My E- Learning Blog

In a study by FutureLab Projects they found that the reason why schools were reluctant to  use games-based learning approaches in schools were:

• There were a variety of technical obstacles to be overcome when using the games in a school context. Technical support staff play a significant role in supporting teachers to overcome these difficulties.
• Concerns over curriculum and assessment appeared to be more influential in selecting the age of students to use games in lessons than the age rating for the games.
• Many teachers found the fixed length of lessons to be constraining in both the planning and implementation of games-based learning in schools.

“What was clear from the study was that a number of factors were significant in influencing the process by which games can be appropriated for use in schools”. These included:

• the technical infrastructure of the school (including personnel and facilities)
• institutional and professional factors (including the organisation of time and space in the school, cultures of collaboration/knowledge sharing, traditions of ‘best practice’ in lesson planning, and classroom rituals)
• the extent to which games can be ‘disaggregated’ and appropriated to meet specific needs
• the individual teachers’ personal experience of games play, and their personal and professional identities as teachers
• the pervading cultural expectations of children’s attitudes to and expertise in playing computer games.

“While games may have potential to support learning , it is clear that these factors need to be taken into account by teachers, and ideally by school leaders and games developers, before this potential can be fully realised”.

As a student teacher participating in E-Leaning, I have had the opportunity to see first hand how schools react and work with ICT. In most cases, schools who are implementing ICT in their schools feel they are  limited as teachers feel they dont have the time and right expertise to simualte an integrated computer lesson. The common factors that I have seen is simple tasks such as getting students to sign in with the correct code, or only having only one teacher in the room to help student with any problems they are having. In many cases I am sure that teachers wished they had 100 heads and 100 arms to help all students. So wouldnt be great if these software companies made a game simulation of the classroom ICT environment that would assist teachers in implementing and guiding students into their ICT lesson. For example, a program that would allow each student to have an “expert IT Teacher” on their computer assisting them throughout their tasks. It could be created into a game of some sort that if the student was able to figure out the problem themsevles perhaps they earned points towards the end of the lesson. ( Just an idea!)

I have just come across this resource site called the PInk Flamingo’s  Resource List, there I found some interested blogs on the ideas of Digital Games for Learning that the author has collected.

The site states that;

“Promoting fun is the number one objective for learning digital game-based learning”.

All quotes and blogs that the author has commented on is reflective of his objective on promoting fun for digital learning.

I recommend that you take the time to read each blog as there is a fast amount of information on how we can influence our classrooms.

I found this fantastic article written by Margie Meacham on “How to use “Multiple Intelligence Theory in the virtual classroom“.

This article decribes the different intelligences and ways to engage the diffeerent intelligences in a virtual classroom.

For example, if you are trying to engage a child who is of kinesthetic intelligence; that is a child who can process information by interacting with the physical space around them. They will respond well to learning activities involving

• hands-on manipulation of the keyboard or mouse as a “student driver”
• watching videos or presentations that let learners put themselves in the action
  simulations that let learners make decisions that affect the outcome of the story or case
• game-like activities that require hand-to-eye coordination or rapid reflexes
  buttons that let them express feelings with digital signals that take the place of facial expressions
• videoconferencing that lets them show their body to other participants and express concepts through gestures, mime, or dance
• blended solutions that let them create something with their hands and share it with the rest of the class through a digital image (Margie Meacham 2003)

I strongly advise you to read this article as it can give you the picture of how to connect and engage these amazing children in our classrooms.

As Margie Meacham contented;

“Combining what we know about multiple intelligences with virtual classroom features can help us enrich e-learners’ experiences.”

* If you are unable to get to the link the site is;

http://www.learningcircuits.org/2003/jun2003/elearn.html

I found a video on smart boards by Mary Lehman. She is an elementay school teacher at Stony Brook School. She talks about the uses of smart boards and how it is used so her students can interact with the content being taught to the class.

Mary uses the smart board during transitional times as well as for English and math lessons. Interactive smartboard lessons are taught in a whole groups or individually.

Students enjoy using the Smartboard in Mary’s class because; they can make objects move, it is fun and interesting.

I haven’t had the opportunity to use a Smartboard as yet, but when I do I hope that my students will enjoy and interact with the learning tool as much as these children were.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NzL1NYi3Y8

Erica highlighted a fantastic teachertube video on Erica’s posting called 3 Steps.

Erica mentioned;

“3 steps is a teacher tube video that challenges teachers to think about how learning should be occuring in the 21st century. It assumes that technology could be as seamlessly intergrated into our classroom as it already is in our homes and the workforce-and why not? Teaching must be relevent to the studnets and thier world and this vidoe callanges teachers to consider if their’s is”.

I aggree with her comments, I believe this video gives you ideas on how to intergrade ICT tools to make learning collaborative and powerful in a 21st century learning environment!