The game I have chosen is Math Circus Act 4.
The student's perspective
In putting myself into the mindset of a student at the primary level, I would most definitely think this game is fun. It is brightly coloured and has a fun theme. There are a number of "mini-games" with varying levels, so there is a lot of choice. As a student, I would appreciate that I could try as many times I want until I get the answer right.
The teacher's perspective
As a teacher, I'm not really sure that there is much educational value to this game. Other than some basic problem-solving, I don't think students would be able benefit from the games a whole lot. In testing them, I just started randomly clicking the buttons, and eventually came to the correct response. So, if a student really wanted, he/she could just click until stumbling upon the right answer.
The game has a section for teachers to monitor their students' progress and check their individual accounts. I would not use that option as tool for any sort of assessment. The most I would do to involve this program in my class would be to have it available on the class computer for free time.
Another review
I found a very short review for Math Circus at: http://www.thejournal.com/articles/13491_5
It has only good things to say about the game, but that doesn't change my opinion. The review says that the mini-games serve as clever hooks for problems (ie. pendulums, propulson, angles). Even so, I don't think they're effective hooks because I would not be able to use that game as a means of putting the students' knowledge to practice. If I was teaching about angles, playing the game does not help solidify understanding. At best, the games could be used as tools for estimation.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Statement of Goals
The area I need to work on is my Professional Preparation, specifically in Planning and Designing Learning Environments. The prescribed action I’d like to focus on is “needs to start trying out available educational H/W and S/W”. Here is the breakdown of my SMART goal:
Specific - I’ve set this goal because even though I’m hesitant to try out new things, my comfort level increases once I’ve had some exposure to it. If I took the plunge and forced myself to see what’s available, I would be more likely to have the desire to use the technology. The first step I’d take would be to just experiment with the software (ie. MarkBook) on our laptops – to find out what is actually out there. Even though our laptops are loaded with software, I haven’t taken the time to look through any of them. I will aside a specific time after school to explore on a regular basis. Another way I will try out available educational technology is through my action research project. I will be working with a student with language difficulties, specifically, issues with vowel recognition. The SERT teacher at my school has directed me to software and websites (www.starfall.com)I can use to help the student. I would like to achieve my goal of trying out available educational technology by the end of the term, by working both at home and at my PDS site.
Measurable – For sure, my goal is measurable in time. I’d like to start by spending two hours a week exploring the software on my laptop. After a couple of weeks, I will re-evaluate the amount of time I’ve spent and perhaps devote more time if needed. I think it would also be measurable in terms of the number of times I use technology to teach in my next practicum, in comparison to my last practicum. If the frequency of use increases, it would be safe to assume that I’ve succeeded in my goal.
Achievable – The goal is most definitely achievable. As long as I remain dedicated to spending time and effort in exploring available software, I will be successful.
Realistic – For the most part, I think my goal is a realistic one. The B. Ed. Program is extremely busy and tiring, but I would be willing to devote time to trying out software and hardware. I do believe that in the end, it would make me a more well-rounded educator, which is incentive enough for me to realize this goal.
Tangible/Timely – I will be able to see and feel the results as I meet my goals, as my proficiency and comfort level increases. The timeline I have set is reasonable because I would need to be knowledgeable enough in the language software to complete my action research project. Although my deadline is set for the end of the term (April), I intend to keep on exploring beyond this timeline. Since technology is always changing and advancing, I hope to be a lifelong learner, always improving myself and increasing my knowledge of new technologies.
Specific - I’ve set this goal because even though I’m hesitant to try out new things, my comfort level increases once I’ve had some exposure to it. If I took the plunge and forced myself to see what’s available, I would be more likely to have the desire to use the technology. The first step I’d take would be to just experiment with the software (ie. MarkBook) on our laptops – to find out what is actually out there. Even though our laptops are loaded with software, I haven’t taken the time to look through any of them. I will aside a specific time after school to explore on a regular basis. Another way I will try out available educational technology is through my action research project. I will be working with a student with language difficulties, specifically, issues with vowel recognition. The SERT teacher at my school has directed me to software and websites (www.starfall.com)I can use to help the student. I would like to achieve my goal of trying out available educational technology by the end of the term, by working both at home and at my PDS site.
Measurable – For sure, my goal is measurable in time. I’d like to start by spending two hours a week exploring the software on my laptop. After a couple of weeks, I will re-evaluate the amount of time I’ve spent and perhaps devote more time if needed. I think it would also be measurable in terms of the number of times I use technology to teach in my next practicum, in comparison to my last practicum. If the frequency of use increases, it would be safe to assume that I’ve succeeded in my goal.
Achievable – The goal is most definitely achievable. As long as I remain dedicated to spending time and effort in exploring available software, I will be successful.
Realistic – For the most part, I think my goal is a realistic one. The B. Ed. Program is extremely busy and tiring, but I would be willing to devote time to trying out software and hardware. I do believe that in the end, it would make me a more well-rounded educator, which is incentive enough for me to realize this goal.
Tangible/Timely – I will be able to see and feel the results as I meet my goals, as my proficiency and comfort level increases. The timeline I have set is reasonable because I would need to be knowledgeable enough in the language software to complete my action research project. Although my deadline is set for the end of the term (April), I intend to keep on exploring beyond this timeline. Since technology is always changing and advancing, I hope to be a lifelong learner, always improving myself and increasing my knowledge of new technologies.
Technology Skills Inventory Reflection
On the first day our technology class, we had to complete a survey that assessed our use of technology in six different areas:
-Technology Operations and Concepts
-Planning and Designing Learning Environments
-Teaching, Learning and the Curriculum
-Assessment and Evaluation
-Productivity and Professional Practice
-Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues
Each of these areas were viewed in terms of General Preparation, Professional Preparation, Student Teaching/Internship, and First-Year Teaching. The results were colour-coded with green=keep up the good work, yellow=an area you could improve, red=an area that needs work, and grey=general feedback - area not measured.
In looking at my Educational Technology Skills Inventory Summary, I have to say I'm not really surprised by the results - they affirm what I already know and believe about myself with regards to using technology. In general, I am quite comfortable using technology for everyday tasks. I read my news online, email to keep in touch and share the happenings of my life through Facebook. I thought it was interesting that one of the prescribed actions was 'increase use of computers for day-to-day tasks' (Technology Operations and Concepts/General Preparation). If anything, I thought I was using technology TOO much!
Examining my problem areas, an area that definitely needs work is my Professional Preparation. Here are the prescribed actions:
Technology Operations and Concepts/Professional Preparation
-predict and plan for problems when using technology support
-support concepts/skills with ed. tech. resources
-review learning objectives wrt to student use of technology
When it comes to using technology in teaching, I like to play it safe. Technology has failed be before (ie. not working right before my faculty advisor observation) so it's just easier to do it the old-fashioned way. I know this isn't the right attitude to have, and I really would like to learn and implement new technologies to enrich students' learning. My main issue is spending the time to learn and experiment on my own. I hope to work and improve upon my skills this term through this course. I will use the prescribed actions from the Skills Inventory Summary as a guideline.
-Technology Operations and Concepts
-Planning and Designing Learning Environments
-Teaching, Learning and the Curriculum
-Assessment and Evaluation
-Productivity and Professional Practice
-Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues
Each of these areas were viewed in terms of General Preparation, Professional Preparation, Student Teaching/Internship, and First-Year Teaching. The results were colour-coded with green=keep up the good work, yellow=an area you could improve, red=an area that needs work, and grey=general feedback - area not measured.
In looking at my Educational Technology Skills Inventory Summary, I have to say I'm not really surprised by the results - they affirm what I already know and believe about myself with regards to using technology. In general, I am quite comfortable using technology for everyday tasks. I read my news online, email to keep in touch and share the happenings of my life through Facebook. I thought it was interesting that one of the prescribed actions was 'increase use of computers for day-to-day tasks' (Technology Operations and Concepts/General Preparation). If anything, I thought I was using technology TOO much!
Examining my problem areas, an area that definitely needs work is my Professional Preparation. Here are the prescribed actions:
Technology Operations and Concepts/Professional Preparation
- needs to review ed. tech. recources(H/W, S/W, other)
- needs to explore and identify benefits of technology wrt learning
- use more education-specific resources to meet specific teaching/learning objectives
- needs to start trying out available educational H/W and S/W
- needs to start selecting education-specific resources to meet specific objectives
-predict and plan for problems when using technology support
-support concepts/skills with ed. tech. resources
-review learning objectives wrt to student use of technology
When it comes to using technology in teaching, I like to play it safe. Technology has failed be before (ie. not working right before my faculty advisor observation) so it's just easier to do it the old-fashioned way. I know this isn't the right attitude to have, and I really would like to learn and implement new technologies to enrich students' learning. My main issue is spending the time to learn and experiment on my own. I hope to work and improve upon my skills this term through this course. I will use the prescribed actions from the Skills Inventory Summary as a guideline.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Things You Really Need to Learn...
Ok, so I'm supposed to comment on Stephen Downes' post titled Things You Really Need to Learn, but before I comment on the content, I need to ask something. Does anyone else besides me struggle with reading things on their computer screens?? I was tempted to print out the darn post because it was so long, reading it was giving me a headache! Sorry, just needed a moment to rant.
Anyway, back to Mr. Downes.
So the post is a list of 10 things he believes are important to learn in life, but are not taught in schools. I agree that there are many tasks we perform that may not be the most meaningful (ie. colouring maps), but I do think schools are where we learn the most. Personally, I've learned the most, not from sitting in lecture all day, but from the conversations I've had with my peers. Learning from my colleagues is what has been the most enriching experience for me this school year as a teacher in practice, which IS my life right now.
Going through his list, I found many of his points to be disproven and outdated. Number 3 (How to Distinguish Truth from Fiction) says:
...this remains an area schools to a large degree ignore. Sometimes I suspect it is because teachers feel their students must absorb knowledge uncritically; if they are questioning everything the teacher says they'll never learn!
Oh puh-leeze! Everyday we as TECs are told that students need to be able to think critically and ask questions to have a better understanding of things. Teachers are training students to be critical, to ask questions so that they can learn. And questions are ALWAYS welcomed and encouraged in the classrooms I've observed.
In looking that the rest of the list, I think that lessons he thinks are important may not be in our curriculum documents, but they are taught in schools to a certain degree. Things like empathy, staying healthy, how to value yourself, etc... are demonstrated to students in the schools. They may not be explicitly taught, but they're definitely present and evident.
Anyway, back to Mr. Downes.
So the post is a list of 10 things he believes are important to learn in life, but are not taught in schools. I agree that there are many tasks we perform that may not be the most meaningful (ie. colouring maps), but I do think schools are where we learn the most. Personally, I've learned the most, not from sitting in lecture all day, but from the conversations I've had with my peers. Learning from my colleagues is what has been the most enriching experience for me this school year as a teacher in practice, which IS my life right now.
Going through his list, I found many of his points to be disproven and outdated. Number 3 (How to Distinguish Truth from Fiction) says:
...this remains an area schools to a large degree ignore. Sometimes I suspect it is because teachers feel their students must absorb knowledge uncritically; if they are questioning everything the teacher says they'll never learn!
Oh puh-leeze! Everyday we as TECs are told that students need to be able to think critically and ask questions to have a better understanding of things. Teachers are training students to be critical, to ask questions so that they can learn. And questions are ALWAYS welcomed and encouraged in the classrooms I've observed.
In looking that the rest of the list, I think that lessons he thinks are important may not be in our curriculum documents, but they are taught in schools to a certain degree. Things like empathy, staying healthy, how to value yourself, etc... are demonstrated to students in the schools. They may not be explicitly taught, but they're definitely present and evident.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Reflection 2 - Technology Integration in the Class
I have not settled down in any one classroom yet at my PDS site, but I can comment on technology integration in the school as a whole. Based on the Technology Integration Matrix (http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/index.html), I would place my school in the Active-Entry cell because I feel technology is only used for simple tasks like typing on Word or research for group projects.
Things are improving though, as I've learned that instead of one, we now have three projectors. We are also hoping to finally get a SMART Board, which I think is extremely exciting! I really want to learn how to use a SMART Board!!!
Things are improving though, as I've learned that instead of one, we now have three projectors. We are also hoping to finally get a SMART Board, which I think is extremely exciting! I really want to learn how to use a SMART Board!!!
Reflection 1 - Creating a Blog
Here I am, creating my first blog post! This isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Signing up was easy enough, not painful at all. I'm still not sure how I feel about blogging as an educational tool, though. I can't really see myself using this in the future as a means of communication with my colleagues. And for sure, I would not use this as a way of communicating with students - that would just be asking for trouble. Well, since I have to use this blog for my course, I will do my best to embrace this and go along for the ride. Maybe in time my feelings will change and I'll become a blogger extraordinaire.
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