These games are ones that we have tried and tested during an input throughout the module: here are my opinions of them.
Professor Kageyama's Maths Training
End of 1st level/Early 2nd level
Children could get easily bored with this game. It is simple maths for a competent mathematician but the game is not engaging. The children may strive to improve their time for each game. Some of the more advanced games may appeal to less able children for practise but the timings pre-set into the game are slightly unrealistic for children of a lower ability. This could deter them if they feel they are not doing it as competently as the game 'expects'.
Artemis Fowl - Flips Interactive Books
2nd level - depending on level of the text this could be used in other levels.
Using this could encourage children to read because it is not just sitting with a book which may bore some children, the novelty of having it on the console may engage some. Little things like turning the page like a proper book but on the screen and collecting pieces of code (in Artemis Fowl) could add to the novelty factor of reading for some children.
Word Academy
1st/2nd level
This game could improve children's vocabulary, written and spoken. It could improve spelling too. The games are relatively engaging and could keep children's focus to complete the tasks. Would require children to read the instructions carefully to understand what each game is asking for; so a good ability to read would be needed to start with.
Thursday 31 March 2011
Saturday 12 March 2011
Crazy Talk as a learning tool
Today with Collette we used a programme called Crazy Talk which allows you to add animation to any picture saved on the computer. I decided to practise by creating one that could be incorporated into our collaborative wikispace for People Who Help Us.
I have used the in built text to audio feature to give this paramedic a voice to talk to the children. There is also the option to record audio onto the programme yourself. I would use this feature if I were to use create an animation for a class, it would be more personal as the virtual voices do sound very robot-like. It is also a very time consuming resource to create (as there are a lot of controls to fiddle with to get the animation in the right parts of the face) and this could deter the use of it as a frequent learning tool. Due to the intricit work needed to create the desired facial expressions (although there are some pre-saved movements) I would possibily not use this with children except for well advanced upper years children. Although I still feel it is a useful educational tool as it could be pre-made by the teacher and used as a stimulus for the children's work or a learning context.
Using the Crazy Talk as a stimulus based on a topic that is of high interest within your class would create a deep sense of motivation for the work which you set. There has been much research into the improvement in interaction with tasks if the children are motivated by the challenge. According to Keller's ARCS model of motivation establishing the relevance of what is being learnt will increase children's motivation. Using ICT (in any form) to introduce a new way of using something that is familiar to the children will also meet the Satisfaction aspect of this model, as making it fun for the children will be satisfaction enough to motivate the children to engage with the task in hand.
This approach to using Crazy Talk also fits in with the principles of Curriculum for Excellence as it allows children to see the relevance of their learning at the same time as being challenged to achieve their best. Other areas of CfE that this would meet depends on the subject area that is being covered, I feel that it would be best used in language lessons but could be easily adapted to suit any curricular area being taught. For example it could be used to introduce a stimulus for a piece of creative writing relating to a topic or situation the children are familiar with; it could be used to introduce a character from WWII who can tell children about life during the war; along with any other context that the teacher feels it would be of benefit too.
I have used the in built text to audio feature to give this paramedic a voice to talk to the children. There is also the option to record audio onto the programme yourself. I would use this feature if I were to use create an animation for a class, it would be more personal as the virtual voices do sound very robot-like. It is also a very time consuming resource to create (as there are a lot of controls to fiddle with to get the animation in the right parts of the face) and this could deter the use of it as a frequent learning tool. Due to the intricit work needed to create the desired facial expressions (although there are some pre-saved movements) I would possibily not use this with children except for well advanced upper years children. Although I still feel it is a useful educational tool as it could be pre-made by the teacher and used as a stimulus for the children's work or a learning context.
Using the Crazy Talk as a stimulus based on a topic that is of high interest within your class would create a deep sense of motivation for the work which you set. There has been much research into the improvement in interaction with tasks if the children are motivated by the challenge. According to Keller's ARCS model of motivation establishing the relevance of what is being learnt will increase children's motivation. Using ICT (in any form) to introduce a new way of using something that is familiar to the children will also meet the Satisfaction aspect of this model, as making it fun for the children will be satisfaction enough to motivate the children to engage with the task in hand.
This approach to using Crazy Talk also fits in with the principles of Curriculum for Excellence as it allows children to see the relevance of their learning at the same time as being challenged to achieve their best. Other areas of CfE that this would meet depends on the subject area that is being covered, I feel that it would be best used in language lessons but could be easily adapted to suit any curricular area being taught. For example it could be used to introduce a stimulus for a piece of creative writing relating to a topic or situation the children are familiar with; it could be used to introduce a character from WWII who can tell children about life during the war; along with any other context that the teacher feels it would be of benefit too.
Thursday 10 March 2011
Games Based Learning
We looked at the educational benefit of using Wii games in the classroom today (whilst having some fun playing them for ourselves). My group concentrated on Guitar Hero for the Wii, also thinking about the sister game Band Hero. I think this would be a good tool to use with a class, especially in the upper years. It could be used as a stimulus for a whole context for learning across different curricular areas and could be applied to nearly everything they do within the classroom.
The slideshow below shows some of the ideas we came up with and links to Curriculum for Excellence.
I feel that games based learning would be a huge motivational tool to use with children in the primary classroom. To begin with they may not realise they are learning new skills through playing the games that interest them. I would not hesitate to use a game with my own class to create a context that interests them for learning to take place.
Although the cost of starting to use games in the classroom could play a major factor in the practical side of this idea. Many schools could not afford the consoles and games and accessories to go along with making the games work for the class. Another drawback of using games to fuel children's learning is that games are continually updated and newer versions are released which could outdate the schools purchases quicker than would be preferred.
Using games to promote children's interest in their school work lends itself seamlessly to Curriculum for Excellence's principles. With careful planning from the teacher children will be challenged whilst enjoying the tasks they are undertaking, gaming also appeals to their generation and will therefore apply to the relevance principle. Using it as basis for a context area to incorporate different curricular areas (like exemplified with Guitar Hero) will create broad and deep learning for the children.
The slideshow below shows some of the ideas we came up with and links to Curriculum for Excellence.
I feel that games based learning would be a huge motivational tool to use with children in the primary classroom. To begin with they may not realise they are learning new skills through playing the games that interest them. I would not hesitate to use a game with my own class to create a context that interests them for learning to take place.
Although the cost of starting to use games in the classroom could play a major factor in the practical side of this idea. Many schools could not afford the consoles and games and accessories to go along with making the games work for the class. Another drawback of using games to fuel children's learning is that games are continually updated and newer versions are released which could outdate the schools purchases quicker than would be preferred.
Using games to promote children's interest in their school work lends itself seamlessly to Curriculum for Excellence's principles. With careful planning from the teacher children will be challenged whilst enjoying the tasks they are undertaking, gaming also appeals to their generation and will therefore apply to the relevance principle. Using it as basis for a context area to incorporate different curricular areas (like exemplified with Guitar Hero) will create broad and deep learning for the children.
Thursday 24 February 2011
Collaborative Learning
Today we were working in groups to create Wikis (on http://www.wikispaces.com/) relating to the curricular topic we have based both our animation & movie on: 'People Who Help Us'. We were all working on different computers and had agreed on which pages we would each do. This worked really well as Keira, Nicole and I had a clear path to follow when writing up information about each occupation. The only problem came when we were trying to link the 'Home' page to the page for each specific professional: if two of us were editting the page at the same time we were unable to save the changes that we had both made, as the last person to save would overwrite the person who had saved first. It was a minor technical difficulty and because we were sitting in the same room we were able to organise when we were changing that page. This would be different with class of children, especially if the Wiki was being used as a home resource for children to add to. It could result in a loss of someones hard work and dent the motivation of that individual. This could be tackled simply by having a page per child and they are only allowed to make changes to their own page. A simple but effective approach to bridging the problem.
I know see some benefits of using Wikis with children. It is an effective tool for perhaps presenting a topic of work which the children have researched but can also be used as a resource for children to use during their learning. Incorporating games and activities alongside the information that children need to know (like we decided to do) can enagage the children and give them a slight break from reading/intaking information. Our Wiki on 'People Who Help Us' is aimed at nursery/early years children. To be used as a learning tool which the teacher can use in lessons but then the children can interact with to deepen their understanding.
Working on this Wiki got me thinking about the use of collaborative learning in the classroom; so I decided to do a bit more research on it. I found it to be linked with Assessment for Learning, which I think is a really good idea. AfL promotes peer and self assessment, which lends itself seamlessly to collaborative learning as all children will know what is expected of them as a group. During the task(s) they can evaluate how they feel members are contributing to the work (or evaluate how they feel they are working). They can also evaluate the end product(s) together and decide if there is anything they could have done better to improve their end results.
I also found this video on teachers.tv which discusses how a primary school in London uses AfL- http://www.teachers.tv/videos/primary-assessment-for-learning-collaborative-learning It relates more to the assessment side of things but there was a few things identified during the video which I thought were very good strategies for collaborative learning. The teacher used a method called Jigsaw Learning to allow children to learn about different types of poems. The teacher was very pleased with how her class engaged with this approach and felt that in doing so the children took a real sense of ownership of their learning. The children worked in groups to investigate a type of poem and then each person in the group had to teach another group about their findings. I think this is a really good way to engage all learners in the classroom because every child knows that they need to be equipped with the knowledge when they become the 'expert' to allow them to teach the other children. This would reduce the number of passive learners in the group and would mean that by the end of the lesson children would have a deep understanding of at least the area they researched (hopefully the areas that others researched too). I would use this in a classroom setting, perhaps during the start of a new topic to give children some basic knowledge of the different aspects to be covered across the topic, or in the same way that it was used on this video. I also think that it helps children who may struggle with researching things to work in a group so the pressure is not solely on them; it could boost their confidence with finding things out for themselves or working with a friend to solve a problem.
The childre also discuss their thoughts on using 'Learning Partners' in the classroom. They enjoy working with their learning partner and see the benefit of doing so. I too think this is a good approach to use in the classroom, especially matching up children of a lower ability with someone who can support them if the teacher is otherwise occupied. Again I would definitely use this approach in a classroom to encourage the children to share their ideas and understanding of the work, between the two children they should be able to establish a good understanding of the process/concept.
Although the ideas I have found on this video seem very effective I know that they might not work as effectively with all classes. Consideration would be required as to who should be partnered with who to result in the best learning for both children. The same considerations would be needed for grouping children to work together, some children just do not get along when trying to work in a group. Although it could be time consuming and a matter of trial and error to get the groupings right, once the children are in partnerships and groups that work learning should be limitless!
I know see some benefits of using Wikis with children. It is an effective tool for perhaps presenting a topic of work which the children have researched but can also be used as a resource for children to use during their learning. Incorporating games and activities alongside the information that children need to know (like we decided to do) can enagage the children and give them a slight break from reading/intaking information. Our Wiki on 'People Who Help Us' is aimed at nursery/early years children. To be used as a learning tool which the teacher can use in lessons but then the children can interact with to deepen their understanding.
Working on this Wiki got me thinking about the use of collaborative learning in the classroom; so I decided to do a bit more research on it. I found it to be linked with Assessment for Learning, which I think is a really good idea. AfL promotes peer and self assessment, which lends itself seamlessly to collaborative learning as all children will know what is expected of them as a group. During the task(s) they can evaluate how they feel members are contributing to the work (or evaluate how they feel they are working). They can also evaluate the end product(s) together and decide if there is anything they could have done better to improve their end results.
I also found this video on teachers.tv which discusses how a primary school in London uses AfL- http://www.teachers.tv/videos/primary-assessment-for-learning-collaborative-learning It relates more to the assessment side of things but there was a few things identified during the video which I thought were very good strategies for collaborative learning. The teacher used a method called Jigsaw Learning to allow children to learn about different types of poems. The teacher was very pleased with how her class engaged with this approach and felt that in doing so the children took a real sense of ownership of their learning. The children worked in groups to investigate a type of poem and then each person in the group had to teach another group about their findings. I think this is a really good way to engage all learners in the classroom because every child knows that they need to be equipped with the knowledge when they become the 'expert' to allow them to teach the other children. This would reduce the number of passive learners in the group and would mean that by the end of the lesson children would have a deep understanding of at least the area they researched (hopefully the areas that others researched too). I would use this in a classroom setting, perhaps during the start of a new topic to give children some basic knowledge of the different aspects to be covered across the topic, or in the same way that it was used on this video. I also think that it helps children who may struggle with researching things to work in a group so the pressure is not solely on them; it could boost their confidence with finding things out for themselves or working with a friend to solve a problem.
The childre also discuss their thoughts on using 'Learning Partners' in the classroom. They enjoy working with their learning partner and see the benefit of doing so. I too think this is a good approach to use in the classroom, especially matching up children of a lower ability with someone who can support them if the teacher is otherwise occupied. Again I would definitely use this approach in a classroom to encourage the children to share their ideas and understanding of the work, between the two children they should be able to establish a good understanding of the process/concept.
Although the ideas I have found on this video seem very effective I know that they might not work as effectively with all classes. Consideration would be required as to who should be partnered with who to result in the best learning for both children. The same considerations would be needed for grouping children to work together, some children just do not get along when trying to work in a group. Although it could be time consuming and a matter of trial and error to get the groupings right, once the children are in partnerships and groups that work learning should be limitless!
Monday 21 February 2011
Week 5 - Smart Training
SmartBoard Training
This week we were given training on how to use the SmartBoard to enhance our lessons. I had used a SmartBoard previously in all my placements (to great extent whilst at college) and I pressumed I was quite well informed when it came to using them within a lesson. I was mistaken.
The training focused on the Smart Notebook software, which is something I have not used before. I found it very interesting to see all the different things that can be achieved and different ways to engage the children in lessons which otherwise could be very boring and repetitive. The way it was being explained it seemed like an easy task to organise your slides to reveal things as and when you want them, but in practise it was harder and more fiddly than I anticipated. When creating my task I only got a couple of slides together (due to trying to find photos to use and using the tools on Notebook). I feel that I went into the task a bit too confident as I thought it looked very simple to do and I did not put my full effort into it from the beginning. If I were to use this with a class I would ensure that I allowed enough time to organise the slides exactly how they needed to be. Therefore reducing the time spent messing around during the lesson.
The training this week has definitely brought me around to thinking about the need for SmartBoards in the classroom. Whereas before I felt that teachers could often use them to 'spice up' their lessons, but for no real reason within the lesson. This is something that I always tried to avoid in practice and so rarely used the SmartBoard for anything other than showing PowerPoints or videos. Now though, I can see a way to use the technology in an engaging way throughout the lesson. Also, I think that children (and teachers) need to become familiar with the boards, to enable them to overcome the novelty of using the SmartBoard and to focus on the lesson content. I have read many articles online that discuss the use of interactive whiteboards in the primary classroom, many with lots of benefits of doing so. This Get Smart site discussses the use of SmartBoards and continues to give some lesson ideas along with a pros & cons section. On the whole, this training has increased my confidence to use the SmartBoard as a lesson tool and not just as an add on towards the end.
Here are some teachers' views on using the SmartBoard.
This week we were given training on how to use the SmartBoard to enhance our lessons. I had used a SmartBoard previously in all my placements (to great extent whilst at college) and I pressumed I was quite well informed when it came to using them within a lesson. I was mistaken.
The training focused on the Smart Notebook software, which is something I have not used before. I found it very interesting to see all the different things that can be achieved and different ways to engage the children in lessons which otherwise could be very boring and repetitive. The way it was being explained it seemed like an easy task to organise your slides to reveal things as and when you want them, but in practise it was harder and more fiddly than I anticipated. When creating my task I only got a couple of slides together (due to trying to find photos to use and using the tools on Notebook). I feel that I went into the task a bit too confident as I thought it looked very simple to do and I did not put my full effort into it from the beginning. If I were to use this with a class I would ensure that I allowed enough time to organise the slides exactly how they needed to be. Therefore reducing the time spent messing around during the lesson.
The training this week has definitely brought me around to thinking about the need for SmartBoards in the classroom. Whereas before I felt that teachers could often use them to 'spice up' their lessons, but for no real reason within the lesson. This is something that I always tried to avoid in practice and so rarely used the SmartBoard for anything other than showing PowerPoints or videos. Now though, I can see a way to use the technology in an engaging way throughout the lesson. Also, I think that children (and teachers) need to become familiar with the boards, to enable them to overcome the novelty of using the SmartBoard and to focus on the lesson content. I have read many articles online that discuss the use of interactive whiteboards in the primary classroom, many with lots of benefits of doing so. This Get Smart site discussses the use of SmartBoards and continues to give some lesson ideas along with a pros & cons section. On the whole, this training has increased my confidence to use the SmartBoard as a lesson tool and not just as an add on towards the end.
Here are some teachers' views on using the SmartBoard.
Monday 14 February 2011
Week 4 - Finalising the film & Wikis
This week we put the finishing touches to our films and showcased them with a voting system. We used an online voting page called poll4. This was an effective tool to allow everyone's vote to be counted up and recorded anonomously, and it was simple to use. The only problem occurred when we tried to keep the voting secret until Sharon & Carrie had given their comments, this was easily overcome by clearing the results and making sure no-one had voted before the screen was hidden. Overall this tool was a success in the context we wanted to use it for. I would use this with a class to allow children to share their ideas with the class without the fear of being judged by their peers. This could ensure the promotion of motivation and participation within lessons.
The overall process of movie making has been stressful but very rewarding. The final product is very impressive and along with the rest of my group I am very happy with it.
Wikis
We have been asked to create a wiki with our group to showcase the chosen subject area we have chosen (People Who Help Us). I am still to see the benefit of doing this but hopefully through the experience of creating the wiki and aiming it at the children (early years) I will change my mind and will see the educational benefit of them. I also plan to do some reading about how they can be used within an educational setting, hopefully both of these tasks combined will highlight the benefit and practicalities of using a wiki with a class.
The overall process of movie making has been stressful but very rewarding. The final product is very impressive and along with the rest of my group I am very happy with it.
Wikis
We have been asked to create a wiki with our group to showcase the chosen subject area we have chosen (People Who Help Us). I am still to see the benefit of doing this but hopefully through the experience of creating the wiki and aiming it at the children (early years) I will change my mind and will see the educational benefit of them. I also plan to do some reading about how they can be used within an educational setting, hopefully both of these tasks combined will highlight the benefit and practicalities of using a wiki with a class.
Friday 4 February 2011
Editing
Today we were editing the clips from Monday's lesson to produce the final film. This turned out to be another chance to see technology fail us.
We began by converting the files to .wmv for use with Windows Movie Maker, for this we used a site called zamzar.com. It was very simple to use and children (who are competent with using the internet) would be able to work through the instructions with little hassle. Although once we had downloaded all our newly converted files and began to play them we noticed that the majority of them had become corrupted. This then meant we needed to find a programme that would convert the files without corrupting them. Not only did this waste time but it also (like Monday) caused some frustration and annoyance that we had to redo the work we had already done. I would be very wary to use this site with a class because it can be unreliable, Sharon told us that during peak times it can take a long time to convert the files. Not really practical for a lesson in school.
The experiences of this week have strongly cemented in my mind that when doing an ICT lesson with children, ALWAYS have a backup way to complete the same task. I think getting children to do the same task over again could destroy their morale and wreck any motivation they had for the task in hand.
Once we got the files converted Windows Movie Maker was a very easy tool to use. It is all set out in an ordered manner and children would find it easy to use after a small input of the basics from the teacher. I would use this with a class for displaying pictures of trips or class experiences, as well as a tool for movie making.
Our movie is still to receive the finishing touches, but watch this space!
We began by converting the files to .wmv for use with Windows Movie Maker, for this we used a site called zamzar.com. It was very simple to use and children (who are competent with using the internet) would be able to work through the instructions with little hassle. Although once we had downloaded all our newly converted files and began to play them we noticed that the majority of them had become corrupted. This then meant we needed to find a programme that would convert the files without corrupting them. Not only did this waste time but it also (like Monday) caused some frustration and annoyance that we had to redo the work we had already done. I would be very wary to use this site with a class because it can be unreliable, Sharon told us that during peak times it can take a long time to convert the files. Not really practical for a lesson in school.
The experiences of this week have strongly cemented in my mind that when doing an ICT lesson with children, ALWAYS have a backup way to complete the same task. I think getting children to do the same task over again could destroy their morale and wreck any motivation they had for the task in hand.
Once we got the files converted Windows Movie Maker was a very easy tool to use. It is all set out in an ordered manner and children would find it easy to use after a small input of the basics from the teacher. I would use this with a class for displaying pictures of trips or class experiences, as well as a tool for movie making.
Our movie is still to receive the finishing touches, but watch this space!
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