{"content":{"sharePage":{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"51987802","dateCreated":"1332367015","smartDate":"Mar 21, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"ellen.louise.dunn","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/ellen.louise.dunn","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/ctge5549spring12.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/51987802"},"dateDigested":1532919225,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Gee and Producing and my Pink and White Dolly Stroller","description":"The Gee piece really stuck with me (because my student do love video games, almost as much as they hate math). Gee argues that players are producers in video games. While players may feel like they are making real and independent choices, they are really just choosing from a set number of options that the video game producers (the real producers) allow them. While the students feel like they\u2019re creating and producing a world all their own, someone is behind the scenes, pulling the strings, nudging the players choices in one way or another.
\nA teacher has to do the same thing. I teach high school, and I want to give my students choices. But while my students are legally adults, true freedom, for them, is a bad thing. True freedom is cutting class, or showing up drunk, or showing up high, or showing up without a pen (which is not as damaging to their lives but just as annoying for me). I want to offer my students choices, but I have to carefully pick the options. In short, I need to carefully construct the alternatives (I am the video game producer) while my students think of themselves as free to make decisions (the video game player).
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\nI\u2019m not sure that I\u2019ve been entirely clear, so I offer an analogy. When I was three, I had a doll I loved the most, called Dolly (I was very creative). My grandma was thinking about what to get me for Christmas, and she was at a store, and she saw a miniature pink and white striped stroller for dolls. She bought it for me, and only afterwards did she slowly convince me that I deeply wanted a stroller. I\u2019d be in my stroller, and she\u2019d say, wouldn\u2019t it be nice if Dolly had a stroller? And of course I said yes! And then she\u2019d say, and wouldn\u2019t it be nice if it were pink and white striped? And I\u2019d say yes! My grandma went on with this psychological manipulation for the weeks leading up to Christmas, until by Christmas morning I was absolutely hyperventilating as I went downstairs saying pink and white Dolly stroller pink and white Dolly stroller over and over. And when I got the pink and white Dolly stroller, it was just about the best thing ever.
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\nIn short, I didn\u2019t choose to love the pink and white Dolly stroller. My grandma (aka the teacher aka the video game producer) offered me the illusion of choice. But in the end, I got the pink and white Dolly stroller, and I was blissfully happy. Of course, it\u2019s a bit harder to convince high school students they have a lot of choices in a math classroom. Neither Gee nor I has any ideas about exactly how to do that.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"51771876","dateCreated":"1331851482","smartDate":"Mar 15, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"davidkwan","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidkwan","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/ctge5549spring12.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/51771876"},"dateDigested":1532919225,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"David's post","description":"Of the three articles, Gee's article on introducing new technology to the classroom stood out to me the most. I truly agree with Gee that devices for conveying information such as smart boards and powerpoints can make a world of difference when it comes to engaging our kids. In my experiences as both a student and teacher, I have witnessed a heightened level of engagement that occurs when technology is introduced. That being said, I think that Gee simplifies rather than exaggerates the impact that new technology can have in the classroom. I believe that new technology must be match both the technological literacies that students have acquired and the content being taught. With new technology, I think that we as teachers must keep into perspective that the ulimate goal of the lesson is having our students master the objective and no matter how that objective is met, it must stay the same. When used appropriately and in a focused manner, I believe that technology can present exciting ways of engaging students and furthering their range of literacies.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"51771506","dateCreated":"1331850786","smartDate":"Mar 15, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"Martin.mintz","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/Martin.mintz","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/ctge5549spring12.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/51771506"},"dateDigested":1532919225,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Martin's Post","description":"This reading from Gee has brought up a lot of interesting ideas for mysely--a lot of them are coming back to the idea of a video game that is thought out, planned, engaging and leads to students learning.
\nClearly, learning is a teacher's goal for his or her students, but these ideas of technology and engagement make me a little nervous when it comes to applying them. What are they engaging towards? The video game-ness or the actual material. In my past experiences this year, sometimes winning points and getting badges gets in the way of the actual learning.
\nI am taking a technology and media literacy class along with this one
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\nThis brought out a lot of information that got me thinking about what I can only describe as a "frontier" in the field of education, but I did not find it as helpful as many of the other readings this year in terms on concrete ideas.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"51771640","body":"OOPS i did not mean to post that... here is my final version...
\n(Dont read the one above and sorry if you already have)
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\nThis reading from Gee has brought up a lot of interesting ideas for mysely--a lot of them are coming back to the idea of a video game that is thought out, planned, engaging and leads to students learning.
\nClearly, learning is a teacher's goal for his or her students, but these ideas of technology and engagement make me a little nervous when it comes to applying them. What are they engaging towards? The video game-ness or the actual material. In my past experiences this year, sometimes winning points and getting badges gets in the way of the actual learning.
\nI am taking a technology and media literacy class along with this one and it has brought up a lot of interesting ideas for me. Technology is great and it is helpful, but have students been taught how to use it and is it being used effectively in class? If the learning is not taught and possibly neglected, it can be much less effective than intended. I do definitely see the benefits of it but, just like everything else, it needs to be taught and used properly. A book cannot teach a student but it is HOW they use the book... I believe the same thing can be said with other versions of education.
\nThis brought out a lot of information that got me thinking about what I can only describe as a "frontier" in the field of education, but I did not find it as helpful as many of the other readings this year in terms on concrete ideas.","dateCreated":"1331851069","smartDate":"Mar 15, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"Martin.mintz","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/Martin.mintz","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"51769294","dateCreated":"1331847839","smartDate":"Mar 15, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"dschall2","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/dschall2","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/ctge5549spring12.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/51769294"},"dateDigested":1532919225,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Doug's Post","description":"Of the three readings I found the article by Gee to be the most interesting, or at least the article with the zingiest quotes. I am in full agreement with the author regarding the need to really retool some of our rather arcane teaching practices. I had never really thought about the wonder of video games, nor have I considered how they mimic best teaching practices in so far as video games provide a learner with a, \u201ccycle of consolidations and challenges that enable players to confront an initial set of problems and practice solving them until they\u2019ve routinized their mastery.\u201d Wow, if only my students would remain engaged in a lesson even while they were struggling to pick up the basic operations that would be needed to achieve mastery \u2013 \u201cperformance before mastery.\u201d Even further, it would be a huge day for me as a teacher if I looked across the classroom and eyed a landscape in which all the students were \u201cin the flow.\u201d That is, they were learning new material in a way that was in their opinion, \u201cpleasantly frustrating.\u201d Sadly, I am not sure if learning how to solve for \u201cx\u201d in an equation is quite the same as learning how to apply stealth, trickery, or pure force when combating a dragon. The article was undeniably interesting, and brought up a very good point: learning can be \u201cmotivating, stimulating, collaborative, and rewarding.\u201d But I am unsure as to how I might adopt a \u201cperformance before competence\u201d approach to teaching.
\nIf there is one thing that I keep seeing over and over in my very short teaching career is the desire of school administrators to throw money at new technologies. The article by Rhodes and Robnolt discusses digital literacy and the need for us educators to actively teach literacy skills. If I had read this article in September I would have most likely rolled my eyes (much like I found myself doing when reading the passage about teaching with text messaging and emails in the Stenberg, Kaplan, and Borck article) but after having had my students struggle with creating an essay with a Microsoft Word, I am beginning to see that software packages may in fact need to be taught. Luckily, like video games, software doesn\u2019t require expertise in order for one to utilize certain aspects of its features. Yet, it is unrealistic to think that simply by providing wi-fi, Smartboards, and online homework assignments, we teachers are in actuality making much of a dent in our students\u2019 digital shortcomings. Technology is best mastered by repeated use, and individual problem solving. If it\u2019s taught in a bubble, it simply becomes what Gee might view as \u201cisolated learning.\u201d","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"51768946","dateCreated":"1331847315","smartDate":"Mar 15, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"amandajhall","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/amandajhall","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/ctge5549spring12.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/51768946"},"dateDigested":1532919225,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Amanda's Post","description":"
\nRhodes and Robnolt present interesting articles that have stimulated my thoughts about using technology in the classroom. I'm in accord with their perspectives when they insist that today's students must be educated in "new literacies" into order to compete in the globalized world. But I do believe that both Rhodes and Robnolt and Sternber, Kaplan and Borch, who both cite Friedman, misconstrued his argument. Sure, it is critical that the United States invest in technological education but he does not argue that we do this in place of paper-based literacy, but rather in conjunction with it. Moreover, the notion of "hierarchical access to paper based literacy" was never flushed out nor properly examined in Rhodes and Robnolt's essay. They appeared to lack caution and a proper amount of research in blindly dismissing the traditional approach to paper based literacy.
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\nI agree that new literacies do have a substantial, promotive, and enduring effect on the writing process, in that the act of publishing (as Rhodes and Robnolt mention) and taking public ownership over one's work creates more critical and reflective writers. However, I do to believe the same argument can be made for reading. Sternberg, Kaplan and Borck make a more nuanced argument in suggesting that technological literacy is only a part of that equation for an individual to be "fully literate in today's society."They acknowledge that ICTs should be an integral piece of the educational process but that that piece needs to buttressed by bifurcated learning opportunities inside and outside of school. Sternberg, Kaplan and Borck mention that the education model must wrap around the child and their parents.
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\nI was a fan of he article about gaming and how the qualities of a good curriculum should be analogous to that of a video game. But I also feel that content discipline is important and that students need to learn "boring content" so that they can stand on the shoulders of giants. Overall, Sternberg, Kaplan and Borck are correct when they say that \u201cProfessionals in the field must pursue additional research around technology integration to enhance adolescent literacy achievement\u201d so that we can better plan to prepare our students for their futures.
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\nIn a nutshell: technology has a intergrationist role in my student\u2019s literacy and I foster digital literacy in my classroom by allowing my students to use all sorts of text for their genre practice studies.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"51768634","dateCreated":"1331846868","smartDate":"Mar 15, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"terrencekumar","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/terrencekumar","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/ctge5549spring12.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/51768634"},"dateDigested":1532919225,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"terrence's post","description":" James Paul Gee's article explaining what teachers can learn about video game designs omits two important issues: competition and gratification. In addition to every point made by gee, built-in competition amongst peers increases children's attraction to these games. There are enormous gaming networks that allow for people to see each other's stats and track their progress. This exploits the children's natural desire to achieve more than their peers. Also, many games now include rankings or leveling. With these systems, players have playing careers. From the moment they begin playing, they collect points that can move them from level 1 to 2 to 3 and so on. Initially \u201cleveling up\u201d is simple but gratifying. The more you move up the more gratifying each level becomes. Children seek this form of instant gratification early on. \u201cLeveling up\u201d becomes less and less frequent as they improve, but they remember the feeling and pursue, even for weeks on end. This same technique can be used in classrooms. Familiarize students with the reward systems of the classroom early on in the year. The accomplishments that will earn them rewards become more difficult as the year goes on. However, they should continue to work hard for them.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"51735894","dateCreated":"1331786645","smartDate":"Mar 14, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"cfinch45","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/cfinch45","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/ctge5549spring12.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/51735894"},"dateDigested":1532919225,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Chris' Post","description":"From the first day of class, I can honestly say that my interpretation of \u201cliteracy\u201d has, at least somewhat, changed. To me, defining adolescent literacy has become more a question of what skills are necessary for our students to succeed on a larger life-scale and the strategies that will help us as teachers guide them in that direction. This week\u2019s readings help us move towards an answer to the following question: What is the role of technology in my students\u2019 literacy? How do I foster digital literacy in my classroom? In James Paul Gee\u2019s \u201cWhat video games can teach us about making students want to learn\u201d, we are introduced to an interesting take on motivating students to learn.
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\nVideo games are fun!!! And according to Gee they can also be educational. They can guide players to \u201cimprovise, innovate, and challenge themselves\u201d and \u201clearn to view the virtual world through the eyes of a distinctive personality.\u201d However, not all video games are created equally. Some games measure success through creative solutions while other games are measured by mere memorizing. More creative games lead to more creative solutions later on in the game and can be \u201cpleasantly frustrating\u201d as players feel the task is doable but challenging.
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\nFurther, players learn as they play. I feel as if this idea can be used in our teaching. Students should be able to connect new material with old, to constantly make connections, or as Gee puts it, \u201cStudents learn best when they learn by relating words, concepts, skills or strategies to prior experience.\u201d Another idea for our classrooms is peer work; using other students as a resource can be a timely and effective practice. Gee emphasizes this idea through video games, \u201c\u2026players can increase their competence by seeking advice from other players \u2026 knowledge is available on demand.\u201d
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\nRefreshingly, Gee puts the topic of education into the big picture. Referencing Thomas Friedman\u2019s The World is Flat, he argues that the U.S. is facing \u201ca looming educational crisis.\u201d Yet, according to Gee, American schools are stuck on the basics; measuring success through standardized tests. \u201cYoung people are exposed to more creative and challenging learning experiences in popular culture that they are in school.\u201d How can we make learning more game-like? I would like to find ways to make my students\u2019 experience in our classroom as motivating, stimulating, collaborative, and rewarding as the experience of a well-designed video game.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"51734644","dateCreated":"1331783090","smartDate":"Mar 14, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"BridgetGaitor","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/BridgetGaitor","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/ctge5549spring12.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/51734644"},"dateDigested":1532919225,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Bridget's post","description":"This week\u2019s reading was very informal. I completely agree with the idea of incorporating technology in special education. The only downfall about the reading is its lack of strategies and practices to incorporate technology. Using video games could be great tools to building successful student's in special education.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"51733978","dateCreated":"1331781686","smartDate":"Mar 14, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"MaddyG28","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/MaddyG28","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/ctge5549spring12.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/51733978"},"dateDigested":1532919225,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Maddy's Post ","description":"Of all the readings we have read thus far, these by far have evoked the most questions, emotion and interest. I feel as if I could probably go on for days about each article, but for the sake of my fingers and the lesson plan that is waiting for me, I am going to focus this post on the Enhancing Adolescent Literacy Achievement article by Kaplan, Borck and Sterberg.
\n"Too little research has been conducted about how technologies foster adolescent literacy growth," the article states, and I think that says it all. This is not to say that technology can not help or contribute to growth; however, literacy or lack thereof is a much greater issue that I believe has very little to do with the materials and a lot more to do with the home life and environment of the students that struggle with literacy.
\nI remember when I was a child, my school participated in an Accelerated Reader program that was facilitated by technology. We read books, then we answered questions about the books on a computer which then gave us points. If we reached a certain amount of points, we were invited to participate in a AR party where were served Pizza and snacks. Although technology helped run the program, it didn't make me a stronger reader. It provided some type of incentive for me to read, but that could be done without technology.
\nOn the other hand, I can tell you that the increase in technology had contributed to my inability to spell, because I know that spell check will correct my mistakes once I am done. Although sufficient research has not been done, I could speak from first hand experience NO! " Students who use word processors [are not] more accurate in their spelling and grammar even when they are not using word processors."
\nAnother thing that really stuck out to me in from this article was this "artificial intelligence" \/ automatic grader thingy-ma-jigger. Now although I would absolutely love something of the sort, one thing that I learned right away in my few minutes of teaching is that when we are grading papers, we must be very critical of the feedback that we give back to students. When we are grading, we should simply focus on one thing that the student should master as opposed to marking up their papers with red marks. This then gives students small feasible things to work on as opposed to overloading them and potentially discouraging them. I can only imagine what a computer would tell my students once they submitted their sub-par writing. Unless we are able to monitor what information that the computer relays to the student, I predict that this system might be more detrimental than helpful . I would much rather spend hours grading than to find out that a computer send a messages to my students that shatter their hope of ever being a good writer.
\nCall me a troglodyte, but I am firm believer that the solution to literacy is not found in technology but in some old fashion books,time, practice, skill building and teaching.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"51732976","dateCreated":"1331780160","smartDate":"Mar 14, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"regler","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/regler","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/ctge5549spring12.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/51732976"},"dateDigested":1532919225,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Rebecca's Post","description":"I immediately flocked to the Gee reading when I saw that the title included "popular culture" because I'm not afraid to admit that my secret shame is magazines and I was hoping to find something similar. While we were not assigned a copy of US weekly for this discussion, I do still feel as though the Gee comparison of reading and video games was particularly interesting. It is the constant struggle of many teachers to try and figure out how to get students to put down the joystick and pick up a textbook instead, so I was intrigued to see what Gee had to offer. I agreed with a good deal of what the article said; for example, that some video games require higher order thinking, and that there is a huge appeal about something interactive that a textbook just doesn't provide. Both of these are often the greatest desires of a teacher that become difficult to meet in a 50 minute class period, but students are willing to devote hours to when they involve a virtual world. The comment I found to be the most striking though was that video games allow players to be not only consumers, but producers as well. When attempting to draw a parallel to the classroom, I wonder if the similar analogy can be do having students write as a way to interact with the text. While right off of the bat this sounds neither particularly sexy nor fun, it this idea of being a "producer' or somehow having ownership over the content is one that I find incredibly interesting and would really like to hash out in the classroom. How can I make room for a student to add a certain degree to the "production" of the lesson, instead of simply supplement it? Is this a way to garner better engagement and therefore more active learning? I'm not sure, but I really like this thought from Gee and hope to pursue it further.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"51734356","body":"Rebecca, this article caught my attention as well. Especially when I hear conversations among my students describing their seven hour experience with Modern Warfare 4 (or whatever it is called). I wish they could spend half as much time on their homework?! I agree, these video games to require higher order thinking and focus and I too believe that they could defiantly teach us about the way our students things and learn. I really wish that we could use these systems in order to help our students learn necessary skills.","dateCreated":"1331782521","smartDate":"Mar 14, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"MaddyG28","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/MaddyG28","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]}],"more":true},"comments":[]},"http":{"code":200,"status":"OK"},"redirectUrl":null,"javascript":null,"notices":{"warning":[],"error":[],"info":[],"success":[]}}