Saturday, February 28, 2009
My Grand Slam Tennis Computer Game
My Grand Slam Tennis is not a good video game. According to James Paul Gee, a good video game won’t disappoint the players. It rewards the player and offers the player the feeling of achievement. However, so far I did not have any sense of accomplishment by playing my tennis.
Identity Play
My real life identity is a female school librarian, a mother of two daughters, a Chinese immigrant, a not-tall-enough middle-age female, a frugal wife, a swimming lover, and very dedicated house-keeper. Yinyin Yen is the character I created in second life. The virtual identity I created is tall, outgoing, nice outfit, capable to fly and travel. Comparing to my real life, my second life avatar has more freedom and less stress. Playing this virtual life allows me think new thoughts about my life, and what I valued and experience what I can’t do in my real life. We can refer this to a learning theory why we play video game: good video games reflect good principles of learning.
For identity play, students need to be fully engaged themselves in the classroom to have best learning. In literature class, when students are required to have presentations after they finish biographies reading, they need to involve themselves fully in this identity play to get better performance. In Science class, students need to relate themselves as a scientist, no matter which scientists or how much they want to be scientists, they need to completely identify and define their own roles in the class. Teachers play a role to help students to build up the bridge between student’s real identity and virtual identity.
Good video games are designed for different levels of play, offer players the feeling of achievement, reward all players if they continuously play a good game, and furthermore, provide opportunity to competence. Good video games are carrying out these learning principles which benefit learners beyond video game playing.
For identity play, students need to be fully engaged themselves in the classroom to have best learning. In literature class, when students are required to have presentations after they finish biographies reading, they need to involve themselves fully in this identity play to get better performance. In Science class, students need to relate themselves as a scientist, no matter which scientists or how much they want to be scientists, they need to completely identify and define their own roles in the class. Teachers play a role to help students to build up the bridge between student’s real identity and virtual identity.
Good video games are designed for different levels of play, offer players the feeling of achievement, reward all players if they continuously play a good game, and furthermore, provide opportunity to competence. Good video games are carrying out these learning principles which benefit learners beyond video game playing.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Should Parents Be on Facebook?
Should Parents Be on Facebook?
I agree that parents can create their own Facebook account to be friend with their children and their children’s friends. However, I am afraid to use Facebook because the controversial issue with privacy. My older daughter just deleted her Facebook, and my younger one who is 13 years old just created her own facebook. Everyone who is 13 and order can create a facebook account. I reminded/warned them about the privacy problem although Facebook is a good social networking place. My older daughter thinks she has already completely erased her information from Facebook. I hope she did get away from Facebook completely.
I agree that parents can create their own Facebook account to be friend with their children and their children’s friends. However, I am afraid to use Facebook because the controversial issue with privacy. My older daughter just deleted her Facebook, and my younger one who is 13 years old just created her own facebook. Everyone who is 13 and order can create a facebook account. I reminded/warned them about the privacy problem although Facebook is a good social networking place. My older daughter thinks she has already completely erased her information from Facebook. I hope she did get away from Facebook completely.
Friday, February 20, 2009
New Literacies
New Literacies
New literacy refers to the new approaches to literacy, for example, the computer literacy, comparing to traditional definition of literacy. Because of the advent of new technology, the definition of literacy is changed from printed text to hyper text and from paper to digital format. It includes knowledge acquired from all different sources, printed or electronic.
Therefore, the school media centers need to introduce all different formats of literacy to students, classrooms too. Students not only need to learn how to locate information from books, they also need to learn the skills to search information electronically. The capability to retrieve digital information is the new literacy and is the significant factor to acquire new and broad knowledge. Traditional materials are not longer enough to satisfy our need for new information. The information and news are changed too fast for printed materials to be updated.
Since the nature of reading changes today, information retrieving skills need to be enhanced, the learning strategy needs to be altered, and classroom instructions need to be adapted accordingly to new generation of technology. Librarians and teachers should spend more time in such training workshops. There should be more workshops to be held to satisfy this demand.
New literacy and the traditional literacy are supplemental to each other. It may be better to define new literacy comprises the traditional literacy and computer literacy. To be literate, we can’t ignore the importance of either one.
New literacy refers to the new approaches to literacy, for example, the computer literacy, comparing to traditional definition of literacy. Because of the advent of new technology, the definition of literacy is changed from printed text to hyper text and from paper to digital format. It includes knowledge acquired from all different sources, printed or electronic.
Therefore, the school media centers need to introduce all different formats of literacy to students, classrooms too. Students not only need to learn how to locate information from books, they also need to learn the skills to search information electronically. The capability to retrieve digital information is the new literacy and is the significant factor to acquire new and broad knowledge. Traditional materials are not longer enough to satisfy our need for new information. The information and news are changed too fast for printed materials to be updated.
Since the nature of reading changes today, information retrieving skills need to be enhanced, the learning strategy needs to be altered, and classroom instructions need to be adapted accordingly to new generation of technology. Librarians and teachers should spend more time in such training workshops. There should be more workshops to be held to satisfy this demand.
New literacy and the traditional literacy are supplemental to each other. It may be better to define new literacy comprises the traditional literacy and computer literacy. To be literate, we can’t ignore the importance of either one.
Using Video Games as Bait to Hoot Readers
Using Video Games as Bait to Hoot Readers
It is still little research showing whether students can absorb information more effective by playing video games than reading traditional books. Therefore, we can teach students the skills to access digital information and the variety of the technology, but digital information still doesn’t replace printed resource. You can enjoy the fun paying video game based on a book, but you will be more enjoyable in reading that book, like reading the book Brisingr. Same thing is applied to movie too; it is more fun to read Harry Potter than to watch its movie. Reading books allows the reader to have more power to imagine the plots. Thinking can go the way beyond the limit which seeing usually has.
However, the idea to trigger students’ interest to read by playing video game based on a hard copy of book is great, especially for those kids who don’t even tough the real books at all.
It is still little research showing whether students can absorb information more effective by playing video games than reading traditional books. Therefore, we can teach students the skills to access digital information and the variety of the technology, but digital information still doesn’t replace printed resource. You can enjoy the fun paying video game based on a book, but you will be more enjoyable in reading that book, like reading the book Brisingr. Same thing is applied to movie too; it is more fun to read Harry Potter than to watch its movie. Reading books allows the reader to have more power to imagine the plots. Thinking can go the way beyond the limit which seeing usually has.
However, the idea to trigger students’ interest to read by playing video game based on a hard copy of book is great, especially for those kids who don’t even tough the real books at all.
My video game
I am getting better and better in playing my Grand Slam Tennis Game. I can hit back the ball, and get ready earlier for the coming ball. It is still not easy to catch the ball. I need to move my player quickly enough to hit back. I am not always a loser now; in spite I have won one game yet. I play this game when I have spare time at night. My daughters see I am kind of crazy about video game. My fingers can control the arrow keys better than the beginning. It is fun.
I am getting better and better in playing my Grand Slam Tennis Game. I can hit back the ball, and get ready earlier for the coming ball. It is still not easy to catch the ball. I need to move my player quickly enough to hit back. I am not always a loser now; in spite I have won one game yet. I play this game when I have spare time at night. My daughters see I am kind of crazy about video game. My fingers can control the arrow keys better than the beginning. It is fun.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
My Grand Slam Tennis Computer Game
My tennis grand slam game is easy to play but not easy to win. It is very difficult to hit the ball on the right position. You need to move left right up or down key at the same time you need to hit x to hit the ball and those will decide you hit the ball right. In real life, I played tennis many years ago. My knees were hurt every time after I played tennis, and that is why I don’t play now. (I still swim everyday) I miss playing tennis. My husband and my daughters are still playing. Now I play tennis in computer. However, it is not as easy as real tennis, because it is a challenge to move around my player. I did not win a game at all. I need to practice a lot to get used it.
My computer is also very slow.
My computer is also very slow.
Video Game
I was not a video game player before, because I used to think it wastes my time. I am a mother of two daughters with a full time job. My two daughters are not obsessed to video game while some of my friends complain their sons are playing computer games too much. Actually, I don’t consider it is bad to play video game. It is just some type of learning anyway. I know a lot of smart kids are obsessed to computer game and they also have very good school grades. Some computer games are educational; they motivate the learning interests. For example, one of my friend’s son play black jack in computer; he develops a good skill in mental counting. Some car games will need intense observation to be a good player. My tennis grand slam needs a good coordination between two hands and eyes. At some point of view, this is some kind of learning beyond the knowledge.
However, whether I should apply video games into my teaching curriculum is still controversal.
However, whether I should apply video games into my teaching curriculum is still controversal.
Friday, February 6, 2009
The Way I Learn
The Way I Learn
The way I learnt used to be very traditional. I learnt stuff from teachers, parents, books, and TV. At my younger age, I don’t have a computer. I studies class notes and books after school. I read newspapers and magazines for knowledge. The materials I used are all printed sources. I learnt what I saw, what I heard, what I listened, and especially what I did. For example, I used to love the science lab than the science class, because I could learn more when I did than when I listen.
Now it is new technology era, the way we learn has tremendously changed. Besides the printed materials, we have electronic materials, digital materials, virtual images…etc. Now I learn most of the new stuff via Internet. I rely on Internet a lot, searching news, information, instructions, and road maps. I am taking course online. I am browsing library collection online.
To have knowledge and use of multimedia will help or motivate us to learn. Years ago, I bought a video game CD-ROM for my daughter to train her keyboard typing skill. That motivated her in learning the proper way of typing. Now she has very good and correct typing skill. I remember that I also bought CD-ROM for math game, language learning game, and so on. Therefore, for kids, learning could be fun if you use the right media to help them. For me too; I love to learn new stuff. I am happy to register medi 506 and get to know new media for using in education. As a teacher, I recognize the way children learn in these days is absolutely different from the way we learn. Applying new multimedia into curriculum is essential to education our new generation, because they tend to do everything for fun.
The way I learnt used to be very traditional. I learnt stuff from teachers, parents, books, and TV. At my younger age, I don’t have a computer. I studies class notes and books after school. I read newspapers and magazines for knowledge. The materials I used are all printed sources. I learnt what I saw, what I heard, what I listened, and especially what I did. For example, I used to love the science lab than the science class, because I could learn more when I did than when I listen.
Now it is new technology era, the way we learn has tremendously changed. Besides the printed materials, we have electronic materials, digital materials, virtual images…etc. Now I learn most of the new stuff via Internet. I rely on Internet a lot, searching news, information, instructions, and road maps. I am taking course online. I am browsing library collection online.
To have knowledge and use of multimedia will help or motivate us to learn. Years ago, I bought a video game CD-ROM for my daughter to train her keyboard typing skill. That motivated her in learning the proper way of typing. Now she has very good and correct typing skill. I remember that I also bought CD-ROM for math game, language learning game, and so on. Therefore, for kids, learning could be fun if you use the right media to help them. For me too; I love to learn new stuff. I am happy to register medi 506 and get to know new media for using in education. As a teacher, I recognize the way children learn in these days is absolutely different from the way we learn. Applying new multimedia into curriculum is essential to education our new generation, because they tend to do everything for fun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
