Game On, Even When School's Started...

All I said was, "Yes."

Last winter, some students of mine asked if they could choose to create a model using Minecraft.  We do a large project as the culmination of our unit on Islam.  Students write a research paper, create a Powerpoint or other visual presentation on their topic, and create a project to demonstrate their knowledge and share with their classmates.   So, I told these students, "Sure, you can build your model mosque using Minecraft."

The result was astonishing, and I don't just mean the virtual model.

Engaging with Games
These boys, a group of often "unengaged", struggling but very bright students, got excited.  They took on a huge project on their own.  They worked long hours outside of class to create a detailed exterior and interior mosque.  Soon, three other boys, who I DON'T EVEN TEACH, got involved, managing a server for their project and helping to trouble-shoot.  I stepped to the side as coach and facilitator, and they made it happen.  When they presented their project to the class, they were so proud of the project they chose, they created, and they managed to complete.  Their fellow classmates were just as excited to learn about it.

More about educators' uses of Minecraft in this article and MinecraftEdu.

Playing games is a huge part of what our students enjoy outside of school, and more than ever, it's becoming a part of how they learn in school as well.  If we want to engage students, we need to speak their language, step into their worlds.  This article describes how students are using video games to learn.

Recently, my family has started to play around with the XBox 360's Kinect Camera.  I am amazed at how sophisticated the technology is!  The camera can read all of my movements, making an arm gesture replace the remote control.   I can go skydiving above the Himalayas, kayak death-defying rapids, complete brain-games by following a pattern to burst bubbles, or learn dance-moves with the Black-Eyed Peas.  (That last one is done in total privacy!)

Video-gaming is not just for couch potatoes.  Not only do active games get kids moving, they get them thinking.  The Quest to Learn program is capturing kids' love of play into their curriculum.  Teachers, more than ever, are incorporating games into their classrooms, and it's just going to grow.

Gaming is Good
It's not a bad thing, either.   A White House study shows that video games are actually good for you.  In moderation, Michelle Obama might add!  Entertainment Software Associates have found that "video games make exceptional teaching machines." They teach critical thinking, problem-solving, persistance, for example.   Furthermore, game-design has become a huge industry, one that we want innovative new thinkers to be a part of, and to continue to create more constructive and educational games such as Games for Change.

Infinite Realities and Possibilities
This podcast on infinite realities got me thinking.  What will education in the future look like?  It describes a world in which technologies such as the Kinect camera make it possible for students to present information virtually, and to take on any form they choose, like when we choose an avatar for a Facebook profile.

Teachers as well can assume a different avatar.  I, for example, can take on the avatar of a knight when presenting a vodcast about feudal society.   I love the idea of taking on historical personalities, like having William Shakespeare deliver a mini-lesson on an excerpt of Romeo and Juliet.  If you want to get started with something like this, go to Voki.   How about this?

Gandhi wants to know, "What defines a nonviolent protest?"

Playing games is something that kids have always loved to do.  And I'm a big proponent of kids spending times outdoors and with face-to-face interaction as well as playing on the screen.  But stepping to the side to let students explore their world, both virtual and real, by using games they know and love was a powerful experience.  So, I say, "Game on!"

Log on, play and learn

USA TODAY's Greg Toppo asked Asi Burak, co-president of Games for Change, to pick five powerful online games that show the genre's educational potential. Here are his picks:

iCivics. Inspired by retired Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the series of games teaches players how government works.

Codeacademy. A relatively new gamelike experience, it teaches users how to write code for computers "in a very engaging and friendly way," Burak says.

WeTopia. Released last November on Facebook, it's a "fresh and ambitious" game similar to FarmVille that generates charitible donations to non-governmental organizations.

Nanu Planet. The game explores the historic conflict between North Korea and South Korea as a fictional planetary struggle.

Collapsus. The game uses multimedia to bring an "energy crisis scenario" to life.

Taking the Plunge into a New Age of Teaching

Our school is going to be under construction this year.  Our administration and many experienced staff members recommended not taking on too much change because the whole campus will be in upheaval. Though I have a tendency to get carried away with things, I could see the wisdom of their words and fully intended to follow their advice.

Then ISTE 12 happened.


A group of us from our small K-8 district attended, and I was very excited because it was my first ISTE.  EdTech is not new to me, or so I thought, having gotten a degree in it and attended many CUE conferences.  But what I discovered was a brave, new world, a vast array of ways that students can go deeper with their learning, expression and connection to the world.

I've discovered and explored in more depth:  new modes for classes to connect, flipped classrooms, flat classrooms, and multimedia tools--so many it boggles the mind and there are new ones every millisecond!

And when you've discovered a new world, how can you take one small part of it?

I have concluded that you can't.  The entire paradigm has shifted and so I've decided to

take the plunge! 

So, this year, I am taking a fresh approach to my lessons and classes.

New Structures for Class Communication  I have scrapped my old website and am constructing a new one, using Edmodo as my class hub.   We are also going to be using ClassDojo, and I'm going to use my existing wiki to a much greater degree.  In the past, my website has been a place where we share class photos and student projects, and I want to continue to do that.  I have also included pages that go into more depth with politics and media literacy, and so I do see a need to keep my website.  The difference will be that Edmodo will be where students view our class calendar, complete some of our assignments, and collaborate on projects on a more informal basis.

New Structures for Lesson Design  I knew that I would be adapting my lessons to incorporating stations or centers.  I had already committed to piloting a writing program which scores student writing, MyAccess.  My plan is to have some students write  in class, using the 5 desktop computers in my class and rotate to another station where I could conduct student writing conferences.  I will have two other stations where students will be engaged in vocabulary, language or peer-assessment activities.

This model also seems to push me in the direction of incorporating the flipped-teaching model.  I've been experimenting with using Screencast-o-matic to create a screencast for a scavenger hunt for students to become familiar with Edmodo.  On the way, I've been acquainted with tools such as Pow Toon and MentorMob.  Edmodo has also been a fantastic resource for developing my Professional Teacher Network.

New Possibilities for Global Collaboration  I'm currently reading Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds, which has been an incredible resource and inspiration!  Co-author, Vicki Davis of Cool Cat Teacher Blog, led a workshop I attended at ISTE about Wikispaces.  I have had a wikispace for a couple of years, but have not used it much with my classes.  Now I'm excited to do a flat classroom project this year with my History classes, and perhaps my English classes as well.  I'm reading up on just how I'm going to attempt this!  However, I've already joined an Edmodo Group called World Wide Historians (group code qa6djo) in which teachers from around the U.S. and the world are going to add our students to discuss issues related to the world civilizations we'll study this year.

So, I consider this a journey and that is why I am calling this blog a travel journal.  My classroom has always had the slogan, Embarking on a Journey, and this year, my students and I will certainly be on a long and exciting one, together.