Last Friday in class was another interesting one. Discussing gaming and gamers with Jeff really opened my eye to a lot of things. Especially with the things that R.J. was discussing, I can see the benefits of games and how they are not completely useless. I also really enjoyed the activity that Jeff had us do. I was surprised at how challenging the activity was! I was mainly frustrated with the fact that I was not absolutely certain what the author was trying to say. It was all up to one’s perception of the symbols. For example, Kyle and Mary thought one symbol indicated the author was talking about a pamphlet, but I was not as certain. At first glance, the symbol looks like it could be a pamphlet of information but because of the rest of the symbols I wasn’t as convinced. Anyway, the discussion got me thinking that integrating aspects of the gaming world into the classroom may not be a bad idea. Taking the lessons and the objectives that students learn while playing games into the classroom may not necessarily mean integrating video games into a social studies lesson.
Kristin also gave a very interesting lesson dealing with podcasts. Like I have said many times, technology can be a hard thing for me to grasp, but Kristin makes it so easy! I have heard of podcasts before, but never really knew what they were or what they entailed. The actual making of the podcast was so simple and so easy, I cannot wait to do more with it. I am excited to bring things like podcasts into the classroom, but it allows students to be creative and you can relate them to any subject. As we have talked about before, children these days are very technology-savvy and incorporating podcasts into a lesson will allow them to learn something while using technology with which they are probably very comfortable with. Podcasts also give the teacher the chance to use group work or individual work in a different light. Podcasts really incorporate verbal, creativity, and social skills and it can allow those students to shine that do not shine in other areas.
Elizabeth, I was grateful for the pushback that you gave in class to what Gee and McGonigal had to say, just as I really appreciate your staying open to the possibilities suggested by our discussion. You're showing some very admirable habits of mind, and your students will be lucky to have someone who models these traits.
ReplyDeleteGiven your comments and concerns about video games and addictions, I wanted to mention that James Gee (in the final 1/4 of the podcast interview that I put in the "additional info about gaming" folder on CTools) both recognizes that this is a very real and worrisome problem, but also raises some provocative questions about the lives of kids today, and whether they are as rewarding or "productively challenging" as they might be. Perhaps you would find that interesting.
I'm happy (though not surprised) that Kristin was able to take some of the fear factor out of creating podcasts--one of her many strengths. More than that, I'm happy to hear that you're seeing possibilities with using/creating podcasts in your teaching. A really creative alumna who teaches English in a school with a lot of students who've struggled in mainstream settings did some cool work with the "This I Believe" idea. Check it out.
I spent more time thinking about video games and learning, and I realized that I became a better coach after playing a lot of EA sports games in college. Seeing playbooks organized in certain ways, and watching reactions helped me visually the whole team and the whole field or court, whereas I sometimes had tunnel vision from my own experiences in a certain position. So I think that using a game with a specific goal in mind might make them more applicable. But there must be a purpose before they can be integrated.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jeff, it was nice to have your pushback in class because while I saw it is a pamphlet as well, it is important to note that not everyone sees things in the same way. I also appreciated you sharing your experience with how video games can impact someone in a negative way and I think it really added to our conversation in class! I also was not entirely convinced on the video game thing at first, but I think its important for us to be exposed to these ideas because of how much they impact our students.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge proponent of integrating aspects of gaming and the gaming world into the classroom. Yet, I am hugely unsure of how to do this! And totally, before this class I would NEVER have thought I could make a podcast, but Kristen shows us how to do it with such ease, she made a seemingly impossible task seem easy. Partly because there was a lack of information on my part too.
ReplyDeleteMy friend Larry who came into class today, he provides the perfect example of us using Podcasts. He made a podcast of his AP Psych lessons (which are shorter and more concise than his class) for people who miss and for people to review for exams. He told me that it actually helps him prepare for the class, and that it serves a double purpose as it helps the students as well. I am pretty excited about it too!