Games Based Learning DSI

  Today we looked at Game based learning using the Nintendo DS. We played 4 different games for the DS while thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of each game. We then selected the 2 games we thought would be most appropriate in schools and would help engage and enhance children's learning. The different games require the use a variety of skills and link to different areas within the Curriculum. 

Maths Training

The game requires the children to use their arithmetic skills in adding, subtracting and multiplication. This game is more suitable for children in the middle and upper levels of the school. Although it the simple addition and subtraction can be used in the lower end of the school. It would be a good warm activity at the beginning of a maths lesson because it will get the children to think on their feet. It is quite competitive which creates a sense of excitement, so there could be class competitions of who can complete the tests the quickest and get the best scores. "I can use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division when solving problems, making best use of the mental strategies and written skills I have developed. MNU 1-02a"  The only disadvantage of this game would be that the children have to write the answers using the stylus on the screen and sometimes the DS does not recognise the number you have written therefore they would get the answer incorrect.

Imagine Teacher

This game is really fun and is suited to the upper, middle and lower stages of the school. The game is based on a teacher who is trying to encourage more pupils to join the class by teaching interesting and effective lessons. The player has to complete different tasks on a variety of subjects in order to gain more pupils. This game will test the children's knowledge within these different subject areas e.g. Geography, Biology and Music. It will provide the younger children will new knowledge on the subjects they have not covered in school. For the children in the upper stages of school, this game requires them to use their problem solving skills as they need to identify which subjects the pupils do not enjoy and put the children in the appropriate seats to avoid bad behaviour.

Reference

Scottish Government (2009, p2) Learning, teaching and assessment. Curriculum areas. Mathematics. Experiences and outcomes. Word file: Numeracy and mathematics: Experiences and outcomes (518 KB) Available http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/learningteachingandassessment/curriculumareas/mathematics/eandos/index.asp [accessed 21/3/11]

Crazy Talk!!

  Today we looked at the software Crazy Talk. This software gives photographs and pictures voices and their mouths move in time with the speech. Once a character has been selected the speech needs to be added. This can either be done by recording someones voice or by simply typing in the text then selecting an appropriate automated voice. For the character to look effective when speaking, the face has to be manipulated accordingly in order to suit each part of the speech.

  Teachers could use Crazy Talk to tell stories to their class. Children may be more engaged and interested in the stories if a celebrity they like is narrating them. It may also encourage the participation of children who are usually too embarrassed to talk in front of their peers. They could record themselves speaking but use a picture of someone else to represent them. This activity links to English within the curriculum: "I can select ideas and relevant information, organise these in an appropriate way for my purpose and use suitable vocabulary for my audience. LIT 2-06a" Children will really enjoy playing around with different pictures and pieces of speech. They will also gain a great sense of pride once they see their end results. The disadvantage of Crazy Talk is that it is quite difficult to manipulate the faces to correspond with each part of the speech. This is due to there being lots of different commands and parts of the face that can be manipulated. Children therefore may find this difficult and may loose interest in the activity.

  We created our own Crazy Talk characters in relation to our groups topic of "People Who Help Us" to put on our Wikispace. I decided to use a picture of a Police woman. My groups topic is targeted towards children in the Early Years therefore I decided that the Police woman should recite a children's poem that relates to the Police. I had a cold so decided to type the speech rather than recording myself saying it. Upon reflection, I think it would have been more effective and engaging had I used my own voice instead of the automated one. In future I would always ensure I had someone to do the voice to make sure it was fun to listen to.


My Police Woman(supposed to be in tune to "I'm a little teapot")


 

Reference

Scottish Government (2009, p4) Learning, teaching and assessment. Curriculum areas. Languages. Literacy and English. Experiences and outcomes. Word file: Literacy and English: Experiences and outcomes (558 KB). Available http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/learningteachingandassessment/curriculumareas/languages/litandenglish/eandos/index.asp [accessed 21/3/11]

Samba de Amigo!!

  Today we were exploring games based learning using Wii's. My group played the dancing games "Samba de Amigo" and "Dance on Broadway" while the other group played the "Beatles" game. We had to move around a lot due to sharing rooms and rooms being booked. We therefore experienced plugging the Wii into Smart boards, projectors and DVD Players. I now know how to plug the Wii into a variety of devices.

  "Dance on Broadway" allows up to 4 players. We decided this game could link into Health and Well being. An example of this link within the first level is "I am developing skills and techniques and improving my level of performance and fitness. HWB 1-22a" This could be incorporate into a PE lesson whereby a couple of children dance at the front of the class with the Wii remotes while the rest of the class copy the actions behind them. They will all take it in turns dancing with the remotes to ensure it is fair. This lesson would require a lot of space and a projector so the whole class can see the routines. A cross curricular link would be with Music as this would help them with rhythm and timings.

Advantages

It is active, engaging and fun. There are a variety of songs the children can choose from so they do not always have to dance to the same music. If the whole class are participating, some children who usually feel embarrassed to dance in the class may feel less embarrassed because everyone is taking part.

Disadvantages

The characters on the screen are quite small so children at the back may struggle to follow the actions. The oncoming actions are unclear because we found it would tell you to raise your right hand when it actually meant for you raise your left hand. It may be difficult to get boys involved because they may feel dancing is just for girls. A teacher would over come this by firstly introducing a more male orientated dance game such as "Just Dance". This game has male and female characters and there are more modern and well known songs to choose from. 

  "Samba de Amigo" is another dance game which requires you to shake your maracas in time to the music. This game is fun because it not only involves dancing but also has the added exciting element of the maracas. The children would need more space around them because they might accidentally hit each other with the maracas. The teacher could ensure the whole classes participation by providing the children who do not have remotes with real maracas or bells which they will have to shake in time to the music. This game incorporates Music because the children need to develop rhythm in order to be able to shake their maracas at the correct time. "I can use my voice, musical instruments and music technology to discover and enjoy playing with sound, rhythm, pitch and dynamics. EXA 1-17a" Another cross curricular link could be with Art and Design as the children could design their own maracas. We stumbled upon this idea when we tried to fix the Wii Maracas because there was no hole in the top of them to transmit the sensor from the remotes to the Wii.

Before

After

Advantages

More children will want to participate because the game does not solely focus on dancing. The children will feel more motivated and engaged if they have their own maracas or bells therefore it is a really good idea to get the children to design and make their own. The music is quite fun and they may recognise some of the tunes.

Disadvantages

This game would require a lot of space to ensure the children do not hit each other with their musical instruments.


Reference

Scottish Government (2009, p9) Learning, Teaching and Assessment. Curriculum areas. Expressive Arts. Experiences and outcomes. Word file: Expressive arts: Experiences and outcomes (421 KB). Available http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/learningteachingandassessment/curriculumareas/expressivearts/eandos/index.asp [accessed 21/3/11]

Scottish Government (2009, p5) Learning, Teaching and Assessment. Curriculum areas. Health and Wellbeing. Experiences and outcomes.
Word file: Health and wellbeing: Experiences and outcomes (680 KB). Available http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/learningteachingandassessment/curriculumareas/healthandwellbeing/eandos/index.asp [accessed 21/3/11]

Wikispaces

  Today we were working in our groups to complete our Wikispaces. Soloman and Schrum (2007, p.201) explain that "community collaboration is the focus of this tool." Wikispace is an online area where multiple people can work on the same document at the same time from different locations. It is a great way for people to share ideas and manipulate information and pictures to suit their needs.





 My group designed a Wiki based on "People who help us" which is aimed at children in Early Years. We divided 6 characters who help us between the 3 of us and designed an information and activities page for each character. The information and activities we chose are age and stage appropriate to our targeted audience. I really liked how we could all work on the Wikispace at the same time. We all worked well together, communicating with one another throughout the whole process in order for the Wiki to look consistent and effective. The only negative I have about the site is that it was really difficult to maipulate the text and images. Whenever I saved my work and viewed the page, I found that it had changed the layout completely. So for the majority of the time my pages didn't turn out the way I wanted them to. Maybe that's me just being a perfectionist?

  Wikispaces could be used within the classroom through a range of collaborative lessons. An example of this would be when small groups of children are working on individual areas of a class topic and have to carry out their own research. They could create a Wikispace, record their research on it and then add images and activities. Once their Wikispace is completed they could share it with the rest of their peers. This will allow them to be responsible for their own learning and they will also be able to learn from their peers Wikispaces.

Reference

Soloman, G. and Schrum, L. (2007) Web 2.0 new tools, new schools. USA: iste. 

Smart...boards!

  Today we learned how to use the Smart Board software called Notebook. This is an effective way of engaging children in interactive learning. This training will help us enhance our lessons. I have used Smart Boards in two of my placements but only used interactive games from websites and programmes the school already had. During this training session we were shown how to use a variety of tools that can be used to create a variety of exciting lessons.


  Once we were shown how to use the basic tools, we tried creating our own interactive activity which tied in with our topic of "People who help us". I decided to create a "move to reveal activity" that is targeted towards children in the Early Years. The children will take it in turns to come up to the board, select a question relating to the topic and if they get it correct they get to click a box which will reveal a section of a picture. Once all the boxes have been clicked, the full picture of someone who helps will be revealed. This encourages the children's participation in a questioning and answering sessions because it interactive and there is the added element of fun by trying to guess the picture under the boxes. It also encourages the children to take it in turns and they can help one another if they are stuck. It was quite difficult to manipulate the objects at first but after some time playing around with the software I got used to it. Although I think you would need some practise with this software, I definitely think it is worthwhile and beneficial to teachers lessons and the children's learning. It can also be used for lessons across the Curriculum!

 

Night at the Oscars

  Today we presented our movies to other members in the class. We each had to give a brief introduction to the movie then showed our movies on the big screen. It was really interesting to see what different ideas the other groups had come up with and how they had edited their movies.

  Sharon used a voting website called poll4. It requires the use of a phone or the Internet on a iPad or iPhone. It can be used to ask questions, take polls or for assessment purposes. Poll4 is effective because it is anonymous which means children do not have to worry about what their peers think about their opinions or answers. It also means there is no animosity after any voting processes because no one will know who voted what. This could be used in any lessons as it may encourage children who do not usually participate in classroom discussions, to participate. 

  Sharon carried out a voting poll in which we rated each film from 5 to 10. All the scores were recorded till the final film had been played and then the winner was announced.

  My group won!! I am so proud of how well we worked together and how well our movie turned out. Although I have to say that the other groups movies were just as brilliant! Well done everyone!

Our winning movie 

Movie Editing

  Today we began editing our movies. We used a website called Zamzar to convert the movie files into the appropriate format so we could put them on Windows Movie Maker. Zamzar was quite complicated to use and very time consuming therefore I do not think I would use it with the children. Zamzar also corrupted all our files so in the end we had to find another software to convert the files. This whole process wasted a lot of valuable editing time so I definitely would not use it with children.


  We used  Windows Movie Maker to edit our movies. Sharon briefly showed us how to use the software which helped us identify all the different things we could use to produce better movies. Although it is quite easy to use if I was doing a lesson on movie editing, I would give the children a quick demonstration on how to use it. Windows Movie Maker is really effective because we could add music, sounds, transitions between different scenes and we could edit scenes by cutting off sections that were not right.


  In my group, we all worked together on the editing process ensuring we each had a turn at each part of the process. This resulted in me fully understanding how to use the software and I now feel more confident to use this in a lesson with a class. Although if I was carrying out this lesson with a class, I think I would allocate the children with specific roles within their groups to ensure they all know what they are doing and to stop disagreements. If this works, I would let them choose their roles the next time. We all worked well together therefore it made the process a lot easier because there were no disagreements. As a result of this I would ensure that children were in appropriate groups in relation to who works well together and who does not.


  I would always tell the children to save their work because they would feel very downhearted if for some reason the computers crashed and they lost all of their work. I would also ensure they backed their work up onto a couple of pen drives in case they loose one.


  The editing process required a lot of patience and effort but the end result was definitely worth it! This task will motivate the children and they will feel a great sense of pride once they see their final film. This will promote their self-esteem and possibly their future interests in ICT.

Lights, Camera... Action!

  In our groups we were to create movies relating to our chosen topic. My groups topic was "People Who Help Us" which we decided to target towards children in Early Years. The movie was going to be like a children's TV programme in which the presenter would cover different topics every week. We thought it would be quite effective to use teddies to play characters within the different scenarios.

  We started constructing our movie by writing up a storyboard. This was extremely helpful when filming our movie because it meant we knew exactly what everyone was doing in each scene. If I was carrying out this lesson with children, I would ensure they all had written up storyboards before beginning their filming. This would ensure they knew exactly what they had to film and could allocate appropriate roles to all members of their group.

  We used Flip Cameras to film the movie. Even though I had never seen one of these before I found it easy to figure out how to use it. Every time we stopped filming a scene the clip was saved automatically as a file in the cameras memory which we could then put onto the computer. Children would find these extremely easy to use in lessons in which they have to record certain things.

  Once we had written up our storyboard, we went to a flat with the camera to film our movie. Once we got there we found out that the camera was not working. We tried new batteries, but nothing worked so we had to return to Uni and wait till another group finished with their camera. By this point the group felt demotivated due to us not being able to record our film. Upon reflection, before teaching this lesson I would ensure that all of the cameras were working. This would avoid any groups feeling demotivated or demoralised due to them working hard to create a film but in the end felt it was pointless because they were not able to record it. 

  The filming process was really fun because it gave us the opportunity to experiment with different voices, scenes and characters. I think children would find this task very motivating because it provides them with opportunities to experiment and explore. I think this task was "intrinsically motivating". In Christensen's (2008, p7) book on Disrupting Class he explains that "intrinsic motivation is when the work itself stimulates and compels an individual to stay with the task because the task by itself is inherently fun and enjoyable." I cannot wait to see our film once it has all been put together!


Christensen, C,M. (2008) Disrupting Class New York: McGraw-Hill. 

Aufwiedersehen Tessie!

  Today we sent bears on a bear exchange. My group sent a bear to a group of students in Germany who are also studying to become teachers. Our bear is called Tessie, she lives in the river Tay and is Nessie's (the Loch Ness Monster) cousin. With Tessie we sent some Scottish tablet and postcards with pictures of places in Scotland on them. I am really looking forward to hearing all about Tessie's adventures in Germany. It will give me an insight into what teaching students in another countries learn and their teaching beliefs.

  This would be a great learning opportunity in schools because it would provide children with opportunities to see what children their age do in other countries. It will also give them a deeper understanding of the variety of cultures and nationalities around the world. It also provides them with the opportunity to teach children in other countries about their hobbies and what they do at school. 

  This activity could tie in with Religious Moral Education in which the children will learn about other children's cultures and beliefs in various countries. It could also be linked to Geograpghy where by they learn about the ways in which other children live and their schooling, around the world.    

Voices of the World

  Today Sharon introduced us to 'Voices of the World'. Every month she creates new tasks which people from all over the world participate in. The participants use the same software as she has used  to create their own version of the task. They complete the task in their own language and include their own resources. I think this is an effective way of encouraging the children's understanding of all the different languages around the world. The tasks require the use of simple and basic language to make it easier to translate and learn the words in the different languages.


  My group decided to do something quite simple that required basic vocabulary children would enjoy learning. Our chosen topic was "Our favourite sports." We selected 10 different sports, found pictures relating to the sport and displayed them on a PowerPoint. We used audacity to record each of the pronunciations of the sports in English. This software is very easy and effective to use because you can instantly playback what you have recorded and can cut the bits you don't like out. This took some time because we were trying to get the pronunciation correct. We then used a website called myplick in order to put the audio and PowerPoint together. The software is extremely straightforward to use. Although, it took a while to upload both files and then we found that we could not access our work because we did not have an account with the website. This resulted in us running out of time therefore having to stay behind to finish it quickly. Once it was all uploaded we just had to adjust the voice recordings to go in time with the PowerPoint. Although the software's were easy to use, it was quite time consuming so I would carry out this kind of lesson over a number of lessons. I am really excited to see what people from all over the world create and learning how to say the different sports in a variety of languages.



'Voices of the World' May Task'

• Children in the class will draw/create pictures to go alongside the sports mentioned.
• Note: No children are to be in the pictures.
• These pictures should then be placed on a PowerPoint.
• Using a sound recording program, such as Audacity, the class can then record themselves saying each of the words aloud, in their first language.
• The teacher can then merge these using a simple program such as 'myplick'.
  Our Favourite Sports
  
  

Animation take two!

  On Monday my group and I created an animation, which related to our chosen topic of 'People Who Help Us'. There wasn't any new plasticine therefore we had to use plasticine people had used before to create their own models. This was useful because it meant we did not have to spend lots of time creating new models, instead we adapted models to suit our requirements for our animation. We decided that our animation would include various scenes on the various people who help us and situations in which they help us. By looking at the various models in the box, we were able to come up with a variety of characters and situations. We all worked well together to adapt the models and ensure everything we needed for our animation was ready. A member of the group collected paper from the Art cupboard, which we used for our backgrounds. One member took up the role of operating the computer while the rest of us set up the scenes and moved the characters and cameras. The process of filming was very time consuming because it required the characters and objects to move very slowly to ensure the animation looked fluid. We took it in turns to move the characters although found it worked better if one person did it at a time because they knew how far to move it. Communication within the group was vital in ensuring the success of our animation. As a group we worked well to communicate who was moving what and where it should be moved. Unfortunately the communication between the members of the group moving the models and the member operating the computer was not effective. This was due to them thinking the scene was ready to record so would start recording but would end up recording someone's hand in the background. As a group, we should have stated when we were ready for the recording to begin and stated when the recording was going to begin and finish. As a result of this we had a few hand shots in our animation. We ran out of time so only got to shoot two different scenes but managed to add a bit on the end introducing other people who help us. Upon reflection I think we should have managed our time better. We did not have enough time to create our own sound effects therefore had to use the ones we were provided with on the software. I benefited from this activity because it gave me the opportunity to deepen my understanding of how to use the software and what strategies need to be adopted in order for the animation to be successful. As a result of this experience, I now feel more confident to teach this lesson to a class.


People Who Help Us Animation

ICT Elective

  The use of ICT within teaching in schools is on the increase. It is an effective strategy teachers use to engage pupils in their learning as it is fun and active. As a result of this, I decided to study ICT for my chosen elective. I understand how to use ICT at a very basic level. Therefore I hope the elective will provide me with various ICT based teaching strategies, develop my understanding of how to use these strategies and build up my confidence to enable me to use them in my placements.


  In first year, we learnt how to create our own avatars using "DoppelMe". These are cartoon representations of ones self. The use of avatars is a successful way for teachers and pupils to protect their identities when using blogs and social networking sites. We also created voki's using 'audacity' - talking avatars. Within the Modern Foreign Languages module, we created wiki's which are collaborative websites. We also participated in some game based learning in which we experimented with a Smart Board, Wii, DS, Ipod and an Ipad. This gave me the opportunity to identify how game based learning can enhanced childrens' learning. My favourite ICT activity was when we created animated films. This was great fun and would require the pupils to use a range of skills to complete. First year helped develop my understanding of why ICT is important to the children's learning and how it can create a more effective learning environment.


My Animation






  The first week of the ICT elective provided me with an insight to what I will be learning throughout the module. I am looking forward to creating another animation in the hope that I can use my previous knowledge and experience to create a better one. The 'bear exchange' is really exciting because it will provide me with the opportunity to see what other teaching students are doing in other universities in other countries. Hopefully through this experience, I will gain the confidence to practise this within a classroom of my own. I believe the children will benefit from this because they will be able to learn about children's lives and cultures who are from different countries and are the same age. We are also going to create projects within small groups in which we will create a movie and a wiki space. The topic my group has chosen to create a project on is "People who help us". I am looking forward to working with my group to develop this project. We will also be looking at game based learning in greater detail. I feel I will benefit from this because I still do not know how to use the different types of technology in order to enhance children's learning. Lastly, I hope this elective will support and develop my reflections, as I will be writing these within my blog at the end of every week.