My thoughts on Gamefication

In my philosophy that I just recently typed I stated that my lesson plans were incorporate games into the everyday curriculum in order to make learning a more fun and meaningful experience. Students love to play games, regular games or video games. When I saw gamefication my mind was blown away. I thought it was amazing that a teacher could incorporate their assignments into a video game form. Students would enjoy this over a boring drill worksheet any day. If a teacher can use the newest craze in technology the students will be interested and will look forward to going on and playing the game. The material is still being presented to the student and the student is still mastering the same skills but they are learning these skills in a more authentic manner. Students would think that the game is entertaining and look forward to earning a badge and moving up a level. If you make it competitive the students will strive to do their best and succeed to win the game. I know that I am competitive and if you turn something into a game I will be super engaged in the assignment and questions being asked. For example, our teacher had us play Human Tic-tac-toe, in which we answered questions about methods of teaching reading. I took very detailed notes and felt highly confident to play and my friend and I were very enthusiastic about winning. Overall, Gamefication is a very cool and unique way to get your students engaged in the material!

Technology Expert

The last class my partner and I zoomed through all the assignments that came our way. We made a website about how to use mobile devices in the classroom. Although, IPhones and other smart phones are not allowed in some classes due to texting and distractions, they are now being used to help engage the student in the material. After all of my research and experiences with technology in the class room I think using smart phones in the classroom is a great idea. Students can research material and use their phones to help them engage in the lesson. Students will be researching their own topics and finding information on their own. They love being on their phones as is so if there was an App that enhanced their learning they would be so engaged in it. Students love to use the new technology especially the IPads. I am in a Kindergarten class room now and the students love when they are doing reading and writing centers and they get to move to the IPad station or the Smart board station. They are enjoying themselves while learning the material in a more fun and interactive way.

Symbaloo and Pinterest

In class tonight we each did a presentation on a different app of technology that an educator can use in their classrooms. My group did a project on Symbaloo. I am glad that this was our topic because I will definitely be using this app in my future career as a teacher. I could even use symbaloo for my school websites and resources for this class in general. In class last night, we had to keep going back to the stockton site then the blackboard then the class's website just to get to another link. My classmate and I were saying that we could have a symbaloo with the INTC 2610 website on a tile so it would be easier to get to. We are already thinking of ideas to use this new piece of technology in our everyday lives. Another group did a presentation on Pinterest. I already have an account on Pinterest and I use it almost everyday. Currently, I am making up lesson plans for Science with a Inquiry Based style. This past Monday, I looked on Pinterest for ideas and I found four different concepts that align with the standards. I found cute ideas that I can incorporate in the classroom with my Kindergarten kids that I am teaching in my fieldwork. The other two groups did presentations on Live Binders and Scoop It. Live binders is a cool and eco-friendly way to save all their information for their classrooms. Scoop It is mainly articles and resources for older students to use as a resource for organization. It is basically like Pinterest without the pictures. Personally, I know I would use Symbaloo and Pinterest to make my lessons more authentic and fun. I will have a symbaloo linked to different educational games that my students could play.

Google Docs & Hangouts

The last two tech for educators really opened up my eyes to see the multiple uses of Google. Currently, I am taking Diversity in Families,Schools and Communities and this was the first class that a google hangout was introduced to me. We had to do a short project on myth of meritocracy and the teacher wanted us to do an impromptu presentation. Since we learned about Google Hangout in our first class when we introduced ourselves via video we decided to use it for our presentation as well. The teacher was very impressed that we were using the new technology we learned. Then when I was in Ms.Ross's tech for educators course I saw that we were all going to be doing a hangout. There were 15 of us in a google hangout. This was a very cool thing, it is like skype but with multiple people. A teacher could use this in the class room for student presentations. I also learned another new concept of technology : Google Docs. Google docs is very similar to word but u do not need to drag around a USB to save your documents. When the document is saved on google docs it goes to this sever. A student could do their assignments and save it under a folder labeled with the class name. I actually made a folder and named it Intermediate Semester. I save the majority of my school work on google docs now. I even used the template to make a "Frayer model" template about different types of assessment. I am glad that I grasping all the new technology concepts and putting it to use. Now, I am doing a project on how an educator could use symbaloo in the classroom and I think I will use it in my future classroom.