My Mantras

Here are some things I find myself repeating when I work with students in all grade levels. It's not always with these exact words, but these quotes are the foundation of my work in the schools.

• Anyone can play with technology, but successful people use it to create something valuable.
• Technology is a magnifier. It always allows the user to do more. What more has technology allowed you to do? What more would you like to do with it?
• Technology makes many things simpler, but the best jobs still go to the people who can do the difficult things.

Explorations in Creative Technology Projects

Here are links to two course portfolios I developed over the summer as I finished up my master's program. Both focus on inspiring students through creativity.

Explorations in Game Design and Game Activities in the Classroom - Two activities in this course project focus on ways I used game design in classrooms. One used Gamestar Mechanic in the math class and the other used some variations on my party game design in a Mythology class.

Technology Course for Alternative High School - This was a very ideal project I proposed over last summer. (Why does it only take a week of summer to become extremely idealistic??) The idea was to motivate students by focusing on their passion to create within their areas of interest. As it turned out, plans changed in my own district and I didn't even get to implement the more realistic version of this course yet. Some of the concepts have carried over into other technology projects I refer too in this blog.

What I Learned about Ed-Tech in 2011

This has been an incredible year for learning for me. I want to highlight some of the most important thoughts, and I'm not talking tech tips! Also, I will end with some of the most important questions that linger in my mind as we head into 2012.

What I learned...

I finished my graduate courses in August, then in early September I started co-teaching at the middle school level. I taught a Digital Media class and a Computer Literacy class, each for about nine weeks. While finishing up those graduate courses over the summer, I became rather idealistic. But it didn’t take long for middle school to snap me back to reality! This was an amazing opportunity to work out a balance between those extremes.

Now that we’re almost done with the first semester, I can see just how much I still have to learn. I have picked up a number of skills for creating meaningful lessons that most of the students will attempt. I have a few students in my mind (some by name and some by their general characteristics) that I simply have not been able to reach, but at least I can see what it will take.

The best example I can offer that speaks to my learning is a holiday slide assignment that I gave the class just before we left for break. I based it on the popular high school game project that I referred to in my last post. For the middle school students we used PowerPoint. Many of the aspects of the project were the same, but I made one very important improvement when I started the project with them.

See, I jumped into the game project with the high school students without setting it in context. I was starting to assume that the creativity alone would be motivating. That doesn't work for students who have been in a more conventional education system for so long. While I and their teacher considered the activity a success, we were not happy with the negative attitudes of some of the students who felt they would not use the skills that they perceived (graphic design and game design, specifically).

In response, I shared these lists below with those students and I think it addressed our concerns. When I started the project with the middle school students, I used the lists right from the beginning. It made a significant difference to put the project in this light.

Important skills addressed in this project:

• Learn new software
• Present with text and graphics
• Research and cite sources
• Be creative within requirements
• Process written information
• Produce quality results

I shared with them how I look for these skills when I work with students. I also used to emphasize these skills in a high school course about success.

Important qualities of any good employee:

• Maintain a positive attitude
• Adapt to changes - Flexibility
• Do what it takes

Last of all, I encouraged them to form habits that increase their opportunities for success.

These skills, traits and habits will be a focus for me in all future projects.

Big questions that I have at the end of the year...

Are we going to get there fast enough?
Speaking of that balance that I mentioned above, small steps toward the goal are required as we work within budget constraints and conventional systems of public education. The students, at least the ones in the district where I work, are not prepared for a big jump to higher thinking skills. I have had to learn patience as I want to rush toward the ideal. But is there time for such a patient approach?

And another question has lingered in my mind since early 2011. With gaming being so popular for students and with some very promising results of using computer games in the classroom, I feel the urge to use more of it. But I can’t help but wonder, why does it always have to be fun? This actually brings several questions to mind:

• Why are so many students seemingly only motivated by play?
• Even if, through play, we can teach them the curriculum, are we doing them favors?
• Will they really step up to the challenges of adult life when the only road to success is the way of hard work with no fun?

Top Resources in 2011

I started this blog in the summer as a way to highlight some resources I posted on Promethean Planet and to organize some other projects I knew would develop in the classes I'm teaching.

Of those on Promethean Planet, here are my most popular in terms of downloads.

#1: This or That? - This is based on my party game Take Your Pick. Being a great ice-breaker, most downloads for this activity took place in the weeks before and shortly after the start of school, but it continued to be popular for months. I am thrilled that so many teachers took an interest in it.

#2: Oh, Really! Back to School Edition - Obviously based on my Oh, Really! game, this edition was a last minute thought at the end of summer. Like the previous activity, this one took off in those weeks. Due to the title, it hasn't continued in popularity quite as much, but I think it is a great introduction to the original Oh, Really! classroom activity that can be adapted easily for any point in the year.

#3: Wits & Wagers - I'm actually counting the Life Science and U.S. History editions of this activity together as the #3 spot. As such, they actually beat out the Oh, Really! edition for downloads. The simple concept drew a lot of attention and I hope to create at least one more edition of this fun game in the early months of 2012.

As for lessons in class, the Interactive Holiday Game assignment drew more attention more quickly than any other. Some projects ended up on Promethean Planet and one of them had over 400 downloads by the time Christmas break reached most schools in the U.S. It was a lot of fun for many students who created the projects and for others who had a chance to play the resulting games. It also taught me some valuable lessons that I will highlight in my next post.

The Holiday Games on Promethean Planet

They finally approved the first few games from the project I have been writing about. You can visit the author page here. I really think the students did a nice job with this first round of flipcharts. I will add more from the class in the days ahead.

I am working on a variation on this project for middle school students. We will create PowerPoint quiz games instead of ActivInspire flipcharts. Details to follow!