Today is really going to just be about sharing some of the posts I’ve been reading lately. The other day I was thinking about the new class of educational toys. Today I’m thinking about computer and video games. This might be because I have my interview with the Art Institute this morning to discuss whether or not their Interactive Media program is a good fit for the shift I’m trying to push myself through. I suspect by the time it’s all said and done, she’s going to recommend I find a more technical school…but we’ll see.
Okay…recent games reading:
- Racial ambiguity in games- Like Mrs. Dewey, it appears that games are starting to feature characters that are designed in such a way that most people can find something to identify with. I don’t know if I’ve ever thought to identify myself with Mario or Lara Croft, but I think this is just awesome. Designing with multiculturalism in mind can open up what you can do with a game, but at the same time, it also runs the risk of breaking down cultural boundaries, and potentially making it okay to generate a homogeneous culture instead of celebrating what makes various cultures unique.
- Hotel Dusk: Novel or Game?- I’ve been working on figuring out the Change Your Own Adventure development process for what I hope will become a series of games where math will help determine your path through the story, so finding out about this one excited me. I’m going to have to see if I can pick up a copy to see how they did it. One of the potential benefits of a game like this is that it can either breed an interest in reading in kids who wouldn’t normally read for fun, or it could pull avid readers into gaming (thereby encouraging them to become more social).
- Today’s Homework: Make Good Games- I remember when I was in middle school, my life science teacher thought it would be fun for everyone to create games designed to help us study for a test. It was a lot of fun. We each worked on our own, and I think mine was a version of Monopoly with a trivia element to it. It was awesome because I got to design something, and just creating the game helped me study for the test. When I got to make the box of reading games for one of my teacher prep classes, I thought that was pretty cool, too. I love playing games. I love solving puzzles. I love creating treasure hunts. And I love creating games, even if my experience up until this CYOA one has been low-tech.
- Game over- Play again?- Okay, so I really like this one! When I was a kid playing Donkey Kong Junior and Mario, it was all about how wonderful the games were for teaching things like problem solving and hand-eye coordination for us less athletically gifted kids. Now, games are hailed for being able to draw people together socially as they work together on MMORPGs or through xBox Live. Even the Wii is already being praised for getting gamers off their couches. (And if you have yet to play with a Wii, I highly recommend it. It is more fun than any one person should be allowed to have indoors!) The one unsung skill taught by gaming, though, is the ability to make mistakes and be completely fine with it because you know you’ll get an other chance. It’s actually a subskill of the problem solving skill. You try something. You die. You think, ‘So next time, I’ll try this instead.’ Which you do. It kills you. Finally, you figure out the right solution, and you keep going. No fuss. No stress over doing it “wrong”. It’s just an attempt. Smart gamers carry this skill, like the others, in their back pocket to help them get through real life. And it’s true.
Gaming isn’t a panacea to all of education’s ills, but it can be great for reinforcing skill development. And I’m starting to see why I’m gravitating back toward it, just from an educator’s perspective.
Posted by Rebecca as Experiential Learning, Problem Solving, Games, Link Dump at 7:31 AM EST
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Camp is nearly over, and then it’s on to figure out what the next great adventure will be. I’m kind of looking forward to it. As much as I don’t care for an "unstable" lifestyle, at the same time it’s really kind of freeing. I don’t feel locked down, and I feel like I’m more open to considering other possibilites for professional and personal development. It’s terrifying and exhilarating all at once!
The link dump this week looks at a number of different topics that can be grouped under very few labels (and hopes to be meatier once camp is over!)
Posted by Rebecca as Link Dump at 9:44 PM EDT
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I’m giving some serious thought to replanning the link dump, perhaps only doing them when I have a specific number of links.
This week’s link dump won’t have a link except as a reference point, but I did want to share a quote I read on Rosa Say’s blog the other day.
“You can’t talk yourself out of a problem that you behaved yourself into.”
I’ve been trying to make this point with my campers all summer. Many of them seem to believe that a simple "I’m sorry" will fix everything they do, regardless of what it has happened. They also believe that they’re entitled to do whatever they want without any repurcussions.
Everything we do affects somebody, even if that somebody is just ourselves. It takes a lot of courage to step up and say, "Yes, I screwed this up, and I’m going to fix it by correcting my poor decision/action." But it is complete and utter foolishness (and a real sign of the times) to expect to make poor choices and then expect to just say a couple of words and make everything all right. We have to choose to change the behavior that put us in that position to begin with.
It’s about personal responsibility, and when you can make better choices, people respond better to you.
Posted by Rebecca as Link Dump at 11:23 AM EDT
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The first half of camp is over. For the next half, I will be enjoying a nice break as a simple instructor. Just me, the kids, and some really fun hands-on science projects!
I can hardly wait!
I’m also helping friends out with college coursework. I’ve been proofreading and editing papers for my roommate, and tomorrow I’ll be helping another friend prep for a math test. I’ve often thought that I should try to start up a business as a private tutor. Maybe these are good starts.
This week’s link dump is yet another lean offering thanks to my crazy schedule. Not that I would give up my current way of life for anything, but it does often leave me with little time for reading and blogging.
Posted by Rebecca as Link Dump at 12:56 PM EDT
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I’ve had a crazy week! This past camp session was by far the hardest I’ve had in a very long time. Then, my parents came to celebrate my birthday. It seemed to be kept greatly civil, which is always nice.
As a result of all the craziness this week, the link dump is going to be very small.
Posted by Rebecca as Link Dump at 1:01 PM EDT
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My week of freedom is over, and it’s back to camp on Monday! And what a crazy week I have in store for me! I’m not sure whether to stress now or later.
This week’s link dump seems a little tech-heavy. I guess that makes sense as I am now considering options for graduate work. One of the options I’m considering is educational technology. That would at least let me get into instructional design and/or training. For some reason, having extensive curriculum development and actual training experience doesn’t cut it in this area. I haven’t fully committed myself to this idea, though. There is a certain appeal to moving from being a museum educator to a children’s librarian.
I just can’t decide.
Anyway, onto the tech-heavy link dump!
Posted by Rebecca as Link Dump at 10:19 AM EDT
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I had a beautiful link dump here, but it got eaten when I was fixing some of the HTML. (Have I ever mentioned exactly how much I cannot stand WYSIWYG?)
I don’t have the heart to recreate the entire thing, so let me direct you over to my del.icio.us, where you are welcome read the links I added plus any others that grab your attention!
Have a safe weekend!
Posted by Rebecca as Link Dump at 11:08 AM EDT
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The first week of camp is over, and we had a blast. The kids even walked out talking about robotics and electrictiy. It was very exciting. I also learned that all of my sessions are full! Some of my kids tried to set up for later sessions last night, and found them all full! I’m so excited and surprised. Mine was the site that wasn’t supposed to have many kids because of dates and location, and we not only are full but have more kids begging to come back!
As a result of all the behind-the-scenes work I have to do for camp, the link dump is in brief form this week, and really, really short.
Posted by Rebecca as Link Dump at 9:05 PM EDT
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This week has been all about preparing for camp. Four whole beautiful weeks of doing science projects with children! In a beautiful location! I’m so excited! I’ll be spending the weekend preparing each of my lessons for the week!
This week’s link dump is finally a manageable size. Posting may be sporadic as I enjoy the camp life, but hopefully these links will keep you entertained for a bit.
Social Networks
Introduction to social network methods
It may be that I’m trying to overcome some of my shyness, but I’m starting to think I ought to learn more about social networking.
People are connections
Networking is alive and well for more than just finding a job orprofessional collaboration.
It’s about the community plumbing: the social aspects of content management systems
I’m still struggling with this a bit.
More nursery school children going online
I first saw this right after coming home from subbing in a preschool. The children have a pen pal class in Minnesota, and they are all very comfortable using the computer. It probably won’t be long before we see a series of preschooler-friendly sites, including preschooler-friendly search engines designed to develop their informational literacy skills.
e-Portfolios
ESJ: a strategy for personal knowledge management
That reminds me…I need to go do some serious work on my wiki…
Creation of a learning landscape: Webbloggin and social networking in the context of e-Portfolios
I’m still working on planning out my e-Portfolio and trying to set up a reflective journal for science camp and tutoring.
Posted by Rebecca as Link Dump at 11:09 AM EDT
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I hope everyone had a great week. Mine has been a bit of both the happy and the sad. The very first club I started teaching for Science Adventures wound down for the school year this week. However, I have done a lot of good work on the business, and I think I have talked myself into going back to grad school!
This week’s link dump is going to be another biggie as I’m still clearing out all the stuff I had saved in my clippings folder. So let’s hop to it!
I’m still sorting out the way I’m going to do these, so please bear with me as this feature goes through its growing pains.
Posted by Rebecca as Link Dump at 10:52 AM EDT
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