a. 508- Outcome and Evidence
OLTD Learning Outcome:
Reflection to Support Evidence:
For this artifact of learning, I am submitting my reflection on James Paul Gee’s, “Principles on Gaming”. As part of this assignment, I watched a short YouTube video by Gee explaining his 13 principles of ‘good gaming’. As Gee explained and gave examples of why gaming is an important tool for learning, I focused in on the three that most resonated with my personal learning style. After the video, I wrote a reflection using Microsoft Word. I then converted that document into a PDF file so that it could be used in my eportfolio.
I have never been a big ‘gamer’ myself so I learnt a lot from this video. After watching Gee explain his 13 principles, I could see the value of adding games into my repertoire of teaching. Prior to this course, I hadn’t been against using games, I just didn’t know how they would ‘fit in’ with what I do and I was unaware of the multitude of serious games available for use in the classroom.
For me, many of Gee’s principles for ‘good gaming’, I already use in the traditional classroom. For example, I often use the fish tank method to teach my students large, complicated Science concepts. Students get lost or feel overwhelmed if there is too much information at once. I also like to challenge my students and build on their prior knowledge when it comes to problem solving. In Gee’s words, this would be applying the principle of being ‘pleasantly frustrated’. Students perform best when they have most of the tools to progress through the challenge so as not to feel confused and therefore, want to give up.
There were some aspects of gaming that a traditional classroom would have a hard time accommodating as effectively as playing an educational game. In my opinion, games can offer more personalization and tailoring to issue mastery of a specific skill than myself with 30 students in the classroom. Students are also very well aware if they possess the proper ‘skills’ prior to moving on to the next level because the game won’t advance them otherwise. I also feel that games can provide awards along the way that may motivate students in a different way than using marks/grades in the traditional classroom. Lastly, while playing a game, students may take larger risks because the stakes are lower than making an error in front of their peers in a classroom.
For me, this assignment introduced me to Gee’s principles of good gaming and provided me with a foundation of understanding the importance of games in education. Every student is unique and games can be used to motivate students that might otherwise find the course material ‘boring’. For me, games are now another tool in my toolbox that I can use to make my class more engaging for all my students but it may be especially useful for those that might have a hard time relating to the materials that I am teaching. The amount and kinds of serious games/apps available for use is staggering. As the adolescent learner changes with increased exposure to technology, my teaching practices will need to adapt to best suit their needs. Gee’s principles of good gaming will be appearing in my teaching.
- Become familiar with common terms, definitions and elements related to online environments
- Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of a variety of environments
- Understand, design and commit to student success in online learning environments
- Critically assess and evaluate resources for best practice in online learning
- Integrate current cognitive learning and brain-based learning theory
- Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization
Reflection to Support Evidence:
For this artifact of learning, I am submitting my reflection on James Paul Gee’s, “Principles on Gaming”. As part of this assignment, I watched a short YouTube video by Gee explaining his 13 principles of ‘good gaming’. As Gee explained and gave examples of why gaming is an important tool for learning, I focused in on the three that most resonated with my personal learning style. After the video, I wrote a reflection using Microsoft Word. I then converted that document into a PDF file so that it could be used in my eportfolio.
I have never been a big ‘gamer’ myself so I learnt a lot from this video. After watching Gee explain his 13 principles, I could see the value of adding games into my repertoire of teaching. Prior to this course, I hadn’t been against using games, I just didn’t know how they would ‘fit in’ with what I do and I was unaware of the multitude of serious games available for use in the classroom.
For me, many of Gee’s principles for ‘good gaming’, I already use in the traditional classroom. For example, I often use the fish tank method to teach my students large, complicated Science concepts. Students get lost or feel overwhelmed if there is too much information at once. I also like to challenge my students and build on their prior knowledge when it comes to problem solving. In Gee’s words, this would be applying the principle of being ‘pleasantly frustrated’. Students perform best when they have most of the tools to progress through the challenge so as not to feel confused and therefore, want to give up.
There were some aspects of gaming that a traditional classroom would have a hard time accommodating as effectively as playing an educational game. In my opinion, games can offer more personalization and tailoring to issue mastery of a specific skill than myself with 30 students in the classroom. Students are also very well aware if they possess the proper ‘skills’ prior to moving on to the next level because the game won’t advance them otherwise. I also feel that games can provide awards along the way that may motivate students in a different way than using marks/grades in the traditional classroom. Lastly, while playing a game, students may take larger risks because the stakes are lower than making an error in front of their peers in a classroom.
For me, this assignment introduced me to Gee’s principles of good gaming and provided me with a foundation of understanding the importance of games in education. Every student is unique and games can be used to motivate students that might otherwise find the course material ‘boring’. For me, games are now another tool in my toolbox that I can use to make my class more engaging for all my students but it may be especially useful for those that might have a hard time relating to the materials that I am teaching. The amount and kinds of serious games/apps available for use is staggering. As the adolescent learner changes with increased exposure to technology, my teaching practices will need to adapt to best suit their needs. Gee’s principles of good gaming will be appearing in my teaching.
toporowski_kym__learning_principles.pdf | |
File Size: | 128 kb |
File Type: |
b. 508- Outcome and Evidence
OLTD Learning Outcomes:
Evidence to support learning outcome: a redesign of a lesson using mlearning
Reflection to Support Evidence:
For this artifact of learning, I am submitting my redesign of a previous lesson. I started with a unit that I currently teach in my Biology 11 class. The parts of the unit would have been taught to my traditional, face to face classroom. The new unit was transformed by using mlearning. The major, transforming parts of the project were created by using a mobile/desktop app called Aurasma. Aurasma allows students to use their camera on their phones to launch videos. My lesson redesign uses augmented reality to take any object in the lab and link it to video, images, text or audio. For this unit plan, I took images of the microscopes using my smartphone. I then used the desktop side of the app to make my auras. The pictures were linked to YouTube videos that instructed the students on the parts, functions, care and focusing of the microscope. Aurasma allows for endless possibilities to create an engaging learning environment for students. Once the auras were created in Aurasma, I then planned the details of my unit and wrote them out in a Google Doc that I then shared with my instructor.
From the assignment, I learnt how to use a new tool, Aurasma, but most importantly, I learned how to implement mlearning into my teaching practices. From our readings for OLTD 508, I realized that mlearning is different from elearning. In elearning, students would be able to do all the components of an online class which typically uses a desktop computer. For mleaning, students are using a tablet or a smartphone to solve work on a smaller problem or to use as a tool to research information in the moment. For mlearning to be effective, students need to be able to use the smartphone/tablet in their hand as a tool to solve a problem but not necessarily as a platform to perform an entire course.
I chose to use the microscope portion of my Biology course for the lesson redesign because as a face to face classroom teacher, I felt that my current lesson was not reaching the needs of my students. Prior to using mlearning, my students would use their textbooks and handouts to learn how to use a microscope. Part of the lesson would also include me standing at the front of the class, demoing to 30 students how to focus a slide. I’ve always know that it was hard for the all the students to see me working at the front of the room and that the textbook and worksheet portion wasn’t that engaging but hadn’t thought of a way to improve things. I had come across the app, Aurasma in OLTD 510 and had written about it in our G+ Community. In this current course, I thought it would be a great opportunity to use this augmented reality tool to change this lesson. Now, the students use their smartphones at different stations in the lab. Using the Aurasma app and their cameras, student launch instructional videos that teach the parts, functions, types, care and focusing. Students can now move at their own pace, rewind/review materials if needed, take online quizzes all on their smartphones. Changing this lesson to mlearning makes the lesson more dynamic, engaging, personalized and self-paced.
This assignment has taught me that it is possible to build mlearning lessons into my practices that would be more engaging than my current way of teaching. I am fortunate to work in a school where most students bring a smartphone to class. My district is also, slowly, implementing a BYOD policy across the district. Infrastructure, such as reliable, high speed Wi-Fi is becoming more readily available in my school. These factors make mlearning a real possibility in my classes. There will always be a small group of students that may not have a device in class, but fortunately, we have a set of iPads at our school that can be signed out for use in the classroom. Mlearning may not be something that would work in all schools or for all ages. I feel that in my current teaching environment, that mlearning is something that will only grow in popularity. Prior to investigating mlearning, I hadn’t full realized the potential of using smartphones in the classroom.
- Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of online learning environments and tools
- Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of a variety of environments
- Develop and design intentional learning activities suitable for the appropriate environment and the learner
- Understand, design and commit to student success in online learning environments
- Critically assess and evaluate resources for best practice in online learning
- Create assessment and evaluation methods/tools most suitable to the strengths and challenges of online environments
- Develop practical and technical skills in all phases of concept, development, design, implementation, etc.
- Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization
- Based on characteristics, needs, stages of development, current 21st Century personalized learning mandates, etc..
Evidence to support learning outcome: a redesign of a lesson using mlearning
Reflection to Support Evidence:
For this artifact of learning, I am submitting my redesign of a previous lesson. I started with a unit that I currently teach in my Biology 11 class. The parts of the unit would have been taught to my traditional, face to face classroom. The new unit was transformed by using mlearning. The major, transforming parts of the project were created by using a mobile/desktop app called Aurasma. Aurasma allows students to use their camera on their phones to launch videos. My lesson redesign uses augmented reality to take any object in the lab and link it to video, images, text or audio. For this unit plan, I took images of the microscopes using my smartphone. I then used the desktop side of the app to make my auras. The pictures were linked to YouTube videos that instructed the students on the parts, functions, care and focusing of the microscope. Aurasma allows for endless possibilities to create an engaging learning environment for students. Once the auras were created in Aurasma, I then planned the details of my unit and wrote them out in a Google Doc that I then shared with my instructor.
From the assignment, I learnt how to use a new tool, Aurasma, but most importantly, I learned how to implement mlearning into my teaching practices. From our readings for OLTD 508, I realized that mlearning is different from elearning. In elearning, students would be able to do all the components of an online class which typically uses a desktop computer. For mleaning, students are using a tablet or a smartphone to solve work on a smaller problem or to use as a tool to research information in the moment. For mlearning to be effective, students need to be able to use the smartphone/tablet in their hand as a tool to solve a problem but not necessarily as a platform to perform an entire course.
I chose to use the microscope portion of my Biology course for the lesson redesign because as a face to face classroom teacher, I felt that my current lesson was not reaching the needs of my students. Prior to using mlearning, my students would use their textbooks and handouts to learn how to use a microscope. Part of the lesson would also include me standing at the front of the class, demoing to 30 students how to focus a slide. I’ve always know that it was hard for the all the students to see me working at the front of the room and that the textbook and worksheet portion wasn’t that engaging but hadn’t thought of a way to improve things. I had come across the app, Aurasma in OLTD 510 and had written about it in our G+ Community. In this current course, I thought it would be a great opportunity to use this augmented reality tool to change this lesson. Now, the students use their smartphones at different stations in the lab. Using the Aurasma app and their cameras, student launch instructional videos that teach the parts, functions, types, care and focusing. Students can now move at their own pace, rewind/review materials if needed, take online quizzes all on their smartphones. Changing this lesson to mlearning makes the lesson more dynamic, engaging, personalized and self-paced.
This assignment has taught me that it is possible to build mlearning lessons into my practices that would be more engaging than my current way of teaching. I am fortunate to work in a school where most students bring a smartphone to class. My district is also, slowly, implementing a BYOD policy across the district. Infrastructure, such as reliable, high speed Wi-Fi is becoming more readily available in my school. These factors make mlearning a real possibility in my classes. There will always be a small group of students that may not have a device in class, but fortunately, we have a set of iPads at our school that can be signed out for use in the classroom. Mlearning may not be something that would work in all schools or for all ages. I feel that in my current teaching environment, that mlearning is something that will only grow in popularity. Prior to investigating mlearning, I hadn’t full realized the potential of using smartphones in the classroom.
toporowskikymassignment1b.pdf | |
File Size: | 251 kb |
File Type: |