Focus Question - What are digital games for learning and how can students and teachers use them successfully?
Digital games for learning are games that emphasized in active learning , sustained concentration and focus and innovative approaches to problem solving. In order to use the digital games for learning successfully you have to minimize those that teach isolated skills. Choose games that are not solely base on winning or losing points. Discuss game content with student is also important and actually playing games with students.
Tech tool- Rocket Math
Rocket Math is a game that is available on iPads and iPhones. Kids are able to build and change their rockets base on how many problems they solve. With the points they earn they can even buy parts for their rockets. This app is a great way to capture the kids attentions and keep them interested.Summary and connection
This chapter explore the option of softwares, apps and games bring to the education. At one of my observation at a North Naples Middle School I witness how technology enhanced education today.One of the teacher's had the opportunity to try out an iClass. He was provided with iPads and apps for his students and himself. His whole lesson have to involve technology and at the end he have to report what was good and bad about technology in the classroom. When I asked him what would he report at the end of the year, he simply said as of right now the only bad thing about this is every teacher don't have it in their class.
Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B. P. (2010).Transforming learning with new technologies. Allyn & Bacon.
Lewis, Hilary. 2012. Photograph. n.p. Web. 25 Feb 2014.
It would be interesting to now more about your experience with observing the NNMS iPad classroom - was the teacher using technology the day you were there? How? The use of mobile devices is becoming more important as we try to capture the technology and computing available even in student hands (i.e., smartphones). It is a challenge, but quite exciting to think about the possibilities. :)
ReplyDeleteRemember to focus more on the reflection piece in this blog post - what are your reactions/thoughts/ideas, etc to the content and not so much a reiteration of the text chapter. And also no copyrighted images even if you give attribution (though this attribution is incomplete as it doesn't take me to the original web page url)