Sunday, April 23, 2017
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Videogaming in the School Library
School libraries have included gaming stations for recreational, after school use, but now understood a teaching tool. It’s is likely to be rooted in a state or Common Core standard with specific learning goals. Gaming is an virtual and physical world where students learn by doing. The challenges are continual. Feedback is ever-present. Students will iteratively work their way out of failure. They aren’t easy to play. They’re complex and have demanding learning activities. Gaming is great informal learning.
Libraries may be one of the best learning environments for gaming for the same reasons libraries have always been good learning spaces. They are a multipurpose classroom where students can play, think about the playing, independently learn to play or learn from each other.
So librarians as an instructional partner often co-plans with teachers about opportunities for gamification in the curricula which may include the most challenging areas in the course.
There are a number of studies indicating recreational gameplay impacts cognitive process and how that might transferred to other kinds of learning and learning environments. Libraries are collaborative spaces and newer educational digital games accommodate multiplayers with students working cooperative rather than competitively.
A game-like public school in New York City, Quest to Learn, (Q2L) has teachers who are licensed by the Department of Education. Students take required standardized tests. But at Q2L, a team of game designers, curriculum specialists, and after-school mentors work with teachers to design rigorous, engaging, game-like learning environments, including the design of classroom games.
In the article, Video Games as Digital Learning Resources: Implications for Teacher-Librarians and For Researchers by Teddy Moline, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Canada showed examples of students being highly self-motivated to play and learn. One teen reported, “You never start out as the master of anything. You have to practice that skill and use it constantly to increase and improve. Another stated that he gained satisfaction from accomplishing goals and being capable of figuring things out on his own.
The teens rarely showed frustration in another study. It was part of the gameplay to solve a task. They found it exciting and imaginative. They trusted themselves. They experienced tension rather than frustration.
Librarians see gaming as a way to formalize learning. Just as librarians understand themes in urban lit and fan fiction can be a launchpad to more classical literature, it is the same with gaming. Gaming help students, as they search for answers to move through the required tasks, maximize inquiry-based learning. In my role as librarian, I teach kids how to formulate questions and investigate thereby creating for themselves new understanding and knowledge. All of these skills are core to gaming.
As positive as gaming is for school libraries, some educators are skeptical because of cost for equipment, software, training and maintenance. Logistics and planning may also be an issue.
Cited:
Quest to Learn: A collaborative effort to design engaging game-like learning environments | Gaming Life
Karen Jensen, TLT on April 12, 2017- Brigid Alverson on April 12, 2017- Travis Jonker on April 12, 2017- Elizabeth Bird on April 12, 2017- Amanda MacGregor on April 11, 2017- Travis Jonker on April 11, 2017- Elizabeth Bird on April 11, 2017- Robin Willis on April 10, 2017- Colby Sharp on April 10, 2017 - http://www.slj.com/2012/12/opinion/the-gaming-life/quest-to-learn-a-collaborative-effort-to-design-engaging-game-like-learnng-environments-gaming-life/
A whole new game: digital games, information literacy and the school library
http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/gblcompendium/part-2-provocation/a-whole-new-game-digital-games-information-literacy-and-the-school-library/
Opinion: Video games in libraries? A smart move There are a number of studies indicating recreational gameplay impacts cognitive process and how that might transferred to other kinds of learning and learning environments. Libraries are collaborative spaces and newer educational digital games accommodate multiplayers with students working cooperative rather than competitively. Ruben Navarrette - http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/opinion/navarrette-library-video-games/
Libraries may be one of the best learning environments for gaming for the same reasons libraries have always been good learning spaces. They are a multipurpose classroom where students can play, think about the playing, independently learn to play or learn from each other.
So librarians as an instructional partner often co-plans with teachers about opportunities for gamification in the curricula which may include the most challenging areas in the course.
There are a number of studies indicating recreational gameplay impacts cognitive process and how that might transferred to other kinds of learning and learning environments. Libraries are collaborative spaces and newer educational digital games accommodate multiplayers with students working cooperative rather than competitively.
A game-like public school in New York City, Quest to Learn, (Q2L) has teachers who are licensed by the Department of Education. Students take required standardized tests. But at Q2L, a team of game designers, curriculum specialists, and after-school mentors work with teachers to design rigorous, engaging, game-like learning environments, including the design of classroom games.
In the article, Video Games as Digital Learning Resources: Implications for Teacher-Librarians and For Researchers by Teddy Moline, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Canada showed examples of students being highly self-motivated to play and learn. One teen reported, “You never start out as the master of anything. You have to practice that skill and use it constantly to increase and improve. Another stated that he gained satisfaction from accomplishing goals and being capable of figuring things out on his own.
The teens rarely showed frustration in another study. It was part of the gameplay to solve a task. They found it exciting and imaginative. They trusted themselves. They experienced tension rather than frustration.
Librarians see gaming as a way to formalize learning. Just as librarians understand themes in urban lit and fan fiction can be a launchpad to more classical literature, it is the same with gaming. Gaming help students, as they search for answers to move through the required tasks, maximize inquiry-based learning. In my role as librarian, I teach kids how to formulate questions and investigate thereby creating for themselves new understanding and knowledge. All of these skills are core to gaming.
As positive as gaming is for school libraries, some educators are skeptical because of cost for equipment, software, training and maintenance. Logistics and planning may also be an issue.
Cited:
Quest to Learn: A collaborative effort to design engaging game-like learning environments | Gaming Life
Karen Jensen, TLT on April 12, 2017- Brigid Alverson on April 12, 2017- Travis Jonker on April 12, 2017- Elizabeth Bird on April 12, 2017- Amanda MacGregor on April 11, 2017- Travis Jonker on April 11, 2017- Elizabeth Bird on April 11, 2017- Robin Willis on April 10, 2017- Colby Sharp on April 10, 2017 - http://www.slj.com/2012/12/opinion/the-gaming-life/quest-to-learn-a-collaborative-effort-to-design-engaging-game-like-learnng-environments-gaming-life/
A whole new game: digital games, information literacy and the school library
http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/gblcompendium/part-2-provocation/a-whole-new-game-digital-games-information-literacy-and-the-school-library/
Opinion: Video games in libraries? A smart move There are a number of studies indicating recreational gameplay impacts cognitive process and how that might transferred to other kinds of learning and learning environments. Libraries are collaborative spaces and newer educational digital games accommodate multiplayers with students working cooperative rather than competitively. Ruben Navarrette - http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/opinion/navarrette-library-video-games/
My kids gaming in the library after school. Always the last to leave.
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
My Flipped Learning Lesson
I usually repeat some lessons a lot. It is usually a one-on-one kind of interaction. I don't discount the need to be repetitive because students really benefit from the quick lesson. But sometimes, I think I could record some of these tips so students could watch them as they need a quick tutorial on something. Google Advanced Search is one of those quick tutorials.
Google Advanced Search
Google Advanced Search
Flipping Digital Learning
From my twitter encounter this week of #flipped learning, I created a magazine on Flipboard with a couple of articles that suggested tools for teachers to use for flipping. One of the two articles offered 54 tools. I thought that sounded pretty comprehensive so I took a look at that. The other had the top 10 tools. I thought that one would be more discriminating. I found both to be useful. I chose another article because it offered help with lesson planning for flipped classrooms. So far, the magazine has help with creating videos, what I should consider before flipping, flipping videos relevance to project-based learning. Lastly, one article offered help for teachers who see the “at home” as quite a hurdle. It stated, "But successful flipping has one big catch -- if it's going to work, the at-home learning absolutely must happen. And teachers have zero control over what happens at home.” Flipped learning is the future, so I’m sure I will be adding to this magazine for months to come.
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Click here to view the magazine
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Click here to view the magazine
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