Final thoughts...

I was really interested in the productivity tools blog prompt, just because I did not realize how much is out there for teachers to utilize. I was least intersted in the prompt about evaluating a game. I think if there was one prompt to drop it would be this one, just because we had had several prompts about games, and it was after our PowerPoint games were due. I don't think the prompt about the productivity tools or the prompt about blogging should be dropped. I feel like we covered all the things I had expected to cover and then some. I really enjoyed learning to use all of the tools offfered in this course.

Rubrics

I prefer a more open-ended rubric. This allows the students more freedom for their projects and ideas. This also allows the teacher to give grades on more of an individual form rather than as a unit. The only pit-fall to this is that the teacher would not want to know whose project he or she was grading until after he or she gave the final grade, so to prevent giving preferiential treatment.

As a kindergarten teacher, I would most likely use an open-ended rubric for projects. Most of the work given to Kindergarten students are mostly worksheets. With these types of assignments, it is pretty clear cut, right or wrong answers. With writing assignments, however, I could use a rubric with various evaluation criteria to award points accordingly. For example, the criteria I could use could be clarity, stays on topic, grammer, and vocabulary. Another time I could use rubrics could be when the students do a long term project like a webquest.

A blog about blogging

One of the things that I could use a blog for is to keep up with other teachers and get feedback on various lesson plans etc. This could also be done to stay connected to teachers in my grade level at my school, providing that all of us are computer saavy and that there is technology in the school.

Another way I can use blogs is to let the parents of my class what the class has been up to. What happened during the day, the vocabulary words of the week (I want to teach kindergarten, so homework will be of the minimum) could be put up. I could also use this to provide feedback to those parents who have access to a computer throughout the day. The only problem with this, is that I don't want to make parents feel like they have to have a computer in order to communicate with me.

Finally, I could use blogs to let the children in my class communicate with other students around the world. I could use it as a way for them to use the vocabulary for the week, as well as become more computer literate at a young age.

Oregon Trail

I previewed a copy of Oregon Trail; it was a CD-Rom. The copy that I previewed was an older version, since it was the one I used when I was in grade school, but I am sure that the creators of this game have a newer version, and that features are more updated to be more educational relevant. Installation was easy, as I remember installing it onto my computer when I was in fourth grade, and the graphics were good for the time.

This game is attempting to teach students about the difficulties that the settlers to the West faced when going to Oregon. This is done through allowing the children to be one of the characters in the game. He or she could type in a name for themselves, as well as information about their family.

This game is educationally sound, in that students learn about a part of U.S. history by “living” through it. Students also learn about how to spend money wisely. This game also teaches about the geography of the United States. During the game, there were many stops at some landmark locations and cities. This game is age-appropriate for a forth through sixth grade student. This game is gender-specific, but the student can choose his or her own gender, however, it will not change the outcome of the game if the student is a boy or a girl; it just changes the viewpoint. The whole game is interactive, and students will love to play this game because of that.

This game achieves all if not more than what I thought it would educationally. The students will end up learning more about how a settler’s life truly was, instead of what they might think through television shows and movies. I would recommend this game, especially to those who seem to not grasp the concept of social skills, money, or geography. The students will learn about these concepts, without feeling forced to.

My Game

If I could create a game with unlimited amount of money and help, then I would choose to make one with a character my student would know. I want to teach kindergarten, so using shows such as Clifford the Big Red Dog, or Seaseme Street in the classroom to help establish a concept will be used.

If I used Seaseme Street, for example, I could let the various characters go over different subject areas. At the same time, the students would have to play certain roles. I think that what the article says about playing roles makes sense. Games such as Orgean Trail, even Monopoly to an extent, allow those who play, to play a role. Whether thats a person settling in the west or playing a real estate tycoon, its fun to play a role.

In the game the students could be various people that have to use some of the basic concepts the students would learn in the classroom. Such as someone who works in a store, and having to give the characters basic change. Another example could be to have the children arrange the characters in alphabetically order, as if they were teachers in a classroom fully of characters such as Elmo, or Big Bird.

In order to get to the different places in the game to play the different roles, the student would have to go through different tasks, and then a door will open allowing them to advance. This will hold their interest, hopefully, and allow them to want to continue on with the game. Also there should be a way to let the students receive some sort of points, also to hold the child's interest.

Play video games in school?

I remember playing one game in elementary school, in fact, after playing it in school I liked it so much I went out and bought for home. I really learned a lot from it too. In Orgeon Trail, I learned how to budget money, and what some of the things one travelling to the west would have had to go through, among other things. I also went out and bought a book about one girl making that journey went through.

I think that video and computer games can be a useful tool in reaching kids, but in reason. The games would definately need to be monitored. As well, the amount of time spent playing the game would need to be set. Perhaps, the game could open up a discussion about a subject in upper grades, and help reinforce what the students are learning in lower grades.

Incorporting something that a student uses outside of home just might spark an interest that he or she might not have had otherwise. Being able to actually play the role as if you are living in a time period, etc. really can bring a subject to life, but it won't feel like work.

Project Based Learning

Based upon the experiences of project based learning that I have had in my EDIT class alone, I know that I definitely want to incorporate this into my classroom. I had fun while learning the technology needed to complete the assignment given. I would love for my students to think learning can be and is fun! Especially since I want to teach kindergarten.

Because I want to teach kindergarten, using project based learning will be a little more difficult, because they are so limited in what they can do. One idea I had was, towards the end of the school year, put the children into three groups. The first group will be given four or five vocabulary words, and have to write a beginning to a story with them. I would help with the writing if need be. The group will then present the beginning to the story, and then the second group would be given four or five other vocabulary words. This group would come up with the middle of the story. After they did this, the last group would write the end of the story with other vocabulary words. Then after this, I would present the entire story from beginning until end. I could also have the students draw pictures that go along with the story and then laminate it all together to look like a book. The students will learn about how a story needs to have a beginning, middle, and ending, as well as incorporate vocabulary into what they write.

For an individual project, I could have the children go home and try to find as many objects in their house that are a certain color, or shape. This way they can see how the things they are learning about in class are all around them.