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Using Gaming Principles to Engage Students

Using Gaming Principles to Engage Students
Game designers understand how to make games memorable and "sticky" in the sense that, even when you aren't playing the game, you're still thinking about solving its problems and puzzles. As teachers, how might we make our projects and content as sticky as games? How can we engage kids in thoughtful learning even after they leave the classroom? 1. Some of the best games have engrossing stories full of memorable characters and following time-honored patterns from mythology and narrative fiction. In any project-based curriculum, the story is the process. Rather than assessing the final product, find more ways to grade the process. What was surprising? All of these details can be recalled later when they turn in their final project. 2. In certain games, such as Angry Birds, players must actually fail many times in order to succeed. Try providing ways for students to "fail" frequently in many small ways, rather than in one big high-stakes test. 3. Here's another way to look at it. 4. 5. Related:  Maker Education

Students teaching students IT SPRINGBORO – Students preparing students for future careers was at the heart of a week long effort to promote information technology in Springboro Community City Schools. Springboro High School students enrolled in IT and digital media programs – satellite courses of the Warren County Career Center – recently taught their junior high and high school peers about computer science. “The purpose of this week is to bring awareness to the computer science field in the way of education and job opportunities,” said instructor Jenifer Conard. According to data from the National Science Foundation, fewer than 2.4 percent of students earn a degree in computer science – and yet the need for computing skills and the demand for technical jobs is increasing. Springboro’s technology students set up activities for other students to sign up for special instruction during lab time and led online tutorials in classes. More than 800 students participated in the activities.

All Our Children Learning: Benjamin Bloom’s Mastery Learning | HOPE Foundation The following is an excerpt from: Engaging Every Learner Contributors: Alan Blankstein, Pedro Noguera, Stephen Peters, Alan Boyle, Thomas Guskey, Antoinette Mitchell and others… Benjamin Bloom outlined a specific instructional strategy… labeling it learning for mastery (Bloom, 1968), and later shortening the name to simply mastery learning (Bloom, 1974). With this strategy, teachers first organize the concepts and skills they want students to learn into instructional units that typically involve about a week or two of instructional time. Following initial instruction on the unit, teachers administer a brief assessment based on the unit’s learning goals. Paired with each formative assessment are specific corrective activities for students to use in correcting their learning difficulties. With the feedback and corrective information gained from a formative assessment, each student has a detailed prescription of what more needs to be done to master the concepts or skills from the unit.

UK schools to make space apps with interstellar Raspberry Pi computers UK Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake will take two Raspberry Pi computers on his next space mission, in the hope that UK pupils will create their own app or experiment that can be deployed on the International Space Station. Peake will fly two “Astro Pi” maker-boards, which have been kitted with sensors, to the space station when he begins his six-month mission. Primary and secondary school children will compete to develop an idea for an application, which if successful, will be developed with the help of the Astro Pi, CGI and Raspberry Pi Foundation, who will code their idea. Peake will then load up the winning code whilst in orbit, set them running, collect the data generated and then download this to Earth where it will be distributed to the winning teams. Business Secretary Vince Cable highlighted the importance of inspiring pupils to get involved with data science. Peake added: "I'm really excited about this project, born out of the cooperation among UK industries and institutions.

Power in the Classroom: Creating the Environment by Jonathan C. Erwin An important concept for teachers to understand is that by helping to empower students, teachers enjoy more, not less, power. Remember the way Choice Theory defines power. First, there is power over, which is frequently the first thing that comes to mind when we hear the word power. Many teachers in my workshops complain about students who engage them in “power struggles.” Giving Students a Say in the Classroom The Class Constitution One of the most effective and practical ways teachers can give students a say in the classroom is by allowing them to participate in developing the classroom rules or behavioral guidelines. The shortcomings of this method, however, outweigh the benefits. If the teacher engages the students in developing clear behavioral guidelines that the students see as adding quality to their school lives, the relationship between the students and the teacher is enhanced. Step 1: Identify the Behaviors and Attitudes. Classroom Needs Circle Figure 4.1.

What is Connected Learning Ninth-grader Charles Raben has seen first-hand that by connecting the many spheres of his life -- peers, interests and academic pursuits -- new learning experiences can and will present themselves in both organized and unstructured ways. In the summer of 2012, Charles utilized his photography skills and the petition website Change.org to capture and share the story of Jerry Delakas, a longtime local newsstand operator who was in danger of losing his New York City license over a technicality. "I wanted to have that experience of creating change myself." The petition-making process proved to be a life-changing learning experience for the teen. Charles has become even more engaged in school, and all of his academic work is improving as a result of all of these activities because he has an identity now. You can view more Connected Learning Case Studies and Personal Stories right here on connectedlearning.tv.

The Other 21st Century Skills Many have attempted to identify the skills important for a learner today in this era of the 21st century (I know it is an overused phrase). I have an affinity towards the skills identified by Tony Wagner: Critical thinking and problem-solvingCollaboration across networks and leading by influenceAgility and adaptabilityInitiative and entrepreneurialismEffective oral and written communicationAccessing and analyzing informationCuriosity and imagination Today I viewed a slideshow created by Gallup entitled, The Economics of Human Development: The Path to Winning Again in Education. Here are some slides from this presentation. This presentation sparked my thinking about what other skills and attributes would serve the learners (of all ages) in this era of learning. GritResilienceHope and OptimismVisionSelf-RegulationEmpathy and Global Stewardship Grit Students can develop psychological resources that promote grit, tenacity, and perseverance. Resilience

What skills will you need to succeed in the future? Top 10 skills for the successful 21st-century worker Leadership Take a cross-disciplinary approach to project team- work. and following in order to prepare for your career. Many businesses are adopting a participative management style, which involves employees in decision making. George DeMetropolis University of Phoenix faculty member and leadership consultant Critical thinking Take coursework that offers an opportunity to engage in self-directed, project-based and applied learning. Communication Learn in an environment that requires participation in many modes of communication. Students hold themselves accountable and have the opportunity to hold others accountable for the good of the team. Irene Blundell University of Phoenix faculty member Productivity and accountability Select a school that provides a code of conduct in learning situations to build accountability and productivity. Collaboration Choose courses that are collaborative and measure success by team results. Adaptability Take advantage of flexible course schedules and

How to Get Girls Into Coding WHEN I was 7 years old, I knew the capitals of most major countries and their currencies. I had to, if I wanted to track down a devious criminal mastermind in the computer game “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?” On screen, the ACME Detective Agency would spit out clues like notable landmarks to help players identify the city where Carmen’s globe-trotting henchmen were hiding out. I wouldn’t learn how to pronounce Reykjavik for more than a decade, but I could tell you that its currency was called the krona. I was the child of Indian immigrants, and like any begrudging Bengal tiger cub, I penciled in fill-in-the-blank maps and memorized multiplication tables after dinner. A huge nationwide push is underway, funded by the nonprofit Code.org’s corporate and billionaire donors, from Amazon and Google to Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, to introduce American schoolchildren to coding and to redefine it as a basic skill to be learned alongside the three R’s. Continue reading the main story

The Importance of Thinking In- and Out-of-the-Box How to encourage creativity in a tech-based environment. GUEST COLUMN | by Wendy Marshall How do you teach a student to be creative? During our summer Makers Camp that is put on by my educational center ExplorOcean, children (ages 9-13) participate in guided projects using tools such as Little Bits, Makey Makeyand Hummingbird robotics. It is important, especially in a tech-based environment, to encourage students to think both inside and outside the box. 1. Researchers who study prodigious accomplishments talk about the 10,000-hour rule, which means in order to be able to do something notable, one must devote 10,000+ hours to mastering that discipline. 2. Requirements, guidelines, time and materials all narrow the realm in which a student is allowed to operate, making it easier for her or him to focus on the problem or issue. 3. 4. When inventing, often kids do not get it right the first time. 5. Students respond positively to encouragement and reassurance. Like this: Like Loading...

3 Ways Coding and Gaming Can Enhance Learning Coding isn't just for computer science any more. Educators are finding that teaching students to write code and design games enhances learning and creates engagement. These examples illustrate how coding and games are being used across the curriculum and at all levels, as well as why great teaching is at the very heart of this innovation. Connecting With Each Learner: Inform7 (Interactive Fiction for High School) Imagine a weather-beaten oak door. Now go to Google Images and try to find a picture of the exact door that you have seen in your head. Now imagine that as you approach the door, you notice deep scratches along the doorframe, as if something has been trying to get in . . . or trying to hold the door closed. Yet through the power of narrative description, we are all probably picturing the same door in our heads. The stumbling block for most students who are trying to write their adventure game is finding or creating graphics. Great Teachers

Gamestorming Upgrade Your Brain: Resources for Coding Beginners Adam Benzion is the founder of Entirely—a Seattle startup focused on social innovation, keen on connecting more people in more places to create special things together. “Everybody in this country should learn to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think.”— Steve Jobs Anyone who’s paying attention these days has probably figured out that computer programming is fast becoming the new standard of literacy in our technology-driven economy. Those with even a rudimentary knowledge of code will probably read this little article and chuckle. As an intelligent person who’s had a successful career in the software industry and even managed to deliver as technology entrepreneur, I hate feeling left out of certain conversations because I don’t know the language. Sometimes I suspect that I could have gone a lot farther and faster if I had seen the light earlier on in my career. Everyone is tweaking, hacking, and experimenting. Upgrading your MBA brain is actually fun Next up: Codecademy

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