SLM508 Spring 2014

Their work has meaning because they are contributing to the large community of information on the Web.

Technology also provides opportunities for students to critique their own work and that of others using various forms of wikis. They can reflect on their own learning through blogging and connect globally to gain new perspectives and learn more than a textbook could ever offer.

Therefore, teachers must plan well to ensure that students use these tools to their full potential.

Teachers who empower students to take an active part in a wiki, blog, or other Web 2.0 tools are on the right track, as these tools encourage 24/7 critical thinking. In fact, some of these tools demand that level of thought, because editing, revising, critiquing, and commenting are an integral part of their use. As students do not have to wait until they come back into the classroom to use these thinking skills, they become fully immersed in their learning and eventually become lifelong learners who evaluate information as active consumers of knowledge.

We institute filters and walled gardens around the Internet and pretend to keep students safe, although all we are protecting them from is thinking and learning how to evaluate sources. We lock out Nings, wikis, blogs, and discussion forums, and end up preventing students from being presented with new ideas and taking part in wider discussions in the process.

n a typical classroom of 30 students, 21 of them will have experienced some form of cyberbullying, according to the Annual Cyberbullying Survey 2013

While it is true that educational games often lack much of the engagement and fidelity of commercial games, and commercial games generally fall short on intellectual content, there is a middle ground where the two camps can meet and work together to develop powerful and engaging educational games that will accomplish the objectives stated here.

The hidden agenda of games and play is to teach. This is why animals play and why we encourage our youngest children to play games. So that they develop an understanding of the world around them and the social relationships that they will need to engage in to be successful members of their group. Games are also fun. That is the reason that we like to play. Formal games with rules serve the same functions, but additionally motivate us through our competitive nature. For all of these reasons, GBL works to engage students in ways that are more powerful for most students than traditional teaching methods, which, while effective, present obstacles to engaging deeply with each individual student.

During game play, the individual is optimizing their productivity and enjoying it. People playing games also report losing track of time in the real world. This phenomenon is due to the extreme level of engagement that some games can promote in those playing them. 

The final area in which GBL can be superior to traditional classroom learning is in fostering creativity and teaching students to be innovators. While it is not impossible for the traditional classroom model to inspire students to be creative, the standards-based approach to education, particularly in K-12 schools, works in direct opposition to this goal. A standardized curriculum, with results evaluated by standardized test cannot support individuality and actively discourages students from thinking outside the box.

The argument against GBL supporting innovation is obvious – playing games is also working within a standard set of rules, often in a nearly linear progression. A true enough assessment of many educational games and some of the less innovative commercial games, but the best games not only allow creativity and randomness (it is generally programmed into games), but demand it. One commercial game in particular that has some demonstrated educational success comes to mind: Civilization.

One area in which GBL is surpassed by traditional classroom learning is cost. GBL requires that each student have access to computers or other gaming devices for a far greater percentage of their instructional time than is generally possible in schools.

One of the biggest problems with GBL is that we are not ready for it yet. Students are ready – they spend vast amounts of time playing games and interacting in virtual worlds – but teachers, parents, politicians, and the gaming industry are not ready. Schools lack the infrastructure to support large-scale gamification, teachers lack training in the pedagogy of GBL, parents do not see the value of games, politicians view education as a burden that should be more efficient and cost effective, not less, and the gaming industry focuses almost exclusively on non-educational content. We have a long way to go before GBL can become a reality for most students.

Results – The Positives

own construction of

week a

constructively engaged

understanding on a more personal level,

s time in the physi

Some of the positive outcomes of the effort included the following (be sure to explore the video presentation to learn more!):

Among the more challenging aspects of the effort …

Of all the knowledge gained in the effort and shared in this presentation, these are some of the most valuable take-aways. 

Ironically, the notion of blending is nothing new. Good classroom teachers have always blended their methods—reading, writing, lecture, discussion, practice and projects, to name just a few, are all part of an effective blend. Blending is only a revelation for those who have been trying to do everything with just one tool—usually the computer—and ending up with less than ideal results. Understanding that using the right tool, in the right situation, for the right purpose should be a guiding design principle. (Flavin, 2001)

advantage of blended learning is pacing and attendance. I

is its connection with differentiated instruction.

needs

research showed that providing several online options in addition to traditional classroom training actually increased what students learned.

student interaction and satisfaction improved, along with students learning more

custom-designing instruction based on student

absent, she/he may view some of the missed materials at the same time that the rest of the class does

students to self-pace, there is a higher completion rate for students in blended learning classrooms than to those in strictly e-learning situations.

engagement of every learner in the classroom at any given time

blended learning in education improves the teaching and learning

[teachers] and [their] students to have the best of both worlds

Teachers must be trained and required to use some type of technology in the classroom if blended learning is going to successfully take place.

but without technology the students are being cheated out

successful in today's world.

They’re all over Twitter but they don’t know how to save a Word document.”

nformation literacy

A digital story is a multimedia text consisting of still images complemented by a narrated soundtrack to tell a story or present a documentary; sometimes video clips are embedded between images.

motivator for students, thus they remain engaged throughout the project

alternative conduit of expression for those students who struggle with writing traditional text

discover voice, confidence, and structure in their writing

Struggling writers

Point of view — defining the specific realization the author is trying to communicate within the story. Digital storytelling allows the storyteller to come close to his audience by expressing personal experiences through first-person point of view. Dramatic question — setting up a conflict from the beginning that will hold viewers' attention until the story is over. Similar to traditional storytelling, a plot is developed in a digital story, thereby distinguishing it from a slideshow of wedding pictures enhanced with music and flashy transitions. Emotional content — dealing directly with the fundamental emotional paradigms such as love and loneliness, confidence and vulnerability, acceptance and rejection. Effective digital stories evoke an emotion from the audience, thereby validating the time and effort invested to the creation of the digital story. For the novice storyteller, laughter is a more commonly witnessed emotion. Economy — consciously economizing language in relationship to the narrative. This requires the storyteller to be sensitive to the attentiveness of the viewing audience. Pacing — determining the rhythm of a story to sustain an audience's interest. The gift of voice-employing the pitch, inflection, and timbre of one's own voice to narrate the story is one of the most essential elements that contribute to the effectiveness of digital storytelling. Soundtrack — using music to enhance the story and create an emotional response.

Table 2: Tutorials and Web Resources for Music, Sound Effects, Graphics, and

Copyright Information

Stop: deterrents for employing digital storytelling

most teachers have not been exposed to the medium

the majority are not aware of the free and powerful tools already packaged on their own computers

ack of competence or confidence

using software to create digital stories requires skills and concepts that the teacher may need to facilitate

earing a loss of classroom management, technical glitches, time pressure, and lack of administrative endorsement in a time of accountability and, for some, fidelity checks — an inspection by a district personnel that classroom teachers are teaching only reading during the reading block, that lesson essential questions are posted, that scripted programs are followed closely, and various other mandates by the school district passed on to classroom teachers.

With proper planning these issues are minimized. Many media centers and computer labs are staffed by highly skilled teachers who not only have an affinity for technology but also enjoy teaching. Most media or technology specialists are willing and even eager to assist teachers who are attempting to integrate technology into their instruction

sufficient lead time to schedule a class in the lab and ask for their help rather than expecting them to be responsible for the project

student writing is improving by leaps and bounds.

heir imp

oved skills transfer to formal work. Integrating quotations in literary papers has become simple now that we have so much practice with smoothly embedding hyperlinks. Additionally, student response to texts has improved; some of the posts they must write are based on stimulus texts of their choice. Once a student blogs about archetypes in Kim Possible (7), tackling Pride and Prejudice (8) becomes that much easier.

Students' persuasive w

riting is improving, too

ntroverted students tend to share more online than they do in person; blogging is an invaluable way for me to get to know them better as people and students.

One recently noted that she enjoys the blogs because "[s]ome of the quieter folks during d

iscussion can talk about their opinions too, so we finally get to hear them."

[I]t forces me to write. I usually try to write a couple times a month on my own but that is pushed to the side when I have too much homework." "It is a good way to have us write without it being formal or full of pressure. I also like the fact that I have control over what I write about, and that definitely makes the assignment easier." (my personal favorite) "I don't like any assignments in general. However, I feel like the loose nature of the structure of the assignment makes it less agonizingly painful to do than most other assignments."

I can understand their point, though I keep the assignment as written because I want to provide them with different levels of challenge. If the passion and free-choice posts are easy, the class-related responses should be more difficult. This reinforces the fact that writers need to have a broad repertoire when they encounter more challenging tasks.

I believe this assignment can be adapted to every grade and subject area. Encouraging students to blog about topics from other classes (17) helps them see connections among subjects and realize that writing is a worthwhile skill in any field. As an added bonus, blogging addresses many of the Common Core literacy standards (18) that most teachers now need to address.