Tablets: Disciplines in Education

Living Language - Chinese

This app is both engaging and fun! You can practice vocabulary and grammar in a variety of different ways, and most of the phrases you lean are useful everyday phrases. The games are created so that they build in knowledge as you learn more Chinese. It includes many different lessons at an essential level, intermediate level, or advanced level. There are many interactive games, vocabulary flashcards, grammar notes, and you can even have dialogues with native speakers! When using the flashcards, the native speakers say the words to you. I think this would be especially helpful for language learners to use since they would be able to practice repeating it as they hear it said. There are other languages offered, so I think it would be helpful to have this in an ESL classroom so that my ELL's could learn about the languages of their peers in the class.

iTranslate

iTranslate is actually an app that I use quite frequently. It allows for you to choose one of 92 languages, type a word or sentence, and then translate it into another language. It allows you to listen to native speakers say your word or phrase! Another great feature that I think is useful in the classroom is that it lists different phrases that are similar to the one you chose. For example, if you want to translate hello into Spanish, it will say "hola." It will also give "buenos dias" at the bottom which is a phrase for "good morning." Students can learn new words as they are translating!

Latin Hangman

All students love playing hangman! Why not play hangman while practicing Latin? When you begin, you can choose how difficult you want your game to be. The game has over 15,000 Latin words and definitions! These could be used during independent work time, or played with a partner. I like the "Heads Start" mode because it automatically eliminates a few letters before you even begin playing which makes it a little easier. 

Google Earth

Google Earth is not necessarily the best language learning app, but it definitely helps the students learn about the countries where these languages are spoken. I think this would be incredibly fun to use in an ESL classroom with older grades (maybe high school). Students could give virtual tours of their city where their family is originally from and show their classmates the different landmarks in their country. You can even go to street mode and find your house! This would be a great app to hook up to the main screen where all students could see. If I taught Spanish, students could see the places we were studying in class and learn to say their Spanish names.

Play2Learn Chinese

This app is much more appropriate than some of the others for teaching younger ages. There are all sorts categories such as jewelry, computer, colors, shapes, human body, family, house, fruits, vegetables, animals, clothes, toys, etc. You can point to any object and listen to a native speaker say the word. There is also a mode where you can listen to the word said and then try to point to that object. My favorite is that you can turn labels on to see the spelling of the word. This is helpful for students who are visual learners. It would be fun to have a quiz using this app where students listen to the native speaker give ten different words, point to the object, and count how many out of ten they got correct.

Gap Steal?

Technically, Gap copied his image almost exactly. That is copyright infringement.
Since this was placed on Flickr, there are different ways to protect images. For instance, on some parts the image is completely free for use by anyone. On other parts, the image is partially copyright using Creative Commons or even fully copyright.
Gap did cross the line by using his image without asking permission for it.

I think that I would probably be more upset if I was the Jaguar designer.

Pooh's News

I do not believe that this is a violation of copyright.

1. The radio gave summaries of children's literature of all kinds. It did not specifically tell the stories of Winnie-the-Pooh. It did not even use Winnie-the-Pooh's voice in the story. Nothing at all resembled Pooh. It could have been any name. Lou's News. Sue's News. It was clever to use Pooh since he is a character in children's literature, but should not be a problem.
2. Cease and Desist letters are sent out all the time. Most of the time, they are just used as a scare tactic. They are in no way the law.
3. The copyright holders of Winnie the Pooh probably could not find anything to get them in trouble for, so their only opinion was a cease-and-desist letter.
4. No graphics were used, so there is no way at all to prove that they are even referring to the actual Winnie-the-Pooh. It would be difficult to prove.
5. Finally and most importantly, this is being used in an educational way, so the radio host could definitely claim fair use. It is a new audience (the audio audience) and is being used to promote learning.

Movies All Day

I believe this is a violation of copyright because...

1. The school can not claim fair use since they are not using it for a new audience. Assuming that they are showing children's movies at an elementary school, the original movie makers probably intended this movie for children the same age as the ones watching.
2. The school also can not claim fair use since they are not using it for a new or educational purpose. It may be different if the teacher was using a clip of the movie for her classroom to compare and contrast characters in the movie or learn to recognize themes. However, this is just a casual viewing of the film which was the original intention.
3. It really has nothing to do with taking money away from the movie theaters. It has more to do with taking money away from the movie makers themselves.
4. In order to show to a large audience, the teachers would need a different kind of license to show the film. It is a much more expensive license, but necessary since it could potentially be a very large group in a non-educational setting. The teachers have no way of knowing how many students will actually show up for the movie. What if all the students show up? They need the larger license to avoid trouble.
5. The cease-and-desist letter could just be a scare tactic. It is not the law, although the teachers are most likely breaking the rules.

Family Christmas Card

In this example, a business owner in Prague took a picture he found on the internet and used it to advertise his company. This seems quite unnecessary, since it is a supermarket. If it were me, I would have at least google searched a family eating meatballs. However, the business owner did find this picture on Flickr and used it for his own purposes. Even though most of the images that we find on the internet are probably copyright (whether or not they have a watermark), Flickr is a sight where you can find several pictures available for use that are free.
This is technically an issue of copyright, even though at first it may not seem this way. The family posted it most likely with the intentions that it would not appear on a billboard in Prague. This was probably in a place online where understood copyright was in existence.
However, the business man seemed as though he had no intention of actually violating copyright and was extremely apologetic. He offered to apologize, give them free wine, and took it down immediately. I would not take legal action even if it was an infringement. The family and business owner easily settled it.
In an educational setting, if the picture is being used in a way to promote growth and learning, it can be used and would not be a violation of copyright. The teacher could employ fair use and explain her rights easily to the family.

Failure

Chapter 4 of Jane McGonigal's book, Reality is Broken

1. Gamers spend most of their time failing, yet they don't seem to mind at all. In fact, they actually enjoy it! Scientists at the M.I.N.D. Lab in Finland proved this strange fact scientifically.
2. The M.I.N.D. Lab wanted to know why failure is so fun for gamers, so they set up a test to see what triggered the highest emotional response. They received very positive emotional responses when gamers experienced triumphs, but oddly they also received just as positive of emotional responses when they lost in the game or when their character died.
3. Through interviews with gamers and game designers, they found that the enjoyment the gamers were feeling after failure was actually stemming from the way they failed. Instead of failing passively, they failed in a spectacularly entertaining way. In the example this chapter gave, they were sending monkeys flailing through space in little clear bowling balls which is pretty comical. The animations and sound effects brought even more joy to the players.
4. This led to a very important discovery: when we are given feedback that is the right kind even after we have failed, we feel more motivated and optimistic the second time around. If we are given the wrong kind of feedback after a failure, we are left depressed or hopeless. As long as gamers continue to receive the right kind of feedback from failures that leave them feeling optimistic and hopeful, they will continue to play. 
5. Gamers get bored if games are too easy. They want to lose. If they are constantly winning, it is not fun. They have to find the perfect balance between too easy and too hard. If they are failing every single time, they will be frustrated. If they win every single time, they will also be frustrated.
6. Games are consumable, because eventually players wear them out. Once they have experienced all the fun and beat every level or learned how it all works, it becomes boring, and they will not play anymore.
7. McGonigal says that learning to be optimistic through failure is not just a game skill, but a life skill. She notes that if people become resilient even when faced with adversity, they will be emotionally stronger and more confident people who can hang in there when times get tough. These leads to better lives, overall. People who have this kind of positive attitude are more creative, have less stress in their lives, and are more self-motivated. They even live longer lives!
8. There is actually such a thing as being too optimistic however. When we are overly optimist, or rather unrealistically optimistic, we can actually cause ourselves to go into depression. Instead, we need to focus on more realistic goals to increase our own energy and motivation.
9. Well-designed games have realistic goals and appropriate amounts of optimism.  They help us realistically believe in our own chances for success.
10. McGonigal spends some time mentioning the game Rock Band 2. This game, she says is very realistic in its goal. It also allows for spectacular failures that leave players coming back for more. Lastly, it is a social game! Success means nothing if you have no one to share it with. Games are more fun when everyone is spectacularly failing and having fun together.

Learning with Games

Katie Salen on Learning with Games

• Play is a very important part of developmental growth. Young children must play to learn!
• Games create learning environments and experiences that allow students to practice collaboration, teamwork, and identity forming.
• Kids need more forgiving environments to learn within! They need to know its okay to fail and make mistakes.
• Games work in a way that good teachers work. They have reachable challenes, scaffolding, and differentiated instructions. Both games and teachers are always thinking, what can I do to help my players or students be successful, and what will they need next? There is a close parallel!
• Because there is a close parallel, it only makes sense that classrooms should look a little more like games. Good leaning is happening in games! Games and learning can be brought together.
• We are not trained to look for the learning in games, so it can be seen as simply a leisure activity or a waste of time. Games are a great way to measure metacognition. Gamers always have complex ideas and strategies in their heads and by asking what is going on in their minds while they play or how they thought about a certain game, we are better to understand how they think and how they learn.
• Do not think that the game itself has to be the holder of all content. Rather, the game is a part of a much bigger learning experience that is giving students practice in something, activating parts of their brain that goes unused, or lets them connect ideas to other things. Games enhance deeper thinking.
• Game designers always think about who is on the other side of the game they are creating. When kids go into a game, they are often very motivated simply by the fact that they know this game has been tailored and scaffolded for their ability so that they CAN succeed at it. Students need to start seeing the classroom as a place designed for their success.
• Gaming is actually incredibly social. It creates a community where learning is more robust and rich. It is especially incredible when parents or teachers sit down to start playing with their children. The kids can guide and tell how the games are meaningful to them. It can give adults a glimpse into the media world of kids.  
• How can we assess game learning? Instead of formatively or summatively assessing, you are getting constant feedback from the game through points, player comments, and power ups. By completing the game, you show you know enough content to win the game!
• Kids becoming teachers to other kids on playing the game is another great way to assess. They have to know what they are talking about in order to teach it to someone else.
• Testing is very ingrained in our culture. However, the idea that testing is the only way to measure a child's knowledge is very dangerous. Some of Katie's models that she is working on are developed in a more diverse way. She believes that students' intelligence can be measured in many different ways - games being one of them.

RLS Middle

Key Points:

1. It's crucial to create a game that can be played by a variety of ages who vary by level. Special Education students and English Language Learners need to be included in these games!
2. It is beneficial to create a Google site where all game rules can be kept and where students can go to keep track of their points. Spreadsheets, gadgets, and power point presentations can easily be uploaded to a Google site for all students to access.
3. New terms were created so that students were more engaged in what they were doing. Instead of doing a worksheet, they were attacking and fighting a monster! Instead of a project or presentation, they were completing quests! It is much more exciting for a child to be doing the same thing with different terminology.
4. Students all started as a Level 1 Avatar. Everyone of course wanted to upgrade their avatar. This is a great way to use external motivation to inspire internal motivation. The students start to realize that they want to work harder so they can become a better and smarter student!
5. Much of the hype about the multiplayer classroom must be at the beginning. Teachers have to allow time for their students to really get in to the whole idea of a game-based classroom. This means giving them time to draw their avatars, talk about their strengths and weaknesses, form alliances with classmates who balance out their strengths and weaknesses, and create identity through drawing shields and creating logos.
6. I love the way the teacher gave XP points to entire teams if everyone on their team was working and on task! It helps students keep their classmates accountable for learning!
7. Different amounts of points would be distributed throughout the day including anything from homework to behavior.  Students were more motivated when they knew their teacher was constantly seeking out students to give points to. 
8. Students could also cash in their points for actual items!
9. The guilds allowed for a sense of unity. When someone in a guild forgot to close their laptop, their whole group received negative XP.
10. This kind of game-based classroom can especially inspire students who are not all that interested in school. The teachers in the article noticed that many students were more on task, more engaged, and worked better with others in the class.  This simple system can drastically improve the attitude in a classroom.

Social Sciences

3rd World Farmer

This simulation game allows students to discover what it is like (sort of) to be a 3rd world farmer. Most students will not have any concept of subsistence farming (farming enough solely to live on). The students will quickly discover what is necessary to live and how to farm in order to have enough money to stay healthy. I started by only planting corn and wheat. However, when I started to plant a lot of corn, there was a drought that year which killed all of my crops! These are the things students have to realize. Just because crops are planted does not automatically mean there is profit made. Also, you are able to click on the different family members to check on their health. It is important that they get the food and medicine that they need to survive. I think this would be a great simulation game to play when learning about subsistence farming.

Nation States

Nation States is a game where you can create your very own nation to guide or rule over. You get to give it a name, a flag, a motto, and assign a certain people group to live in it. You can create laws to be passed, create endorsements, create alliances with other nations, and even construct embassies! The best part about this game is that students get to be apart of a much larger group of game players. While online, you can see hundreds of other nations that have been created and observe the things they are doing in their country. It is an interesting concept for a game that allows students to recognize how a nation is run on a much grander scale than they are used to seeing. 

Sciences

My Sustainable House

This game teaches kids all about what it means to have a sustainable environment. They can choose three different game paths: one where they help sustain their environment, one where they create their own sustainable home, and one where they create a sustainable town! Along the way, they learn all about what materials are helpful and which ones are harmful to the environment. It shows them that we really do have an impact on our environment and can help keep it clean by choosing alternatives to many of the energy consuming and pollution emitting materials we may normally pick out.
When I played, I learned many new things that I did not even think about before playing. For instance, it is helpful to buy locally (not just to support people and businesses in your community, but also because it is less damaging to the environment (materials do not need transported which emits energy). It was fun picking out energy efficient and low impact materials to build my very own house! This would be fun for students who enjoy playing games like Roller Coaster Tycoon or Sims Build, because they get to create and design while also learning about their environment.

The Great Flu

As McGonigal mentioned in her book, one of the reasons why gamers feel like their games are so important is that they have specific goals and tasks. In the intro to The Great Flu, players are told that the fate of the world lies on them! No pressure! The game makes you feel important as you work to find a vaccine, send out research teams to infected areas, close schools that are being affected, and help those that are already sick. Players can choose a difficulty level (the severity level of the virus), and then the game begins. They are able to read news articles about their virus and choose different ways to combat the virus. This is a very strategy based game. It is intriguing once you start playing for a little while. Initially, I was unsure of what to do, but as soon as I got my first action messages, I started to get a hint of what I should do. It would be a great game for middle school students, I think. I think this would help girls become interested in medicine and health care as well.