic instruction. This sets the framework for a successful year. The same principles need to apply to using technology in the classroom. Before beginning to teach any actual lessons that involve media, students first must learn the rules of internet safety, what the district policies are, and be provided with a clear set of rules and consequences. After setting this foundation, then successful social media integration can take place. This is going to look different at each grade level as well. Students under thirteen cannot have their own social media accounts. This is where something like a teacher Twitter account can be used as a class tool. For example, a teacher can tweet an author that they are currently reading, and have the kids be part of forming questions to ask that author. The class may get a response, or even the opportunity to interact with the author. This is an example of a safe, effective way to use social media with younger students. Another example is a closed social interaction space such as Google Classroom. Students and the teacher can write and respond via comments. This can only be seen by the teacher and the students, and the teacher is able to manage all of the comments and ensure it is a safe, educational, and productive environment. Any educator with a social media account should be an advocate for student online safety. In Patrick Larkin’s article, “What Do You Do When You See Inappropriate Social Media Posts?” he stated, “As an educator, I feel it is the job of all of us to support students and ensure they are fully aware of the implications of their online activities.” I agree with this fully. Employers and college admission officers check social media accounts. This isn’t something the average high schooler is thinking about, which is why it is important to educate them about the impact of their online presence. I fully agree with immediately reporting any inappropriate student behavior seen online. Currently, the tools I consistently utilize in my classroom are all Google applications. I am definitely looking forward to expanding my horizons outside of Google in this class! The most useful tool I use is Google Classroom. This is my second year using Google Classroom, and it has made a big difference in my classroom.
When I first used Google Classroom last year, I used it in its most basic form. I first did it as a way to make it easier for my students to get on other websites we used in class (i.e. Khan Academy, Typing.com, Prodigy, etc.). Once they had their gmail accounts and were linked into my Google Classroom, I could have them join these sites via a class code. I then began using creating assignments on my Google Classroom. An example of an assignment is a Google Sheet designed for gathering information on the California Missions. These are the only components of Google Classroom I used last year. This year, I have learned how to create Google Forms, which has been very valuable. I have used Google Forms to learn how they are understanding a concept, and as a way to check in on their growth mindset. I have used Google Forms for many different subjects, and appreciate the quick, effective way it gives me data as the teacher. It is so helpful to see the graphs generated with the student responses. I assign Google Forms on my Google Classroom. I continue to create assignments for the students to complete and turn in. I learned how to share videos for students to watch as well. A troubleshooting area was the “Comments” section. Students can write comments on assignments that can be seen by the whole class. It is important to have a discussion on respectful commenting, to frequently check these comments, or to turn the commenting off in Settings. I have assigned an Interactive Journal via Google Classrooms. It is something I purchased off of Teachers Pay Teachers, and it is a Google Slide Deck filled with over 70 prompts that have fun graphics on each slide. It is great because I can open up each individual child’s journal and write notes to them, or suggest edits. This has been a new, interactive way I have used Google Classroom on an individual level with students. They also love to share their journals with the class on our Bright Link Board. I have really enjoyed Google Classroom, and I am looking forward to using new tech tools in my classroom this year! Digital literacy is extremely important to teach in the classroom. It is necessary to take the time to teach digital literacy explicitly, and it can also be embedded into other subjects.
There are many kid-friendly sources that help teach digital literacy in an engaging, interactive, and relatable way. Since utilizing Google’s, “Be Internet Awesome” in my classroom, one of the first pillars of digital literacy we focused on was being safe on the internet and protecting private information. The kids enjoyed learning about this through an interactive game, and a classroom discussion following the game. I thought the article entitled, “How Data Privacy Lessons in Alternative Reality Games Can Help Kids in Real Life” from Mindshift was very interesting. The idea of using an alternate reality game to teach students the importance online security and privacy practices sounds like a powerful approach to teach digital safety. The article said it helped students not only learn the how, but also the why of why they should be careful about what they post online. Within the article “What is Digital Literacy?” on Common Sense Media there is a helpful list of key digital literacy skills that kids should know for both home and school. This list includes teaching students to search effectively for information online, including teaching them about credibility and citing sources. A way to embed this lesson into already-existing curriculum would be to teach this skills surrounding an existing standard. For example, in fourth grade I can teach students how to look up the Gold Rush online through finding reputable sources, and how to find and cite information correctly when they find information they want to use. Another important skill discussed in the Common Sense Media article was to respect other’s ideas and opinions. This is so important to instill in kids starting at a young age. By relating internet social norms to real world social norms, students will gain a better understanding of the impact they make online with their words. A way to integrate this skill into already existing curriculum would be to do this during the Second Step lessons that are taught in elementary schools. These lessons include subjects like empathy, kindness, and standing up for others. It would be so easy to add in a conversation about how to do this online, as well as in person. Google’s “Be Internet Awesome” was my favorite resource that we explored this week. The gaming component is something I know my students would love. The game I played taught students about phishing schemes, and how to be safe when interacting on the internet. Answering the questions in a gaming format it made it fun and engaging, while also teaching students vital lessons for internet safety. This is something I definitely plan on incorporating in my classroom with my fourth graders. Whether it is Fortnight, or game-based education programs like Prodigy, students love to play games. I know this will be a popular lesson with my kids.
Another component I really liked on Google’s site was the, “Be Internet Awesome Pledge.” I thought this could be cool to have students sign as a “contract.” The district I teach in has parents and students sign an internet agreement at the beginning of the year before the students can have access to digital technology in the classroom. What I liked about this pledge was that the content was very similar to what they sign, but written in a more kid-friendly and relatable tone. I love the idea of beginning my year with teaching about digital citizenship via Google’s “Be Internet Awesome,” and then follow it up with student signing a “contract” based off of the norms. If an infraction occurs later in the year, I can pull out that contract and we can review it together. I could even reassign the “game” based on the infraction they broke. The Video lessons on Common Sense Education for grades 3-5 had a lot of interesting information. The Common Sense Census did a national survey in 2015 about the media habits and preferences of American kids. “Tweens”, ages 8-12, spend an average of six hours per day using media, excluding time spent using media for school or homework! This includes TV, texting, music and social media. This truly shows the importance of teaching digital citizenship in our classrooms. What we are teaching them at school can, and will, benefit them at home. The video talked about embedding digital citizenship into social-emotional lessons. For example, we discuss empathy and kindness often in fourth grade. This can be integrated into digital citizenship by talking about applying those traits to how they portray themselves on the internet. There are free lessons on Common Sense Education for each grade level. There is one called, “A Creator’s Rights and Responsibilities” that I thought would be great to go over for my fourth graders in order to teach them about copyright, what images they can/should use, and how to cite those sources. This site also discusses the importance of having students understands that citizenship means that we are part of a community where we have a role. This includes self, friends and family, and the larger community. Another important point the video series made was that media and technology can support children’s growth when used wisely and thoughtfully. One way to ensure this is to focus on the, “4 Cs”: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking. This is also something our district requires. As I work on incorporating more technology into the classroom, it is important to always keep these “4 Cs “in mind. What is the role of personalized learning and competency-based learning in education today?
Personalized learning and competency-based learning play in integral part in education today. In the excerpt from “Digital Citizenship in Schools” by Mike Ribble, he discussed that it is just as important to teach students how to navigate in the digital world as it is to teach them the rules of society. As our world becomes more tech driven, I could not agree more with this statement. Ribble talked about the importance of using technology in the classroom, especially for students who may not have access to technology at home. Teaching with technology is vital and necessary because we are currently preparing our students for jobs that do not even exist yet. In “Teaching in a Competency-Based Education Environment” by Katie Varatta it was made clear that personalized learning does not mean the teacher plans lessons for each student. Instead, the students and the teacher work together to determine their learning goals and the best way to show their mastery over their learning. This was an encouraging article to read, because the idea of thirty-four individual lessons is overwhelming. It feels more approachable to present a standard to the students, teach lessons with different activities to support that standard, and then let students have freedom over how they will demonstrate their learning in this area. This also means being very clear and organized in teaching students how to choose different models to present with. Given your students’ grade level and the subject matter you teach, consider how and whether you can incorporate competency-based learning and/or personalized learning into your practice. As a fourth grade teacher, I can definitely incorporate competency-based learning and personalized learning into my practice. In the video, “Personalized Learning: What is it?” from Education Week, a clear overview of personalized learning was presented. It consists of giving students more choice over what they learn and when they learn it, allowing students to move forward if they are ready, and get help support them if they are behind, and allowing students to choose content that interests them and can show what they know in different ways. The two pieces of advice the video ended with were to define the concept, and to be patient. The idea of giving my students more choice over what they are learning about is something I know my students would all benefit from. In the KQED Mind Shift article entitled: “How to Help Kids Manage Sleep, Schoolwork, and Screens” it was discussed how parents approach the conversation about getting the required amount of sleep with their teens. Dell’Antonia stated that parents should not focus on the negative consequences of sleep deprivation, but to instead look at the positive benefits of sleeping the required amount of time. I agree with this concept in the classroom. Instead of focusing on teaching a concept just for the sake of learning it, instead focus on how learning this information will benefit them in their lives. For example, students will be more inclined to care about fractions if the lesson includes learning how to properly divide the pieces of a Hershey’s bar. Teaching students that what they are learning will benefit them individually, especially through technology, will help increase their motivation to learn and grow. Please provide at least 3 specific examples on how you might use/are using personalized learning/competency based learning in your practice, and discuss what role educational technology might play in these two areas. One way I am using personalized learning is in Language Arts. In the article, “Teaching in a Competency-Based Education Environment” by Katie Varatta she discussed the concept teaching a lesson followed by workshop time. The teacher can create a lesson that is for the entire class, but then move into a “workshop model” where the students work toward the focus standard in teacher-led small groups with focused mini lessons, or even one-on-one conferences with the teacher. This concept is used by our district’s Language Arts curriculum “Benchmark Universe.” After a whole group lesson, the time after is designed for students to break apart into homogenous small groups. During this time I can provide intervention support, grade-level support, or enrichment. Educational technology is used to help support the students who I am not meeting with in small group time. These students can use the Benchmark Universe software to interact with the text by digitally annotating, or enjoy e-books that support the skills being taught that week. I know I can grow in this area by providing more meaningful tech time for the groups I am not meeting with. The second area that I will commit to is providing students with more options to demonstrate what they have learned. I will start with “Google Slides.” This is something my students are familiar with, but not proficient in. This has not been an option for them to use in the past to demonstrate their learning. I think this would be a good start for me to allow students to use as a method to show what they learned. This will mean first giving clear guidelines to what I expect from a google slides presentation (i.e. how many slides, how to cite pictures/information used in the slides, a timeframe to complete the project in, etc.). After this, the students can then demonstrate their learning in this new method. A third area I can commit to using competency based learning into my practice is in the area of digital citizenship. In the article “What Your Students Really Need to Know About Digital Citizenship” by Vicki Davis she discusses the importance of teaching students how to effectively and safely use digital tools. We are currently halfway through the year, and I know all of my students could benefit from a refresher in digital citizenship, and this article had a great list to go through with students. One important area this article brought up was making sure students know how to cite the information they use. This in particular is definitely something I need to review with my students. |
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April 2019
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