Week 5: Games Based Learning

This week we turned our classroom into our very own games arcade, but this wasn't simply for fun. It was to look at how we, as teachers, could use these resources in the classroom as effective learning tools.

I was sceptical at first as I have grown up playing video games and I always remember my parents grimacing over the amount of time I "wasted" by sitting in front of the television or on my 8-bit Game Boy playing Mario as a small child.

It's no surprise however that video games are now being used in the classroom as a learning tool when you consider the appeal and influence they have in youth culture. In recent years the most desired Christmas gifts by children were Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and DS and X-Box 360 consoles as well as games, to simply ignore their enthusiasm for these products would be foolish.

In class we used the Nintendo Wii console along with Guitar Hero and Cyberbike and talked about the educational benefit of these games.

I have played Guitar Hero before so I found it easy enough to get back into the flow of playing it again. I could see how children would be interested in playing this game as it is a bright and visually attractive game that gives the impression of Brian May-esque guitar skills without the years of practice.

The concept of the game gives me split thoughts though. I can remember my music lessons at school using keyboards and recorders and how, despite the hours of practice, it never sounded musically pleasing and I always hated music in school because of this reason. This game allows for children to work on basic music theory by looking at the symbols on the screen and converting this to the guitar controller they are using. It also provides a fun experience whilst doing so as it gives you the sense you are performing in front of a crowd with a band, playing popular songs.

I think the game also gives a false sense of your musical ability. You might be able to please the crowds with your riffs and solos but if you were to try and apply this to an actual guitar then it's not going to sound anything like the sweet licks you performed on stage.

I also had the opportunity to play Wii Music for a short while. It had a bell ringing game which was played by watching the notes on the screen and ringing your bell (Wii Remote) at the appropriate time. I found this game musically educational as it required timing and rhythm.

 Dazzle 

Week 4: Creativity, Collaboration and Sharing

This week we have been looking at creativity, collaboration and sharing. This covers a wide range of software and projects available through websites, applications and programs. I shall look at two of them and discuss the uses in and outside of the classroom.

Wallwisher
I have discussed the uses of Wallwisher in a previous post after having a brief look at it in university. In this post I have added my own Wallwisher wall which we can interact with. If you have any ideas of how this tool could be utilised for educational benefit then let me know by leaving a sticky.




Project: iCanRead
We were shown this literacy development project in our class. It uses the iPod classic and microphone accessory to record the children reading and allows them to listen back to their reading and assess their own development. This style of learning in the classroom will appeal to the children as they will gain confidence as they are able to make mistakes and realise this on their own before reading aloud in front of their peers and their classteacher. This kind of practice also eliminates the "reading groups" scenario in which children gather in groups to read a page each. I have seen this in many classrooms and it is clear that children become disengaged and do not pay attention to the reading as they don't find it relevant as they are not reading at the time and they can find it difficult to listen to other children reading, especially if they are struggling with reading aloud. The recorded files also allow the children to archive their progress and listen back to see how they have progressed. This is a great idea as the children will be able to self assess their own reading and this will help to build confident individuals in the classroom.

 Dazzle 