Mr. Ball

Change of Venue

2010-02-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

have moved my posts off the ECSD server and this blogger site and am now posting at http://casualteacher.org

The idea for the Casual Teacher site name was given to me by one of my co-workers and it represents two things. First, it relates to my relaxed and uncomplicated way of living. Second, it uses the currently popular tag for the "Casual Games" to draw a link towards digital games as learning tools. I am very excited to have my own site and I hope it draws me into more current and relevant classroom practices

I am now posting on my own site so that my message doesn't get confused with the districts message. I love the ECSD community and I am sure I won't say anything controversial but I want to move my thoughts away from their property so that there is no confusion about what I say and what they stand for. Trust me ECSD is a great place to work and this is really more about protecting them than me.

Micro Societies

2006-11-26T10:35:00.000-08:00

This is sort of a shout out to anyone who might have been thinking about this or who has read up on these ideas else where. I'm happy to say that chances to do research and read are few and far between since Madeline is taking up most of my time (waking and sleeping). If anyone knows of any research in the area of micro societies/values in the classroom and in the video games give me a shout out. Yeah pretty vague request I know.

I've been thinking a bit lately about the artificial society I create in my classroom. The rules that I have established with my students and the freedoms they enjoy when they respect the rules. My micro-society is not a good representation of the community outside my classroom (heck school's) doors but I feel that it is a good start based on the needs of the students and the expectations placed on me by parents.

I haven't used the games the I listed way back in June to teach with but have instead started giving them out to the grade five students at my school for two weeks at a time. They have to promise to come in and talk with me about the game once they have played it and if they get bored they need to discuss that as well.

I've been questioning them on their perceptions on the games 'realness' and how close the game is to what it is meant to represent. A few have had troubles with the lines of reality and fantasy in games like SimCity and Civilizations. They assume that the thin layer of control and perception they have is all that they need when they play the game. Many of these views are artificial and that is easy enough to see with many fantasy games but with the simulation games students seem to trust the content more and aren't as likely to question it. Without feeding them the answer I have been trying to draw out that these are just someone's artificial representations which (like the rules in my classroom) are flawwed. I'm hoping that they can learn things fom the mechanics of the game. More than just the old story in Sim City about Raising Taxes= Angry Citizens. I want them to learn that raising taxes means more in the game but even more still in real life.

I guess that's how the rules work in my classroom. They teach students what is important in class and hopefully those same things transfer out to real life. Especially the no running in the halls rule!

Long Time no Post and Baby Ball

2006-11-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

Things are going very well at St. Leo lately and even better at the Ball house hold. Mrs. Ball and I are now the proud parents of a baby girl. She is a great blessing to our lives and the main reason I have not posted in a long time. I made the choice to sleep rather than post.

The other reason that I have not posted for a while is that I've been preparing the grade threes to use literacy centers in the morning. The class takes great joy in the freedom of expression that this offers them in their reading and writing. I've even worked in a videogame center for them to use. Most of the games are Edutainment stlye but the games are varied and open ended enough that no one is getting bored. I have wanted to do centers since my first year of teaching but I didn't have the resources. Now that I have built up my personal library to 940 books and I've started taking inservicing on Lit. centers I figured now is the time.

While I'm typing I thought I should post up this link to a paper that Mr. MacKenty has linked to.

Procrastinating and Prenatal

2006-09-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

I've been putting off my capping project as the Mrs. and I prepare for the arrival of our baby in November. I think that this is the first blog post about the baby that I have made. Mrs. Ball is starting to prepare the nest which really means that I get to move things around. I've very excited about the baby. Every morning I get to feel it kicking and it is amazing! We are very thankful that we have been blessed with a child. There is an ultrasound picture from June below. I can't tell if it is a boy or a girl. Post if you have a guess or a name.

I am still thinking and writing notes about the game but I haven't done any coding since I left the U of A in August. The start of the new school is more than a full time job. I'm thankful for Raj over at http://www.boora.ca/blog/ (formerly of http://idarknight.blogspot.com/) for his comments and suggestions. He always has good insights into topics and great book suggestions!

Youth Choir

2006-08-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

Here are the sites that the Youth choir are going to be exploring. If they have more they would like added they can leave the link in the comment box for others to find.

Opsound.org - Search through this open source music catalog for tunes that have an African sound.

Music Notes: Interactive

LostSounds.com Interesting use of everyday instruments to make some pretty cool music. Check out the html Sounds page to see and hear some of the cool instruments they are using.

Musical Mysteries: BBC Schools This is a fun musical mystery game where you need to find musical clues so you can solve the (you guessed it!) mystery.

ArtsAlive - The National Arts Center

DSO Kids (Dallas Symphony Orchestra)
SFS Kids - San Francisco Kid's Site

Instruments
Games - Check out the interval game. Can you name a Major Six?

Movie Maker

2006-08-15T05:52:00.000-07:00

Much of the music, activities, and crafts students are doing at Singspiration are based around Africa. Today we're going to start building videos based on the theme of Arica. Here are some sites we will use to get the pictures and movies for our videos.

www.creativecommons.org/image With CreativeCommoons we will primarily be using Flickr.

www.google.com We will use the image search on google.com

Students can explore the regions of Africa courtesy of this PBS website. When we do our searches we'll be using keywords like:
Africa, African, Elephant, Rainforest, Savanna or Lion. There are many other words that relate to Africa. If you can think of any try them out in the search engines.

I would like to see how many students are able to tell a story using the pictures they find. Not an easy task.

Tomorrow we will put music to the images. Hopefully we'll have time to burn the CDs so that we can take the videos home.

Teacher Session

2006-08-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

This afternoon at Singspiration I worked with some music teachers and choir conductors on different ways they could infuse technology into their daily practice. The topics we covered are included on the PowerPoint slide that is linked here.

Gerhard's Music Links

http://choralnet.org/indexen.shtml
http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
http://www.rideaumusic.com/
http://www.jwpepper.com/catalog/welcome.jsp
http://www.handlo-music.com/
http://www.halleonard.com/
http://www.gladdemusic.com/
http://www.festival-singers.org.nz/download.htm
http://www.cypresschoral.com/
http://www.choralnet.org/
http://www.sbmp.com/
http://www.canasg.com/canasgnew2catalogue.htm
http://www.earthsongsmus.com/
http://www.banksmusicpublications.cwc.net/
http://www.albertachoralfederation.ca/

Singspiration Music Camp

2006-08-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

This week I'll be at the Singspiration music camp helping the campers to music videos with computers. To start with though we're going to take a tour of some websites I've found that deal with music.

Musical Mysteries: BBC Schools This is a fun musical mystery game where you need to find musical clues so you can solve the (you guessed it!) mystery.

ArtsAlive - The National Arts Center

DSO Kids (Dallas Symphony Orchestra)
SFS Kids - San Francisco Kid's Site

Music Notes: Interactive -
Instruments
Games - Check out the interval game. Can you name a Major Six?

LostSounds.com Interesting use of everyday instruments to make some pretty cool music. Check out the html Sounds page to see and hear some of the cool instruments they are using.

The 'Game' plan

2006-07-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

Things are moving along very quickly today as I prepare to move into the Computing Sciences building at the U of A. I've started looking at ways I can plan my video game. Prensky's sets out five priorities for teachers and trainers as they begin to build the tools they cannot find.
1. Motivation- I couldn't agree more, the game must be fun!
2. Reflection- This is where the game becomes more than just a skill and drill fact practicer. This is where students personalize their knowledge.
3. Individualization- Planning for the many choices and possibilities that students may seek out will be a challenge. I think my post on gender difference fits into this category. Prensky makes a point of asking "Are there alternatives for those who may choose not to play?"
4. Creation- I need to move on to chapter 15 to learn more about his idea of creation.
5. Content- This should be an educator's number one concern. Does it have a curriculum fit? I am paid by my school board to teach the curriculum. Content must be melded with motivation. So many of the edutainment games I have played with students have loads of content but are a complete snooze-fest! If I wanted my students to nap I would keep them in their desks and talk at them all day.

Educational Computer Game Production (Where to start?)

2006-07-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

I've started the planning process for my capping project.I met yesterday with my program head Mike Carbonaro and Elaine Greidanus who will be helping me with my paper. I'm going to hook up with the Computing Sciences department at the University of Alberta to work on building a computer game using the Neverwinter Nights Aurora tool set.

My biggest worry right now is the engagement level of the game. Will I be able to have my students buy into the characters and situations I'm going to create. I'm trying to focus on the question of "who you hope to become" (Squire & Jenkins, 2003, p. 5) for my students. In this question and its answer I see the best hope for capturing and holding their interest. I also think that this question will be the hardest to answer because I'm dealing with two different gender interests.

When I have played games I'm usually focussed on becoming the strongest/fastest/smartest hero with the coolest weapons and spells. After reading "From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games" I'm feeling a little unsure about being able to reach female players. I'll plug away at it, after all I've got a whole ten months.

I have to say that I became most excited about the game production after reading an article presented at the DIGRa

Not exactly APA but if you need more email or leave me a comment. If you want the Carbonaro article email me.

Carbonaro et al. (2006) Adapting a Commercial Role-Playing Game for Educational Computer Game Production.
Cassell, J. & Jenkins, H., eds., (2005?) From Barbie to Mortal Kombat. Cambridhge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Squire, K, &Jenkins H. (2003) Harnessing the Power of Games in Education: InSight, Volume 3.

Dr. Bette Gray

2006-07-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

Dr. Bette Gray the Director, Stakeholder Technology Branch, Alberta Education will be in tomorrow. I'm going to try and think of some questions about how the Stakeholder Technology Branch of Alberta Education can support me in my research around video games and transparency.

Dr. Gray is investing her time in Alberta Education so that she can make changes from the top down. Dr. Gray used the Polo Parable as an introduction to tech integration. I feel that her vision of integration/infusion matched many of my cohort members idea of how we should use ICT. The trouble is that many of us have to deal with leadership who are sometimes just happy that the network is up. We discussed the troubles with assessment of ICT outcomes and the lack of clear examples teachers are given. Apparently Dr. Gray has been working on a paper at Alberta Ed. that has shares ideas on how teachers can better integrate and assess. I'll be watching for it.

Right now I've got two things on my plate. I'm building my rubric for assessing COTS games and their use in the classroom and I'm working on my Contentious issue paper for my Humanities and Tech class: The contentious issue paper is based around:
"The Fellowship of the Microchip." In Globalization: Culture and Education in the New Millenium, Marcelo M. Suarez-Orozco and Desiree Baolian Qin-Hilliard (eds.). Berkeley:University of California Press/Ross Institute, 2004. (Are there APA guidelines for blogger qoutes, would you trust the qoute?)

There are many aspects of the digital games which would be negatively effected by transparency. I'm going to take three out of the twelve elements from chapter five of Prensky's book Digital Game Based Learning; Rules, Interaction, and Outcomes and feedback. I only have two pages (single spaced) to bring forward my contentious issue.

The Two presenter day

2006-07-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Dr. Tom Keenan and Dr. Stan Ruecker

Dr. Tom Keenan presented in the morning about Volitional Cecity. The willingness of people to be blind in the things they do with their personal information. I fell badly that he is a little paranoid about giving out information. Not that I would blame him. I think this is mostly because of the roles he has taken with the Calgary police department that he has a bit of an edge to his trust of the users of his information. My step father is a retired police officer who trusts people lass than my mother the teacher. His experience has changed him in that because he had to deal with 10% of the people 90% of the time (not real math). I think that this would change me also.

Dr. Keenan offers up some good ways we can keep our information safe. One was, when asked to supply a name use a fake one. Almost too easy. He also tried to make us cognizant of the fact that the Law will always lag behind in the 'guidance' of technology.

Dr. Ruecker presented in the afternoon. He is an expert of visual arrangement of content in rich-prospecting browsing interfaces.

He has been working to build visual research environments. He keyed in on showing us non-textual search engines (one was the Sort Pills date base). Another visual one focused on the sorting of people by many factors: First name, Last name, Affiliation, Research Group, Gender, Hair colour, Eye colour, Eye glasses, and facial hair. Tools like these would enable business to have their employees recognize frequent customers. By opening up these searching areas we have opportunities to begin sorting and adding your own comments about these visual images. Dr. Ruecker emphasises the importance of information output.

These interfaces would be great tools as long as there are chances for users to rearrange and edit the groups that might reflect a personal understanding. These tools would allow a user of such a system to demonstrate a better context of use by allowing them to sort and create their own definitions.

Wiki idea: Give it to the First years to manage but still allow the 2nd years to be on it.

2006-07-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

Pat Redhead

2006-07-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

Pat Redhead:
Pat offered up her wisdom and experiences in realtion to 7 things:
1. her attempt at defining of technology and how it can be infused- The ICT outcomes are broader then the use of computers. In Pat's work with Alberta Ed. she has tried to make the technology outcomes embrace new technologies, which includes the analog technologies.

2. definition of integration- the ICT curriculum should be infused not treated as a seperate course. ICT should be like a tea bag that infuses itself into the water. Technology should add to the flow of the learning.

As I sit and write this now I wish that I had taken more notes in the classroom. She had lots of experience to share as a classroom teaher, a policy maker and a contractor higher by Alberta Ed.

The Fellowship of the Microchip- Turkle, S. (2004) Here are some of the notes my group made on this article atMaster's Wiki.

Exploring Wikis

2006-07-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Speaker for the day- Trevor Doerksen 11:00- 11:30
Virtual Field Trips- Mobility in Education. CEO of Mobovivo. Through Mobovivo he is trying to get the rights of educational videos so he can share out a collection of educational videos on iPods. This tool which so many students are accessing

A lot of his comments line up with the ideas presented in "Everything Bad is Good for You"- written by Steve Berlin Johnston. Students are not dumbing down they are ramping up and they want to communicate, collaboration and be engaged.

I am of the opinion that children are not losing attention span they are just becoming better consumers of information. They have been fed digital media that is built, probably not purposefully, on great pedagogical techniques. Students come to school having experienced good scaffolding and they get bored when teachers and adults cannot help them make further connections.

A qoute from Trevor- "There have never been more educational resources and there have never been more excuses not to use them." What's my excuse? I just need to find the resources so that I can use them!

Wiki article-
"Wide Open Spaces Wikis Ready or Not" by Brian Lamb touched on some interesting applications of Wikis. As a class we talked about multiple ways we could use our wiki. The way it is shaping up currently it seems as though we are building it up to share our capping projects. I think that is will be a valuable experience for us all in relating experiences.
When I think of Wikipedia I am often drawn to the book by Simon Winchester titled “The Meaning of Everything”. This book is the history of the Oxford English Dictionary and writes. The O.E.D. was put together by 89 volunteers (originally 147). The end result is what many consider a well respected resource on the history of the English language.
The Wikipedia is a more broadly based tool than the O.E.D. will ever be.

I started my own class wiki today at https://mrball.wikispaces.com/. I'm not sure how I will use it with my students but it has promise. I know I should go for the curriculum goals first but it's just so cool!

Ray Kurzweil Question-

2006-07-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

As a tech-teacher I often think about how ICT adds value to student learning. I spend time walking home from school pondering tech integration when I get frustrated about its use in classrooms. I'm not sure if it stems from teachers; lack of experience, fear of risk taking, or focus from administration. In my school I have tried many tactics to help with these three barriers.

I feel that Education is far behind in the adaptation of technology for the use of learning. Technology is moving so fast while education and government move like mollasas. This morning our Masters class enjoyed a presentation from Ray kurzweil. We were able to ask him a question about the future of education and its relationship to the increased rate of change in technology. As we listened to Ray Kurzweil's presentation today we came up with a question about the future of education delivery.

Elementary and Secondary Education is not adapting to the exponential changes in technology. In the future how will education adapt and change to meet with student and society's fast paced change?

Ray answered the question by touching on some of these points-
-M.I.T. will soon have its course work online.
-The next shift will be towards virtual reality. The intimate feeling of being together will be there. Kids will be able to share ideas around the world.
-We will have the ability to download knowledge, skills, and experiences. We will have the ability to capture human experiences. The role of a teacher will be that of a mentor. Not just to learn skills and accumulatre knowledge but to guide the learning.

Some thoughts that I would like to set aside for future learning...
Primary source expertise and authentic artifacts- how can I deliver the primary expertise in a cost effective way...
Skype can now allow us to contact experts

Take away from Ms. Charmaine Brooks presentation-
How do we measure the integration of technology?
I felt that the ICT outcomes were on very shakey ground. I'm not sure whether

Phil's top three for tech integration in schools-
Need a champion
- must be able to work with the resistors and calm the overly excited teachers.
- they must know the curriculum
- they have to be able to draw people and build themselves out of a job.

The Met Agency

2006-07-19T14:25:00.000-07:00

I have to put a plug in for an Edmonton Advertising company that I had a chance to work with this past year. It just came to my attention that they have a web page so I thought I would post their link here.

http://www.themetagency.com/index.html

I worked with them as they helped Concordia University College Education Department create a fresh and exciting advertising campaign.

If you need an agency I recommend The Met!

Evidence of Digital Immigrancy

2006-07-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

I've been in my tech classes this past week and I've been baffled by the need of our instructors to have paper copies of our assignments and journal entries. I know that the paper copy is handy to write comments back on but the same can be done in the electronic original. My instructors won't be able to use the paper version of my Excel sheet to plunk in numbers on paper so I feel that its a bit of a loss to have a paper copy. A loss for the trees as well!

First Picture Post- Baby Grapes

2006-07-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

So I went out last night and bought an Olympus E-20n (its a digital camera). I got it from McBain camera here in Edmonton. It was the shelf model and it was missing a USB cord. I'm not sure what it would go for today but I felt I got a deal on it for what I wanted. It has all the features I wanted and more. I'm excited to learn how to really use the camera. I didn't want a point and shoot because the Mrs. and I want to eventualy take a camera course.

Here is my first picture from our garden. I had to use the flash because it was quite dark out and, well, because I don't know how to use the other features. I'm especially proud of the grapes. So far out of the three varieties I have this one, called Beta, is doing the best. I'm growing two others Frontenac and Valiant. In our climate we don't get much of the fun and fancy fruit fresh from the vine. I keep making the outrageous claim that I'll be selling bottles of wine off my front step in a few weeks. Anyway here is the picture...

I'm hoping that this is the start of better grapes and better pictures.

Virtual Manipulatives

2006-07-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry for Wednesday July 4th 2006 is inspired by... Moyer, P, Bolyard, J & Spikell, M. Virtual Manipulatives in the K-12 Classroom. In Proceedings of the International Conference on New Ideas in Mathematics Education. Queensland AU August 2001. pp. 184-187.

The Analogy I found for this article was- "Pin Ball Wizard"- The Who
The Pin ball wizard was deaf, dumb, and blind and he did very well with the steel ball. Some students flourish when they interact with real manipulatives. While this article is pro-use of virtual manipulatives I have a hard time stressing the use of virtual manipulative when they are being manipulated with a mouse or keyboard. I can see the use of virtual manipulatives being valuable if a teacher has a smart board or other way that students can interact with the image. Virtual Manip's are far from their 3D cousins but they are still usable. If a teracher is going to use them in the classroom that teacher will have to defend the use to parents and students. While many of the virtual manipulatives are valuable learning tools I'm not sure that they can be slotted into the manipulative definition for their use.

Group Discussion-
Cathy F. made this analogy about Calculators in the classroom being like Birds who find a birdfeeder. They test and keep coming back because they expect to have the feed there. Have you ever seen a bluejay who didn't have his peanuts! Students can be the same way when they find easy tools.

Morning-
We were given coloured squares (yellow, green, and blue). The yellow and blue were both squares. The green was a rectangle that had one side equal to the blue square and the other green side equal to the yellow square. We were then given the equation 3xSquared + 7xy+2ySquared. We had to gather the tiles into groups according to their value. The blue squares were =x, the green were=xy, and the yellow were=y. We picked out the correct number of each tiles (so we gathered 3 blue, seven green, and 2 yellow. Then the tiles were arranged into a rectangular flag (not a difficult task). We then checked the area of the square which turned out to be (3x+y)(x+2y). It was a great visual representation of quadratic equations!

Zoombini Game- This was a cute challenge that I would love to do with my grade threes. There were ten Zoombinis with different attributes related to what they were having for lunch. Example: A Zoombini with messy hair, one eye, roller skates and a green nose would have for lunch; Milk, Apple, Tacos and popcorn.

I'm working on building a rubric for the video games that I'm going to evaluate. I've been spending my spare time with Civ 3. It's lots of fun and I've had a chance to figure out the 'rules' of the game. I'm going to play one of the scenarios soon and do my marking around that.

I'm very excited to go pick up my wood fired stove tonight! The Mrs. and I bid on it at her grandparents farm auction. We got it for 200 which I thought was a steal. I want to put it in the basement of our house when I finish it. The stove is in perfect condition. I'll load up a picture when I get my new digital camera. Any recommendations on a camera type?

Journal Reflections

2006-07-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

For my journal reflections I've decided to use metaphors based around (loosely) song titles.

The article comes from ISTE: (Collaborative Apprenticeships (2006) by Evan M. Glazers and Kathy Page)

Metaphor for the reading- "Anything you can do... you can do better!"

Teachers challenging their instructional practice in a peer supported community is the theme of this paper. This article was like many leadership papers I've read in the past few months. It sets up the familiar framework for peer teaching/sharing. After experiencing this firsthand in my classroom with ECSD's math consultant I felt that the overview filled many of the valuable points of the preparation, execution, and reflective. The peer instruction centered around the "learning teacher"'s engagement of tech learning through their own choice of instructional focus.

Playing (and still learning)

We had some time to play with the TI-73 graphing calculator. The TI-73 has some fun games that deal with different types of graphing skills. This type of calculator would not be something that I would use with my grade threes. I don't think that I would use these in the K-6 grades. The graphical interface was too chunky for some of the pictures. The vast number of instructions needed to lead students through tasks would be a limiting factor in the use of this tool. I can see how, with it's many add ons the TI-73 can be used to create valuable visual and spatial experiences.

After the TI-73 we went and looked over virtual manipulatives at http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html . These exercises became more manipulate-able (real word?) through the use of the ever popluar SMART board. I'm going to go back and look at some of the things they have there and try to see if they will fit into my plans for next school year.

Overall a very positive day. It was great to see the gang again and to scoop a Mac iBook. Raj over at http://www.idarknight.blogspot.com/ is our T.A.. He's a big Mac addict so I keep complaining I can't right click and whining that my Mac crashed. He doesn't deserve it. ;)

Reflections

2006-07-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

During the next four weeks I'll be posting reflections on my Masters courses. This is a required part of my EDU597 class. I'm happy to share the thoughts and ideas out to everyone. If you have a comment or would like me to clarify please feel free to post away.

Day 1 Number and Operation
Day 2 Patterns and Variables- Today's post...
Day 3 Shape and Space
Day 4 Statistics and Probability

the small things (no caps)

2006-06-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

I'm always thinking about the little things that make life more enjoyable. The one I was thinking about today was the mini icons. You know those small icons that appear in the address window of your browser. Like the orange B that Blogger has. I have to say I really like when I find sites that have their original and fresh icon. It's just one of those small (literally and figuratively) things that can perk me up.

Firefox incompatable

2006-06-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why it is happening to me more often now than when I started using Firefox a year ago but I seem to be hitting sites that are not compatible with Firefox. Lately the two biggest culprits have been Shaw.ca bill payment site, U of A’s WebCT, and Edmonton Catholic School District's report card webpage. Sure I can see my students’ report card but I can't edit them. I can understand ECSD not being up to par. It's not like they have a huge budget to throw at such things but seriously Bell Canada. I might start asking for a paper bill if they can't shape up. I eventually paid my bill using Internet Explorer. For those not familiar with Explorer it is an alternative to web browsing. I wouldn't recommend it. ;)

Evaluating Games

2006-06-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Recently I've bought some video games from Scholastic Canada. I want to use them in my classroom instruction but I need to examine them first. Here is the list of games I'm going to be covering. I'll try to relate them to the Alberta Program of Studies as well as give them a ranking out of 4 for the ability to infuse stealth learning. I will also provide more information on each game's publisher andgame play.

I'm more excited about some games than others. The games in this list are ranged from grades 4-6.

SimCity 4

Civilization 3

Majestic Chess

Lift Off

Mathematics Deluxe

Lemonade Tycoon

Oregon Trail 5th Edition

Star Trek StarShip Creator

Astro Algebra

Learn about Physical Science

Great Canadian Adventure

Typing Tutor Jr.

Vet Emergency

Roller Coaster Tycoon

Math for the Real World

Chemical Reaction

Games for Grades K-3 include...

I Love Spelling

I can Spell

Bob the Builder

The Cat in the Hat

Zoboomafoo, Animal Alphabet

Backyard Hockey

I Spy Junior

Clifford Thinking Adventures

Care Bears- Let's have a ball.

Jump Start Explorers

Freddi Fish

Numbers Undercover

Some games are more Edutainment games than others. I've made my position pretty clear on Edutainment style games. They aren't bad if they work but I prefer the sneak attack/ stealth learning.

Process of Streamlining Math Goals

2006-05-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

Lorelie's goal was to increase the P.A.T. test results in our school at both the grade three and six level. She did this by first reviewing the curriculum with us, since that is where we would be setting our goals from. We created visual displays showing the correlation from grade to grade between the similar strands of math. This exercise gave each grade level teacher a stronger idea of the knowledge and skills which were key for students to learn before they could be successful in moving up a grade level.

After Lorelie reviewed the Alberta Program of Studies we discussed set out main concepts our students needed to learn. For example everyone agreed that number sense was very important understanding for students to grasp where as (even though it's in the curriculum) tessellations were not as important.

Once Lorelie helped us to streamlined our goals across the math strands we then began investigating assessment techniques. We moved away from the knowledge measuring multiple choice tests to a larger mixed bag of assessment techniques; Running records, Math Journals, Task based assessment and class conferencing. We were shown how genuine assessment gains greater understanding of student learning and we practiced this in our classrooms with peers watching.

Next year we plan on reviewing the goals and strategies with Lorelie. We will do this with the help of the data collected from this years P.A.T.s. I am confident that through the help of Lorelie's process we continue to improve math scores and more importantly our students' understanding of mathematical concepts.

Community Builder- Dr. Margaret McVea

2006-05-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

Dr. Margaret McVea is a great example of an I.T. leader who endeavors to build strong relationships. Dr. McVea was one of my professors at Concordia where I earned my Education Degree and where she showed me how important it is to have a connected community. In a highly competitive environment she demonstrates to preservice teachers the importance of sharing their work and experiences. Her success in passing these skills along has aided many Concordia graduates to become community builders in their own of schools. She has recently demonstrated her ability to build professional communities at the Technology Plus conference at Concordia. The conference, which she was the head of, showcased the best practices of Concordia students and their mentor teachers. She continues to strengthen her own talents by doing research in the area of I.T. integration in preservice teaching programs. As she continues to share her skills for building genuine relationships she is helping schools staffs and students to learn together.

Dr. McVea received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the U of A, in Classics and Psychology. She has completed a B.Ed after degree in social studies as well as a graduate diploma in elementary reading. Dr. McVea completed a Master's degree in educational psychology and received her Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Policy Studies from U of A in 1998. She was a teacher with Edmonton Catholic schools for 25 years before becoming assistant dean in Concordia University Ed. Department.

To see more of her research visit this link:

http://www.education.concordia.ab.ca/research_mcvea.htm

Background and interest in IT Leadership

2006-05-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

Out of high school I earned a Theatre Arts Diploma from Grant MacEwan and then an Arts Degree from Concordia. I graduated with an after-degree in Elementary Education in May 2003. At the end of my after degree I developed a Virtual Classroom Tour for the Microsoft Innovative Teachers program. I’ve been a 2Learn teacher and an Edmontonians magazine “Sizzling Twenty under 30” winner for my use in technology in the classroom. In my spare time my wife of two years and I enjoy gardening, baking, and make our own soap.

Ever since elementary school I have enjoyed using computers now that I am back teaching in elementary it is no different. As an IT leader in a small school I find that my biggest struggles is in directing staff and administration in making the best choices in the purchase of hardware and software. Often the excitement that they bring with new gadgets has more focus on what the gadget does and not on how it will aid or improve learning of students. I have to try to encourage the teachers to look for strong curriculum ties while holding onto the excitement they bring about gadgets.

I am continually trying to get the staff excited about software uses in education. My staff often feels over worked in the area of professional development. My principal is not the strongest supporter of technology. As long as the computers are working in the lab and everyone can get their emails she’s happy. In this kind of environment I feel that I am often struggling alone in the dark to acquire hardware or update and have software installed. The environment is not the best for me to shine in but I am convinced it is an environment where I can make a big difference to student learning in my classroom and in the rest of the school.

I have reached out to students I don’t teach in the school by holding a computer club during their lunch hour recess. By having two sessions during the week I am able to focus on smaller spectrums of ability. Covering different skills and subjects in upper and lower elementary allows me to reach more students more deeply.

I’m not moving mountains but as long as I am reaching out to students and making some turbulence towards curriculum based technology use I am proud of my leadership,

Morally Driven- Leola Hildebrandt

2006-05-29T17:08:00.000-07:00

Leola Hildebrandt (my principal)

Leola is a leader who I admire for her moral purpose. Fullan's introduces his chapter on moral purpose by saying "You don't have to be Mother Theresa to have moral purpose." I believe Leola possess many of the qualities a person like Mother Theresa would need in order to lead and inspire people to do their best. Leola sets high goals for herself and her staff. She does this because she knows the difference we as teachers can make in every childs life. She infuses the teachings Christianity in every decision and goal. From the simplest of choices to the largest of school shifts she always aware of how her ideas, values, and commitments affect both the teachers and students.

I once heard a principal share advice on how to be the best principal possible. She said that all you have to do is take care of the teachers and they will take care of the kids. This is what Leola does for her staff. She helps us to set smart goals for learning and wise goals for caring for students' whole child.

Tech Leader- Mark Wagner

2006-05-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

Mark Wagner is a tech leader who I admire for his openness to communicate his vision for the application of new technologies in the classroom. Mark has used his understanding of technology and teaching pedagogy to train teachers in the Orange County Department of Education. He has in serviced teachers on many topics no the least of which include: Blogging, the Read/Write web, Podcasting and the use of video games as learning tools (and much more I'm sure). Mark shares many of his thoughts with the world on his website at: http://edtechlife.com/. In many of his posts he quotes the theories of Piaget, Bruner and Dewey. He takes the old texts (not that old is bad) and always seems to find connections to present day learning, technology, and teaching. I always appreciate his insightful posts on different technologies and education not to mention his posts about life in general.

Mr. Wagner is a working on his PhD in Educational Technology at Walden University. Much of his research is based around the use of massive multiplayer online role playing games as learning environments (MMORPG). He focuses on three goals for his research in games education; Context embedded, inquiry driven and Socially Negotiated. Mark Wagner is making the move into post-secondary teaching. I am excited for Mark and those who will be his students. It is great to see that his talents will be used to equip pre-service teachers through them students.

Continuous Contract

2006-05-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

I signed my continuous contract with Edmonton Catholic schools last night. It's probably more exciting than I realize right now but I'm too busy to have time to think about it. I'll appreciate it this summer I'm sure.

Don't Bother Me Course Work -- I'm Learning!

2006-05-08T18:28:00.000-07:00

I received my copy of "DON'T BOTHER ME, MOM -- I'M LEARNING" : How Computer and Video Games Are Preparing Your Kids For Twenty-first Century Success -- and How You Can Help!

I have a presentation I have to prepare for my Leadership in I.T. course so the book has to wait. :(

In the mean time I'm going to post one of my assignments to the web. We were asked to write about someone who we felt was a Tech Leader. I chose to write about Dr. Margaret McVea at Concordia University College of Alberta. Here is what I had to say (write).

Community Builder

To see more of her research visit this link:

http://www.education.concordia.ab.ca/research_mcvea.htm

Jot Live

2006-05-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

I had meeting with Danny Maas from TILT T.V. and he introduced me to www.jotlive.com. I'm going to try and use it with my grade threes as an interactive storytelling tool. This is the old school classic using the post it notes and piecing together the story from small chunks of ideas. I've been poking around the interweb instead of doing my course work. I still need to read one paper Tech Standards for Admin. It looks yawn-errific but I'm sure there are lots of great things that I'll learn (or at least I'll get a good nights sleep).

The Day of Tech Plus

2006-04-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

The day has arrived. TechPlus is happening.

I have been wowwed by the ability of Concordia students to integrate tech with curriculum while engaging students. The virtual field trips (VFT) they have created some very exciting projects that are really powerful. The VFT is really a WebQuest on Steroids. There was one VFT based around air and aerodynamics which included some exciting video and music. The preservice students whi built it used some footage from video that they created up at CFB Coldlake.

There were two others; one based around the Alberta physical regions and the other about Ukraine. Both were excellent.

After a short break Concordia professor Pat Richardson presented on her project titled "Real Authors". She and her year one students emailed students from St. Mary's grade 6 classes to develope student to (pre-service) teacher mentorships. The technology was a stumbling block to start as they had trouble with the freedom of Information Protection Act (FOIP). The email to email was troublesome but I think that they are going to try and use the Writely share feature. I also suggested Blogmiester as a blogging site.

There was a great little lunch! I was excited to be able to eat vegetarian.

Right now I'm in the LearnAlberta.ca session. It's just about the same presentation as Elementary Math Learning Objects. I can't say that I am excited but it is clear that many teachers and principals have not yet experienced this site yet. It is valuable and I hope that they continue to get word out about the tools that they have.

Next is the Social Studies presentation. I'll post on that tomorrow.
ar

BlogMeister

2006-04-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Today we were doing one of the more important jobs of blogging. We were sharing our comments about each others' work. Blogging isn't just about reading it is about sharing ideas and collaborating with others. I noticed that many of the comments were regarding spelling. I think we all have something to work on in our writing.

I'm excited to see so many students blogging, not just my students. Mark Wagner had a post up about grade ones who were blogging. I hope it builds in them a greater sense of sharing of ideas. I'm also hoping that it will motivate some of my students to be more vigilant in their spelling practice.

Tech Plus Conference

2006-04-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

I've received an invitation to Concordia University College's Technology Plus Conference. The blog address is above and this is the Concordia index for the conference. It is at Concordia (Edmonton) on April 26th. I've taught a couple of classes there and it happens to be where I earned both my degrees. I've only been away from Concordia for three years now but I feel a strong bond to its welcoming professors and staff.

If it wasn't for Dr. McVea I don't think I would have gotten my first teaching job. She knew the job was available and gave me the heads up. Once I was at the interview I showed off my Virtual Classroom Tour, which she helped me to have accepted on the Microsoft VCT page and the deal was pretty much sealed.

Watch her blog if you have time. It's only about the preparations for the conference right now but I'm sure she'll start putting more things up. The Concordia Education website is here. If you want to teach in Alberta this is the place to get your degree.

Worksheets

2006-04-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

When I started teaching worksheets was a four letter word (o.k. eight). As I have worked more and more with students I have seen they aren't as bad as I once believed. They allow students to experience success by showing off their knowledge. Not one of the higher order thinking skills but still the success is good. They also give them down time. The classroom becomes quieter and distraction is lessened. They practice thier knowledge and get a bit of a break.

I love experiential learning but boy is it ever tiring for them and me!

The time has come, the danger is real. It's time to ban pencils

2006-03-27T10:16:00.000-08:00

I stole this post from Mr. MacKenty over at http://www.mackenty.org/

I thought that it had to be reposted it's just too good!

Courtesy of Education World comes this great article from Doug Johnson.

It’s a tounge-in-cheek reply to the folks who don’t want to use iPods in the classroom.

From the article:

1. A student might use a pencil to poke out the eye of another student.
2. A student might write a dirty word or, worse yet, a threatening note to another student, with a pencil.
3. One student might have a mechanical pencil, making those with wooden ones feel bad.
4. The pencil might get stolen.
5. Pencils break and need repairing all the time.
6. Kids who have pencils might doodle instead of working on their assignments or listening to the teacher.

Great stuff. We should be teaching our kids how to use technology, not building a wall around technology! Doug asks this sterling question:

When are we going to learn to use the kids’ devices for their benefit rather than invent excuses to outlaw them?

SexAbilityTV

2006-03-27T09:13:00.000-08:00

Just a heads up before checking out this site while the name seems circumspect there is no (as of the time I made this post) sexually explicit material.

The creator Max is trying to help people with disabilities to find healthy sex lives. He is setting up great a T.V. series in partnership with the U or A and the Canadian Burn Foundation. Phizer and the Miseracordia Hospital (Edmonton) are both being approached for funding. Keep your eyes on www.canadianburnfoundation.org for information about a golf tournament to raise money in Sept. It's going to be an adult/kid team combination.

Here is their description of T.V. series they are working on...

SexAbility is a thirteen part documentary series that will follow couples and singles with a disability as they share stories, tips and resources in their pursuit and attainment of satisfying sex lives. The aim of the show is both to inform and to inspire courage and humour to a diverse audience by speaking to all genders, orientations, and abilities about the one thing we have in common, a desire for great sex. Through engaging personal stories and informative interviews the material will offer a new perspective for those who may share the frustrations of stereotypes, suffer the prejudice of a biased society, and fear that a satisfying sex life is impossible when living with a disability.

This is a facinating to me. One of those things I never think about because I am a white middle class Canadian male. I am excited to think this will open doors of understanding to the 'average' joe like myself. I feel this will also open doors to people with a disablity who might feel otrasized sexually by society. I pray that it will help both those with and those without disabilites to find healthy God rich relationships. When the Father brought the Son into the world, it was written of Him, "...He had no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him..." (Isaiah 53:2).

Watered down Ethical Decision Making Model

2006-03-23T20:14:00.000-08:00

This exercise was a struggle for me. I chose to set my topic around the broader idea of ethical issues involved in using video games as learning tools in the classroom. I stared off by trying to put too many issues into one paper and I ended up with only two.

I was going to write about content, cost, widening of the wealth/knowledge gap, games as rewards, teacher training, and a few others I can't recall at the moment.

As the title of my post points out I think I watered down the decision making model. I am way too biased. Next time I do anything like this I'm going to change subjects.

I took two quotes that Mark Wagner referenced from his blog www.edtechlife.com or more specifically from a post he made yesterday . I also have to admit that I've stopped trying to create my own RSS list to read and have just started to read his. Mark has got a great bloglines archive going.

Oh yes and if you need to find the Ethical Decision Making Model that I used it is referenced as being adapted from
"A Feminist Model for Ethical Decision Making" by M. Hill, K. Glaser, and]. Harden (1995). In E. J. Rave and C. C. Larsen (Eds.), Ethical Decision Making in Therapy: Feminist Perspectives. New York: Guilford Press.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is the last day of school before springbreak. I'm so exhausted I think that I need to start cutting things back a bit. It didn't help that in the past few weeks I've had reportcard time, demonstration of learning, and Alberta Teachers Association meeting night. Oh yeah and teaching. I'm so blessed to have the students I have!

A Rape in Cyberspace

2006-03-12T16:29:00.000-08:00

In order to understand this response you must read a paper entitled "A Rape in Cyberspace" written by Jullian Dibbell . It is a story about virtual freedom of speech and a community call LambdaMoo.

Our instructions were to: Discuss the meaning of Dibbell’s statement: “the more seriously I took the notion of virtual rape, the less seriously I was able to take the tidy division of the world into the symbolic and the real that underlies the very notion of freedom of speech.” How might Dibbell’s story and commentary help or hinder our understanding of cyber-bullying? I have flown off on a few tangents as I have written this mostly because other thoughts have pushed to the front of my head. Here are my thoughts...

Jullian quotes one of the community members named HerkieCosmo as saying "In MOO, the body IS the mind." (p. 9). The rape in this case is an assault on the mind and I'm finding it hard to come to a conclusion about the severity of the assault. There is clearly not a "tidy division" of the two worlds. It was graphic in nature to be sure and it certainly effected those who it was done to and those who witnessed it. I think that the creation of a virtual worlds and avatars in a MUD Oriented Object (MOO) is sort of a replacement of the masks we wear in everyday life.

The mask of online avatars allows users to try out different scenarios which would not be acceptable in RL. The online avatar is unique from books in that it allows interaction with others in the MUD or MOO community. In our current online communities the social responsibilities of the cyber personas are very little compared to the RL ones. I think that the VR responsibilities are less because the consequences are also reduced. You make a mistake you are booted (or toadded) at that is where it ends. You are removed from the imaginary community but you can still go to work in the morning and take your kids to school. The responsibility between our physical bodies and cyber-persona's should be the same. We are all responsible for treating others with respect and dignity.

I am concerned that this acting out is a cry for help. The virtual environment is only as real as it's users make it in their own imaginations. Is Mr. Bungle's acting out in this 'imagined' environment enough to punish him or help him to find assistance? Sure, I think he needs help. He knowingly bullied his way around and this article has opened my eyes to another form of abuse. I would like to have read the discussion in emmeline' room to read the conversation that took place.

The Tangents...
Tangent 1: It is timely we are reading this article. I've been exploring the Neverwinter Nights on line community as I develop my capping project. Through the use of the NWN Aurora scripting tool members of this community have created their own virtual worlds. These worlds aren't text based like the MOO described in A Rape in CyberSpace they are visual worlds that can be navigated with the click of a button. The people in the virtual worlds are seeking more than just the hack n' slash story lines that so many in the NWN community have developed. There are large virtual cities that can be explored where people have furnished apartments and houses. I find it incredible that some people have spent so much time and effort in the creation of these virtual worlds.

Tangent 2: There have been legal cases that deal with VR crimes. Crimes like theft and defamation have actually gone to RL court. There is an example of a Defamation case in a book titled "Video Game Law" (p. 109) edited by Jon Festinger. In the scenario written about in the book they make the point that " legal action might well depend upon whether your virtual identity its truly divorced and independent of your actual existence." Legal action is not a barometer of whether of not something is ethical. Apparently in Canada an ISP can be held responsible for Defamation if they are maintaining a chat room or bulletin board.

Tangent 3:

Here's my blast-from-the-past quote. It comes from the 1989 Batman soundtrack (this is one of Danny's favourite sound tracks!) written by the artist Prince. The song is called Electric Chair and it brings up an idea that I've seen recently in the movie Minority Report written by Philip K. Dick. Can we punish someone for their thoughts? Dick writes fiction about the future of technology and the ethical issues we might some day face.

"If a man is considered guilty for what goes on in his mind
Then give me the electric chair for all my future crimes -Oh!"

Finally, a good book to read through to delve more deeply into this issue would be "Virtual Liberty: Freedom to Design and to Play in Virtual Worlds" (2004) written by Jack M. Balkin.

Everything Bad is Good For You

2006-03-09T16:43:00.000-08:00

We just had our second lockdown of the year today. I’m buzzing a bit. I’m very proud of how our staff and students handled the situation. I know that the students in my class made out alright. They’re a brave bunch and I’m proud of how good they were.

Before the Lockdown I was making notes about “Everything Bad is Good for You” written by Steven Johnson. Johnson had some great insights as to how he thinks the human brain is adjusting to meet the increase in images and ideas we are being bombarded with. His term the Sleeper Curve relates to how our brains are meeting the challenge.

It has been interesting for me to watch my students while reading this book I am not sure that they are mentally developed to have many of the attributes described by the Sleeper Curve. I have been wondering where theorists would place this kind of development. Where would Piaget place the sleeper curve in his theory of cognitive development? My best guess is that it would sit around concrete operational. I’m aiming around there because children from 7-11 years begin to understand reversibility at that stage. That would then allow them to benefit from the many jumbled sequences they see in popular media.

The Sleeper Curve would probably fit nicely in Vygotsky’s Social Development theory since social interaction plays a major role in the development of cognition. Children are now experiencing that social interaction (through TV, video games, and other media) at a faster rate and more interactive rate. They now have to synthesis and evaluate their knowledge even more than before. Vygotsky said that social development happened in two stages first, on the social level (interpersonal), and later, on the individual level (intrapersonal).

I think that we are beginning to see many of the interpersonal things in our classrooms. These things include the ability to process more information at a faster rate. I don’t that means they can process it more efficiently it just means they can cut through the clutter. I often wonder if my students are filtering me out…

Maths

2006-03-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

(mini rant) I love how Australians call math "maths". I feel this is the real language we should use because there is more than one strand in math.

I had PD today at St. Anthony's (patron Saint of lost things I think). I just looked there are about two dozen Saint Anthonys!

We had a video session where we respond to video clips of lessons. Most of the video clips I watched dealt with Multiplication and Division. Quite a few different styles of arrays were used to demonstrate how we can build numbers through Multiplication and Division.

I appreciated the different ways that the students in each example understood the concepts of Multiplication and Division. It is great to see a classroom where students aren't set into a fixed way of thinking. They are free to create personal understanding which is so much more valuable than the steps I learned. As long as their ways of thinking work in different ways they are free use it. Of course it is important to challenge students to try new ways so they can expand their understandings.

Bloggers of the Future...

2006-03-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

I have my students preparing to blog. I've set up an account at Blogmeister and started to add pseudonyms for my class. Check my post on the class page to learn more about our shift to a blogging community.

Product branding in my classroom

2006-03-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

I posted this on my MES 597 discussion board as a response to a paper (Brighouses' "Channel One, the Anti Commerical Principle..."). I have pretty strong feelings about consumerism, mostly because I feel I have been brainwashed to be a spender and not a saver. Don't worry I got my RRSP's in on time! Here's the deal...

It took me a while to finally find advertisements at my school. Mostly because I'm lazy and not so much because they aren't there. The first one that hit me was the Dell badge on the front of all 30 of our computer lab towers. Apparently they are starting to be swiped by students though. I guess Dell is the new Mercedes Benz... ?

We have labels on all of our TVs but in my classroom they are a bit out of sight to be noticed.

The BIG one hit me last Tuesday when the parent council brought in Pancakes for Shrove Tuesday. My brother in law has a shirt which has two cartoon stick figure facing each other inside of a circle. The first is saying “I’m a consumer @#$%@!” and the second says while pumping his arm is saying “And how!” That is how I felt on Tuesday of last week.

The pancakes came from the Golden Arches. They all came packaged in Styrofoam containers (with the big M on it), inside of MacDonald's paper bags (more M), inside of Big (computer box sized) cardboard boxes (seriously big MacDonald's emblems on these). The parents went around handing out the pancakes, syrup (golden arches), napkins (embossed arches), butter (more arches), and cutlery (no arches?). Before students had finished their food they each had a yellow pencil (arches) and stickers (no arches [just kidding!!]). The parent council had to pay to bring in advertising.

It broke my heart because I was trying to teach my students that Shrove Tuesday is about using up everything that would spoil during the 40 days of Lent. It is a preparation for Lent. Instead as an object lesson they were given hot cakes and a Super sized portion of branding.

I quickly disposed of all of the M's and took the pencils away. You're going to think I'm a total loony but I sharpened off all the Arches. I'm running a socialist experiment right now with my students. I'm trying to have them share pencils instead of hoarding them (they will run out eventually you know). You can send me money if you would like to join the Communist Pencil Party, we're starting to look for campaigners for the next election.

I'm a huge fan of Supersize me. I don't by any means think the test in the movie was a fair test I still buy into the philosophy they were selling. We all need to be conscious of the advertising and how it is programming us. (I won't rant I promise!) I have this whole rant about how media is forcing youth to grow up so that they can become consumers earlier. Drive that market! Drive!

As you can tell from my actions I think that this form of advertising is wrong. I think that it distracted from the message of Shrove Tuesday and Lent. I also feel that it put me in a position as a teacher where students might think I was approving of MacDonald’s. They know that I don’t approve.

McLuhan's Tetrad

2006-03-07T16:19:00.000-08:00

In my MES 597 - Ethics and Philosophy in Instructional Technology we finished studying Marshal McLuhan and some pages from his book Laws of Media. I used McLuhan's four Laws of Media to examine the topic of MORPG in Education. I took the first M off because I didn't want to move into the Massive part of the roleplaying spectrum. Here are McLuhan's four Law/Questions for media.

1. What does [this educational technology artifact] enhance or intensify?

2. What does it render obsolete or displace?

3. What does it retrieve that was previously obsolesced?

4. What does it produce or become when pressed to an extreme?

The paper is quite familiar in it's tone. I moved away from the acedemic voice as you will be able to tell. I guess I'm just too excited about the promise of video games as learning tools. Please read and give me a post if you like. I would love to hear about additions or changes others would make.

Oh yeah the link for the paper is in the title (it's posted on my ECSD site).

Avatars

2006-03-05T14:59:00.000-08:00

In my quest to expand my knowledge of gaming and learning I went to a session about Shared Fantasy: Using Fantasy Roleplaying in the classroom. As I posted before I quite enjoyed the presenter and thought he did a thorough job in describing roleplay (Pen and Paper style) as a social learning tool. He has written some interesting articles on his site about RPG. So far I have only skimmed some of his writing and I have to say I'm excited for him as he tries to get into graduate studies this fall (I think he said Comparative Lit.) he has a good tone/voice to what he writes and I think he is quite fair in how he sets up his defense of RPG.

Most of the writings he has done around RPG are to do with the defense of them in a Christian perspective. He uses them in his ministry to help kids express themselves. I applaud his work in this area. He is doing something in his work that I would love to be able to harness and use in my teaching.

He inspired me to start looking into the different reasons why players are playing. During the lecture he sited John Hughes's (not APA format) "Therapy is Fantasy" as a source for looking into the development of a player's reasons for playing. Take a look at the diagram that he has about 1/4 or the way down the page. I often think that video RPG as learning tools are only going to 'hit' one type of audience in my classroom.

When I do the stand up lecture style to introduce a lesson I know that most of the girls understand what I'm talking about. I then teach the lesson in a different audience style and assess to see which students understand. Then I'll try another style the next day and if I haven't gotten everyone by then I go and do one on one with the students who have fallen through the cracks of my lesson net.

I believe that video games together with my teacher sense (kind of like spidey sense) which enables me to adjust instruction and use the teachable moment will hit a wider learner group. Multiple Intelligence theory comes to mind...

I'm going to look into this more later but for now I'm off to my Father-in-law and Niece's birthday party!! I love my family.

Elementary Math Learning Objects

2006-03-03T13:16:00.000-08:00

The presentation hasn't even started yet and I'm worried that I'm not going to get anything out of this session. The other sessions at this convention site aren't related to my subject areas so I'm hunkering down to watch. The description of the program did not mention that it was Alberta Learning.

My last session was about role-playing in education. The presenter went off on a few tangents but he delivered a strong support for the use of Dungeons and Dragons as a teaching tool. He is a youth pastor who has been working with outcast youth. He uses D&D to bring out the real problems in the youths lives. He spoke quite a bit about aiding the socially challenged children with collaborative, social, and engaging role-play. I think that there are some great uses for Avatars with learners. I'm especially attracted to their ability to lower barriers and increase confidence.

Session on Elementary Mathematics Digital Resources...

The speaker defined a learning object as...

A Multimedia Learning resource of key concepts that is interactive with immediate and pertinent feedback and support. The games do fit that definition. I would like to see the learning objects in a more instructive mode and less of a marking mode.

Students are given choice as to what question order they do. If students don't complete the learning object right away they are given a few chances then given feedback. If the students don't complete the task (one question) then it is reported as such on the print out certificate. Students can write down a code which will allow them to return where they left off when they next login. I kind of like that. Students will also be able to go back and play the same games (edutainment style) once they have finished that level.

For my grade level there is still only the one money learning object which has been completed. This is the same one that I saw last year. I'm sure that LearnAlberta.ca really believes that this is the right way to do things but it seems very much like a fill in the blank/ multiple choice answer to everything. I need to examine my pedagogical philosophy on this before I make more comments.

On the happy side at least I was able to make a blogger post today!

Notes for ScriptEase

2006-03-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

Here are the Notes on Script Ease presentation that I attended today at the Greater Edmonton Teachers Convention Association. www.getca.com ?

The first presenter was Harvey Duff. I love Harvey he was an instructor of mine this summer at the U of A. He is a retired high school teacher who knows tonnes about I.T.! He was the department head at Jasper Place High school and he taught at Queen Elizabeth. Sweetest guy you ever met and he also talks and talks (then talks some more). (I love you Harv!) He also talked about the MES programs from the U of A at http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/mes/
Here is the link on the U of A ScriptEase webpage. http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~script/scripteasenwn.html.

They developed ScritpEase to aid game creators become programmers. This way the non-programmers can easily create games without learning C++. Instead we can use simple sentence like codes.

We had a chance to create our own Crypt areas and place a door and chest (mine wouldn't load when I tested it).

Maria and her crew are working on some patterns which will increase the fidelity of Computer based Role Playing Games.
Behaviour patterns (giving life to NPCs)
I had a chance to talk with Maria Customise before the session about the research she is doing. She is working on creating higher fidelity interactions between non-playing characters (NPC) in four ways.
1. NPC's on there own.
2. NPC's with other NPCs
3. NPC's with Users
4. (can't remember)

Plot Patterns

I didn't see the coding that she has done but she showed me some very videos of how the NPCs were interacting (she's a doctoral student).

Favourite quote "Rush the Code!"

Stand back I'm "Rush the Code!" tonight!

McLuhan's Wake

2006-02-15T12:41:00.000-08:00

In my Ethics and Philosophy course we are using Marshal McLuhan's Tetrad structure to examine (but not judge) our artefacts. My artefact is MORPG's, more specifically Neverwinter Nights and the Aurora tool set. Here are the four questions McLuhan posed for new technology.
1. What does [this educational technology artefact] enhance or intensify?

2. What does it render obsolete or displace?

3. What does it retrieve that was previously obsolesced?

4. What does it produce or become when pressed to an extreme? (McLuhan & McLuhan 1988: 7)

The Enhance is easy. I think that for most of our projects we will be having learning being enhanced (or maybe teaching depending on how you look at it).

I am having a harder time with the obsolesced, retrieved, and the extreme levels of my technology. I am studying multi-player role playing games or multi user domains (MUDs) and their use as teaching/ learning tools. I do not believe that MUDs will fully replace anything.

Perhaps I need to think more to the extreme case of replacement. Ideally in my classroom I would like to see all of the learning that takes place to be under a constructivist model. This is an instructional design I feel can be used in the MUD. Perhaps I am aiming to replace myself as a teacher. However, I don't think that computers yet have the intuition or programmers the skill to replace me. I am able to react in more ways than a programmer can tell a game to react when students need scaffolding or extension.

I like the ideas that Marshall Mc Luhan has put forward they are definitely making me think of the implications of many technologies. These things are much more 'real life' uses and implications than most courses I've taken in the past. I'm feeling more media savvy already.

Computer Club

2006-01-17T16:40:00.000-08:00

In the area of exploring gaming and learning I will soon be working with my school's computer club. Check out the post on Grade 3: Computer Club and Balancing Act for today.

I'm not sure how teaching grades 1-3 with Food Force will work out but I'm going to try it anyway. I think that the level of discussion and the level of game play will hamper student learning and sharing. I'm going to try it anyway because I think I will be able to get a better gage of student ability from the lower grades. I've only taught 2/3, 3 and 5 so I am eager to get more experience with the whole spectrum of students.

Our school's focus is on Math (or Maths as they say in Australia) and I can always down shift to some Edutainment math.

Protopage

2006-01-10T15:35:00.000-08:00

I got an email from Danny Maas at www.tilttv.blogspot.com about www.protopage.com. The websites there allow the user to create post-it note like sections on a webpage in their webspace.

www.protopage.com/grade_3 is my attempt at using the Protopage features.

So far it looks like it will allow me to use RSS feeds, post comments, share links and files, and customize the look easily. I'm not sure that makes it a good tool for learning. We'll see...

Technorati Tag: Protopage, TILT TV

RSS madness

2006-01-09T20:08:00.000-08:00

On my grade three webpage www.balla.ecsd.net I'm trying to establish an RSS feed for my parents. I'm not able to workout the problem of the feed always picking old posts up and not new ones. If anyone out there knows the answer please pass it along.

World Food Program's- Food Force

2006-01-09T17:08:00.000-08:00

I'm giving it a shot. I'm getting a proposal together that I'm giving to my Principal, hopefully this week. I want to take the Tuesday Lunch Computer club and use it as a Learning venue. I'm going to start off simple with the World Food Program's Food Force.

I'm having our technician install the game on my classroom PC and I'll demo the game to my Principal.

I'm excited because I think that it will give me my first 'hit' of what it might be like to teach around/ with a video game.
Check the game out here...
http://www.food-force.com/

Food Force

Media Man

2005-12-16T07:11:00.000-08:00

I got this email from the college acting program I was in. I had to post it. I like to think that I'm pretty anti clutter especially when it comes to bad architecture and advertisements but I would kind of like to try this out to see people's reactions in public...

WANT TO WORK EDMONTON OILER HOME GAMES?

IMMEDIATE WORK AVAILABLE

Nasco is immediately requiring outgoing, enthusiastic and physically
capable staff for a promotional event at the Edmonton Oiler's Home
Games

What: Wearing a pixman (www.pixman.com)
Where: Rexall Place/Edmonton Oiler Home Games
When: Immediately until the end of the regular season
Pay: $12.50/hour

If you are interested in joining our team, please send a resume to
jobs@nasco.ca with the word "Hockey" in the subject line.

Lit. Crit

2005-12-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

This is a test of the writely.com word processor.
Grade three page

An Innovative present

2005-12-01T13:26:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again! Innovate has a it's December 2005/January 2006 journal out. It's all very exciting. Sign up to read the great ideas they are sharing. If you find any other journals that discuss Education and Technolgy leave me a comment.

When I'm done reading the article "Applying Gaming and Simulation Techniques to the Design of Online Instruction" from this month's Innovate by Carolyn Rude-Parkins, Karen Hughes Miller, Karen Ferguson, and Robert Bauer I'll post comments.

Innovate

Finishing Tools

2005-11-29T19:32:00.000-08:00

Adding a term to my I.T. vocabulary ‘Finishing Tools’. All too often our computer labs take a step up from expensive room heaters or video game machines to the use of finishing tools. I'm experiencing this right now a little bit in my classroom. Students want to type up their good copies. They want to put their notes into PowerPoint. It takes a lot of work to plan and prepare a lesson that will use computers as learning facilitators.

Technocrati tag: finishing tool

Bits and Bytes

2005-11-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

Here a Link there a Link, everyone should share a link.

In support of Fair Trade I wanted to post this link from the Bits and Bytes crew (meaning Brian Metcalfe) who thought our grade three webpage was a "Educational Blogs Worth Visiting". There are some great articles written by Brian about the use of Tech in the classroom. Give it a read if you have the time.

"Bits and Bytes" is an educational publication for the students and staff of the Winnipeg School Division.
Brian Metcalfe - Editor: bitsandbytes@wsd1.org
Copyright © 2005 (ISSN 1195-5864)
Last revision date: November 16, 2005

Authentic

2005-11-16T19:40:00.000-08:00

What authentic means tonight...

I'm working on report cards for my grade 3 class and I'm trying my darndest to keep the comments authentic. Fighting to keep the ideas relevant for parents while still giving my students hope and encouragement.

Is there a report card making video game out there for teachers yet?

Math P.D.

2005-11-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

Had the math consultant into our school today to discuss with us the concept Mathematizing. I don't know of anyone else who gets as excited about math, except for maybe me. Mathematizing is sort of a transitive verb for doing math. The author (we're getting the book and I'll reference it then) feels that a valuable math 'lesson' forces students to "interpret, organize, inquire about, and construct their own meaning". The thoughts were valuable but now I need to construct my own meaning and make the ideas relevant for my students.

In reading the article today for math professional development I came across a phrase that struck a cord in how I want my classroom to operate. "Community of Discourse" (Fosnot, 1989) seemed like a great way to express an on going development of ideas. Catchy phrase!

The author wrote about a 'Landscape of Learning' based on a better understanding of a child's knowledge rather than specifically on a learning goal. The analogy was that of a sailor who plots a course and while journeying has to make changes to that course. Accounting for wind direction and current, stopping for supplies, and steering course away from storms while still aiming for the destination (the learning goal).

I can see video games having the ability to steer students away from misunderstandings and refocuing their attention on learning tasks all in an effort to aid them in constructing their own meanings.

Questions please

2005-11-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

So here is where it stands so far. After writing the literature review I think that I have a good theoretical basis for what I want to do, now I just have to put it in practice.

The questions that I have to answer for myself as I move forward go something like this...

1. How valuable is the teachable moment if it causes the learner to be removed from the learning environment or the interactivity that is within a video game?

2. Without breaking into the roleplay or taking students out of the virtual world teachers can apply appropriate scaffolding to aid students in learning?

3. Can teachers catch up to meet the new generation of learners? Will educators’ content be tainted by the way they use, retrieve and post information?

I realized long ago the simulation I want to make is more of a proof
of concept rather than something an ordinary teacher could use - the
authoring tools for NWN seem very time consuming. I'm looking into a modification of Neverwinter nights that was used to recreate Colonial America (it's called Revolution). I want to see how they implemented their learning goals (my goals will be based around the Alberta Program of Studies) and what kinds of player and non-player interaction they relied upon to create a socailly rich environment.

I don't want to include violence or magic in the game but I do want to create a rich roleplaying environment. What questions or concerns have you got for me?

Defining MUD

2005-11-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

As I piece together my literature review for my research methods course I have to keep re-focusing my thoughts to the question of "Can teacher guided Multi User Domains be used effectively as learning environments?"

I am getting close to the deadline of the 8th and I've run into the problem defining a MUD (Multi User Domain). So often it is being referred to as text based. I don't want to dwell in the text based realm and so I am looking for the first definition that I found which included movement and 3D space. My end project is to test out NWN Aurora toolset and the DM side as a teaching platform.

If you have time check www.mark.blogspot.com he's got some great note on the Serious Games Summit. Oh how I wish I could have been there. But my students were amazing again this week so I can't really complain.

Authentic Professionalism

2005-10-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

Exploring gaming and learning...

After reading an article (see hyperlink above) by J.P. Gee, about 3 days ago I can't get the term 'Authentic Professionalism' out of my head. After struggling and struggling to find a start point for the creation of my MUD it finally dawned on me! I should start from the training of the student into the game environment. The training of the student in the environment will be the beginning of the learning experience which will have embedded within it the skills that they will need to discover and explore their environment.

Hey, this might seem like familiar terms and ideas for some but these are all new for me. Please leave me questions or comments so that I can help myself clarify what I mean.

RPG's as Teaching Tools

2004-06-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Video games are able to inspire and capture children to focus their energy and attention for too many hours at a time. In video games children willingly immerse themselves in make-believe environments where they are provided with instant feedback on their progress. It is my belief that as educators we need to start looking at video games as possible alternative approaches to learning, both within the existing contexts of schooling and possibly in the development of new learning environments.

Bioware has a video role playing game called Neverwinter Nights. I am interested in exploring a feature of the game that allows one player (the Game Master or Dungeon Master) to control the story line and interact more richly with other players than a computer ever could. Link I'm not a big fan of the Hack and Slash parts of the game but the GM interface has, what I think is, some real promise in a gaming environment as a teaching tool.

If you have idea, questions, or help that you can provide me as I complete my Masters in Education on this Topic please leave a comment.

Thanks,
Aaron

Technorati: RPG, Bioware, and education