Gardens of Time

Video games have come to the forefront of the education spotlight. This is not surprising in the slightest to most of the younger generation because they have grown up with them and it is only natural that they associate them with learning. Video games are more applicable to learning than one may think, they nurture critical thinking, and new ways of solving problems. even the more "violent" games, such as first person shooters, where the player assumes the roles of the actual character through their eyes, still present a new perspective on a particular situation.  Good games, not just educational ones, because in truth all games have something to offer in way of teaching skills that could be applied to the real world, foster critical thinking and usually offer more than one way to do certain tasks. This is performed by offering a better way or performing said task through exploration.

"iPad" App Review #2

The second app that I reviewed on my android phone was called Countries of the World. I t is an interactive map with countries that give all pertinent information about the countries. Not only does it show you the geographical location but also statistics like, capitals, populations, languages spoken, religions, flag(s) and the GDP. This app is a great resource, not only for students, but also myself, especially since I want to be a History/Social Studies teacher.

"iPad" App Review #1

The first app that I reviewed on my Android phone was called Math Practice Flashcard.  This app was a great little learning tool. The first one is for kids PreK to 8. You can choose what you want to practice and then the flashcards start coming. I think that apps like these that let the kids interact with technology and learn are great. The ease of use and being able to control a piece of technology is a factor that could easily drive kids. However, it does get quite repetitive and should only be done for short amounts of time.

Ragtag Wikipedia Video

Three things that I learned are that : Wikipedia is more popular than the New York Times, there is really only a core 600-1000 people are the majority who make edits to site and that their overhead is only $5,000 dollars in bandwidth is their main expense with the one engineer. Two things that I liked is that it was vastly volunteers and the had one employed software engineer as of 2005 and I absolutely love they openly challenge people to compare them to other sites and sources and post those results so that everyone can see. Lastly, I do not like that it is sort of an aristocracy, meaning some people carry far more weight than others. However, I do see the need for this.

The link about the site on ways to use Wikipedia did not really surprise me because i use it the same way when I write papers or have an assignments. The sources at the bottom of the page are when I get a lot of my useful information.

Website Validation

Will standardized testing improve education?


http://standardizedtests.procon.org/

Who?
ProCon.org is an independent, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity


I found this article on a site called ProCon.org and it claims to be independent, nonpartisan and a nonprofit public charity that wants to show the pros and cons of standardized testing.

• It seems to me that the creators do take responsibility for the content of the site.
  
• The information that they wish to present is clearly stated and way to read.
  
• They have many fact and there are links to supported and debatable evidence.
  
• At the bottom of the page they give you a phone number and a postal address.

• I cannot verify that they are credible, however they seem to be very professional, for what that counts for, and they present the evidence for both sides.

When?

• The information on the site is fairly up to date. The last time it was edited was on 3/12/2012.
• It does not, but the links that it has to YouTube content has dates on those, so I am able to see if those links are out of date.
  
• The links on the site do work.

Why?

• I would not be able to get this information faster offline because of the amount and the easily readable columns showing pros and cons.
  
• It absolutely fits my needs, the site present the info in such a neat way that my needs are almost met instantly when I come to the site.

Lastly, the site is a .org, supporting that they truly may be a nonprofit organization.

Double Entry 11

The first thing I learned is that viewing and listening and seeing are all related. Second, There were people that associated better with his voice, others with the pictures he showing and even the guy putting up texts and not talking is somewhat conveying how technology and learning are coming together as one material.  Third, technology is going to be all encompassing it will be in everything. There is a need to be up to date and know as much as you can especially when you are trying to improve your quality of teaching.

Cited -

Dr Geary, Thinking creatively: Teachers as designers of content, technology and pedagogy part1. N.p., 2008. Web. 6 May 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNoijjIrPT8>

Double Entry 10

"Just as students need to engage in the creative thinking spiral to prepare for the Creative Society, educators and designers must do the same. We must imagine and create new educational strategies and technologies, share them with one another, and refine and extend them."

I agree with this statement strongly because I share the same outlook.  It is hard to imagine the school environment without books, for some.  This is the way of the future. It seems that the more resist the change of the future and the sooner we embrace technology in learning the sooner we will be able to move into the future of learning and further humanity.  Technology is changing so fast and it is permeating every part of our lives, it has essentially become our lives and education is not immune. The linked article furthers my argument because it states that not only are we rejecting new technology we are stifling students' ability to create and be innovative. This is more harmful and is farm worse than not doing anything.

Cited -

Resnick, M.. "Sowing the seeds for a more creative society." . International Society for Technology in Education, 2007. Web. 6 May 2012. <http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/Learning-Leading-final.pdf>.


http://www.positivespaceblog.com/archives/does-society-stifle-creativity-and-innovation-in-youth/

Double Journal Entry 9

6. The Cycle of Expertise. Video games will provide sets of challenges until certain actions, behaviors and skills become routine and automated. The games then provide a new problem in the form of a boss, new level or game mechanic that makes the gamer re-think their mastery, learn a new skill and then integrate this skill into the rest of the experience. This is where mastery is consolidated through repetition only to be challenged again, and it is an integral part of learning and expertise.


This entire passage really hit home with me. I have been playing video games since I was able to hold a controller. They enveloped me early, for fun and challenge. It seemed to me that the challenges that I was not receiving in school I sought out in video game form.  This "rule", if you will, is in every video game ever and, if done well, is the most obvious and best hidden, aspect of the game. When you get to a certain "boss" you have been "trained" to realize that there is a trick of some kind and you need to look for it. It is great for problem solving and critical thinking skills.


For my follow up article, I want to do something a little different. I can not provide a link, but here is what I did, I went to Google and searched 'video games in school' and came up with more video game design schools more than anything. Now, I am sure that there are hundreds, if not thousands of articles about how video games could be in schools and we all know they can reinforce learning. I just found it super interesting that the main search engine for the world would put out sites on video game design schools before how video games could help public schools.




Cited -


Admin, . "10 things schools can learn from video games."Learning in gaming . N.p., 2012. Web. 6 May 2012. <http://www.learningingaming.com/10-things-schools-can-learn-from-video-games/>.

Double Journal Entry 8

a. What is Wikipedia? 
Wikipedia is a multilingual, Web-based encyclopedia project, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, a nonprofit organization

b. How would you answer the question posed in this piece “How reliable can a source be when anyone can edit it?”?
I would say, first, you need to fully understand the article and not take one source as the best source, second, Wikipedia is constantly monitored by a vast number of people, such as, you and I. This is the best policing tool that there is.

c. Who do the creators of Wikipedia place their trust in when it comes to weeding out misinformation? 
The people who use the site or 'The Wisdom of the Crowd'

d. Why did founder Larry Sanger leave Wikipedia? 
Sanger left Wikipedia, believing that it should give more authority to experts; he has since created another site, Citizendium that does give more credit to experts

e. What would abuse or vandalism look like on a Wikipedia page? 
False information, or information that attacks other people.

f. What do the statistics quoted in the third paragraph of this piece reveal? 
That they did something right, the entire world wants knowledge and they are going to Wikipedia to find it.


g. Why do you think Wikipedia is so successful? 
Wikipedia is so successful because really of the ease of use. People always want to know something and with technology they can know it right now. Wikipedia makes it so easy to find what you are looking for and even more.

h. Why might Wikipedia’s creators not want to accept advertising? 
It would greatly hinder the site on the point that makes it so successful. It would slow people down and get in the way of the information that they want to attain.

i. How does Wikiscanner help increase the reliability of Wikipedia entries?
 IP address of anonymous editors of the site to be easily checked; the tool, Wikiscanner, quickly exposed examples of self-interested editing by prominent businesses and governments around the world


Cited


Cohen, N., and N. Cohen. "Wikipedia." The new york times on the web. Times Topic Page, 2009. Web. 6 May 2012. 
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20090206friday.html

Double Entry Journal 7

How might technology be used to support students in your future classroom who have learning differences like Dyslexia?

As the world becomes more and more technologically advanced, it will seep into every fabric of our lives. Embracing it now is the only real way to fully appreciate what it can do for us. Teaching is no different, in fact, maybe it is. It may be more important to teach with technology now more than ever, students crave and what information on a level that is hard to provide without such technology. Also, children with disabilities, e.g. dyslexia, can have technology read aloud to them, can help them keep rhythm or just help them pretend they are someone else.

Find a resource on the Internet that helps you think about how to support students with learning differences in schools. Describe it and link me to it.

This resource is a guide on how to notice some symptoms of certain learning disabilities. I chose it because if you know what the learning disability is, it is much easier to support it and those students can be more effectively integrated into the classroom.

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities.htm