Topics for Today:
1. Games (again)
2. Weebly
Before class we watched a cool Ted Talk and read about how games might have some interesting components useful in education. Then in class we found out that one teacher (a past MACer) was using Angry Birds to teach his students about Parametric Equations. Angry Birds is not going to lead to solving our world's problems, but it did seem like a cool way to reward students and maybe keep some of them interested in math. I would have enjoyed talking about how kids respond to educational games, but it was exciting to see a teacher using video games in an educational way. It was also cool to see a teacher trying something new without having to face obstacles from administration or students, but I think it has a lot to do with the kind of school our guest worked at.
We also played a kind of game where we had to decode a story about an airplane. I really liked the discussion that happened after this activity. I think by dividing the class into the cohorts was a good idea because it gives more people a chance to participate. The decoding also helped to understand how some struggling readers try to comprehend a selection of reading I might give as an English teacher.
The second part of class was devoted to creating a website portfolio. It was interesting to build a website from a template, but until I have a more concrete understanding of what my end portfolio is supposed to look like I can't go further with my website. Weebly, the website builder we used, was user friendly and free which was great.
I am enjoying learning about all the different technological resources, and even though I don't see uses for all of the resources yet, I am still filing them away for later.
I agree with you that it was nice (and encouraging) to hear about a new teacher trying something new and out of the box with his students without meeting criticism and negativity from administration and colleagues. Hearing this made me think (briefly) about the possibility of me using technology and thinking outside of the norms to find ways to engage students...but then I got nervous that teachers would still feel negatively about my doing so and that maybe this teacher just got lucky (by having nice colleagues). I think one of the challenges of using technology in our classrooms, whether it's video games or podcasts, is getting over the initial anxiety/fear of it (or at least it is for me). When it comes to this, you seem fearless. It sounds like you're enjoying learning about the applications of technology and will be ready to bring tech into your classroom when you find a meaningful way. Teach me how to be like that! :)
ReplyDeleteBut what is to say that causing a child to get interested in math or physics because they are trying to figure out what angles and what speed they need to use in order for their angry bird to get that evil pig. There is a series of shows on TV dedicated to the science of sports. What makes us move, how we move and how we can get better. Will that specifically make us better off or fix the worlds problems? Who knows, but perhaps that, angry birds, or some other video game, is the catalyst that brings that thinker, or thinkers into a new area of imaginative thinking. I am still amazed at how the speaker turned a video game into the possible salvation of the world. It makes sense, but is it practical...I don't know, but in the end, you never know what, or who, is going to invent or fix the next big thing...
ReplyDelete"The decoding also helped to understand how some struggling readers try to comprehend a selection of reading I might give as an English teacher."
ReplyDeleteThis is the great take-away of last Friday's session for me. As a teacher, as a student, as a mother, as an individual, I consistently set high expectations for those around me. Some quiet, stubborn part of me insists that, at the core, we are all brilliant. Some more obviously so than others, but sometimes all that's needed to expose that brilliance is a little polish and some elbow grease.
That simple decoding exercise changed my opinion. I still believe that the human race is brilliant at its core, but I am even more convinced of something else.
Everything is not as simple as I think. In order to fully prepare my students to receive information, they will need more than my high expectations and good intentions. They will need prior knowledge. They will need a key (or keys) to unlock the many codes that they will face as they try to translate and synthesize new information.
Funny how the "epic win" from my high-tech class came from a low-tech source.
I'm just saying.
Unfortunately I was not there on Friday. It is great to hear that one of our colleagues is making news already with Angry Birds! I am not much of a gamer myself, but it sounds like he had a great idea.
ReplyDeleteMy only skepticism around this approach would be that my students would be more focused on the game than the lesson, mostly because it is such a popular game. I can easily see them going home, sitting down for dinner with mom, mom says, "How was school?"....student says, "We played Angry Birds today".....and that game be all he remembers from class.
I think video games can be effective, and not knowing how our colleague worked this in I will not judge. I would love to know if his students retained the material.
Ha - which came first, chicken or egg? Which should we do first: build the portfolio (and add stuff later now that we have a sense of the container we can put it in) or do the portfolio later (but we've forgotten to keep track of the stuff to populate it)? We took a gamble and put the portfolio earlier in the MAC year ... we'll have to check back with you guys later to see if it came at a good time!
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