Final- 21st Century Learning

I made a live blog website through weebly to teach teachers what the 21st century learner looks like and what tools we as teachers can use to enhance our lesson plans for these learners.  I took this route because at the beginning of this class I was really intimidated by "module 11". It scared me to death!  As this class progressed and as I went through the readings and struggled through some assignments, everyone's blog post kept me going.  Everyone's comments and encouragements I received on my own projects, encouraged me to hold on and try new things.  I feel with all the new standards that teachers have to deal with plus their regular school load of being a successful teacher, sometimes discourages them from trying new ideas and technologies.  I felt that by making it a more informative live blog, they would be willing to not only try it but implement it into their classroom.  I'm hoping to give this to some of my friends to familiarize themselves with some new tools that they can get excited about implementing into their classroom.

I want to thank everyone for the encouraging comments and suggestions through out this class, I couldn't of done it without you all.

http://mooreflipping.weebly.com/

Book Talk 2

https://voicethread.com/share/4766110/

Matthew vs. Mom

Loved playing with my son! Now that I know how well he can multitask he will be picking up his room more often...lol

GAME BASED LEARNING Play List

Game Learning in Social Studies

Matthew (Native) vs. Mom (Immigrant)

I chose Call of Duty Black OPS II: Team Death Match in the Map Nuketown2025 because it is one of my sons (Matthew) favorite game.  He invests several hours a week playing it and plays with other friends on line.  I would define this game as a “very” complex game. I asked my son to play a video game with me that he loves to play.  He first suggested Mortal Combat because it would be easier for me.  I asked him why and he said that I would get “killed” in Black OPS.  I told him I was up for the challenge. (He laughed) 

As Matthew “set up” the game, I observed him go into multiple screens as I heard a series of clicks and talking to others as they set up the game.  I have watched my son play this game many times as I passed him up and thought he was randomly killing people.  It took him 15 minutes to just set up the game.  He selected maps, multiple guns with many attachments to the guns, time limits, score setting, etc.  I was overwhelmed with just the “set up” stage.  As I began to play, the mission was to kill the red army guys.  I learned real fast that I had a hard time just walking in a straight line let alone switching guns, turning positions, shooting, identifying the enemy, and much more. All of Matthew’s friends and my nephew missions changed as we played.  They all realized that I was getting “killed” and their main mission was to “protect Matthew’s Mom”.  One said “dude make sure you protect her or else she will not pass her test for class”.  They observed that I was not equipped to defeat this game and “beat the level” so they all communicated this through their headsets and came together to help the “mom”. 

I realized that they not only just kill people but they talk about what guns they are using and what kind of different strategies they are going to use to “beat the level”.  In the midst of craziness they are multitasking at all times as they change guns they are checking maps and data of how successful they are during the game.  I was amazed on how well they were doing especially when the mission changed to keep me alive.  They not only have developed these multitasking tools but their hand coordination is amazing.  I just played about 40 minutes and had to stop because my hand was cramping. 

This was a real eye opener for me on how these video games teach my son and others great collaborating skills, multitasking skills, and hand coordination.  I really felt slow and lost as I played this game.  I improved as I played but just walking in a straight line and shooting. I really realized that I became more obsessed about killing others… to “beat the level”.  I felt bad that the others were caring my weight and wanted to prove that I could hold my own in helping the team succeed.  I wanted to improve for the “team” and for myself. 

I really enjoyed reading about game-based learning and this module really helped me understand the “boring” complaint of our 21^st century learner.  After I played this exciting game, who wants to hear a lecture?  My only disappointment in doing this module was to find out there isn’t a lot of game-based learning complex games for Social Studies.  I want to bring that excitement my son and his friends felt while playing Black OPS into the classroom.  This is my true challenge as I make my come back into the classroom.

If anyone is wondering, I killed 37 people in 40 minutes where as my son killed around 200 and protected me the whole timeJ

Module 6: Has technology redefined learning?

I truly believe that technology has redefined learning in every aspect of our lives.  Seventeen years ago I became an official educator and ventured in a world that I thought was full of changing technology and excitement.  I didn't have a clue what was about to happen to our learning environment.

The way I used technology in my classroom was more for visual enhancement and to catch my students attention and get them through another long day of school so they can learn a piece of history.  Now I feel technology has become a tool that can be used to create new doors of exploration.  As a history teacher this new technology of how one can connect with someone across the world in seconds is priceless.  The way people can connect with others and explore and collaborate is amazing.  In one of my books I was reading for W531, A New Culture of Learning, the authors give an example of how these professional scientist and armatures across the world were viewing an astronomy event and with the tool of collectives on line, they were able to tap into this collective and instantly be a part of a group collaboration and figure out what they witnessed and prove a theory.  This was only possible because it was a collaboration of a large group of scientists that were observing the same time, same day from around the world.  If this had been only one person it might have been dismissed as an oversight or miscalculation. This new learning is beyond just a group project with four or five students, it’s become a learning environment of infinite amount of people who can connect and share their passions together and learn from one another.

Technology has changed the way most students conduct their daily lives in learning.  It is essential that our schools get on board in guiding students on how to use these tools properly. Through mistakes we learn and sometimes in our schools today that is seen as unacceptable and as Aran Lavassseur states in his blog, “This is a process of discovery—and like all discovery, it’s filled with trial and error.”  Students learn through mistakes and learn from others especially their peers. The process on how students learn today has changed with the ever changing new technologies.  With so many apps available for so many topics, it is easy to find the right tool to enhance some ones learning. For example take the apps that are available for reading. Students who once struggled in their reading and comprehension, can now use different apps to help them organize their thoughts as well as their output. (Holland,2013) They not only have accesses to these reading apps, but they have dictionaries, encyclopedias, calculators, graphing tools and atlases that are available on any mobile device such as ipads. (Holland, 2013) With having so many resources available to them, this helps guide them through what their interests are and sparks a continuous pool of learning.

Some teachers have expressed how students that were afraid to speak up in class are now using their successes of on line tools they are good at to help others in class. Technology is helping some students become more interactive with others as well as more engaged in group collaborative projects. This new way of learning sometimes helps students that weren't so great at a topic to find other ways in exploring their passions and begin to excel.  With technology redefining our environment these learners find new ways to shine.  For example through new reading and writing programs the Department of Education evaluated these programs and showed that those who had fallen behind were good at combating adult illiteracy.(Catching on at last) When computers are present and we provide students with the correct tools and how to use them towards improving their education, they rise to the occasion.  In some schools that have introduced personalized learning on laptops for all pupils, their scores in math, science and reading rose from 73% to 88%.(Catching on at last) Teachers find that  these students not only excel as excel boosts their confidence.

 Students now a days can go online and practically find various programs that can enhance their learning ability.  Most schools have updates of students homework and study guides posted on the school website.  For example when students are absent they don’t have to worry about falling behind because the information is posted for them to retrieve and keep up on what happened on that particular day.  There is also free tutoring online for extra help available and most of the time it’s free.  As one of my students said to me this past year, “Mrs. Moore who needs books when you have Google.”  I found myself laughing, but he was right in a sense of having the access at his fingertips.  They can solve problems from just anything by “Googling” it but I feel because the technology is becoming a part of our daily lives and how we interact with one another it is cultivated deep in our being. Technology has redefined our learning and the way we interact with each other on a day to day basis and not just in the classroom but in our homes, work place, leisure time and much more.

Technology is just not in a corner of room anymore, it’s surrounds us everywhere we go.  It helps us when we need extra help on topics or to make our everyday lives more efficient. Students learn new things constantly and want to share their findings and with technology available at their fingertips, they are able to create new cultures of learning among themselves and others around the world.


Click of a Button Video: http://youtu.be/6A-q43roCbg

References

Holland, B. (2013, July 11). iPads: From Pedagogical Crutch to Education Innovation.

Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/ipads-pedagogical-crutch-education-innovaiton-beth-holland

Sterkin, S. (Teacher) (n.d.). Ipads for writing. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockects.org/atoz/technology/

Catching on at last. (2013, June 19). The Economist, Retrieved fromhttp://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21580136-new-technology-poised-disrupt-americas-schools-and-then-worlds-catching-last

Levasseur, A. (2011, November 10). Teaching Without Technology. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/11/teaching-without-technology-314

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. (2011). A new culture of learning:cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown.

Digital Divide VoiceThread

For the life of me, I have tried to link only my slide and have been unsuccessful.  My slide is #8. Sorry for the "Umms"  who knew a small mic can be so intimidating:)


https://voicethread.com/share/4729105/