RSA #4: Game Based Learning

Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk_OfUHpCbM

http://blackboard.cuchicago.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1495153-dt-content-rid-4929408_2/courses/5352-5356.201520/Week6-reading-Klopher-edt6030-v14.pdf

http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/games/whatis.html

http://edtechreview.in/dictionary/298-what-is-game-based-learning

http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/singapore07/procs/whitton.pdf

https://www.brainpop.com/educators/community/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/PROJECT-TOMORROW-10-3-14.pdf


     Game based learning seeks to balance content with gameplay.  It is a teaching approach with defined learned outcomes whereby students will be highly engaged.  Students can enter into virtual learning environments, work toward a goal, make choices, learn and practice in a risk free setting. The hope would be that learners could easily transfer knowledge, thought processes, and skills into the real world (EdTechReview).  There are many elements that create the game framework such as competition, engagement, and immediate rewards.  Often, players must collaborate or work as a team to complete a process built into a game.  Students receive feedback like scores or rewards almost immediately.  Much like the goals of a lesson plan are for achievement, motivation, and assessment, gamification seeks to combine all of those elements for success in learning.
     Klopfer (2009) distinguishes digital games by two elements, an interactive playing environment and the struggle against an opposing player.  He also describes digital games as being characterized by rules, goals, objectives, outcomes, feedback, conflict, interaction, and representation of a story that the students perceives as fun.
    In his video titled Non-Digital Game Based Learning, Kevin Corbitt shared the benefits of any type of game play on learning.  He shared that simply playing traditional board games like Monopoly, Yahtzee, Life, and Clue held positive effects of learning.  Traditional board game playing teaches players how to invest and make money choices, collect evidence, use deductive reasoning, make sense and consider variables.  Mental benefits of game playing include learning decision making, how to predict, recognize patterns, plan ahead, act, strategize, and even sit for an extended period of time.  Social benefits include practicing verbal communication, following rules, taking turns, sportsmanship, and self-control.  All of these skill are able to be practiced and learned in a non-threatening, low risk setting.  Most of these skills that can be practiced in non digital games also transfer in a digital game, creating a low risk learning environment.
     Katie Salen, in her video "The Power of Game Based Learning" featured on Edutopia, described digital games as having mission or quest based levels.  Learners experience an increased difficulty level as they proceed through the games.  She also shared some concerns some parents have about the encouragement of competition and rewards and fears of students becoming addicted to the the games.  These are valid points and should be considered and monitored in the classroom.
     In a paper by Project Tomorrow titled "Digital Teachers, Digital Principals: Transforming the Ways We Engage Students," teachers who are comfortable integrating technology or game based learning into their classroom see a connection between their use of technology and and their own effectiveness as a teacher.  Over a third of the teachers in a digital games cohort in their study commented that technology improved their productivity, helped them manage their classrooms, differentiated more, and assessed student more easily.

Image source: http://www.brainpop.com/educators/community/printable/digital-teachers-digital-principals-transforming-ways-engage-students/

     It is clear that across the resources there is a general agreement that learning through game based play results in higher motivation level.  It is important therefore that games-based learning applications are designed for the learning context and outcomes, otherwise there is no guarantee that any transfer to real life application will occur.  The rationale for using games to teach should be that they can embody sound learning principles that effectively share content.
     In the classroom setting, I would like to employ many of the games from gamesforchange.org.  This sight presents many real life scenarios that help the students make life choices in a risk free setting.  One specific game called playspent.org helps students navigate one month of life by leading them through job choices, grocery shopping budget, insurance issues, and illness.  The learner uses math/economics skills while learning about the social issue of homelessness as they encounter each obstacle in their month of survival.

Katie Salen on the Power of Game-Based Learning (Big Thinkers Series). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk_OfUHpCbM

Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., Grof, J., Haas, J., (2009) The Instructional Power of Digital Games, Social Networking, Simulations, and How Teachers Can Leverage Them. The Education Arcade, Creative Commons, Retrieved from http://blackboard.cuchicago.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1495153-dt-content-rid-4929408_2/courses/5352-5356.201520/Week6-reading-Klopher-edt6030-v14.pdf

What is Game-Based Learning, Science Education Resource Center, Retrieved from:  http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/games/whatis.html

EdTechReview, What is Game-Based Learning, Retrieved from:  http://edtechreview.in/dictionary/298-what-is-game-based-learning

Whitton, N. (2007). Motivation and computer game based learning. In ICT: Providing choices for learners and learning. Proceedings ascilite Singapore 2007. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/singapore07/procs/whitton.pdf

“Digital Teachers, Digital Principals: Transforming the Ways We Engage Students” Project Tomorrow, Retrieved from: https://www.brainpop.com/educators/community/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/PROJECT-TOMORROW-10-3-14.pdf

RSA#3: Collaboration

RSA #3:  Collaboration

Online Resource from unit:

Bourgault, M., Daoudi, J., (2012). Discontinuity and Collaboration:  Theory and Evidence from Technological Projects, International Journal of Innovative Management, Vol. 16, No. 6.

Jackson, S. (Dec. 16, 2013) How Technology Can Encourage Student Collaboration, Common Sense Media, Retrieved from
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/blog/how-technology-can-encourage-student-collaboration

Additional resources:

Better collaboration and student Groupings (2015), Pearson: Research and Innovation Network, Retrieved from http://researchnetwork.pearson.com/elearning/teaching-in-a-digital-age/collaboration#sthash.DLZd3HTR.dpuf

Cicconi, M., (2013).Vygotsky Meets Technology: A Reinvention of Collaboration in the Early Childhood Mathematics Classroom, Early Childhood Education Journal, Jan2014, Vol. 42 Issue 1, p57-65, 9p
Diagram; found on p60, Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.cucproxy.cuchicago.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=bac3a63a-c860-407a-9755-bbb69906f25d%40sessionmgr4001&vid=10&hid=4212

Nets Image Source: Cicconi, M., (2013).Vygotsky Meets Technology: A Reinvention of Collaboration in the Early Childhood Mathematics Classroom, Early Childhood Education Journal, Jan2014, Vol. 42 Issue 1, p57-65, 9p, Diagram; found on p60

Wardlow, L., (2015). The Science Behind Better Collaboration and Student Groupings and Technology: Teaching in a Digital Age,
Pearson: Research and Innovation Network , Retrieved from
http://researchnetwork.pearson.com/wp-content/uploads/DigitalAge_CollaborationScience_0930131.pdf

Module Topic:  Collaboration

     Collaborative learning refers to methods of teaching and learning that involve groups working together towards a goal such as solving a problem, analyzing information, or producing a project. What makes collaborative learning so powerful is that it provides all learners with opportunities (1) to learn from others of varying levels of subject mastery, and (2) to teach others by explaining their personal knowledge and perspectives. Arguably, without collaborative learning scenarios, students might never get those opportunities (Wardlow 2015).
     In collaborative learning, teachers support students as they build leadership skills, find and fulfill their role in a group, and develop career-ready skills.  Students are more engaged as they provide peer feedback, which requires critical thinking about the subject while also learning important social skills and digital etiquette (Better collaboration and student Groupings 2015).  Teachers are using technology to promote teamwork and collaborative projects, linking their students to classrooms across the globe, using tools such as Kidblog, ePals, Google Docs, and Blackboard Collaborate. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has created National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) that clearly highlight technology’s role in fostering collaboration. Figure 1, Crosswalk of ISTE NETS Standards and the social aspects of technology, illustrates that of the six NETS Pro- files over half of them concentrate on social aspects of technology (Ciccone 2013).

                                 

Nets Image Source: Cicconi, M., (2013).Vygotsky Meets Technology: A Reinvention of Collaboration in the Early Childhood Mathematics Classroom, Early Childhood Education Journal, Jan2014, Vol. 42 Issue 1, p57-65, 9p, Diagram; found on p60

Similarities and Differences Across Source Findings

     Across the variety of resources, there is an agreement that collaboration is a powerful tool in and out of the classroom, developing decision-making skills and the ability to form effective strategies. In the workplace today, adults are expected to confer with colleagues, sharing their inner thought processes with peers.  For example, think about robotics teams who analyze sensors, brainstorm programming sequences, and develop algorithm options.  Or consider architects drafting plans, creating alternatives and adaptations, and sketching, etc (Cicconi, 2014).  According to Jackson (2013), today’s employers say the capacity to collaborate to solve problems is going to be even more important for tomorrow’s workers than content knowledge and employers are looking for people who can work effectively in teams.
     Daoudi and Bourgault (2012) state that collaboration has been and still is investigated in many areas of management and organizational research: corporate strategy, innovation management, and social networks.  However, there are challenges to ensuring effective collaboration between groups of people with different forms of diversity, increasingly referred to as “discontinuity”: different work practices, technologies, cultural backgrounds, etc.

Collaboration in the Educational Setting

     Wardlow (2015) says collaborative learning is most successful with loosely structured groups where learners work together towards open-ended goals. Due to the availability of technologies, collaboration can almost take place anywhere, anytime that students can access the internet.  An important difference between this mode of learning and lecture-style learning is the teacher is part of the learning community rather than solely an authority figure.  Teachers can encourage their students to work together to solve larger, more complex problems than they could cope with individually.
     One trend in collaboration is flipping a classroom. Teachers can create their own video lectures or use educational videos from sites like TED-ed  and Khan Academy. Students then spend class time engaged in projects that require them to refine their understanding of the material and apply what they have learned (Jackson, 2013). Another option is to use popular online tools to promote teamwork and student collaboration. Figment, an online community of writers, provides both collaborative writing spaces through its groups and a place to publish finished work.  Jackson (2013) also recommends ePals as a resource for students to work together on projects and video chat.  Google Docs is also an easy place for students to create and edit projects together and even submit them online to the teacher.


Online Resource from unit:

Bourgault, M., Daoudi, J., (2012). Discontinuity and Collaboration:  Theory and Evidence from Technological Projects, International Journal of Innovative Management, Vol. 16, No. 6.

Jackson, S. (Dec. 16, 2013) How Technology Can Encourage Student Collaboration, Common Sense Media, Retrieved from
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/blog/how-technology-can-encourage-student-collaboration

Additional resources:

Better collaboration and student Groupings (2015), Pearson: Research and Innovation Network, Retrieved from http://researchnetwork.pearson.com/elearning/teaching-in-a-digital-age/collaboration#sthash.DLZd3HTR.dpuf

Cicconi, M., (2013).Vygotsky Meets Technology: A Reinvention of Collaboration in the Early Childhood Mathematics Classroom, Early Childhood Education Journal, Jan2014, Vol. 42 Issue 1, p57-65, 9p
Diagram; found on p60, Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.cucproxy.cuchicago.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=bac3a63a-c860-407a-9755-bbb69906f25d%40sessionmgr4001&vid=10&hid=4212

Nets Image Source: Cicconi, M., (2013).Vygotsky Meets Technology: A Reinvention of Collaboration in the Early Childhood Mathematics Classroom, Early Childhood Education Journal, Jan2014, Vol. 42 Issue 1, p57-65, 9p, Diagram; found on p60

Wardlow, L., (2015). The Science Behind Better Collaboration and Student Groupings and Technology: Teaching in a Digital Age,
Pearson: Research and Innovation Network , Retrieved from
http://researchnetwork.pearson.com/wp-content/uploads/DigitalAge_CollaborationScience_0930131.pdf

RSA #2: Project Based Learning

RSA #2: Project Based Learning

Common Core and Problem Based Learning, Google Hang Out for Buck Institute of Education, http://youtu.be/P5SmW6IxfwI

Problem Based Learning Explained , http://youtu.be/LMCZvGesRz8

A Review of Research on Problem Based Learning, Retrieved from http://www.newtechnetwork.org.590elmp01.blackmesh.com/sites/default/files/dr/pblresearch2.pdf

Project Based Learning and Common Core Standards, The Whole Child Blog, Retrieved from http://www.wholechildeducation.org/blog/project-based-learning-and-common-core-standards

New Challenges for Project Based Learning in the Digital Age, http://web.a.ebscohost.com.cucproxy.cuchicago.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=28a33ff8-83f4-4ce1-8b1b-3e433e0e54b1%40sessionmgr4003&hid=4204

Project Based Learning (PBL) is a backwards design process in which the teacher begins with the end in mind (Bayer, L., Hallerman, S., 2013). It is an instructional model that involves students in investigations of compelling problems that culminate in authentic products (Zafirov, 2013). The Buck Institute for Education (BIE) defines standards-focused PBL as a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning knowledge skills through an extended inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks. BIE, in their video “PBL Explained” that by focusing students on a project, teachers put them on a path that deepens their knowledge and builds skills they need for their future (BIE, 2010).  They further break down the skills developed during Problem Based Learning as collaboration, question asking, giving feedback, research, presentation, and critical thinking (BIE, 2010). 

            Thom Marham, in his “Whole Child Blog”, breaks down PBL and common core standards into what he call “six moving parts”.  These six steps provide an excellent framework to apply the common core standards in a classroom setting.  First, move from instruction to inquiry by posing a challenge and capture it in a driving question.  Then, balance knowledge and skills by emphasizing doing with demonstrating.  Marham suggests going deep by having students focus on the driving question and teaching teamwork with contracts and rubrics.  Create self-directed students by establishing a culture of inquiry and finally, blend coaching with teaching (Marham, 2012).

            In a review of research on PBL, John Thomas found some promising results on the benefits of problem based learning.  He found that most teachers will find aspects of PBL planning, management, or assessment fairly challenging and benefit from a supportive context for PBL administration. Thomas also found the effectiveness of PBL as an instructional method may depend on the range of supports to help students learn how to learn. There was also direct and indirect evidence, both from students and teachers, that PBL is a more popular method of instruction than traditional method. Other added benefits include improved professionalism and collaboration on the part of teachers and increased attendance, self-reliance, and improved attitudes towards learning on the part of students (Thomas, 2000).

            There seems to be a diversity of defining features combined with the lack of a universally accepted model or theory of Project-Based Learning, which results in a great variety of PBL research and development activities.  The confusion may lie how different teachers define what a “project” is.  In the past this may have presented itself as groups making posters or presenting a speech with a 3-D model.  As these sources show, PBL is more than adding an artifact to a lesson.  Teachers must facilitate learning by working shoulder to shoulder with the students, encourage collaboration and deeper thinking, and create an environment where asking questions may be more important than answering them.  In my own classroom, his may take the form of  students creating a biography museum using QR codes/AR triggers that link to video presentations.  The teacher providing research guidance, assistance with technology presentation options, and inviting parents and staff to walk through the “museum” and give feedback.

Bayer, L., Hallerman, S., (2013), Common Core and Problem Based Learning, Google Hang Out for Buck Institute of Education Retrieved from http://youtu.be/P5SmW6IxfwI

BIE, (2010) Video: Problem Based Learning Explained, Buck Institute for Education, Retrieved from http://youtu.be/LMCZvGesRz8

Marham, T., (2012) Project Based Learning and Common Core Standards, The Whole Child Blog, Retrieved from http://www.wholechildeducation.org/blog/project-based-learning-and-common-core-standards

Thomas, J. (2000) A Review of Research on Problem Based Learning, Retrieved from http://www.newtechnetwork.org.590elmp01.blackmesh.com/sites/default/files/dr/pblresearch2.pdf

Zafirov, C., (2013) New Challenges for Project Based Learning in the Digital Age, Trakia Journal of Sciences, No.3, pp 298-302, Retrieved from CUC database http://web.a.ebscohost.com.cucproxy.cuchicago.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=28a33ff8-83f4-4ce1-8b1b-3e433e0e54b1%40sessionmgr4003&hid=4204

RSA#1: Augmented Reality

RSA#1: Augmented Reality

Review of Augmented Paper Systems in Education: An Orchestration Perspective. http://tinyurl.com/pu8b7zj

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/augmented-reality2.htm

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/augmented-reality-new-dimensions-learning-drew-minock

http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/1210-how-to-use-augmented-reality-in-the-classroom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4pHP-pgwlI#t=376

“We think in a narrative…social media is like a digital campfire which an audience gathers to hear our stories” (Tempest, 2012). “Now imagine creating an atmosphere like that for your students” (Minock, 2013). Augmented Reality (AR) is a tool that allows teachers and students to create such an interactive atmosphere that the environment of the classroom comes alive.  In a review of multiple articles, videos, and a paper, the definition of augmented reality is a common one. “The basic idea of augmented reality is to superimpose graphics, audio, and other sensory enhancements over a real-world environment in real time” (Bonsor, 2001). EdTEchREview defined it similarly as “a kind of computer-generated reality that intend to duplicate the world's atmosphere in a computer system” (Bharti, 2015). 

Teachers know that learning deepens, not just through reading and listening, but also through creating and interacting. Augmented reality products like Elements 4D by Daquri, help students manipulate and combine elements from a variety of devices, rather than just reading about them in a textbook (Minock, 2013).  On the spectrum of learning with technology, teachers should strive to move students from consuming information into the collaboration and production phase of learning.  Augmented reality provides the tool to assist with that deeper learning experience.  According to Prasanna Bharti in EdTechReview, AR works on two methodologies.  One being “marker-based”, which uses symbols or barcodes as a trigger to an online media.  The other is “location-based”, which uses GPS data to help the user interact with their environment through their device (Bharti 2015).

In the paper titled “Review of Augmented Paper Systems in Education”, some limitations to the integration of these technologies include, constraints such as space, lesson time, teacher energy level, and discipline.  Other limitations include device management issues, need for flexible systems, and the need for the tech to be simple enough to integrate in the classroom.  The downside to the research on implementation of these technologies is a lack usage in authentic settings.  Only 15 (37.5%) of selected studies were used in an authentic classroom setting (Prieto, Wen, Caballero, & Dillenbourg. 2014).

Examples of how to integrate AR into the classroom were comparable across the articles.  Student creation of a photo wall, book reviews, flash cards for deaf students to study sign language, homework with teacher video, word walls, yearbooks, lab safety, and parental involvement to name a few.  Another commonality among the sources was the peek in to the future of AR.  The use of “Sixth Sense” lanyard devices, contact lenses with AR capabilities, armed forces use of blueprint overlays, paleontologists, and doctors infusing digital data with real life, real time work.  It is clear that despite the fear of information overload, augmented reality is developing quickly and applications both in and out of the classroom abound.

Bharti, P. (2015). How to Use Augmented Reality in the Classroom - EdTechReview™ (ETR). Edtechreview.in. Retrieved 2 February 2015, from http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/1210-how-to-use-augmented-reality-in-the-classroom

Bonsor, K.(2001, February 19) "How Augmented Reality Works".  HowStuffWorks.com. Retrieved 1 Feb, 2015 <http://computer.howstuffworks.com/augmented-reality.htm> .

Minock, D. (2013, Nov.4). Edutopia, “Augmented Reality Brings New Dimensions to Learning”. Retrieved 2 February 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/augmented-reality-new-dimensions-learning-drew-minock

Prieto, L.-P., Wen, Y., Caballero, D., & Dillenbourg, P. (2014). Review of Augmented Paper Systems in Education: An Orchestration Perspective. Educational Technology & Society, 17 (4), 169–185.

Tempest, M. 2012, March 30. “A magical tale (with augmented reality)”. Retrieved 2 February 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4pHP-pgwlI#t=376.