The debate over using computer games as learning will probably never end. I however am I huge supporter of using games to help students learn, especially in the primary grades. There are some great games and or software that can be used to enhance student learning. The website: http://www.abcya.com/index.htm, is an excellent example of using computer games to enhance student learning.
One reason that I think its a great idea is because the games are almost always interactive. Also the games meet different learning styles all at once. Many of the games will talk for the auditory learner. There's required movement for the tactile leaner. Watching the examples or following the movement on the screen will serve the visual learner. Even more importantly the students can learn at their own pace, making small victories and mistakes at their own comfort level.
Also using these games in primary, introduces the students to using basic computer skills.
Personally I have seen computer games teach basic reading skills, language acquisition and many other skills. My son uses the games daily and has for the past two years. Due to his autism he was completely nonverbal until he started using starfall.com. Within two weeks of using the website he was naming objects, naming letters and sounds and counting. This website also encourage him to use the mouse more effeciently. He now uses pbskids.org, nickjr.com and many other websites. Most of the sites he visits uses similar learning objectives and he can spell words and finish sentences , even estimate! Most of these games go along with some TV show that he watches so there is some motivation for him there as well.
I think that as with anything else, these games are tools and if used properly, can be a great asset to students.
http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=531; is an online presentation by a teacher who uses computer games in his classroom.
http://www.articlesbase.com/computer-games-articles/educational-computer-games-as-effective-learning-tools-904236.html; an article about using computer games as learning tools
Monday, February 15, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
The last great PD
The most recent PD that was great for me was the Apple, iPods for education PD. I liked that PD basically because it provided me with lots of applicable ideas. The presenter provided all her handouts electronically. Which was great a great idea, in my opinion, because I was able to share this info with my teachers without needing to remake handouts or rely on my own notes. I also found it quite useful when the presenter showed us where to find language arts material in iTunes! She even showed us how to create printed materials from the FREE items we found in iTunes.
The presenter also took the time to gauge the audience to see how many people owned iPods, and how many had used them for educational purposes. A great portion of the presentation was spent on features of the iPod, which was not that useful to me but it was a great idea because a lot of people said they were not familiar with the model of iPods we were using.
The last thing that made it great for me was the last hour of the PD was spent exploring on our own at our own pace, with the presenter being available for questions or to help find things!!!
Overall I thought it was one of the better PDs that I have attended in quite some time!
The presenter also took the time to gauge the audience to see how many people owned iPods, and how many had used them for educational purposes. A great portion of the presentation was spent on features of the iPod, which was not that useful to me but it was a great idea because a lot of people said they were not familiar with the model of iPods we were using.
The last thing that made it great for me was the last hour of the PD was spent exploring on our own at our own pace, with the presenter being available for questions or to help find things!!!
Overall I thought it was one of the better PDs that I have attended in quite some time!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Assessing Technology
Assessing tech skills:
When completing an integrated tech project both sets of skills should be assessed. As most of the printed materials on this subject suggest, assessing the tech skills should be as important as the other curricular area. If the project has a rubric, parts of the rubric should focus strictly on the tech skills, the subject matter, and then how the two are related.
When starting any project in classrooms most people try to assess the students' prior knowledge, so that they can gauge where to start and how much basic skill to teach. In my opinion tech skills should not be any different. In some cases teachers want to integrate but will not take time to teach the tech skills in isolation before hand. It is very difficult to teach a student how to use PowerPoint while doing the project (if the student has never used the program before). Sometimes we can assume that students will know how to right click and double click, only to find out mid-lesson that you have to teach those skills as well. These events can lead to frustration for both teacher and student.
To me its the same as teaching word problems in math. If you cannot read the problem, regardless of how well you are in math, you will not be able to compete the assignment.
I think that to show that technology has its place in the curriculum we have to teach and assess the tech skills and then have the students use these skills to enhance or showcase what they have learned in other areas. Then as a last step, showcase how the two work together and make each other better!
http://ldt.stanford.edu/~tacyt/projectrubric.html
http://2pointohteaching.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-are-teachers-assessing-with.html
When completing an integrated tech project both sets of skills should be assessed. As most of the printed materials on this subject suggest, assessing the tech skills should be as important as the other curricular area. If the project has a rubric, parts of the rubric should focus strictly on the tech skills, the subject matter, and then how the two are related.
When starting any project in classrooms most people try to assess the students' prior knowledge, so that they can gauge where to start and how much basic skill to teach. In my opinion tech skills should not be any different. In some cases teachers want to integrate but will not take time to teach the tech skills in isolation before hand. It is very difficult to teach a student how to use PowerPoint while doing the project (if the student has never used the program before). Sometimes we can assume that students will know how to right click and double click, only to find out mid-lesson that you have to teach those skills as well. These events can lead to frustration for both teacher and student.
To me its the same as teaching word problems in math. If you cannot read the problem, regardless of how well you are in math, you will not be able to compete the assignment.
I think that to show that technology has its place in the curriculum we have to teach and assess the tech skills and then have the students use these skills to enhance or showcase what they have learned in other areas. Then as a last step, showcase how the two work together and make each other better!
http://ldt.stanford.edu/~tacyt/projectrubric.html
http://2pointohteaching.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-are-teachers-assessing-with.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
