Week 5

OK after 3 attempts - phew! Made the recording, uploaded it to youtube and then it disappeared. After the 3rd attempt uploading was a success, but found the first video in the youtube listings. Murphy's Law I suppose. 

Thomas you are AWESOME!!!  (I have no hard feelings from last nights challenge). You definitely gave many examples of what not to do as a student and a teacher. ;-)

Here's the video 

How are games providing new opportunities for differentiation in the classroom?

         Games are the new way to learn, stay engaged, “provide flexibility and allow students to follow their own interest” (Assolo).  Games gives students ways to show their creative side and provide different opportunities for students. I liked how the teacher told the student to build the “Alamo” (Assolo) in Minecraft. My favorite part was when he was explaining his project and it started to rain. He could explain relevant information with his topic.         

            That’s the whole point of learning right? It doesn’t matter what steps we take, if we understand the concept we are on the right track. Games in classrooms provide every student an opportunity to learn differently. I have learned a lot about Minecraft and think it’s amazing to use in the classroom. My dilemma is I teach first grade, now. This could change down the road, but for now I want to find resources I can use in my classroom.

            I think it’s amazing that, Levine coded his own worlds in Minecraft and helped create MinecraftEdu. I can’t imagine how many hours it took for him to code it. I wonder if he had any students that entered the world and destroyed it, like we had in Givercraft? My thought is maybe a few, but not very many.

            The way Levine, explained his expectations for Minecraft was spot on. “Are we going to treat our class’ Minecraft world as an extension of our classroom? Do the rules that apply in the school building also apply on our Minecraft server? (Granata). I think if we are going to use any type of game in the classroom, we need to set expectations with our students. I know when I enter Minecraft, especially with Givercraft it sometimes felt like a free for all and the students were out of control! This falls on the teachers 100%. We found most of the students grieving, were not prepared and their teacher didn’t explain the expectations to them.

            I like how in Minecraft students can build dioramas, present to their class and learn mathematical content. While I was reading about MinecraftEdu being used in the classroom, I wanted to find some resources I could use in the classroom with my students.

            I watched this video on the teaching channel and was blown away. Here is a teacher, who doesn’t use paper at all (that I saw in the video). The desks are complete whiteboards. He has the students get on planet turtle and dream box. While the students are learning the concept, he has the students who understand the concept sign into planet turtle and dream box. Then the students who need extra support, he pulls them to the back table. Do they use paper? NO. The back table is a complete whiteboard. How engaging and fun is that for students?

            Planet Turtle is a program teachers can use in their classroom for math interventions and enrichment. Teachers set up an account, they can choose the content the students will be covering that day. Students have usernames and passwords. They log in and play their game while working on the concept. The best part of planet turtle, is it provides instant feedback to the students while they’re playing. The teacher in the video explains how it would take a long time, to walk around the room and assess each child. With the program giving immediate feedback, he can spend more time with the students who need the extra support.

            My only concern for this program, is with MinecraftEdu, the teacher is in the program. With planet turtle the students are on their own, but they are the only one that is completing the activities. Like Lexia for reading.

            Side note, my students who use Lexia for a reading intervention in the classroom, love it. Any down time they have, they ask to go onto Lexia. I have parents calling and telling me, they play it every night. The best part, their reading scores have improved tremendous amounts.

            Dream Box, I started trying out the game in the demo. It is set up by the teachers and students can learn the math concepts. It’s a fun game students can access on iPhones, iPads, Itouches and laptops.

            Games are providing a fun learning opportunity for students. They are making the “school activities/worksheet, tedious/busy work” non-existent. Every activity students do in a game, not only keeps them engaged for many hours, but also is enriching their education. The videos that I watched, parents were thrilled to see their child’s scores improve and how their child was critically thinking.

Here are the links to the teaching channel video (AMAZING!!) math games (planet turtle and dream box) I’ve also included Lexia (reading intervention program).

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/differentiating-in-math

http://www.mhecdi.com/pt_about.html (planet turtle demo scroll down to watch the video)

https://www.planetturtle.com/g_login.html (What the login screen looks like for students)

http://www.dreambox.com/k-8-math-lessons (demo’s forK-8th)

http://lexialearning.com/product/core5-video

Resources

Ossola, A. (2015, February 6). Teaching in the Age of Minecraft. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/02/teaching-in-the-age-of-minecraft/385231/

Granata, K. (n.d.). Teachers Take Advantage of Minecraft in the Classroom. Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_news/teachers-take-advantage-minecraft-classroom-60294258

Differentiating in Math Using Computer Games. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2015, from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/differentiating-in-math

Center for Digital Innovation - Planet Turtle - Serious Math. Intensely Fun! Grades K-3. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://www.mhecdi.com/pt_about.html

Planet Turtle. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from https://www.planetturtle.com/g_login.html

Try DreamBox - Free K-8 Math Lessons. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.dreambox.com/k-8-math-lessons

Lexia Reading Core5 Video Demonstration. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://lexialearning.com/product/core5-video