EDLA_615

Meet Mr. Eric Carle C:\Users\DiagoNYC\Desktop\Recording #32.mp4 I hope you enjoy it.

Second Life is an AMAZING virtual reality game! It is fun to play with the various characters within the app, all personalize-able and so much fun. The game is not only fun but educational and features so many places around the world! With 360 Views of anywhere you are standing, there are beaches from all over the world, you can even view sites for local donations, shoppes and fun things like jet ski rentals. The geographical elements are wonderful for ELA instruction, as it features scenes from various cities, beaches, parks and so much more. Students may find it interesting with the teleport feature to learn about these places. There is a chat feature, for communication with peers. Even if a teacher introduces this game, at first, just to gauge student interest, he/she can get students writing and communicating with one another using this multi-modal pathway. They can write about the places they have visited, music they are listening to, food that they are experiencing and s...

A student by the name of Margaret has been fascinated by the five senses. Her teacher tells me that she has been creating book after book about the senses. She became quite good at detecting what sense belonged to what body part and she would even quiz her classmates. I created this book with her in mind. With help from the ELA teacher I edited the book so that it can be easily read by a first grade and students in Kindergarten can attempt to read as well. I think the book is helpful with the visuals to help students make the connection between the sense and the appropriate body parts. This book can be a foundational text and can be a great start to great discusses about the senses and how they keep us safe and why we must use them carefully. Using the UDL book builder is easy, fun and interactive for students. This is a great way for students to build ELA skills and also a wonderful motivational tool in creating their own book. I can see why ELA teacher would use this applicatio...

           The first article entitled,  Middle School Science Teachers’ Confidence and Pedagogical   Practice of New Literacies discussed largely just how important it is for teachers in incorporate ICTs into the classroom, on a regular basis. Teachers already know the importance of this yet there is a huge disparity in what they know and what is being practiced with regards to new literacies and HOW this must be accomplished.  The National Science Teachers Association, said the following, " prepare students’ abilities to do scientific inquiry by facilitating students to (1) ask questions that can be answered through scientific investigations, (2) collect evidence needed to answer a variety of questions, (3) inter-pret and analyze data through appropriate tools, (4) draw conclusions to create explanations based on evidence, and (5) communicate and defend resul...

https://www.edmodo.com/home#/group?id=28538050&sub_view=members EDMODO IS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS (AND PARENTS TOO) THE SITE IS SETUP IN SUCH A WAY THAT MAKES ASSIGNING CLASSWORK, PROJECTS AND HOMEWORK VERY EASY. IT IS ALSO PERFECT FOR SHARING IDEAS AMONG PEERS IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT.  THERE ARE MANY GREAT FEATURES ON EDMODO THAT ENHANCE STUDENTS LEARNING AND THE QUALITY OF THEIR INTERACTIONS. TEACHERS CAN ASSIGN READING MATERIALS AND ASK STUDENTS TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON WHAT THEY HAVE READ. STUDENTS BENEFIT IN MANY WAYS FROM THIS TYPE OF COLLABORATIVE, INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, WITH USE OF IM'S, TO-DO-LISTS, PLANNERS AND CALENDAR. YOU MAY JOIN MY CLASS:  uz73dk  

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ysxntgxi9ykywti/adolit4%5B1%5D.pdf?dl=0 This article was based on schools in Connecticut and also looked at findings from Florida school who already use a significant number of online high school programs. The article shared a finding from Connecticut, " a small pilot program of on-line instruction is underway for students who have dropped out of high school, offering courses they need to complete their GEDs. Participants have had great success with their online coursework, finishing courses they were unable to complete in a traditional environment. Though the number of students in the pilot is small, the experience to date indicates that online learning may be one way to better meet needs of students who are not achieving in a traditional learning setting." This is incredible and could provide struggling students with another option for success, one where our schools may not have considered. Students learn in many ways and especially adolescence...

https://www.screencast.com/t/dLXZtiEpIQ

I did not always understand how games would be beneficial in the classroom because I did not equate games with learning, as I saw it as just a source of entertainment, but after reading all of these articles and actually playing a few games, especially this week and last week, I can see why teachers would want to incorporate games into the classroom.  My philosophy on using games in the classrooms is simple.Start small. See what interest your students, see what games they like and which games challenge them to dig deeper in order to grasp these new literacies. Regardless of the grade or ages of your students, there are ways to include games in the classroom with use of ipads, robots for coding or even using traditional games such as scrabble on a computer where children can build ELA skills and navigate the controls on a computer. Games are motivating and inspire students in a way that is different from traditional methods, as students try to beat their top score or keep afloat i...

Teachers are using games in the classrooms (particularly with ELA) as a way to hook students into ELA activities that are technology based. With use of games teachers are finding new entry points for students and/or gamers.Once their interest is sparked with the use of games, the next step is to teach this new literacy.  Using the sound effects, characters, and customizable features, students can get a sense of connection to a game. Working out the kinks to figure out a game/character is equivalent to asking students to discuss their favorite literary works and character study. I read this article on the role of video games in our classroom: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/video-games-in-english-classroom-terrell-heick this paragraph sums up what we have been reading and discussing on learning through gaming. " Video games represent a diverse, exciting and potent media form, and they offer fresh possibilities as digital learning tools. Getting them to "do what you want...