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How do you currently infuse play into your class? How might you change this as a result of some of the ideas you have encountered? Currently I am not in my own classroom, so I will base this off my student teaching experience last year. I spent my first semester in a first grade classroom. Everyday students were  expected to do their work and complete lessons, but after their work was done they had free choice. In speaking with the teacher this was something she highly valued. It was something she felt that the students needed everyday. I remember questioning if they still needed free choice because they seemed older, but when they started to play and tinker and construct I realized how important exploration is for all children.  In my second classroom of my student teaching it was a kindergarten and first grade split room. There it was a bit different because of the different ages of students. Again just like the class with all first graders it very quickly became apparent how much

This weeks essential question brought up a lot of fun ideas. Almost everyday reminds me how truly excited I am to have my own classroom. Questions like this weeks are great reminders to me of how unique everyone experience truly is. Again in this class I go back to my personal experience of seeing how effective games were in the Spanish class at my high school. Keeping that in mind I am so excited to incorporate different types of games and stories in my own classroom. This week I looked at the blogs written by Amanda, Josie, Cherie, and Sam. Amanda talked about how she keeps a log on her laptop of ideas she comes up with. This is such great idea because so many times throughout the day I think of ideas, but most of the time I forget them because I simply don't write them down. I really liked how she organized her post with different headings and in each discussed what she would do to accomplish each. Josie this week had a great table that talked about the differences between

Which aspects of story and game mechanics will be useful in your class and how might you use them? This weeks main question has a lot of room for  interpretation. I feel that with everyones unique situation and experience the blog posts this week will be a lot of fun to read. For me I will need to think of this question in hypothetical situation because I am not currently working in a classroom.  When I was in my own classroom I used games a lot. We would play games with Osmo sets. We would also play structured games outside on the playground to help them understand and practice taking turns, sharing, and playing nicely with each other.  There are so many aspects of game mechanics and stories that can have a positive impact on students learning. Whether it be from actual games that are played like ones that allow students to practice their letter or sound recognition, look at parts of speech, or prepare for a quiz. All these will help students find the motivation to learn more. Th

This week we focused on the language of learning. For my post I focused on more academic learning. I talked a lot about how we as teachers can have a huge impact on the view our students have on learning based on what we say. We always need to be positive and encouraging for our students. It was interesting to read other students posts because not everyone focused on this type of language. Some focused on game language. They discussed more of the enthusiasm and competitive nature of games in the classroom. Sam did a great job bringing more of the discussion to focus on game-based learning and language. Because I am not in my own classroom I think it provides me a different approach to the impact of language in classrooms. I am in and out of many rooms every week so I get to see different teachers use of language. This has provided me with a lot of experience with what type of language works and what does not. I also have started working at my sons daycare, where I am working along si

How do you or might you use language to change the way that your students think about learning in the classroom? One simple idea of this is the concept of a growth mindset. As a teacher we need to remember that the way we interact with students, families, and other teachers is being watched by out students. I have a 4 year old and everyday I need to remind myself that he is watching me model behavior and bases his responses, interactions, and attitudes on what he sees me do. This is a very basic and simple understanding of this weeks topic but I think it really applies to our work in the classroom.  The attitude we have towards simple things like grading papers, the stress we show about deadlines, or the frustration about something that happened yesterday at dinner. These are all things that can have a negative impact on student learning, because it can affect the way we teach. Young kiddos are so intuitive and can tell when we act differently.  In Explore like a Pirate the autho

This week it was really interesting to find out what my player type is because I don't play video games much. It is so interesting to me that how a person plays a game can be related to how they interact with others. I had no idea these types of players existed, so it was fun to explore the different player types. In my initial post I talked about how the information from a student player quiz can play a part in classroom management and student interactions in the classroom. After this weeks readings I believe the same is still true, but I would be cautious to put too much weight on the results. It seems like something that can cause teachers to only view students who scored certain scores in a different way. I can say for myself I would see a kiddos actions differently if they scored a high percentage killer. I would be more aware of their behavior and possibly keep a better eye on them. I think this may be a problem because this test shouldn't be one that dictates how I int

What is the implication of player type on game design? In his article Richard Bartle discusses his four styles of game play. These styles come from the "inter-relationship of two dimensions of playing style: action versus interaction, and world-orientated versus player-orientated" (pg 1).  1. Achievers- Interested in acting on the world. Want to be immersed in the game environment. These players believe that the point of the game is to master the game and make it do what you want. Achievers are proud of their status in the game.  2. Explorers- Interested in having the game surprise them, want to interact with the game. The sense of wonder in the virtual world that makes these players crave playing. They believe scoring points is worthless because it defies the very open-mindedness that makes the virtual world unique. Getting as many points as possible is not a explorers main goal. instead they are more proud of their knowledge of the games smaller details.  3. Sociali

This week I focused my research on the difference between teaching today and teaching awhile ago. It seems that the biggest shift is one from a stagnant learning environment to one that encourages students to engage and be a part of their own education. In todays classroom students are more engaged in their own learning. By saying this I don't mean that all students are fully engaged in the lesson for that day or fully are listening to everything the teacher is saying. I mean that they have more control over their education. With so much technology available to them they can do supplemental work at home or even in a Sped classroom. There is also so many more tools available to teachers to help each student work to the best of their ability. I can't imaging what it would have been like to teach in a one room school house. I also think it's interesting that today there are some community that still have the same type of school, very small number of students and teachers,

Materia makes many claims about the new world of teaching. The essential questions for this week are: How valid are these claims? Is there research to support this?  On page 26 Material lists a table laying out old vs new world ideas of teaching. Old world traditional, fossilized  controlling produces followers plotted path quiet compliance automatons of knowledge constructing lessons passive receivers of content new world- requires us to look past the old ways to create more dynamic learning environments and methods of teaching. new and innovative ways to connect to students and inspire students freedom and flexibility produces risk takers sense of exploration and discovery creative confidence independent artistic thinkers creating heroes sense of wanderlust, spirit, and passion In this chapter Materia made 3 claims in this chapter.  Claim 1- The educational structures built on the needs and desires of our great granddparents' generation are fun

Wow I fell behind this week. It is times like this I remember that life can be crazy but I need to stay focused. I had a lot of fun exploring different virtual reality ideas this week. I think so much of technology like virtual reality is lost in the classroom because of the limitations of funds to purchase VR headsets and the lack of knowledge on the part of older teachers who are not familiar with the classroom use of VR. Living in Sitka VR seems like a fantastic way for students to learn about other places. While sitka is a very fantastic community it's isolation makes it challenging for students to experience bigger cities and different countries. In my research this week I found some amazing programs that have created an opportunity for students to explore the Great Wall of China all while remaining in their classroom. For younger students I can't imaging how much fun this would be because I know for me personally it is so helpful to actually be able to see and experie

How can immersive virtual reality enhance gamification? Virtual reality is a very hot topic right now in the world of gamification and technology in classrooms. According to virtual reality society's webpage, virtual reality is a term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person. The person becomes part of this viral world or is immersed within the environment and is able to manipulate objects and perform certain tasks. Virtual reality can take game play in the classroom from simple board game type activities to interactive and immersive experiences for students. An example of this could be instead of playing a game with students to have them learn about the solar system and move around different planets to put them in the correct order, students would need to correctly organize the plants using virtual reality. This would give them a more engaging and interactive experience.  I was just in a classr