Game Based Learning

     Game-based Learning is proving its strengths in the classroom.  This type of learning is not really a new idea if one considers that students have been doing crosswords and word searches for many years, however, the interactive games of today have the ability to draw the students interest while at the same time teaching them how to learn by allowing them to truly “live and experience” the subject matter.  Interactive games require students to discover who, what, when, where, why, and how in order to solve real-world problems.  They learn to research, write, collaborate, problem-solve, and while they are at it, learn important aspects of technology.  These games are fun and engaging, they can be designed for single and multiple users, and they fit easily into the curriculum as they can be used in addition to textbooks, handouts, and lectures.

     I found an example of an interactive game, called River City.  River City is a MUVE, which stands for Multi-User and Virtual Environment.  This particular MUVE is developed for science students in elementary and middle schools.  This game allows students to create their own Avatar and enter a 19^th century town called River City.  River City’s residents are getting sick and it is the job of the students (s) to figure out why this is happening.  As they enter the town, they will see that the scenery is authentic for the 19^th century; River City appears to be an average town complete with a school, hospital, railroad station, and multiple other buildings.  It is surrounded by hills and a waterfall drops off into the river that goes through town.  As the students begin to explore the town they will collect and analyze information from different sources such as data collection stations that give current water samples, residents that give clues, and kiosks that display items such as news from around the town.  As they gather facts from these different sources, they can then form and test a hypothesis regarding the health and environmental issues that they found.

     As they work their way towards proving their hypothesis, students can collaborate through chat or they can time warp to where their teammates are and help them.  The software for River City has a user interface that provides electronic notebooks to organize experiments, observations, and data.  After the students have drawn their conclusions, they must write a report of their findings in the form of a letter to the mayor. 

     Games like River City can be manipulated for just about any subject matter.  Imagine shooting from the front lines in a simulated Civil War battle, or how about dropping in while our Founding Fathers sign the Declaration of Independence, how about finding a job and buying a house in a simulated town while you are learning how to balance a checkbook and budget money.  That brings a new concept to being “virtually” broke!

     Game Based Learning is proving to be an effective tool in teaching.  This idea of integrating educational and interactive gaming was adopted because of the success of these games in military training.  It is easy to see how, then, that the generations that we are teaching now could benefit from this style of learning; have never known life without the Internet or computer technology.   Its best asset is that it provides the students with an entertaining, hands-on, learning environment.  It also is a great additional exercise for hard to teach concepts or confusing labs.  River City has been researching and perfecting their MUVE for eleven years now, and they have proven through various studies that interactive learning can narrow the gap between low-performing and high-performing students.  I believe that if computer games can help children learn material, gain social skills, gain intellect, and develop a better self-concept, then that might be significant enough cause to implement it further.

Professional Development

     Professional development is important in any field from Accounting to Teaching.  There is always new information that presents itself, especially in this technology friendly world we live in.  Professional development in our school systems, especially in the practice of computer technology serves to help the teachers keep updated on the emerging technologies and latest resources. Even though technology can be overwhelming, every teacher should at least know how to navigate around on the Internet, how to use productivity tools, and how to troubleshoot any basic problems.

     It is mandatory that teachers receive an allotted amount of continuing education credits.  This is very beneficial because it holds teachers responsible for learning and implementing the latest information, and then sharing this with students.  Also, it provides for teacher collaboration during these career development meetings.  What better way to help your students learn than by practicing and sharing with a whole bunch of other teachers!

Emerging Technologies - Now or Later??

      Game-Based Learning is showing positive results.  Listed on the Horizon Report as a technology that has proven to have good results, and one that schools are stating to adopt, game-based learning provides many different challenges for students in learning. 
     Children love video games, and any child born into the 1990's more than likely has played their fair share.  Video games are fun, they can be quite strategic, and they capture a child's attention more than a basic chalkboard covered with arithmetic problems.  Strategic games are of interest to me because I believe that you can easily combine classroom lessons with them.   
     As new teachers to the coming generations, we must realize the changes that are coming to us fast and furiously.  I do not believe that any computer should be a substitution for the good old-fashioned paper and pencil, yet once those skills are mastered I believe that we would only hinder our students if we did not teach them about technology. 
     I would definitely be an early adopter of technology because I believe that in order to teach the current generation and the following ones, that we must get on board with these new ideas and at the very least become comfortable with technology ourselves.

 http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2010-Horizon-Report-K12.pdf

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/features/dede03012003.html

Multimedia in the Classroom

     In this day and age teaching technology and using multimedia materials are just as important as teaching the three "R's".  Although it should never replace a standard curriculum that includes pencil and paper, it should be used as an inclusion into the curriculum.  I believe that we would be doing our children a huge disservice to keep multimedia away from the classroom, they need to learn these skills because that is the direction the future is headed.  Smart boards, interactive lessons, and computers are also proven to be fun ways to keep children entertained and involved.  I would be prone to teaching my 8th graders how to use the Internet to do research.  Provided it is used correctly the Internet is fast, colorful, and informative.  Research skills are so important and finding information on the World Wide Web is fun; however, paraphrasing skills are just as important.  Children need to learn to think for themselves and rewriting what they read should be a huge part of the lesson in researching. 

http://www.powertolearn.com/articles/teaching_with_technology/article.shtml?ID=152

Education and the Internet

     Internet use in the classroom can be very beneficial.  There are all kinds of safe websites out there for children to learn by playing interactive games and there are also websites where research can be done just as easily if you were sitting in your local library.  At the high school that I work at, they use a website for personal finance class where the students can go on and purchase stocks and watch the prices rise and fall.  While they are playing this game they are secretly learning about the ins and outs of investing money wisely.
      Internet use is great for classrooms because that is the direction this world is going and the children must not be kept in the dark.  Having said that, there should be plenty of supervision, parental blocking, and security in place to protect our students.  The teacher should have a website picked out that he/she wants their student to use so that they are not left to their own devices.  Though internet use is not as personal as having a blog or personal information online, there are still plenty of hazards that can interfere with learning.

http://www.stockmarketgame.org/overview.html
http://www.ebscohost.com/

Blogging in the Clasroom

This just happens to be my very first blog.  I have done a similar weekly assignment for a Psychology class I took but it was limited to our college academic website and only classmates with a password could participate.  I think that is a great way to introduce blogging in the elementary/jr. high classroom.  As a teacher I would not feel comfortable with the younger population putting their thoughts or much of anything online for the whole world to see.  It is beneficial to have students keep journals, however, at younger ages it is just as important that they write with pencil and paper.  As much as technology has become a major part of our lives, the basics; reading, writing, and arithmetic are of utmost importance at these ages.  During high school, after children have mastered their writing and reading skills, then blogging could be fit into the curriculum.  I would be inclined to let high schoolers use blogging in English or Social Science classes but I would also have extensive rules in place in order to protect the children that use it.  Children do not always think thoroughly about what they say before posting and once something is online, there is no taking it back.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech217.shtml
http://www.feedforall.com/dangers-blogging.htm

Learning Styles

     I feel like I have been going to college for an eternity.  I will graduate in 2013 with a double major in Psychology and Elementary Education.  I also have a one-year Accounting degree, an Associates Degree in Arts and Science, and extensive schooling and experience in Integrated Pest Management and Tree Fruit Research.  I am blessed to have all of this education, and I know that God has a plan for me that wraps it all up into one fantastic package.
     I  am very fortunate to have my job as a substitute teacher.  It has provided many learning experiences for me and has shown me that I have the ability and the personality to be a very competent teacher. One of the first lessons I learned is that having a handle on classroom management is essential!  Another aspect that I have had to think about is learning techniques.  I firmly believe that the right environment always supports better learning and that the teacher must make a sound decision as to which style best fits the objectives of his/her students.
     I like the ideas of both teacher-centered and student-centered teaching.  To have a student-centered, or constructivist style of teaching is very effective if the curriculum supports it.  Teaching problem solving skills, and allowing student collaboration is a wonderful way to learn science and many other subjects. However, their are times such as in the lower elementary grades where cognitive learning styles and a teacher-centered environment might be more appropriate.  Letters, numbers, math and vocabulary require constant processing of information through working and long-term memory.  Therefore, it makes sense to teach the information repeatedly, allowing the student ample time to process the information so that the basic skills will be remembered.  These years are also the time when the child will retain the most information, so concepts of cognitive learning, such as rote memorization, mnemonics, and visuals are beneficial.

Woolfolk, A.E. (2007) Educational Psychology (10th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.