Digital Blog #E- Chapter 7

Picture By- PixaBay

When it comes to talking about Games and Learning usually most would believe they are two different categories or fall on opposite side of the spectrum. Chapter 7 problem solving with software, Apps and Games gives different perspectives of what a usual person would think about these two topics. Three concepts that are worth discussing are the debates that go on about games and gaming, the way some computer system act as tutors, and lastly the positives of a stimulation game.

 I want to begin by discussing the debates that go on between games and gaming. A statistic provided by the textbook is that the video game industry has grown to be 10.5 billion dollars. Parents and even some teachers believe that video games and computers are taking away from the child’s learning because they are a distraction. Also studies have shown that kids lack some social skills. On the other hand others think there is a lot of value in video games and computer programs because they provide and promote science math and have historical content. I feel like in these things there should be a balance not too much time in playing video games and not just making the child read and write for everything they do. I believe there should be boundaries. I think the question I struggle with is when does one know when and how to set boundaries to the child? In my opinion I feel like a child is not just learning science or historical content in video games but they are learning hand coordination and in video games most of the time there are instructions a child has to follow, and it as well teaches children accomplishing goals because that’s the whole idea of a video game to see if one can make it to the next level. I as well believe that even though it can provide benefits video games can only cover so much and a child needs to be able to put the video games away and read a book or read a chapter from their science book and do some math problems. Video games will not go into so much depth. Finding a balance where a child is absorbing information both ways is good, it helps them enjoy learning and not get bored. But I also believe if he or she is spending all the time on the computer it impacts their social skills to the lack of interaction and many things in these games are not focused in promoting educational content they might have some educational information but some are based on violence and some sexual themes, which as an educator I don’t want one of my students thinking it is okay to act certain ways because they saw it on their video game; that is not the goal. Ultimately it is the balance not too much behind a screen playing halo but not making a child do everything old fashioned style.

On that note I want to discuss an educational way that a child can use the computer, this is called Intelligent Tutoring system. The definition in the text book are powerful, new software programs that promote inquiry learning through computer responses to student actions. The program will evaluate what the child knows and what they need to improve in. In my opinion kids learn a lot through these type of programs. For example currently in my math course the homework assignments are online. You have to solve the problem but the program gives options to see if you understand. It allows me to have a help option or give an example on how to solve the equations. The program as well lets me know if I got the answer right and when the answer is wrong it gives an explanation. Through this program I have so far passed my test and quizzes and therefore I strongly believe in Intelligent Tutoring system. Not all the tutoring systems are like my homework assignments but if it is modeled in this certain way it can achieve a brand new level of comprehension to a child, or young adult. I believe this type of programs are successful, because it doesn’t only impact a child but many courses in college such as biology or math have an Intelligent Tutoring System that helps the student study and reinforce what they do not understand.

Lastly ending a concept that as well impacts everyone all ages is a stimulation game. A stimulation game is in a simple definition is a game where the player is in maybe a real world situation and stumble upon conflict in which they have to figure out and know the consequences of the decisions they took. In this type of game stealth learning is going on. Stealth learning is when one learns and do not realize that they are.  This is another concept I feel a teacher can incorporate technology have the child learn without making the child think that they are actually learning. I want to give an example, in my business class there is a stimulation game which we have played in the past. The concept of the game was to market a product and service. In order to market the product or service the player had to conduct interviews and basically do the research before they can actually begin to market. The concept of the game was of course different than of a child’s but the feature of stealth learning was there. From that stimulation games the class learned some skills in how to go about when approaching people and conducting interviews. This type of game has many benefits first of because when you make a child think they really aren’t doing work and they're just playing a game it is a win win. This is because as an educator you can get through a child and make sure he or she is learning and as the student it isn’t a concept forced upon you. Therefore stimulation games are a really great thing to add in a lesson plan and overall have a win win. 

CHAPTER7 - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

 Can Video Games Make You Smarter? (2014, January 19). Retrieved September 30, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOsqkQytHOs

 

Free Image on Pixabay - Girl, Books, School, Reading. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2015.

 Free Image on Pixabay - Player, Video Game, Boy, Computer. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2015. 

 G, I. (2015, September 29). CHAPTER7. Retrieved September 30, 2015, from https://www.haikudeck.com/p/9ed8PixncR/chapter7

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, In

Digital Blog #D- Chapter 5

  Photo By: Algot Runeman- Flickr

In chapter 5 the focus is on teaching information literacy and digital citizenship in grades K-12. I think one never stops learning about this stuff because currently in this class I am picking up and learning many things by reading and actually putting to use what is being read which a big part of learning is. In this chapter three concepts that I’m still learning about or found amusing are, The ways the internet is affecting reading, search engines and their dominance, and lastly a super vital one which is plagiarism and cheating.

One concept that was an eye opener for me was the fact that internet is affecting reading. E-books according to the text are books that can be read digitally on a computer device known as an E-Reader. There are also many reading apps that this can be achieved by. The text as well mentioned statistics saying that 40 percent of 1200 e-reader buyers spend more time reading now than ever before with regular books. Another fact was that students improved academically when they began reading from an E book. To me this was crazy. What was even crazier is companies and authors ant to publish books electronically. This is brand new to me, I never realized the market for this was big. Even though this is a big market and students have improved academically, I do not agree with what is happening. I did take time to ponder upon this concept because I do believe in technology especially if it is for the better but I think actually having the physical book is important. I am not a doctor but I think that it is too much technology, and it will affect a child’s vision. Quite honestly I have seen so many more kids with glasses now than ever before. There is nothing wrong with a regular book I think that is something technology doesn’t need to take over. I think that the physical book and being able to learn something without using technology is what I find unique about it.

Another concept I liked was the power of search engines. I want to begin by saying Google. Who has not heard of this search engine? It is the most used search engine worldwide I believe. I always wonder and I am sure I am not the only one, what was life before google? Google is search engine. A search engine is used to receive information from the internet, it accesses this information from data bases. According to the text 90% of adults use search engines to look up information. I agree completely because I use google every single day and I know for a fact that in my high school everyone else does too. This is how we look up information when we need to do a paper or a homework assignment that requires a little outside knowledge. Google I feel is the most successful search engines there is out there. There are other search engines such as Yahoo and Bing. Search engines are what makes the internet so accessible. I think about other ways where one can retrieve information besides books, and search engines are used more. Search engines are there to help collect data that we need.

Lastly, the last concept I think is important for kids and teens to learn and be aware is plagiarism and cheating. Although these things may seem that they are the same but they are not. Plagiarism is directly copying and misrepresenting someone else’s work and making it seem like it is yours. One must give recognition. Cheating according to the text involves using technology to access information without permission before or during a test or sending information about a test to other students before or during exam. I think the most important thing that contribute to high school cheating is incorrect assumptions by students. This means the students plagiarize without realizing.  I believe that this is a huge problem. All my life I have stolen pictures from google and copied and paste little did I know I was plagiarizing. I found out until this year in taking this course. I feel like these type of things need to be taught in high school so students know this information going onto college.  I feel that if a student is taught how to correctly get information most plagiarizing issues will be a lot less.  It is important because hen entering college without knowing this information a student can actually get kicked out of a course, even if they didn’t think it was plagiarizing. It is a serious issue and I feel passionate about students learning correctly how to access information.

Kahoot! | Play this quiz now!

https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/23d56add-732b-42c9-9e56-92aeca20ab8b

Gonzalez, I. (2015, September 24). Kahoot! | Play this quiz now! Retrieved September 24, 2015, from https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/23d56add-732b-42c9-9e56-92aeca20ab8b

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

The punishable perils of plagiarism - Melissa Huseman D'Annunzio (YouTube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrjoaaIxaJI

Google. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2015, from http://www.google.com/

Badge #C - Chapter 3

Picture By: Tuchodi - Flickr 

In the book we are described by The People Learn Series  as “ Goal- Directed agents who actively seek information.” We wake up every day with a goal in mind to be able to achieve something. We are aware that to attain it we must learn and educate ourselves. Therefore this is why I am in this class to educate myself on how to become a 21^st century teacher. Kids are just like adults their current goals are not as big but as an educator we need to understand this child has goals maybe not as big but we are giving the child knowledge to apply in the world when they have their goals. The child also seeks information when something intrigues them. For example if they want to know why their tooth fell, they are seeking information because that is their current goal; to figure out why their tooth came out. Which brings me into three concepts that I found interesting the two types of learning, four teaching methods, and lastly online problem solving environments.

Something I am passionate about is to understand how a child thinks, so I can achieve the concept of teaching. Active learning is vital to a child. "Active Learning means the students are physically and cognitively involved in the learning process, personally doing something to compare and contrast ideas and information rather than just listening or watching videos or reading.” I feel this will always be the greatest way for a child to learn because it is not going through one ear and going out the other, They are not watching a video where they just stare at it pretending to understand or pay attention to it and even read and not understand or reflect on what they have learned. I believe that with the concept active learning it engages the child, therefore they understand and as an educator you can try to figure out where the child can improve. I have been, for a school project,asking questions to students in different technical areas to understand what is that they enjoy from the program they are taking and the answer always is the hands on learning. One thing I came across while looking up examples of active learning was IXL. This program engages students and provides explanations so the student knows where they stand, I believe this form of engagement using technology is a good example of active learning.
  Another method is metacognitive where the child reflects on what they know or do not know, to understand where they stand and what it is they need to learn. Reflection is important because in my believe it is good to think back and gather up and make even more sense of what was learned, it gives time to digest information.

The second concept I chose was methods to engage students. The four methods are One-on-One tutoring, Learning groups, Inquiry learning, metacognitive learning. To me the most important is the One-to-One tutoring. I think this is it because as a teacher teaching to a group might work for some and maybe an individual might not understand but the lesson at that point needs to keep moving forward. I feel that it is important to give that one student or student’s that one on one so they are able to keep up. I know that kids do not learn at the same speed. Working in an after school program I do see this. For example I might explain their homework and there is always a handful who do not understand what it is they are supposed to be doing. I explain once more or a lot more and there are kids who just need that one on one and it is important because if that is not provided the child will not learn. Making them fall behind. Ultimately I believe that every kid needs an opportunity to have one on one to see where they stand and as an educator see where we need to focus more.

Lastly, I want to reflect on online learning environments. A child should be able to achieve this by playing educational games and interactive simulations. Online learning I think can happen by playing games, sometimes the child does not realize they are learning because they are enjoying it so much. I remember as a kid I will play coolmathgames for kids. I would play a game called bloxorz which is game where the purpose was to get a cube through a hole using certain patterns. Little did I know I was being a problem solver. I was being challenged and wanted to find a solution. I find this important because when a child is using the internet it shouldn’t just to be on social media or play on friv but it should be to grasp skills such as problem solving skills. I know that there are environments online where this can be achieved.

Kahoot! | Play this quiz now!

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. 

 

IXL Classroom Spotlight: Town & Country Christian Academy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2015. 

Badge #B EME 2040 - Chapter 2

Photo by Jennifer Ludwig - EMAZE

Chapter 2, Understanding Educational Technology Issues and Trends, provides us with information that as a 21st century educators we must know because we can encounter many problems while trying to incorporate technology into the lesson. While reading this chapter three concepts stood out to me the most, the categories Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants, Teaching Philosophy and Lastly Digital Divides and Gaps.

I would like to talk about what digital natives and Digital Immigrants means. Marc Prensky has classified these group based "how children and adolescents develop literacy with technology in ways different from those of older adults." This means if you grew up using interactive computer you are a Digital Native, if you did not you are a Digital Immigrant.  The book provides such a great example of how different these two categories are. The book says that two college students set up a computer by trial and error as where a Digital Immigrant would have to read the instructions. I think this is so fascinating. In my opinion as a Digital Native things are much simpler to understand as supposed to someone who is a Digital Immigrant and is trying to become a 21rst century teacher. I think about how true this is because I have common knowledge on how technology work because I was born into it, however my parents who are Digital Immigrants would have such great difficulty and frustration trying to figure out why the Wi-Fi is not working or setting up a computer or downloading an app or program. Things like that to a Digital Native is easy to understand, the book also addresses the students perspective and teachers actions. The student perspective part explains that basically they achieve their knowledge by their electronic and computer environment. According to the text "They are less inclined to learn using the traditional school-based literacies of book reading and writing on paper." As a high school student that is very true. I rather type something up then write it down, if I am asked to do a presentation I automatically think Microsoft PowerPoint. There is nothing in my mind that tells me grab paper and pencil unless I am solving a math problem. As a teacher I think it is important to understand that that’s how kids function. No student will say they will do a presentation using paper and pencil that is out of the question.

Another concept that was interesting to me is having a teaching Philosophy. Your teaching philosophy determines how one will teach using technology. There are two types of teaching philosophy it’s either teacher centered or student centered. Teacher centered is giving knowledge to students who might not know. This type of philosophy uses scores and grades to determine if the child has learned or not. Student centered "they view teaching as orchestrating different experiences with the students." This philosophy engages students in discussions and results in the student discovering themselves and their skills. As a 21^st century educator I would use both philosophies because I want my students to learn my knowledge and give a quick lecture but I want them to engage. Not everything has to be based on scores from test and assignments. I would like to use Blended learning which in my opinion is using both philosophies. I would like to follow the example of P. K. Young Developmental Research School.

 In this school they have been able to integrate technology successfully while still keeping the in class lectures with teachers, but with the way the teachers decided to use the technology is what makes it student centered. I would like my philosophy to be able to reach all kids because every single student is different and an educator needs to be flexible and understanding.

Lastly I have to bring up the concept of digital divides and participation gaps. Educators call it this because the use of technology is not accessible to everyone throughout society. When there are things like kids having no access to new technology this affects or factors into their academic achievement. As a teacher one has to find new ways to help a student so they can really work to their full potential. I am extremely passionate about things like this. I want to teach in a place where I know people really do need the help. For example I work in after school program in the golden gate area which is of low income. Some not all kids, do not have access to internet or computers or technology at home. I believe this definitely limits them and their knowledge compared to a child who does have access to these things at home. I think it is extremely important to find ways to help the student.  A teacher is not just there to stand and give a lecture. A teacher is there to make sure that their students are learning and are working at their full potential and figure out what is one needs to do to make it happen.

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Blended Learning: Making it Work in Your Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2015.

 Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post #A- Chapter 1

Technology is a beautiful thing, it allows more flexibility in life but also more efficiency. I would like to say that this the world we live in. The internet is what connects us all, it’s so amazing because now a days we do not go to a doctor’s office or a person’s home without trying or asking for a Wi-Fi password.  The most common question I hear more often is, "What’s your Wi-Fi password?" It is unavoidable. Being a 21st century teacher is no question technology is being used. In almost every classroom you will see computers set up for kids, or others have laptops assigned to them. Reading chapter one becoming a 21rst century teacher has actually made me think that many years ago this was not something that a teacher needed to prepare for but now it is a must. We need to be prepared to have knowledge because technology is introduced right when the child is born. They are born into it. I second this because I have a two year old cousin who can find YouTube and by himself puts on Peppa Pig. It’s the simple fact we live in this world.

 The first concept in reading that I felt was important was the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). I think that yes it is very important to be able to blend all the styles of teaching as all are needed. A teacher can sit down and just lecture about the material that needs to be taught but the child will not learn. I know this because I am one of those kids who cannot understand or apply the material taught if all a teacher did was stand and talk. I feel like blending these skills and knowledge a child can learn better or can accomplish much more because we are now involving technology it is not only more exciting but I feel like it is more flexible. Like right now, if there was no blend of these things, assignments quizzes, essays would take much longer than just simply typing and submitting. Same quality type of work just in digital form and more efficent. 

Something else that I liked reading was under the heading the iGeneration of Technology users. In this section it showed statistics since the late 1990s kids have "never known a world without cellphones, text messaging and other interactive technologies." I am a part of this generation I do not recall a time in my life where there was not a computer at my house, or when there was not a cellphone. I do recall the old versions of these items but them never existing is something I cannot imagine. I also know that I fall under the study that 95% of the 12-17 year old are online and 80% of those use Facebook or twitter. I will also add Instagram there. Another thing I really pondered on to see if it actually applied to me is that tweens and teens average around 7 hours and 38 minutes using entertainment media. Well I did some self-evaluating and I second this study. From the second I wake up I am on social media. I go to school and use more entertainment media such as listening to music to concentrate, or throughout the day when I am texting. While writing this blog I have checked Instagram more than once, I have been listening to music, texting, checked Facebook once and as well checked my email. 

Lastly, a concept I believe has made a world difference in life and in being a 21rst century teacher is the cellphone or smartphone. These devices are as described in the textbook on the go options maybe when there is no time to take your laptop. I do think smartphones are a necessity. They make everything less time consuming, and the device is portable. We carry our cellphones anywhere and everywhere. I think that smartphones have allowed easier communication. From shooting a quick text or email to using phones in the classrooms. I know that in the school that I attend we use our cellphones to display things on the screen to participate in games our instructors have provided. Also the devices are always on us and are powered on, so it is always easier to google something and have an answer in seconds. Smartphones are a part of a person’s world and we are so attached it is extremely difficult to imagine life without them. 

I would like to conclude by saying o be a 21st century teacher there should be preparation with the use of technology. Kids are born into this and if it is a part of their world as a teacher one needs to understand that these things need to be put in use. In kindergarten the first thing given to a child is their lunch number. No this number is not just to get lunch but it is used to log in onto computers or gain access to some websites. I think as we are becoming teachers and learning it is very important to keep an open mind because technology is in the world we live in and we have to understand it in order for us to really communicate and understand the 21st century kids.

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.