RSA #7 - Game Based Learning

This week’s readings focused on game-based learning. Game-based learning uses games that engage students while also having defined learning goals and outcomes. Game-based learning is often designed so that once a player gains knowledge in the game, they must apply that knowledge to advance. Many games utilize storylines and narratives to engage players and guide learners to advanced levels of the game and deeper levels of knowledge. "Numerous scholars and learning theorists have advocated experiential learning— the belief that learning involves real-world participation, ... in the intimate relations between experience and education, the certainty that understandings are derived from and modified through experience... are necessary features of meaningful learning." (Barab, 2005)

The game-based resource I am presenting is iCivics.org, and specifically the Immigration Nation interactive game. iCivics.org is dedicated to promoting civic learning through interactive games. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor founded the site with the mission of providing students with the tools they need to participate in a democratic society. While the site has many great, interactive games, I am focusing on Immigration Nation, where students learn about the United States immigration system and makes decisions on who is, and who is not, for a good candidate for U.S. citizenship. 

I have seen amazing engagement with my fourth grade class, and I believe the site and game have struck a great balance between game play and educational value. Many of my students are "gamers", and I have seen similar motivations and opportunities as a British survey of students which found that "challenge/achievement, control and pleasure/relaxation came out as distinct factors as reasons for playing with challenge rated as the feature of games that might be most useful in learning." (Connolly, 2006) I believe that more game based resources such as this one will be essential to engaging the next generation of civic-minded citizens. 

RESOURCES: 

Barab, S., Thomas, M. Dodge, T., Carteaux, R. and Tuzun, H. (2005). Making learning fun: QuestAtlantis, agame without guns. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(1): 86-107.

Connolly, T.M., Boyle, E., and Hainey, T. (2006) "Can Computer Games Motivate Next GenerationLearners" A Survey of Students" Reasons for Playing Computer Games", 10th InternationalConference of Motivation, 28-30 September 2006, University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany.

RSA #5 - Resource-Based Learning using Interactive Blogs (Weebly)

Weebly.com

it4explore.weebly.com (Our 4th Grade Site)

This week’s readings focused on resource-based learning. In the past, resourced based learning referred to a method where resources were used in a supplemental fashion. However, technological advancements changed the paradigm as endless resources could now be accessed for a plethora of topics, "including access to resources in contexts not previously available, increased flexibility in their use, and ready availability, manipulability, and sharability." (Hill, 2001)

Presently, resource-based learning is based on the ability to choose from all available media, research, material, and web based technology to find the best match of content presentation for the individual student’s learning style. A teacher is responsible for locating resources and design the framework of the activities to help students achieve their academic goal. The key to success in resource-based learning is ensuring that the learning design engages students with multiple resources that appeal to their own preferences, interests, and skills. As with inquiry based learning, the teacher facilitates student-driven learning by assisting the student while allowing the student to direct the journey of knowledge and choice of resources.

I believe an excellent resource to facilitate resource-based learning is through an interactive class blog or website. While there are many great options, I am going to focus this post on weebly.com. Weebly blog have a variety of amazing features, but I will be addressing how a weebly blog can be used to promote resource-based learning, as my fellow 4th grade teachers and I had a fantastic experience doing so last year. Our unit-based websites proved extremely successful in engaging students and as a central location for materials,  resources, and discussions. Using the site, we, the teachers, were able to collaborate, organize, and share resources we found independently by adding to the site, rather than a long string of emails back and forth with long, unmanageable urls. This helped us organize all of our resources in a lasting way which becomes more comprehensive with each use. This is especially true because once students began using the Weebly page, we were able to facilitate inter-class study and research groups, with students writing, reflecting, and sharing resources they had found independently. Students were engaged because they were continually were exposed to new sources on a daily basis, in addition to the fact that they loved finding that “cool”, new site other students were using. This independent exploration of sources drastically increased student ownership and led the way to truly authentic and long lasting knowledge. 

SOURCES:
Hill, Janette R., and Michael J. Hannafin. "Teaching and learning in digital environments: The resurgence of resource-based learning." Educational Technology Research and Development 49.3 (2001): 37-52.

RSA #3 - Teaching Technology through Inquiry Based Instruction

Hacking Education: Using Inquiry Based Learning to Teach Tech

This week's reading focused on inquiry-based learning. Inquiry-based learning starts by introducing problems or questions for students to solve without a set path to travel. Students will seek out issues and details to research and develop further questions to continually refine and refocus their work towards a solution. I have found inquiry-based learning to be extremely effective in the classroom, and the knowledge gained to be authentic and deep. While I have had great success using inquiry-based learning in many subject matters, I have found it to be most effective in teaching technology to students. 

One of the greatest advantages of using inquiry-based learning to teach technology is the understanding that technology is always changing and evolving, thus new solutions are possible at every turn. When I teaching my students code using Code.org last year, they quickly realized that I didn't have the answers for them, and they would have to problem solve independently, think creatively, and work persistently. They rose to the challenge and made me realize how much more they were capable of achieving. 

The linked article, "Teaching Computer Science Through Inquiry", discusses using inquiry-based learning in a field not often associated with this method. The author argues that computer science is often taught simply is engineering, but would be and more effectively taught as a science as well. Utilizing inquiry-based lessons, students will focus less on asking "How do we make X?",  instead asking, "How does X work?" 

The author adds, what I believe, is an excellent distillation of what inquiry based learning would look like in a technology or computer software class. "Teaching computer science as inquiry might be a great way to teach debugging skills.  We would think about each run of a program as an experiment, and we would explicitly 'identify assumptions,' 'construct explanations,' and 'consider alternative explanations', ... encouraging students to explore 'how things work' and what their models of computation are and what they should be."  While the research on inquiry-based learning in computer science is limited, I believe it is a natural fit as activities such as identifying a virus or troubleshooting computer software. What is hacking if not inquiry-based process?

SOURCE:
Guzdial, M. (2010) Teaching Computer Science through Inquiry. Computing Education Blog. Retrieved from https://computinged.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/teaching-computer-science-through-inquiry/

RSA #2 - Blended Learning

"New Interests, Old Rhetoric, Limited Results"

This week's readings and assignments were focused on the rise of technology based innovations in the educational world, specifically regarding virtual classrooms and blended learning. Whereas virtual schools are entirely online, blended learning requires face to face interaction with students and teachers in addition to a significant portion of technology based learning. While both models have the potential to revolutionize education, enthusiasm must be tempered as not all virtual schools and blended learning are equal. 

Associate Professor Noel Enyedy analyzed the implementation and results of technology use in the classroom and found that "despite the advances in both hardware and software, recent studies show little evidence for the effectiveness of this form of Personalized Instruction." (Enyedy, 2014) Enyedy posits that "this is due ... to the incredible diversity of systems that are lumped together under the label of Personalized Instruction ... [and]there are several ways that these systems can be implemented in the classroom" which makes it "nearly impossible to make reasonable claims one way or the other." (Enyedy, 2014) But what is clear is that technology's effectiveness in instruction is directly tied to the quality of integration into classroom routines and structures. Enyedy suggests re-conceptualizing how technology in used in class which "do not assume the computer will provide direct instruction to students, but instead will serve to create new opportunities for both learning and teaching." (Enyedy, 2014) 

I could not agree more with Professor Enyedy, and believe that it is imperative that school districts invest heavily in professional development for teachers in technology implementation and utilization. In Ben Johnson's Edutopia article, "Why Quality Professional Development for Teachers Matters", he quotes a principal as saying, "If we want students to learn, the most critical element is the teacher. So professional development is the overall most important thing we can do to help students learn."  (Johnson, 2014) Unfortunately, I believe many districts are missing the mark, as allocating money for educating teachers on how to use technological tools does not have the public relations appeal that buying technology does, and thus is often not prioritized properly. Without proper training, virtual schools and blended learning will not fully realize their educational potential, and may come to be less effective than direct instruction. 

SOURCES:

Enyedy, N. (2014). Personalized Instruction: New Interest, Old Rhetoric, Limited Results, and the Need for a New Direction for Computer-Mediated Learning. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. Retrieved from http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/personalized-instruction. 

Johnson, B.  (2014) Why Quality Professional Development for Teachers Matters. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-quality-professional-development-teachers-matters-ben-johnson