Simulations in Education
This webzine presented ideas of how engaging online simulations can be compared to classroom learning. The emphasis seems to be on the engagement in problem solving and higher order thinking with a motivation that does not occur in the classroom. They illustrated this concept with the lines that form outside a store at 12am waiting for the latest game/simulation to be released when we obviously do not have those lines forming outside of our schools.
One of the simulations presented was SimSchool which would provide preservice training to teachers before the entered a real classroom. This opportunity would have been useful to me as an alternative routes teacher that was expected to learn classroom management exclusively from my internship with limited exposure to different approaches or best practices.
Simulations are used with the military, business, education to provide just in time training that would be too expensive or dangerous to provide in real time. I can see a simulation game being used to provide opportunities to practice skills previously learned in the classroom. Examples of this could be interior decorating, home constructions, and simple business models such as a pizza company. This could provide practice with simple linear equations.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Games in Education
Reflections on Games in Education
1st generation of games were edutainment that provided repetitive practice of skills but were not as engaging as other games on the market
2nd generation of games focused on the student and the experiences they already had before playing the game.
3rd generation does not focus on a specific game but on the social context and questions being asked to lead people to appropriate learning.
Development of visual/iconic skills occurs with games. The ability to pay attention to multiple visual events and keep track of location of information needed to be successful in the game. This translates to skills in science and technology.
Early use of computer games develops a play approach to interactions with computers for young learners.
Computer games develop problem solving skills, co-operation, and practical participation in an activity. Games are not as good as other media for developing textual understanding.
Secondary teachers liked the adventure and simulation games the most but had trouble seeing how it would fit within their curriculum that has so much focus on coverage of the content of the course.
Games can provide a secondary rehearsal of skills and develop learning skills but do not provide the primary learning of the course content.
The use of games in a classroom would require the introduction of the game at the beginning of the course and established time for the students to begin to become familiar with the objectives of the game. Time would also need to be set aside to reflect on the learning from the game and how that connected to the content of the course. Training for staff ahead of time is always critical in getting any buy in. The effectiveness of games will continue to be challenging in secondary education until the pressure for coverage of course content shifts to a focus on depth of understanding of a smaller set of content.
1st generation of games were edutainment that provided repetitive practice of skills but were not as engaging as other games on the market
2nd generation of games focused on the student and the experiences they already had before playing the game.
3rd generation does not focus on a specific game but on the social context and questions being asked to lead people to appropriate learning.
Development of visual/iconic skills occurs with games. The ability to pay attention to multiple visual events and keep track of location of information needed to be successful in the game. This translates to skills in science and technology.
Early use of computer games develops a play approach to interactions with computers for young learners.
Computer games develop problem solving skills, co-operation, and practical participation in an activity. Games are not as good as other media for developing textual understanding.
Secondary teachers liked the adventure and simulation games the most but had trouble seeing how it would fit within their curriculum that has so much focus on coverage of the content of the course.
Games can provide a secondary rehearsal of skills and develop learning skills but do not provide the primary learning of the course content.
The use of games in a classroom would require the introduction of the game at the beginning of the course and established time for the students to begin to become familiar with the objectives of the game. Time would also need to be set aside to reflect on the learning from the game and how that connected to the content of the course. Training for staff ahead of time is always critical in getting any buy in. The effectiveness of games will continue to be challenging in secondary education until the pressure for coverage of course content shifts to a focus on depth of understanding of a smaller set of content.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Video Resources Website Review
Screencast.com
Easy storage of video files. I like the ability to design my own folder structure as well as the ability to control who can view the files. The stats features that indicate the amount of downloads per file would also be helpful in understanding the popularity of a video as well as being aware of how close to bandwidth limits I was approaching. I can see using this for my classroom videos that I would not want seen everyone to see.
Easy storage of video files. I like the ability to design my own folder structure as well as the ability to control who can view the files. The stats features that indicate the amount of downloads per file would also be helpful in understanding the popularity of a video as well as being aware of how close to bandwidth limits I was approaching. I can see using this for my classroom videos that I would not want seen everyone to see.
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