Serious Gaming

Game-based instruction is a concept that I was familiar with, but I was unaware of how many great resources are available. I enjoyed reading Matthew Farber's thoughts about utilizing SimCityEDU in his classroom in this Edutopia article. I am intrigued by the idea of rewarding students for knowledge with a badge system. His students are thoroughly engaged while meeting the required content objectives. Another key point that I took from this article is the idea of taking content from popular video games and using it in the classroom. Farber mentioned particular missions from Assassin's Creed 3 having relevance in a history classroom. I would like to explore this concept further in relation to my math classroom. Most of my students play video games, so this would be a great way to engage them and connect to math concepts. I could see a game like Minecraft having possibilities of connecting to the concepts I teach.

Using games in the classroom requires a great deal of planning on the front end, but I think the benefits could be tremendous. I found many great existing resources that I could implement in my classroom. Zondle is an educational game site that allows to choose existing content or create your own. You can track student progress and students can earn badges for accomplishments. Everything is free, and it looks like this would be relatively easy to introduce to the classroom. BrainRush is another game site that allows you to choose from free existing content or create your own games. BrainRush looks like it would work well for vocabulary or concept reviews.

I see two major benefits in incorporating game-based instruction in the math classroom. The first is an increase in student engagement. Games provide students with new motivation to learn concepts and persevere through challenges. The second benefit I see is the opportunity to improve problem-solving skills. The 21st century job market desires creative problem solvers, and games provide students with many opportunities to sharpen those skills. The research I have done this week has challenged me to determine the best way to incorporate game-based instruction into my classroom. 

The Flipped Classroom

I did a great deal of reading this summer about the flipped classroom model and was very intrigued. I think the model has tremendous potential to engage students and improve the learning process. In researching podcasts and vodcasts to enhance my professional learning, I found many fantastic resources. Teaching Channel has a wide selection of videos about relevant topics. I found videos specific to my grade level and content area. The opportunity to see other teachers in action provides new perspectives and ideas. The videos cover many areas ranging from teaching practice to common core ideas to technology integration. I will definitely be using this site to improve my classroom. I also found some great video resources at Edutopia. I am especially interested in the project-based learning videos and how I may be able to implement some of those ideas into my math classroom.

I have considered using the flipped classroom for a unit this year, but I have yet to take the plunge. I love the idea but several issues have prevented me from jumping in. The Flipped Classroom site offered many potential answers to my questions. The first issue I have is making content available to students who lack internet access at home. My students have access to laptops during their homeroom period, so they should be able to access the materials. I could also put videos or other resources on DVD’s or flash drives for these students. Another concern I had before this week was providing content. The flipped classroom website provided some great details on the vodcasting process. I found the review of iPad screencast apps to be especially helpful. The site also helped me realize that video shouldn’t be the only content I use when I flip my classroom. I should provide a variety of materials. There are many resources available so I don’t have to make everything myself. Sites like Ted Ed and Khan Academy have a wealth of free materials I could utilize in my classroom. This week has strengthened my desire to flip my classroom and see the impact it has on the learning of my students.

Mobile Learning

Mobile technology appears in my classroom on a daily basis, but most of it doesn't belong to me or my school. Many of my students have mobile devices that seem to be surgically attached to their bodies, so how can I utilize this technology in an effective way?

I was excited to read more about this topic and find ways to enhance my lessons with mobile technology. The Digital Generation Project video spoke to the issue of student engagement. Technology can definitely aid student engagement, but I think we need to look deeper when we utilize technology in a lesson. Is the technology really enhancing and aiding student learning? The youth profile videos gave some great examples of this. This video about an 11-year old student from Indiana, gave many examples of the student collaborating with his teachers to aid everyone's experience. We need to remember that technology is a helpful tool rather than the solution to all of our problems.

Clickers are a classroom technology that I have never had access to in my classroom, so the free online options are an intriguing topic. Nearpod offers many great features at no cost. Students can access Nearpod on any web-enabled device, so I could utilize it in my classroom with relative ease. Nearpod allows students to follow my lesson on their device and answer questions throughout. I would love the opportunity to get instant feedback during my lessons and adjust accordingly. Nearpod also provides reporting options for the teacher.

In researching other ways to utilize cell phones in the classroom, this blog post by Jennifer Carey offered some great ideas. Backchanneling in the classroom was an idea that I was unaware of. This sounds like a great way to help those students who don't like to share in the classroom because of shyness or other reasons. She offers a few different free methods that allow backchannel discussions during your lesson. I would like to try this in my classroom and see how it would impact engagement and understanding.

Digital Citizenship

I often talk to my math students about math being a part of their everyday life. No matter what you do in your career or your life, math will most likely be involved in some shape or form. In researching digital citizenship this week, I think the same arguments can be made for its importance. Students from kindergarten through college are a part of the digital world and they encounter technology on a daily basis. Learning how to function and be a good citizen in the digital world should be a pervasive part of my classroom environment and curriculum. I don’t believe my current classroom is meeting this standard, but I have found several resources to help me improve it going forward.
I prefer the idea of teaching digital citizenship by incorporating small lessons throughout the year rather than devoting a specific unit to the topic. I think it should be woven into my math lessons. I try to utilize technology often in my lessons, so the digital citizenship topics should fit in nicely. Matt Davis of Edutopia offers a great list of video resources to engage students in discussions of digital citizenship. The videos can help students visualize and get a feel for the impact these topics can have in their lives.

Parents also play a critical role in developing good digital citizens. It is important to partner with parents in modeling digital citizenship and providing a consistent message. This Edutopia article provides many resources to share with parents. I plan on sharing the resources I use in the classroom with parents through my classroom website.

Exploring this topic has provided me with several ideas to implement in my classroom. I am planning to start an edmodo site for my class which will allow me to discuss social and give students practice in responsible posting in a safe environment. The CarnegieCyber Academy provides free resources for teachers including online games that give students an entertaining way to practice the topics. Another idea I would like to explore is displaying sample posts or tweets as discussion starters. I think students would enjoy analyzing the posts and discussing the positive and negative aspects. I now realize that there are many resources available for promoting digital citizenship and many of them are free.