Two of my hobbies include watching cartoons and reading graphic novels, so I guess it’s no surprise that as a teacher I’m now also interested in cartoons with the E/I (educational and informative) rating and world manga that has been repurposed to teach SAT-level vocabulary words.
I haven’t had any success finding how cartoons and other programming targeting children earn the E/I rating, but I have fun trying to see if I can determine what makes the show educational and informative. For shows like CTW’s Sesame Street and Nick Jr’s Dora the Explorer, it’s fairly obvious. They embed their learning activities pretty transparently. But for shows like the WB’s Magi-Nation cartoon, the teaching moment is embedded into the storyline itself, much the way action cartoons have embedded useful trivia for decades. The magi come across a situation that can only be solved by tapping into their knowledge of math, science, or history. The teacher in me finds it pretty obvious, but my inner ten-year-old realizes she’d learn that if Teacher Rebecca didn’t exist. (It’s often amazed me how much I learned from the non-E/I cartoons I watched as a kid.) Of course, then there are the standouts, like an Italian cartoon that was translated by 4Kids as Winx Club. It had the E/I rating all three seasons it ran, and the best I could figure was that it centered around a bit of the Character Counts curriculum.
Then there are the world manga (graphic novels produced in a manga style outside Japan) that are being infused with SAT-level vocabulary to help kids better prepare for the test that is a major key to their getting into their chosen colleges. I haven’t seen one yet, but apparently the words are worked into the book. They’re bolded and defined on the page where they first appear, and then they’re also in a glossary in the back of the book. It’s a great way to reach kids who love anime and manga, but all but refuse to do any school work. (It’s often amazed me how many of these kids I tutor…).
Naturally, I look at both of these and think, “Hmm…how can I use this to my advantage?” Working on Dead Bunny material, it’s important to me to create the bits of math knowledge kids are going to need, and then to show them how and why they might use their new skills. I want to be able to develop teaching moments that come from an engaging character in an engaging story, and I want those teaching moments to stay with the student long after they’ve put down the book, the game, the video, etc.
It’s a lot to shoot for, some of it beyond my current skills level. I think I need a partner in crime…or maybe a mentor?
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 7:42 AM EST
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(Isn’t it funny that the blog that focuses on my primary profession and my passion is the one I’m suddenly having so much trouble writing for?)
I’m probably overly fascinated by the “E/I” (educational and informative) logo on children’s television shows. I’ve actually tried to find the criteria for a show to earn this logo since it mysteriously showed up on an Italian import that had no discernible educational content whatsoever. (If anyone knows what the criteria is, please drop me a line.)
Anyone who works with kids knows, though, that it isn’t just the shows designed to teach kids that actually teach them. I’ll go to show one of my students something, and they’ll just do it or be able to answer my question. I smile inwardly as they proudly tell me about some section of a video game where they had to do something related to get past the section, or about how some cartoon character used the same thing to solve a problem. It may not have been the intention of the game or cartoon to teach the skill, but it happened anyway.
I’ve been thinking about that while playing at creating my first attempts at educational programming. Granted, right now I’m still working on the more obviously educational projects, but I’m also quietly putting thought and time toward other, less obviously educational projects. What’s the line? What’s the right balance between a blatant educational experience and a shrouded teaching moment?
The grad school I keep trying to make myself apply for has suddenly sent me a newsletter. I’m thinking I should take advantage of it to hunt down a real person in the department so I can talk to them and see if that program really is a good fit for me so I can just make my decision once and for all. I’m really just too fascinated by educational media to let it go.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized, Experiential Learning, Games at 8:23 AM EDT
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When I first started looking at gaming as a vehicle for education several yeas ago, I was really interested in looking at the informal way gaming encouraged and built up communication and business skills. I was spending my weekends in a game shop watching teenagers navigate new games, teach each other how to play unfamiliar games, and negotiate fair trades. It was fascinating to watch, and I loved having a ringside seat. Part of me wonders what those kids (now college students…yikes!) have taken with them from those days of swapping Pokemon and Harry Potter cards.
More than that, the games these kids were playing, both at the shop and at home, were giving these kids an expansive set of reasoning skills. They were learning to plan out, to think ahead. They were learning that it’s okay to make a mistake, back up, switch tactics and try again. They were learning to teach. They were learning to take what they learned in one arena and apply it to the next. They were learning to set goals and work toward them. They were learning to identify problems and solve them.
For all the evils that games seem to be blamed for, research is showing time and time again that those who play games are actually developing relevant problem-solving skills that they end up transferring into their real-world lives. They see cause-effect patterns and devise a strategy to get the effect they want from their cause. They handle failure as one small incident in time that they move past quickly. They can transfer skills throughout different areas of their life because they’re used to doing it through their gamer life.
Games can often be some of the best teaching tools for soft skills not easily taught through “traditional” methods.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized, Games at 8:22 AM EDT
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Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it.- Samuel Johnson
I think too often our students are so focused on the first type of knowledge that they forget to cultivate knowledge of the second type. I can’t tell you how often I’ve had to teach a high school student how to use a book’s table of contents and index to find information they either don’t know or have forgotten. Part of that, though, is that even once I’ve convinced the student to use these two useful resources, they get hung up because they don’t know the proper names for what they’re looking up.
My poor students know neither a subject or where to find information on it. They go to Google, type in their own wording for the topic (which may be nowhere near what they actually are studying), and then follow the first Wikipedia link they see. Several minutes later, they’re frustrated because they can’t find what they need. When I then show them how to use their textbook to help them find their information, they decide that’s too much work, even if it gives them the information they need more quickly than their fruitless web search.
Our students need to learn subjects. It’s one thing to be able to do the work. It’s quite another to be able to describe the processes and concepts involved in that work in the correct terminology.
Our students need to learn how to research, how to identify resources. They need to understand what makes a resource worth using and how to frame their queries.
Without one or the other, these students are going to flounder once they’re left to their own devices in college and beyond.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized, Knowledge Management at 8:12 AM EDT
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It talks about knowledge management, but part of me can’t help but look at it and wonder if it would make for an interesting method to instruct students in information literacy. Actually, I think it would be great to keep in mind when teaching students about information litercy, communication, media…a number of topics, actually.
It’s the first time I’ve read something about knowledge management that discusses knowledge management as a means of conserving and disseminating knowledge within a culture without resorting to a bunch of catchphrases and buzzwords, and I think it’s worth passing on.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized, Knowledge Management at 7:37 AM EDT
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Dead Bunny (growing quite healthily) may not have a single thing that draws people to him, but I know for a fact that in the month (less, actually) that he’s been sharing his math knowledge with the world, he has drawn a lot of people to him. I attribute this to the fact people are scared of math and are willing to go looking for help when their child brings home some homework that scares both child and parent alike.
Dead Bunny is tightly focused on helping teach people math as painlessly and clearly as possible.
Imagine my amusement when I read the following in Killer Flagship Content: How to Create and Promote Truly Compelling Blog Content:
As busy web users, we want
one trusted resource,
that fully answers the question,
in language we understand,
in a place we can easily find.
I don’t know that any of my other blogs accomplish that. I’m certain none of them really has anything that could be defined as its flagship content. I do know that Dead Bunny manages to meet these four lines, if the numbers are any indication.
Outside of making me feel like an incomptent blogger, this e-book is actually a great read for anyone just starting out in blogging. It offers all of the routine advice in one place, and it’s an easy read. (See? I get that he was reinforcing his message in practice!) Even more experienced bloggers will likely find some inspiration to refocus a blog that may have decided to run a bit wild.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 7:31 AM EDT
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I admit it- I’m trying to find myself, my niche, in a sea of e-learning, information architecture, and interactive media. I’m trying to understand all three, trying to figure out how to appropriately bundle my current skills and knowledge to move myself into one or more of these fields. I feel like I’m going insane.
And no hope of a possible mentor or sounding board in sight.
That would be the sound of my sanity running away.
I love reading posts on theories of information architecture practice, because I can see how they’ve applied to various work that I’ve done. In this particular case, though, I also found the comments interesting. The debate for template vs toolkit is one I’ve seen in so many areas. Perhaps it’s time we really explored the ramifications of the either/or mindset on this one so that every discipline can realize that a blended solution might be the most useful.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 7:47 AM EST
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When I first heard about Second Life, it was because a local university was starting to explore its uses as a virtual classroom. I was intrigued and wanted to explore it myself. Unfortunately, time and technology didn’t permit, and I completely forgot about it as I tried to pick up the pieces of my ruined graduate career.
The next time I heard about Second Life, it sounded like things were in full swing. Again, technology reared its ugly head, and I find myself still really wanting to explore the environment, see how learning takes place in this virtual, Snow Crash-esque realm. I don’t deny that it is possible some real learning is taking place. Given how much I’ve learned from the people I’ve encountered on my journeys through the internet, I can see a virtual meeting place being a great opportunity to share what you know, or pick someone else’s brain.
Now that my computer seems to have settled down, perhaps I should look into it again. If you ever see “Elizabeth Colville” wandering around, feel free to say hi. (I was so sad that with all the common surnames, I wasn’t able to create an avatar with my own name.)
Maybe once I’m able to play around in it, it’ll help me work toward resolving this little niche crisis I’ve been suffering.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized, e-learning, Games at 8:14 AM EST
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Last month, I became so frustrated with the nature of math education in my state that a number of things happened.
First, I realized that more than just creating curriculum, I really want to develop ways for kids to learn or reinforce skills that they aren’t picking up in math class. That realization alone has helped focus my actions a bit more tightly as I try to learn how to get involved with developing educational game and interactive media. (Suggestions are welcome at this point, because right now I’m talking with potential leads.)
Second, it led to a fit of insanity and gave birth to the Dead Bunny blog. Currently, the Dead Bunny blog is focusing on sharing bite-sized math lessons that are inspired by my work with my own students. I’m having to learn how to represent so much of this in HTML, so it’s going fairly slowly. I’m also working on my first article, complete with art (which has been a nightmare unto itself).
In time, I’ll be adding writing lessons as well (I spend much of my time teaching writing to people I edit for.), and in time the articles and posts will get smoothed out into books.
It feels good to finally be doing something pro-active. I just want kids to have the best chance at success, and the math situation in this state isn’t giving them that.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 8:01 AM EST
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Today’s post is going to be brief, but I wanted to share this link to free e-learning tools. It’s not what you think, though.
Instead of being a collection of tools to help you learn what you want, these links are geared toward those who create e-learning experiences. I’m slowly combing through them, but I think they’ll be good for my professional development.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized, e-learning at 8:07 AM EST
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