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Dean Loberg

Education Week's Digital Directions: Building Gaming Into Science Education - 0 views

  • "I've had teachers tell me,” says Eklund, “that after they introduced the game to their students, the classroom went completely silent because all of the kids were just reading." "You just don't get that kind of engagement and involvement with the story" with a textbook, he says.
    • Brian C. Smith
       
      Is this because of the visual appeal or the storyline? I can see this happening, but does silence mean high levels of engagement?
    • Dean Loberg
       
      Assuming that they are not sleeping I think it does mean engagement, but engagement does not equal education. It depends on the content as well.
  • A report written by researchers about The River City Project for a 2006 conference concluded "that students learned biology content, that students and teachers were highly engaged, that student attendance improved, that disruptive behavior dropped, that students were building 21st-century skills in virtual communication and expression, and importantly, that using this type of technology in the classroom can facilitate good inquiry learning."
    • Brian C. Smith
       
      Is this limited to only the River City Project alone though? How does it promote more inquiry, problem and project-based learning in other content?
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  • "I'm in a unique situation where there's a computer at every lab table," he says, pointing out that many teachers do not have that ratio of students to computers.
  • when the games don't work properly, but most teachers don’t have that level of technical skill, she points out.
  • "There are little things you need to know," she says, to keep the games running smoothly. "[Otherwise], it's not going to work in the classroom, and teachers aren't going to use it."
  • "If [the game] doesn't have a focus or clear reason for what they're doing, it really doesn't work," says Pokrzywinski. Adapting games to the curriculum is possible, she says, but it takes time—something many teachers don't have.
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    Science and gaming
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    Science and gaming
Fabian Aguilar

Educational Leadership:Literacy 2.0:Orchestrating the Media Collage - 1 views

  • Public narrative embraces a number of specialty literacies, including math literacy, research literacy, and even citizenship literacy, to name a few. Understanding the evolving nature of literacy is important because it enables us to understand the emerging nature of illiteracy as well. After all, regardless of the literacy under consideration, the illiterate get left out.
  • Modern literacy has always meant being able to both read and write narrative in the media forms of the day, whatever they may be. Just being able to read is not sufficient.
  • The act of creating original media forces students to lift the hood, so to speak, and see media's intricate workings that conspire to do one thing above all others: make the final media product appear smooth, effortless, and natural. "Writing media" compels reflection about reading media, which is crucial in an era in which professional media makers view young people largely in terms of market share.
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  • As part of their own intellectual retooling in the era of the media collage, teachers can begin by experimenting with a wide range of new media to determine how they best serve their own and their students' educational interests. A simple video can demonstrate a science process; a blog can generate an organic, integrated discussion about a piece of literature; new media in the form of games, documentaries, and digital stories can inform the study of complex social issues; and so on. Thus, a corollary to this guideline is simply, "Experiment fearlessly." Although experts may claim to understand the pedagogical implications of media, the reality is that media are evolving so quickly that teachers should trust their instincts as they explore what works. We are all learning together.
  • Both essay writing and blog writing are important, and for that reason, they should support rather than conflict with each other. Essays, such as the one you are reading right now, are suited for detailed argument development, whereas blog writing helps with prioritization, brevity, and clarity. The underlying shift here is one of audience: Only a small portion of readers read essays, whereas a large portion of the public reads Web material. Thus, the pressure is on for students to think and write clearly and precisely if they are to be effective contributors to the collective narrative of the Web.
  • The demands of digital literacy make clear that both research reports and stories represent important approaches to thinking and communicating; students need to be able to understand and use both forms. One of the more exciting pedagogical frontiers that awaits us is learning how to combine the two, blending the critical thinking of the former with the engagement of the latter. The report–story continuum is rich with opportunity to blend research and storytelling in interesting, effective ways within the domain of new media.
  • The new media collage depends on a combination of individual and collective thinking and creative endeavor. It requires all of us to express ourselves clearly as individuals, while merging our expression into the domain of public narrative. This can include everything from expecting students to craft a collaborative media collage project in language arts classes to requiring them to contribute to international wikis and collective research projects about global warming with colleagues they have never seen. What is key here is that these are now "normal" kinds of expression that carry over into the world of work and creative personal expression beyond school.
  • Students need to be media literate to understand how media technique influences perception and thinking. They also need to understand larger social issues that are inextricably linked to digital citizenship, such as security, environmental degradation, digital equity, and living in a multicultural, networked world. We want our students to use technology not only effectively and creatively, but also wisely, to be concerned with not just how to use digital tools, but also when to use them and why.
  • Fluency is the ability to practice literacy at the advanced levels required for sophisticated communication within social and workplace environments. Digital fluency facilitates the language of leadership and innovation that enables us to translate our ideas into compelling professional practice. The fluent will lead, the literate will follow, and the rest will get left behind.
  • Digital fluency is much more of a perspective than a technical skill set. Teachers who are truly digitally fluent will blend creativity and innovation into lesson plans, assignments, and projects and understand the role that digital tools can play in creating academic expectations that are authentically connected, both locally and globally, to their students' lives.
  • Focus on expression first and technology second—and everything will fall into place.
Dean Mantz

Free music, free books, free games, free poems and free puzzles that help teach childre... - 15 views

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    Multiple resources for educators to use in teaching reading and literacy to elementary and special needs students.
Julie Altmark

iLearn Technology » Blog Archive » The Pre-Raph Pack - 3 views

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    Featured Post Scholastic's The First Thanksgiving What it is: Scholastic has amazing resources all year long but the interactive on The First Thanksgiving is topnotch!  Students learn about how the Pilgrims reached America, and what daily life was before the First Thanksgiving.  Students can take a tour of the Mayflower, take the virtual journey to America, compare and contrast modern life with when the Pilgrims lived (housing, clothes, food, chores, school, games), and the Thanksgiving feast.  There is a great slideshow and play a webquest feature where kids can learn more about the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag and the famous harvest feast.  The site includes audio for every page and activity.  This is great for younger students. How to integrate Scholastic's The First Thanksgiving into the classroom: The First Thanksgiving is a collection of great activities for students to learn about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims.  Students can use this site independently as young as first grade because of the audio features on The First Thanksgiving.  The site can be used as a center activity that a few students can explore together, independently in the computer lab setting, or as a whole class with a projector or interactive whiteboard.  The webquest at the end of the activity checks for student understanding with a quiz.  Increase students participation further with some The First Thanksgiving bonus features and extras.  Print out a Thanksgiving Readers theater, door signs, a fact hunt, a vocabulary quiz, and some letters from historical figures.  There are also research and historical fiction journals that students can continue learning with.  These range from a Plymoth Colony research starter to Our America: Colonial period. Tips: Check out Scholastic's Teaching resources for The First Thanksgiving as well as the literature connections that are available. Leave a comment and share how you are using The First Thanksgiving  in your classroom. Read More
Andrew Barras

While you read this… watch the world change « Generation YES Blog - 18 views

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    Great flash graphic! Shows stats on social, gaming and mobile usage
Vicki Davis

Little Brother » A word to teachers, librarians, and people who want to donat... - 0 views

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    Free book for teacher and librarians -- it is supposed to be a good book, available to download free.
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    If you want a free copy of this book and are a teacher or librarian, follow the instructions on this page. Interesting idea. This book is by Cory Doctorow about altnernate gaming and this is a novel that argues that hackers and gamers are the USA's "best hope for the future." Download the book for free here, or you can request the book for your school. I haven't read it yet -- have any of you?
Vicki Davis

Pest Control Information for School Kids and Teachers - PestWorldforKids.org - 0 views

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    This site provides resources and games explaining to elementary students what we consider to be "pests".
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    Just got this in my email. I could see some really fun, funny public service announcements -- cross curricular project for science and technology. This is what they sent me: "The contest challenges students in grades 4 through 8 to use their biology and entomology knowledge, as well as their creativity, to create educational public service announcements (PSAs) that discuss the health and property risks posed by household pests. The grand prize winning entry will receive $3,000 for their school's science department! We know that this award could mean a lot to one of the many schools in the country that are being forced to cut budgets and programs in this difficult economy. As a non-profit organization, NPMA is committed to science education, and never promotes specific products or services. I know that Cool Cat Teachers covers a wide range of topics, but we are hoping that the many science teachers who read your content would be interested in the contest for their schools. We would deeply appreciate your help in spreading the word about this fun and educational contest. The press release below has more information on the contest rules and details. Additional information, including sample PSAs and lesson plans for creating PSAs, are available at www.PestWorldForKids.org."
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    Science contest on this website for creating a PSA.
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