https://www.flickr.com/photos/wfryer/8983721488
Gaming and learning? Who would have ever put those two things together? My first thought when I heard about gamification took me to images of little race cars, Pac Man, and a host of other equally confusing or scary possibilities.  My prior knowledge concerning gaming of any sort created quite a mental barrier for this type of learning. Then EDU 653 happened - Emerging Web and Mobile Technologies. It was completely GAMIFIED! I could slightly hear the roar of the crowds as the lions tore me limb from limb. Anyway, I jumped in without floaties - I had to - it was part of the certification curriculum I needed. And guess what! I am still above water and surfing the waves. The course is set up in 3D Gamelab. Each assignment is a quest in which you earn XPs for credit. Our goal is 5000 XPs. I know - it sounded totally exhausting to me as well. But, it has been great. The range covered by the course work kept me engaged and curious for what was next. I got a late start, so the other players were ahead of me. And you know what? It sort of pushed me a little harder. 
So what about content? The assignments were creative and engaging. They made me dig deeper and reflect. We covered the specifics of CIPA, COPPA, FERPA, copyright, fair use, and Creative Commons. I thought I was well versed in these areas, but I picked up quite a few new points. I was not aware of the layers of public copyright licensing. I had also never taken the time to understand the attribution icons. 
The review of Blended, Flipped, and Personalized Learning corrected many of my misconceptions with these methods. I realized personalized learning, differentiation  and individualized learning were similar but different. And strategies like personalized pathways might lean more towards differentiation. ISTE provides an excellent article exploring these ideas.
Another important component in this course  concerns the development of our digital toolbox. For years I have stumbled around and Googled for tools as I needed them. Quit often I settled for something that really did not hit the target. Creating my own digital toolbox has been invaluable. Each item in the box means something to me. When others ask my suggestion for a digital tool, I now have a very defined and effective resource to reference.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hamptonroadspartnership/5351622529
With all that said, what does it all really matter? The course provided a dynamic learning environment, increased my personal learning network, and provided a platform for reflection. Emerging technologies and trends answer many needs for our students. It is time to embrace these opportunities and build innovative learning environments. I look forward to sharing these resources,modeling these learning trends, and moving forward.

Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 4, 2017 at 4:07 PM

    I can relate to feeling like you jumped in the deep end without floaties! I appreciate your determined spirit and am glad you found yourself swimming with confidence toward a future of sharing all that you've learned. I was also surprised at how much enjoyed the process of gamification. Somehow a balance was created between exposure to hordes of new tools and information and drowning in confusion. The distribution of tasks between quests kept me motivated and sounds like it was an overall productive investment for yourself as well. Best wishes on your learning journey with an endless pool of things to teach!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownApril 14, 2018 at 2:20 PM

    I can agree with you feeling lost when you joined this class. I was very confused on how I was going to navigate through. This class has helped to learn how to use more technology as well as give me more ideas to use in my future classroom. My favorite of the class has been expiring all of the technology the is available. I never even knew most of it was out there. Technology is an excellent way to keep your students involved and interacting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jamie AbernathyApril 19, 2018 at 1:22 PM

    I can agree with you on feeling like you had been lost when joining this class. I was confused and was worried about using 3D game lab instead of Canvas or another site like Persons paid access cards. This class has given me ideas to use in my classroom and opened me up to new ways to keep students involved!

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJuly 18, 2018 at 8:41 PM

    Agree! Once I saw games and started reading the descriptions I immediately gave up. I thought man I always lose at online games LOL but now that I am getting into it I see why it was done. It is creative and engaging and can definitely be used in classrooms. Students probably would love this and gravitate towards it more that we think. My concern is can the game quest be used across all grade levels or should there be a starting point? I think it will be great for middle school and up but I also think the smaller ages can make it work with the right tools and facilitator.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
I think most people agree to the idea of communication being a critical aspect of learning as we discuss and explore new ideas. However, when learning moves from a face to face environment into the online elearning arena, the type of communication to insure effective learning needs to be addressed. Should learning be driven online as a timed and structured event where everyone is moving at the same pace and schedule with real-time chat rooms (synchronous) or do students learn effectively in a more self-paced environment (asynchronous)? Or should the two be blended to create the ultimate elearning experience? In a blog post addressing the pros and cons of synchronous versus asynchronous, the author describes the two types of learning facilitation. (Paula, 2018) She details some of the positive qualities of real-time synchronous learning as more of a social interaction with immediate feedback and answers and the down side of synchronous learning is timing constraints, lack of on...
Read more

Final Reflection for EDU 654

Image
Elizabeth and I worked on developing a course concerning Creative Course design and Multimedia. Sometimes "group" projects can be frustrating and one sided, but we made a great team and I thoroughly enjoyed the process. At the onset we used Zoom to develop our blueprint plan of the course and deliverables. Once this skeleton was in place, the design process flowed smoothly.  One of our goals involved not only highlighting tools not yet used in class, but also to spotlight how "old" tools could be used with a fresh vision. For instance, sharing a slide deck among the learners versus everyone creating their own presentation. The design offered a platform for creative thinking and provided a collaborative environment for further learning.  As Elizabeth and I worked through the development of the course, we were able to share new tips and tricks and best practices from our own experiences. We also learned new features within Canvas and used those during the build -...
Read more

How Far Can We Go? or When Do We Start?

Image
The Future of Learning - Sugata Mitra One day Sugata Mitra punched a hole in a wall and filled it with technology. Then he asked "How far can it go?". I strongly suggest you take a few minutes and watch the video link at the beginning of this post. Mitra put technology in the hands of children as an experiment. The technology was in English - a foreign language to these local youth. The topics discussed far surpassed there current assumed ability level. Yet, despite all of the obstacles, they learned. Why? Mitra continued his pursuit and branched out to include Grannies as part of his school in the clouds. They provided support to children a continent away. They learned. Why? As education slowly evolves and technology sky rockets past us, isn't it time to think about the Why? Classroom need to transform into the hole in the wall where Grannies are pushing students forward with questions instead of directing them like stop lights. It is a scary transition for many....
Read more