This past week I had the opportunity to listen to a presentation given by Jon Palmer (Website) on "flipping a classroom." What is involved in this model? In a "flipped classroom," students are given video lessons to watch at home that pretty much take the place of traditional lectures, and when they are in class they work on worksheets, projects, and other activities based on the lesson they learned at home. So in this kind of model the student gets the information at home, and the student does work in class. The logic behind this is based on the idea that traditional style lectures are uninteresting and disengaging so a lot of students have difficulty paying attention to it. Also in traditional classrooms, students are given homework, usually on a regular basis, where they are expected to do it at home on their own even if the homework assignment is difficult. In a "flipped classroom," students are just expected to watch a video at home instead of having to work on difficult homework, and when they are in school they can work on activities or problem sets like the ones they would originally do for homework but this time, they would have the teacher with them to provide any help or support they need. So in short, lecture at home, homework in class.
The idea of it sounds really appealing. Making students only responsible for watching a video at home on a lesson, which isn't too bad considering students probably spend countless hours watching television or YouTube. Students also get more support while working on problems in class, and have access to immediate help and feedback from the teacher. Now instead of students trying to figure out difficult problems or activities at home, they have the teacher there with them. The model sounds really interesting after hearing about, and I can see the potential it presents as it addresses several prominent issues in schools such as getting students to be engaged in lectures and also encouraging students to complete their homework. However, I know from my own experience that there are a lot of possible problems that need to be addressed before this model will produce any results.
First, I'd like you to watch one of the presenter's created lesson videos.
Pretty amazing stuff. As one of his hobbies has been video editing, he above average skills when it comes to producing videos such as these. He created a video where he is able to have three people (all played by him) in the video at the same time interacting with each other. Here's where one of the problems exist. In order for the "flipped classroom" model to work, you have to create these lesson videos that are as engaging to students as the ones Mr. Palmer has created here. He informed us during his presentation that he spends over 200 minutes of planning, recording, and processing for every one minute of the finished video. How many of us has the motivation, skills, and time to put into creating these types of videos for each lesson in a curriculum? Is this really feasible for an average teacher? This also made me wonder about something else. If I were to invest 200 minutes of my time in planning each minute of a lesson, I think it would exponentially increases the quality of my lesson to begin with and students might be more engaged as well as learn more in a traditional lecture.
Another problem that arose during the presentation was the context in which this "flipped classroom" was used. Yes, Mr. Palmer mentioned that he saw improvement in attitudes and engagement of the students as well as quiz grades. However, he used this model to teach an AP physics class. The problem with this context is that most students who elect to take AP courses tend to be highly motivated students who have more than not proven themselves to know the basics of what is takes to be a successful student. In other words, the student for the most part knows how to be responsible for his or her own learning. This translates to these students having a higher likelihood of actually going home and watching the videos on their own. Now consider using this model in an urban "high need" school where students are lower achieving students to begin with who are not motivated in the first place. You really can't assume that the majority of these students will actually watch these videos at home on their own. Even for many who do watch the video, they won't have the necessary knowledge or skills to process that information. How do I know this? Well at my current placement at the Detroit School of Arts (DSA), we are currently using a "flipped classroom" model and these are the problems that have arose during the course of this semester. There are other issues such as students not having the proper technology such as computers or internet access at home.
Mr. Palmer taught at a suburban school which was probably comprised of mostly students from middle class to upper class families. He also said that when he started this model, there was no technology issues either such as students not having access to a computer or internet. In this kind of context, I can see how a "flipped classroom" could produce inspiring results. However, in a context like the one I mentioned previously, I'm just not sure if it's working. I did learn some things I could try in regards to activities, tests, and how to make better and more engaging videos, but I'm not convinced that a "flipped classroom" is the model I want to use in my future practice.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Adding to My Web 2.0 Toolbox
Over the past several weeks in my Technology in Education course, I have been learning about several Web 2.0 tools that could be useful in improving instruction, and they also provide opportunities for innovative activities and methods to engage students. What is a Web 2.0 tool you might ask? According to www.dictionary.com, it is defined as: "a second generation in the development of the World Wide Web, conceived as a combination of concepts, trends, and technologies that focus on user collaboration, sharing of user-generated content, and social networking."
Web 2.0 tools come in many forms (Blogger is one for example) and it goes beyond static web pages and more towards user interaction and collaboration. I want to talk about one of the tools that I had the opportunity to learn about, and share my thoughts and reflections about its uses in a classroom, and how it might benefit my future practice. The Web 2.0 tool I will be sharing in this post is a popular and widely used tool that goes by the name of Prezi.
So Prezi is essentially a website that creates presentations with pretty cool animations (Link). In other words, it's PowerPoint on steroids. The most distinguishing feature of Prezi that differentiates it with PowerPoint is the implementation of the transitions between slides or "frames" as it's called in Prezi. You upload your images, videos, text, etc. into these frames, and you can select what kind of transition you want to have. The most interesting transition to me was the ability to set a small image in a frame within a large image in a frame. So say you choose your preset background as a giant world map, you can set smaller frames with information within different countries or locations, and when you click on that location the Prezi will zoom in on your image or information. The transitions can also rotate or move along a set path, thus making the transitions with Prezi much more animated and cooler to look at than the ones with PowerPoint.
As I was listening to a presentation about this Web 2.0 tool along with how it can be used for different disciplines, I began to think about how this tool might be more useful for me than using just regular slides from a PowerPoint. One specific thing that I thought about using it for was using the world map background, and then setting frames in different countries that when clicked on it would show videos of mathematical practices or instruction that are unique and specific to those countries. For example, I could put the following YouTube video of children in China learning multiplication and addition of very large numbers using an abacus, an ancient tool that was used for computations like a calculator.
As I was listening to a presentation about this Web 2.0 tool along with how it can be used for different disciplines, I began to think about how this tool might be more useful for me than using just regular slides from a PowerPoint. One specific thing that I thought about using it for was using the world map background, and then setting frames in different countries that when clicked on it would show videos of mathematical practices or instruction that are unique and specific to those countries. For example, I could put the following YouTube video of children in China learning multiplication and addition of very large numbers using an abacus, an ancient tool that was used for computations like a calculator.
I have always been interested in the different ways math is being taught around the world, and I feel that using Prezi to show these things to students could be a really engaging way to introduce or teach math. Overall, I really like the tool. Even though it's based off a website, you can also download it and create Prezi's offline. The Prezi's you create will also save online for you to have access to at any time. Although I still have some confusion on how exactly to create one as I haven't played around with it yet myself, I can see the potential it has in making my presentations more engaging.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Technology at Detroit School of Arts
My classmates and I were asked to find out what kind of technology was present at the schools we are placed. I'll be describing the technology that is available at the Detroit School of Arts (DSA). In order to obtain the information, I first asked my mentor teacher to answer as many questions as she could. I knew she would have knowledge about most of the available technology at the school for teacher use. I then went to the media specialist, who is also the librarian, as she is responsible for most of the technology in the school. I recommend seeking out your media specialist at your placement for most of your technology related questions, unless your school has a technology specialist.
The most interesting finding about the technology at my place is that every classroom has a with a cart loaded with 30 netbooks. One of the administrators of Detroit Public Schools received a grant promising that every student at DSA would have one-to-one access to a netbook. In total, there are about 700 netbooks available at the school and each student is allowed to sign them out to take home for use throughout the semester. This provided to be very useful as my classroom is implementing a "flipped classroom" where students watch lectures and take notes at home, and do homework during class time. In this current day and age, many people overlook the fact that there are still many students who don't have access to computers at home. Having these netbooks has provided my class with a solution to this problem.
Some other pieces of technology in my classroom includes a document camera which is owned by my mentor teacher, and a LCD projector. It seemed that most classrooms only had a document camera if the teacher had bought one with their own money. It also seemed that not all classrooms had LCD projectors. Although the school has 3 projectors that teachers are able to sign out, I'm curious to know how many teachers in the school don't utilize teaching with a projector and still teaching using the traditional whiteboard/chalkboard. There is a smart board in my classroom that doesn't work. My teacher informed me that they ran out of money before installation was complete so she just uses it as a part of her whiteboard.
DSA is a special school where students major in an arts field (e.g. vocal, instrumental, dance, visual arts, radio/television). Having "Arts" in the name of the school, the arts program at the school is well equipped in terms of technology. The school has 30 video camcorders for student use and several computer labs loaded with Adobe and editing software. The school has a green screen room with television recording equipment, a fully operational radio station, and a theater with sophisticated sound equipment. I thought about the implications of having this kind of equipment and integrating it with academics. Before this school year started, there was an emphasis by the administrators around focusing on the integration of the arts and the academics. In other words, balancing the student's life as an artist and a scholar. I have yet to put that much though into the kinds of projects that I could do with the students, but I can see great potential for some amazing results.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Digital Literacy in the Classroom
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has been a hot topic in the field of education and is at the center of much debate as to whether or not every state in the U.S. should adopt the same set of standards. I recently learned something about the CCSS that seemed a little troublesome to me in regards to the level of expectations of the standards. For example, the CCSS shifts the content at each grade level down two grades. To give you an example, the content for 12th grade math in the old standards is the content for 10th grade math in the CCSS, which means that students will be expected to master what was previously the 12th grade math content in the 10th grade. In a country where educational systems are being criticized for students not performing at their expected grade levels, people are adopting standards which will increase the expectations of the students thereby increasing the difficulty of the content. Maybe I'm just confused or my perspective is off, but I feel like the CCSS is moving backwards in addressing an education that is equitable for all students.
Another interesting topic to consider is the development of the Smarter Balanced Assessment. This is an assessment designed to measure student proficiency based on the CCSS. I took a look at some of the sample problems on their website (http://www.smarterbalanced.org/) and from what I saw, this is going to be a very challenging test for students. Of course, I don't have much knowledge regarding the level of competence per each grade level, but it took me a little more time than I thought when figuring out how to solve some of the math problems and I majored in mathematics. The even more troubling thing is when I attempted to solve one of the English sample problems, I managed to get one correct out of four questions. Just when we thought our future jobs as educators couldn't get any more challenging...
One of the major problems that this new assessment presents is that it is a computer-based assessment. Why does this present a problem you ask? Well, believe it or not, there are still many people in this country who are what we consider to be "digitally illiterate". In other words, they are not proficient at typing, are unfamiliar with how to operate computers, and are unable to navigate through programs and applications. In a 5th grade math sample problem from the assessment, it not only required an answer to the problem, but it also asked the student to type the reasoning behind the answer. I didn't learn how to type until I was in middle school so how can people expect a student in the 5th grade to be proficient at typing? How long would it take an average 5th grade to type the answer to this question?
Some of my peers in my class suggested some ideas in order to address this issue of digital literacy without teaching directly to the test. My fellow math majors and I decided to try to put an emphasis on writing out full sentences of answers including reasoning when solving problems. We also decided that we might provide students with additional practice outside of the classroom that required the use of computers and maybe involved typing. The most interesting idea I heard came from the English group. They suggested a day where students would not be allowed to talk to each other with their own voices, but instead they would have a class where they only conversed through a chatroom using computers. This seemed like an amazing idea that could be applied to all of the disciplines. Imagine a math class where students could only explain their answers and their reasoning by typing out the answers. This would force them to be able to express their answers in a clear and concise where so all students would understand. The incorporation of ideas like these are key to providing a creative learning environment that will help students learn and also help students in improving their digital literacy.
Another interesting topic to consider is the development of the Smarter Balanced Assessment. This is an assessment designed to measure student proficiency based on the CCSS. I took a look at some of the sample problems on their website (http://www.smarterbalanced.org/) and from what I saw, this is going to be a very challenging test for students. Of course, I don't have much knowledge regarding the level of competence per each grade level, but it took me a little more time than I thought when figuring out how to solve some of the math problems and I majored in mathematics. The even more troubling thing is when I attempted to solve one of the English sample problems, I managed to get one correct out of four questions. Just when we thought our future jobs as educators couldn't get any more challenging...
One of the major problems that this new assessment presents is that it is a computer-based assessment. Why does this present a problem you ask? Well, believe it or not, there are still many people in this country who are what we consider to be "digitally illiterate". In other words, they are not proficient at typing, are unfamiliar with how to operate computers, and are unable to navigate through programs and applications. In a 5th grade math sample problem from the assessment, it not only required an answer to the problem, but it also asked the student to type the reasoning behind the answer. I didn't learn how to type until I was in middle school so how can people expect a student in the 5th grade to be proficient at typing? How long would it take an average 5th grade to type the answer to this question?
Some of my peers in my class suggested some ideas in order to address this issue of digital literacy without teaching directly to the test. My fellow math majors and I decided to try to put an emphasis on writing out full sentences of answers including reasoning when solving problems. We also decided that we might provide students with additional practice outside of the classroom that required the use of computers and maybe involved typing. The most interesting idea I heard came from the English group. They suggested a day where students would not be allowed to talk to each other with their own voices, but instead they would have a class where they only conversed through a chatroom using computers. This seemed like an amazing idea that could be applied to all of the disciplines. Imagine a math class where students could only explain their answers and their reasoning by typing out the answers. This would force them to be able to express their answers in a clear and concise where so all students would understand. The incorporation of ideas like these are key to providing a creative learning environment that will help students learn and also help students in improving their digital literacy.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Edublogger: Dan Meyer
This was before I started the technology in education course when I watched a TED talk titled "Math class needs a makeover". The talk is given by a high school mathematics teacher named Dan Meyer, who also happens to be an "edublogger", which you can pretty much guess what that means from the name. My favorite quote in the talk is right at the beginning when he says, "I sell a product to a market that doesn't want it but is forced by law to buy it. It's just a losing proposition" (http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover.html). He is describing his math class and the attitudes of his students towards math. This pretty much sums up one of the largest problems in education today. Students don't want to learn what we're trying to teach them.
He then goes on and talks about how students often expect or wish difficult problems to be solved quickly. He quickly responds to this notion by saying, "No problem worth solving is that simple" and mentions his concern regarding this attitude held by students because he's going to retire into a society that is maintained by the current students today. It was a really interesting thing to consider that what we teach and how we teach will ultimately impact our own future and the future of our children and their children. The rest of his talk is spent about the importance of using layered problems as opposed to problems that require just one equation and no thought process. He also talks about making connections of the content to practical concepts. I remember after watching his talk, I decided to take a look at his blog which can be found at: http://blog.mrmeyer.com/.
One of the most prominent aspects of his blog is the posting of several ideas of or actual lesson plans that he plans on using or has used in the past. The first thought that entered my mind when looking at one of these designs was that some of these concepts are really complex and are high school math students actually able to comprehend this material? I have never witnessed or experience any of the ideas presented by Mr. Meyer so it was hard for me to decide on the perceived difficulty of the tasks he presented. Another thing I noticed is that he incorporates a lot of graphs into his lessons. I'm not sure about the reasons behind this. Maybe giving students graphs helps them more visually? However, Mr. Meyer usually complements these graphs with a series of questions to engage the students in thinking. He presents the students with a practical problem they have to solve, and makes the connection between the problem and math.
The most interesting feature about Mr. Meyer's blog was that when he posted a lesson design or presented an idea for a lesson, he would ask for or include feedback on the post from other bloggers. There were also several posts where he included questions asking readers of his blog what they would change in his lesson or idea. I just thought it was an amazing idea how an educator as experienced and distinguished as he is, is constantly asking for criticism and different perspectives to improve his own practice. He is definitely what more teachers should strive to become like.
He then goes on and talks about how students often expect or wish difficult problems to be solved quickly. He quickly responds to this notion by saying, "No problem worth solving is that simple" and mentions his concern regarding this attitude held by students because he's going to retire into a society that is maintained by the current students today. It was a really interesting thing to consider that what we teach and how we teach will ultimately impact our own future and the future of our children and their children. The rest of his talk is spent about the importance of using layered problems as opposed to problems that require just one equation and no thought process. He also talks about making connections of the content to practical concepts. I remember after watching his talk, I decided to take a look at his blog which can be found at: http://blog.mrmeyer.com/.
One of the most prominent aspects of his blog is the posting of several ideas of or actual lesson plans that he plans on using or has used in the past. The first thought that entered my mind when looking at one of these designs was that some of these concepts are really complex and are high school math students actually able to comprehend this material? I have never witnessed or experience any of the ideas presented by Mr. Meyer so it was hard for me to decide on the perceived difficulty of the tasks he presented. Another thing I noticed is that he incorporates a lot of graphs into his lessons. I'm not sure about the reasons behind this. Maybe giving students graphs helps them more visually? However, Mr. Meyer usually complements these graphs with a series of questions to engage the students in thinking. He presents the students with a practical problem they have to solve, and makes the connection between the problem and math.
The most interesting feature about Mr. Meyer's blog was that when he posted a lesson design or presented an idea for a lesson, he would ask for or include feedback on the post from other bloggers. There were also several posts where he included questions asking readers of his blog what they would change in his lesson or idea. I just thought it was an amazing idea how an educator as experienced and distinguished as he is, is constantly asking for criticism and different perspectives to improve his own practice. He is definitely what more teachers should strive to become like.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Strategy Guide: LEGO English Class
Question: How do we turn an English class into a video game?
Answer: Simple. Turn everything and everyone in the classroom into LEGO pieces and characters.
Just kidding. (That would be pretty awesome though)
In my technology in education class, we were presented with a problem where we had to try to figure out how to design a curriculum of a classroom as a video game. The reason behind this, in short, is that many students find video games engaging but school not so much. So how can we make an English class more like a video game, but at the same time make sure we're meeting the required standards for a curriculum? How do we make a game similar to Call of Duty and at the same time incorporate Hamlet?
I have several suggestions, but keep in mind that I'm a math major and I don't have much knowledge besides from my own personal experience about the requirements or standards that are required in an English class. First, for each book or story you decide to teach, have them turn it into a video game. Make them create characters assigning them strengths and weaknesses, special abilities, armor, weapons, tools, and background stories. Have students create levels for the game, different stages, environments, plots, and even dialogue. Tell students to create a walkthrough or make a strategy guide for the game. This will enable students to approach books and stories in a creative way appealing towards the interests of students.
Second, have students take on personalities or roles that are present within the game. At the beginning of the term, have students select from the options like hero, enemy, support or role character, victim, etc. Whenever a new topic arises in the course, each student will approach that topic from the perspective of their chosen role. I'm not really sure about the specifics of how they might achieve this or how a teacher might implement this, but it would be interesting to see the outcomes.
Third, which would be more of an activity than a transformation of an entire curriculum would be to have students select a book or story, and compare it to a video game of their choice. Have them find similarities between the characters, plots, settings, etc. You can also have the students give their opinions on how to take the strengths of the stories and improve the video game or vice versa.
My last suggestion is for the entire transformation of an class into a video game. Make each topic a level. Assign literature as weapons of choice that you unlock as you proceed further throughout the "game" aka the course. You begin with the texts that are more dull and boring to students as the beginning weapons and as students complete "achievements" aka assignments or homework, they can unlock the more exciting material or unlock new abilities aka class projects that are specialized and are seen to be more fun and exciting. Sorry, I'm assigning random terms from video games to school terms, but you get the general idea. You could have students choose their route or path at the beginning of the course, and have them proceed along that route with all paths leading to the same goal at the end. You can add other aspects from video games like saves or checkpoints where students can return to these points if they "die" aka fail a test or do poorly on an assignment. Each level will increase in difficulty as each stage is completed, and each level will provide new challenges.
If you read my previous post, you would agree that I was one of those students who would've benefited if school was a video game. During a field trip with the middle school students we're working with, we had the opportunity to learn about astronomy from a real astronomer. After the small lecture, I asked a student if he was interested in becoming an astronomer. The conversation when something like this:
Me: "So what do you think about astronomy?"
Student: "It's okay."
Me: "Do you have any interest in becoming an astronomer?"
Student: "Nope!"
Me: "Why not?"
Student: "Because you have to study to become an astronomer."
I had an earlier discussion with this student about where he saw himself in 10 years and he said college. After I asked him what he planned on studying, he replied that he wasn't going to study but instead, he was going to college to play basketball. Back to the conversation above:
Me: "Do you know basketball players have to study?"
Student: "No they don't. What do they have to study? You just catch the ball and shoot."
Me: "Professional players watch and study film."
Student: "That's not studying, that's watching television."
Me: "If I put a science program on the television, is that not studying? Ever watch Magic School Bus?"
Student: "Hmm... I never thought of it like that."
I then went on to describe how the best professional basketball players study the game, plays, player and team tendencies, and methods of improving and developing their own play.
I feel like many students have the same perspective and that anything related with fun like video games can't possibly be related to studying or anything educational. However, I think many of them don't realize what it takes to become a professional gamer. At one point (you can reference my previous post), I was studying a game religiously to become better at the game. I think it is important to make the connection visible to students that we have to study to get good at anything. We can't accept it when a student says he doesn't like school because he doesn't like to study.
Answer: Simple. Turn everything and everyone in the classroom into LEGO pieces and characters.
Just kidding. (That would be pretty awesome though)
In my technology in education class, we were presented with a problem where we had to try to figure out how to design a curriculum of a classroom as a video game. The reason behind this, in short, is that many students find video games engaging but school not so much. So how can we make an English class more like a video game, but at the same time make sure we're meeting the required standards for a curriculum? How do we make a game similar to Call of Duty and at the same time incorporate Hamlet?
I have several suggestions, but keep in mind that I'm a math major and I don't have much knowledge besides from my own personal experience about the requirements or standards that are required in an English class. First, for each book or story you decide to teach, have them turn it into a video game. Make them create characters assigning them strengths and weaknesses, special abilities, armor, weapons, tools, and background stories. Have students create levels for the game, different stages, environments, plots, and even dialogue. Tell students to create a walkthrough or make a strategy guide for the game. This will enable students to approach books and stories in a creative way appealing towards the interests of students.
Second, have students take on personalities or roles that are present within the game. At the beginning of the term, have students select from the options like hero, enemy, support or role character, victim, etc. Whenever a new topic arises in the course, each student will approach that topic from the perspective of their chosen role. I'm not really sure about the specifics of how they might achieve this or how a teacher might implement this, but it would be interesting to see the outcomes.
Third, which would be more of an activity than a transformation of an entire curriculum would be to have students select a book or story, and compare it to a video game of their choice. Have them find similarities between the characters, plots, settings, etc. You can also have the students give their opinions on how to take the strengths of the stories and improve the video game or vice versa.
My last suggestion is for the entire transformation of an class into a video game. Make each topic a level. Assign literature as weapons of choice that you unlock as you proceed further throughout the "game" aka the course. You begin with the texts that are more dull and boring to students as the beginning weapons and as students complete "achievements" aka assignments or homework, they can unlock the more exciting material or unlock new abilities aka class projects that are specialized and are seen to be more fun and exciting. Sorry, I'm assigning random terms from video games to school terms, but you get the general idea. You could have students choose their route or path at the beginning of the course, and have them proceed along that route with all paths leading to the same goal at the end. You can add other aspects from video games like saves or checkpoints where students can return to these points if they "die" aka fail a test or do poorly on an assignment. Each level will increase in difficulty as each stage is completed, and each level will provide new challenges.
If you read my previous post, you would agree that I was one of those students who would've benefited if school was a video game. During a field trip with the middle school students we're working with, we had the opportunity to learn about astronomy from a real astronomer. After the small lecture, I asked a student if he was interested in becoming an astronomer. The conversation when something like this:
Me: "So what do you think about astronomy?"
Student: "It's okay."
Me: "Do you have any interest in becoming an astronomer?"
Student: "Nope!"
Me: "Why not?"
Student: "Because you have to study to become an astronomer."
I had an earlier discussion with this student about where he saw himself in 10 years and he said college. After I asked him what he planned on studying, he replied that he wasn't going to study but instead, he was going to college to play basketball. Back to the conversation above:
Me: "Do you know basketball players have to study?"
Student: "No they don't. What do they have to study? You just catch the ball and shoot."
Me: "Professional players watch and study film."
Student: "That's not studying, that's watching television."
Me: "If I put a science program on the television, is that not studying? Ever watch Magic School Bus?"
Student: "Hmm... I never thought of it like that."
I then went on to describe how the best professional basketball players study the game, plays, player and team tendencies, and methods of improving and developing their own play.
I feel like many students have the same perspective and that anything related with fun like video games can't possibly be related to studying or anything educational. However, I think many of them don't realize what it takes to become a professional gamer. At one point (you can reference my previous post), I was studying a game religiously to become better at the game. I think it is important to make the connection visible to students that we have to study to get good at anything. We can't accept it when a student says he doesn't like school because he doesn't like to study.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
A Video Game Almost Ruined My Life
It was my 13th birthday. My family had a tradition of always going out to dinner on someone's birthday, and buying presents for each other has never been a popular practice. However just this one time, I decided to ask my mom if we could save the money that we would spend on a family dinner for my birthday and instead, buy a Nintendo 64 with the game Super Smash Bros. On only one of the handful of instances throughout my life, my mom agreed to fulfill my request. This was only the beginning of the my obsession with video games which simultaneously began the downward spiral of my life.. First it was Nintendo 64, then the new Gameboys, Playstation, Xbox, Playstation 2, Computers, and most recently the Xbox 360. The next generation of gaming consoles, the Xbox One and the Playstation 4 are set to release in the coming fall as well.
During middle school, my best friend introduced me to a new computer game that had just released called Starcraft. Starcraft is a real-time strategy game. These games incorporate developing economies and gathering resources, establishing defendable bases or fortresses with means of producing and training armies, and using those armies to attack and eliminate the opponent or opponents. Starcraft was an international success and there are professional leagues and communities dedicated to playing the game. South Korea is the country that is most recognized for popularizing the game and turning it into a profession. They have two cable television channels with programming dedicated to the game.
I immediately became obsessed with the game and in becoming the best I can be. At first I could only play against the computer and not against other people, but in 9th grade when my family gained access to the internet and bought a new computer, that's when the game transformed from a hobby into an obsession. I played the game religiously during high school. I skipped school often and in my spare time I played Starcraft. There was one point when I played over forty hours straight with no sleep, only stopping to eat or to use the bathroom. I met people and joined gaming communities known as "clans" or "teams". I made friendships with some of the other players which have continued even to this day. In short, I was playing more Starcraft than any other activity I did including sleeping. I was committed to being the best I could be and there were many connections to learning skills that were displayed while trying to get good at the game. I studied replays of professional players and learned their strategies and tactics. I practiced my mouse control and typing speed to get faster and more precise with hand movements. I studied replays of my own games to see where I can improve based on what mistakes I had made during those games. I analyzed statistics of my gameplay and gameplay of others, I broke down data about units and characters, their damage output to other unit types, characteristics such as speed and fire rate, strengths, weaknesses, counters to different units, tendencies of others players, time management, etc. I learned team strategies and tactics for any given situation. Due to my competitive nature, I took pride in being better than average at the game, and I took it pretty hard whenever I lost a game.
To give you an idea of how much I played. If you were to combine all of the recorded games from all of the accounts I had online, I probably had approximately 25,000 games played and remember that these are only the games that were recorded online. I played the game offline as well. Each game took anywhere from 5 minutes to over 1 hour. On average, each game probably took around 15 minutes. So this is only an approximation, but using math:
Total minutes played online: 25,000 x 15 = 375,000
Total hours played online: 375,000 / 60 = 6,250
Total days played online: 6,250 / 24 = 260
The total time I played online is approximately equivalent to 260 days. I spent almost 3/4 of a year of my life playing a video game. If you include the amount of time I played offline, and also included the amount of time I've played video games on consoles, this playing time would most likely total over a year. Wow. It's no wonder my grades were so bad in high school. This leads to the questions: Was there any educational value in this game? Why were video games more engaging to me than education?
Starcraft incorporates thinking about systems. You have to construct and main a economy, production, and manage your armies. It teaches you have to develop and identity you can associate with, and teaches you how to interact with others and with a complex system. It encourages taking on challenges without fear of consequences. It develops cognitive processes that can be generalized and applied to other areas such as multi-tasking, making processes automatic, learning how to analyze and apply new strategies and techniques from past failures, applying math to improve in a game, learning the responsibility of being a part of a team and how to function within a team, etc. Is there a way I can incorporate the use of video games in my practice to help develop cognitive skills? I don't know how practical it would be for me to use Starcraft to teach students how to analyze or teach statistics.
I carry a lot of regret from high school. Even though those events have led to me developing into the person I am today, I find myself constantly asking the question: What if I studied as much or even half as much as I played video games? The answer: I would probably have an advanced degree from a prestigious university or I would be some kind of doctor or lawyer by now. I think. And what if I took an approach to education in the same way I approached Starcraft? Would I have developed more intellectually and academically?
One of the most important challenges that educators face daily in their practice is the problem of finding ways to keep students engaged in academic tasks. I know from personal experience, I will try reading long pieces of text and lose my focus, get bored, and take a break or even fall asleep. When I come home tired and sleepy, it's almost impossible for me to read or think critically and my ability to retain information goes out the window. However, when I'm tired or sleepy and I play a video game, my attention and thinking become more focused. I'm awake, engaged, and want to play more. I do agree there are learning skills that are associated with video games that educators can utilize in their own practice like the skills as described by James Paul Gee in his article "Good Video Games and Good Learning". I wrote in the above paragraphs about several techniques and skills often found and encouraged in educational settings. Nevertheless, I think the greatest potential lies in the motivating factor of video games. This leads to the question of how to transform education to become more "game-like" as Gee states in his article. Would that really be beneficial to all students?
During middle school, my best friend introduced me to a new computer game that had just released called Starcraft. Starcraft is a real-time strategy game. These games incorporate developing economies and gathering resources, establishing defendable bases or fortresses with means of producing and training armies, and using those armies to attack and eliminate the opponent or opponents. Starcraft was an international success and there are professional leagues and communities dedicated to playing the game. South Korea is the country that is most recognized for popularizing the game and turning it into a profession. They have two cable television channels with programming dedicated to the game.
I immediately became obsessed with the game and in becoming the best I can be. At first I could only play against the computer and not against other people, but in 9th grade when my family gained access to the internet and bought a new computer, that's when the game transformed from a hobby into an obsession. I played the game religiously during high school. I skipped school often and in my spare time I played Starcraft. There was one point when I played over forty hours straight with no sleep, only stopping to eat or to use the bathroom. I met people and joined gaming communities known as "clans" or "teams". I made friendships with some of the other players which have continued even to this day. In short, I was playing more Starcraft than any other activity I did including sleeping. I was committed to being the best I could be and there were many connections to learning skills that were displayed while trying to get good at the game. I studied replays of professional players and learned their strategies and tactics. I practiced my mouse control and typing speed to get faster and more precise with hand movements. I studied replays of my own games to see where I can improve based on what mistakes I had made during those games. I analyzed statistics of my gameplay and gameplay of others, I broke down data about units and characters, their damage output to other unit types, characteristics such as speed and fire rate, strengths, weaknesses, counters to different units, tendencies of others players, time management, etc. I learned team strategies and tactics for any given situation. Due to my competitive nature, I took pride in being better than average at the game, and I took it pretty hard whenever I lost a game.
To give you an idea of how much I played. If you were to combine all of the recorded games from all of the accounts I had online, I probably had approximately 25,000 games played and remember that these are only the games that were recorded online. I played the game offline as well. Each game took anywhere from 5 minutes to over 1 hour. On average, each game probably took around 15 minutes. So this is only an approximation, but using math:
Total minutes played online: 25,000 x 15 = 375,000
Total hours played online: 375,000 / 60 = 6,250
Total days played online: 6,250 / 24 = 260
The total time I played online is approximately equivalent to 260 days. I spent almost 3/4 of a year of my life playing a video game. If you include the amount of time I played offline, and also included the amount of time I've played video games on consoles, this playing time would most likely total over a year. Wow. It's no wonder my grades were so bad in high school. This leads to the questions: Was there any educational value in this game? Why were video games more engaging to me than education?
Starcraft incorporates thinking about systems. You have to construct and main a economy, production, and manage your armies. It teaches you have to develop and identity you can associate with, and teaches you how to interact with others and with a complex system. It encourages taking on challenges without fear of consequences. It develops cognitive processes that can be generalized and applied to other areas such as multi-tasking, making processes automatic, learning how to analyze and apply new strategies and techniques from past failures, applying math to improve in a game, learning the responsibility of being a part of a team and how to function within a team, etc. Is there a way I can incorporate the use of video games in my practice to help develop cognitive skills? I don't know how practical it would be for me to use Starcraft to teach students how to analyze or teach statistics.
I carry a lot of regret from high school. Even though those events have led to me developing into the person I am today, I find myself constantly asking the question: What if I studied as much or even half as much as I played video games? The answer: I would probably have an advanced degree from a prestigious university or I would be some kind of doctor or lawyer by now. I think. And what if I took an approach to education in the same way I approached Starcraft? Would I have developed more intellectually and academically?
One of the most important challenges that educators face daily in their practice is the problem of finding ways to keep students engaged in academic tasks. I know from personal experience, I will try reading long pieces of text and lose my focus, get bored, and take a break or even fall asleep. When I come home tired and sleepy, it's almost impossible for me to read or think critically and my ability to retain information goes out the window. However, when I'm tired or sleepy and I play a video game, my attention and thinking become more focused. I'm awake, engaged, and want to play more. I do agree there are learning skills that are associated with video games that educators can utilize in their own practice like the skills as described by James Paul Gee in his article "Good Video Games and Good Learning". I wrote in the above paragraphs about several techniques and skills often found and encouraged in educational settings. Nevertheless, I think the greatest potential lies in the motivating factor of video games. This leads to the question of how to transform education to become more "game-like" as Gee states in his article. Would that really be beneficial to all students?
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