Category Archives: games in school

I Built my First Virtual Reality Lab in my Classroom.

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This year, I started using immersive virtual reality in my classroom.  I recently built a space for the students to actively participate in this amazing experience.  The students have given me very positive feedback – they LOVE it!  I call it the Virtual Reality Lab, but some of them call it “The Alien Space Ship”.   They love the virtual reality experiences and they are engaged in learning!  I am currently using HTC Vive.  I built an 8″ by 8″ frame with PVC pipe.  I attached curtains (silver reflective roll insulation) to the frame.  The “door” and windows are clear plastic.  I attached the sensors to adjacent corners.  I added a line of LED Lights to the top.   In the last sentence of my dissertation, I wrote that “Virtual reality would take teachers back to school”,  it has taught me quite a bit!  It’s amazing to see students experience virtual reality for the first time.  It’s great to see students so actively engaged in learning!

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Minecraft Education Edition hits v1.0

 

 

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of Digital Trends writes that “Microsoft and Mojang have been working hard at further developing Minecraft Education Edition, and at the start of 2017, the two firms have announced that this version of the game has now hit 1.0.  Minecraft Education Edition is the same Minecraft world you know and love, but with specific features aimed at students and teachers. It has NPCs for tutorials, simple multiplayer server setup, camera and portfolio recording, in-game chalkboards and downloadable lesson plans for educators. While all of those features have been present since the early days of Minecraft Education Edition in late 2016, now that it’s hit version 1.0, there are a number of new features to enjoy, too.”

To read more about Minecraft Education Edition V1.0 click here –

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/minecraft-education-1/#ixzz4XZSUUtc3

Pokémon Go and potential curriculum links

https://i0.wp.com/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2016/07/25/103846353-Pokemon-Go-news_1-large_trans++bMR798aWDZck9uDQFumyM6LVobgUGC4FoVT7JGNuBBk.jpg

 

The popular game Pokémon Go can be leveraged for learning.

write that some of the; “potential curriculum links are:

  • whole-class discussions of how the movement of tectonic plates has affected GPS readings in Australia (science, geography, English)
  • photographing both real insects and virtual Pokémon and then writing up Pokédex entries for the insects they have collected (science, media studies, ICT, English, art)
  • designing classification flowcharts for Pokémon as a lead-up to classification of animals (science, English, maths)
  • assigning students the job of Pokéstop tour guide (Pokéstops are often positioned in front of historical locations), requiring them to research and report on the history of the area (history, art, English)
  • framing maths problems around the data available for each Pokémon such as height, weight and strength. For example, if I have 3,700 stardust, what combination of Pokémon can I power up that will use up all my stardust? Or Asha’s house is 600m from school. The only time she plays Pokémon Go is as she walks to and from school every day. How many days will it take her to hatch a 5.0km egg?”To read their full article at The Conversation click here
  • http://theconversation.com/gaming-in-the-classroom-what-we-can-learn-from-pokemon-go-technology-63766

Yay! Today I started interviewing participants for my dissertation!

Higher Order Thinking Skills
in iPad Learning Games

Anthony W. Palmer Ed.D. (Candidate), Researcher
 Institutional Review Board Identification: #94-14

Diagram of the levels within Bloom's Taxonomy Triangle

 

 

It has been a very long journey toward my dissertation.

 

I have completed all the courses for my doctorate.

I have completed my literature review on learning games and higher order thinking skills.

My research committee has approved my dissertation proposal.

The internal review board at my university has approved my application to  conduct the research.

The principal and the teachers have granted me permission to conduct my research at the school.

Over 30 parents have returned their consent forms.

So today…

three students assented to participate in my research on Higher order thinking Skills in iPad learning games!!!

Yay ! ! !

They all did a great job, playing the games and answering my questions.

There would have been more students participating today, but I quickly used up all of the memory on the iPad recording the first three students.

Many students asked if it was too late to turn in their consent forms.  I told them that they still have time.  It seems that many more will join the project before the end of the school year!

It is so good to have passed the necessary bureaucratic hoops and finally be conducting research with students!

So now, more observations, interviews, analysis, synthesis, writing and rewriting.

Yay!

6 Game Resources for learning STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)

https://i0.wp.com/www.janetsmcginn.com/icons/game_cellCRAFT.jpg

Monique Liles recommends the following Games for learning STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math), in an article for E School news;

1. Glass Labs:

2. Cell Craft:

3. Pandemic II

4. ChemGame Tutor:

5. Ayiti The Cost of a Life:

6. Ellen J. McHenry’s website:

Liles writes “In my classroom, we play a lot of games, frequently as the lesson. We then discuss what the students experienced in the game and make content connections via whole-group discussion. I often create a graphic organizer or worksheet for students to use to organize their thoughts about the game. When I have my biology and life science students play Cell Craft, for example, I demonstrate gameplay and features for the whole class using my laptop and projector. Students complete the organizer while we go through the game as a group and discuss the content. Then, students get a chance to play the game and really immerse themselves.”

Monique Liles is a teacher at Babb Middle School in Forest Park, GA. She is a member of Discovery Education’s Discovery Educator Network (DEN), a global community of educators that are passionate about transforming the learning experience with digital media.

To read the full article at E School click here;

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/02/17/gaming-stem-813/?

Gaming and learning in a Pennsylvania school.

From WQED Learning Innovation;

“Students at Propel Braddock Hills High School may appear to be playing games on their computers, but what they’re actually doing is enhancing their learning. English, civics, math, shop, art, science and engineering teachers all incorporate gaming into their curriculum, making learning fun — and accessible — to their students.”

California School Integrates Games and Learning

 

From PBS – News Hour

“At first glance, it might seem like the students who attend the private K-12 New Roads School in Santa Monica, California, are simply playing video and computer games all day. But these students are actually taking part in a new experiment in educational innovation. The NewsHour’s April Brown reports on one school’s approach to keep students engaged all day.”
PBS – News Hour
playmaker school
GameDesk

Teaching Social Thinking Skills with Computer Games

Rubin Osnat, of University of Haifa, Israel writes that;

“Current educational policy in many nations encourage emphases within the school curriculum, particularly important in the second millennium: enhancing thinking as an integral part of the school curriculum, and integrating technology. Future learners should not only acquire a predefined constant knowledge, but higher order thinking abilities, enabling them to intelligently analyze and deal with different situations, solve problems and make decisions. In an age where learning resources are changing, incorporating technology into the curriculum has been found to positively affect the development of higher order thinking skills. Thereof we should examine using technology for teaching (ordering and practicing) thinking to be used in the learners’ everyday lives.
In the current college course program, teachers learned how to use computer games to enhance social thinking skills. Participants were required to develop simple computer games, including analyzing situations (e.g., what skills involve social activities like choosing a friend), and building an algorithm of problem solving to be practiced in a computer game, in which children had to solve social issues. Participants reported fostering thinking skills: thinking about alternatives, considering consequences, comparing and analyzing steps. The program has increased the awareness of teachers to the significant potential of computers for teaching thinking, which can be applied to the learners’ everyday lives.”

EdGamer Celebrates Three Years of PodCasting about Games and Learning!

Congratulations Zach and Gerry, keep up the good work!

From the EdGamer show notes;

EdGamer 129: Our 3 Year Manniversary

This week on EdGamer 129 we celebrate our 3 year manniversasy! Relive all the good times  from our past as we go through our favorite shows and guests. We have 128 shows and we have learned so much from our work, our guests, and our FOE’s (friends of EdGamer). Tune-in and level-up!

Olympic Snowboarding Cross

 

Niilo Interview with Zack

 

our favorite episodes…

 

An Open Letter to STEAM: If You Build It, ED Will Come

 

Minecraft Episodes – Joel Levin

 

Games & Learning with Jim Gee

 

EdGamer 86: Jeremiah McCall and the Learning Games Network

 

EdGamer 81: John Hunter Brings Us World Peace

 

EdGamer 74: Magicians – A Language Learning RPG

Show Host: Zack Gilbert

Show Contributor/Producer: Gerry James  


 To browse the EdGamer archives click here;

http://edreach.us/channel/edgamer/#

 

 

Video Games Build Critical Thinking Skills

Jordan Shapiro, gave a great talk on “Critical Thinking And Video Games: Scalable Pedagogy For The Future.”

Jordan Shapiro, author of FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Blisssays that; “Video games teach critical thinking, problem solving skills, and perseverance while building metacognitive skills.  Game-based learning can provide systematic, data driven teaching in a way that forces creative problem solving rather than rote memorization.  And video games can do that in a way that is replicable, scalable, and increasingly affordable enough that we can distribute it globally and equitably.”

To read more click here;

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/03/19/heres-why-we-need-video-games-in-every-classroom/