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"disqusTitle": "Three Video Games That Teach Programming Through Play",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37261\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/code-game.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-37261\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/code-game.jpg\" alt=\"Beta The Game (left) and Hack 'n Slash (right)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/code-game.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/code-game-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/code-game-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beta The Game (left) and Hack 'n Slash (right)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Tanner Higgin, \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Graphite\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">The push to get kids to code has been such a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/ali-partovi-why-learning-to-code-is-imperative-in-public-education/\" target=\"_blank\">hot topic\u003c/a> these past few years you might be sick of hearing about it. There are those that see code as a critical skill -- like learning a second language -- which all kids need to learn. Others question whether programming is as important as \u003ca href=\"http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/08/everybody_does_not_need_to_learn_to_code.2.html\" target=\"_blank\">critical thinking\u003c/a>, or if code literacy is more or less important than \u003ca href=\"http://venturebeat.com/2014/06/09/linux-creator-linus-torvalds-i-do-not-believe-everybody-should-learn-to-code/\" target=\"_blank\">traditional textual/numerical literacy\u003c/a>. While this controversy continues to circulate, most people can agree that a basic \u003ca href=\"http://www.fastcolabs.com/3020126/no-you-dont-need-to-learn-to-code\" target=\"_blank\">understanding of code and coders\u003c/a> is an increasingly important part of being a critical thinker in a world that's full of screens and data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since digital games are both coded objects and systems that can be critiqued and better understood, they sit nicely between the evangelistic and tempered supporters of code literacy. Games build critical thinking skills and teach code literacy, offering authentic experiences that let kids experiment with how code works. They're solid platforms to begin exploring programming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Code-focused learning games run the gamut of age/grade ranges and level of code complexity. They can also be split into two discrete but interconnected camps: those that teach the procedural logics of programming -- like Kodable Pro or Cargo-Bot -- and those that dig into programming and scripting, most often using visual metaphors for code -- like Tynker or Gamestar Mechanic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"5k4yyYLIauETWQMdTUGmlL6MHeqRf2nb\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recently, there's been a few games that up the ante of authentic code-based learning -- games that peel back the façade and allow players to tweak the code of the game as they play. Confused? Think of it like opening up the hood of a game, and fiddling with the engine -- as you drive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take, \u003ca href=\"http://www.betathegame.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Beta The Game\u003c/a>, for example. It's a run and jump style platform that uses a custom-built language called codePOP. Via an in-game coding terminal, players use the codePOP language to modify the world around them, adding platforms and changing properties and behaviors of objects. David Thomas, who \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/game/beta-the-game\" target=\"_blank\">reviewed the game for Graphite\u003c/a>, points out how this unique language has its benefits and drawbacks: offering a nice blend of \"code scripting and object-oriented programming\" while also carrying with it some \"idiosyncrasies.\" Still it's got a great set of support features, and level sharing provides users with tons of additional player-designed challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thomas also\u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/game/codecombat\" target=\"_blank\"> reviewed CodeCombat\u003c/a>, and found it more promising, even if the player community isn't quite as strong yet. Unlike Beta The Game, \u003ca href=\"http://codecombat.com/\" target=\"_blank\">CodeCombat\u003c/a> uses non-proprietary languages -- JavaScript and Python (in beta). It also delves into the dungeon crawler genre, letting players explore, kill monsters, and loot treasure. The result is an experience that \"never feels like code school,\" although Thomas notes that the fantasy setting means it's best for students \"motivated by the idea of battling knights and ogres.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While these two games are a bit under the radar,\u003ca href=\"http://www.hacknslashthegame.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> Hack 'n' Slash\u003c/a> has more reach due to the big name talent behind it. Developed by fan favorite studio Double Fine Productions -- the company behind critical darlings like Psychonauts and Broken Age -- Hack 'n' Slash aims to push the learn-to-code game genre into new territory. Modeled on the Zelda series, and trading on Double Fine's signature charm and inventiveness, Hack 'n' Slash mixes adventuring and puzzling and doesn't pull any punches in terms of what players can do with the game's code. Just about everything in-game can be tweaked and modified in whatever ways the player chooses. In fact, the same code that underlies the game is the code the players see. And, bravely, Double Fine made a decision early on in development to not wall off or gate the code; instead, it's set up like a sandcastle waiting to be stomped. For players that's an empowering feeling – like the game can be fooled. Graphite hasn't reviewed it yet because it's still in-development, but are interested to \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/game/hack-n-slash\" target=\"_blank\">hear what teachers who have already played it think\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of the games mentioned above represent and expose a key quality of play that's often lost in stuffy, overly-scaffolded learning games -- subversion. While code might be all about rules and procedure, play isn't. Games are the things that harness play through rules, but play -- and players -- can never quite be tamed. Play is too big and too slippery, ever redefining itself and evolving. Yet code -- and in some sense games -- are defined by stability. How can the two be reconciled? By letting games be games -- finicky and structured -- and players be players -- risky and inventive. This offers an appealing counterpoint to the dominant and perhaps tired code literacy rhetoric: stop 'learning to code' and start messing with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Tanner Higgin is Senior Manager, Education Content, at \u003ca href=\"http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\" target=\"_blank\">Common Sense Media\u003c/a>, creator of \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Graphite ™\u003c/a>, a free service for educators in search of the best apps, games, and websites rated for learning. This post is one in a series collaboration. Games included here have received high ratings on Graphite by educators and by the editorial staff at Common Sense Media. Go to Graphite to read full reviews of games and how teachers use them for learning in class.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37261\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/code-game.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-37261\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/code-game.jpg\" alt=\"Beta The Game (left) and Hack 'n Slash (right)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/code-game.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/code-game-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/code-game-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beta The Game (left) and Hack 'n Slash (right)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Tanner Higgin, \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Graphite\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">The push to get kids to code has been such a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/ali-partovi-why-learning-to-code-is-imperative-in-public-education/\" target=\"_blank\">hot topic\u003c/a> these past few years you might be sick of hearing about it. There are those that see code as a critical skill -- like learning a second language -- which all kids need to learn. Others question whether programming is as important as \u003ca href=\"http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/08/everybody_does_not_need_to_learn_to_code.2.html\" target=\"_blank\">critical thinking\u003c/a>, or if code literacy is more or less important than \u003ca href=\"http://venturebeat.com/2014/06/09/linux-creator-linus-torvalds-i-do-not-believe-everybody-should-learn-to-code/\" target=\"_blank\">traditional textual/numerical literacy\u003c/a>. While this controversy continues to circulate, most people can agree that a basic \u003ca href=\"http://www.fastcolabs.com/3020126/no-you-dont-need-to-learn-to-code\" target=\"_blank\">understanding of code and coders\u003c/a> is an increasingly important part of being a critical thinker in a world that's full of screens and data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since digital games are both coded objects and systems that can be critiqued and better understood, they sit nicely between the evangelistic and tempered supporters of code literacy. Games build critical thinking skills and teach code literacy, offering authentic experiences that let kids experiment with how code works. They're solid platforms to begin exploring programming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Code-focused learning games run the gamut of age/grade ranges and level of code complexity. They can also be split into two discrete but interconnected camps: those that teach the procedural logics of programming -- like Kodable Pro or Cargo-Bot -- and those that dig into programming and scripting, most often using visual metaphors for code -- like Tynker or Gamestar Mechanic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recently, there's been a few games that up the ante of authentic code-based learning -- games that peel back the façade and allow players to tweak the code of the game as they play. Confused? Think of it like opening up the hood of a game, and fiddling with the engine -- as you drive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take, \u003ca href=\"http://www.betathegame.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Beta The Game\u003c/a>, for example. It's a run and jump style platform that uses a custom-built language called codePOP. Via an in-game coding terminal, players use the codePOP language to modify the world around them, adding platforms and changing properties and behaviors of objects. David Thomas, who \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/game/beta-the-game\" target=\"_blank\">reviewed the game for Graphite\u003c/a>, points out how this unique language has its benefits and drawbacks: offering a nice blend of \"code scripting and object-oriented programming\" while also carrying with it some \"idiosyncrasies.\" Still it's got a great set of support features, and level sharing provides users with tons of additional player-designed challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thomas also\u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/game/codecombat\" target=\"_blank\"> reviewed CodeCombat\u003c/a>, and found it more promising, even if the player community isn't quite as strong yet. Unlike Beta The Game, \u003ca href=\"http://codecombat.com/\" target=\"_blank\">CodeCombat\u003c/a> uses non-proprietary languages -- JavaScript and Python (in beta). It also delves into the dungeon crawler genre, letting players explore, kill monsters, and loot treasure. The result is an experience that \"never feels like code school,\" although Thomas notes that the fantasy setting means it's best for students \"motivated by the idea of battling knights and ogres.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While these two games are a bit under the radar,\u003ca href=\"http://www.hacknslashthegame.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> Hack 'n' Slash\u003c/a> has more reach due to the big name talent behind it. Developed by fan favorite studio Double Fine Productions -- the company behind critical darlings like Psychonauts and Broken Age -- Hack 'n' Slash aims to push the learn-to-code game genre into new territory. Modeled on the Zelda series, and trading on Double Fine's signature charm and inventiveness, Hack 'n' Slash mixes adventuring and puzzling and doesn't pull any punches in terms of what players can do with the game's code. Just about everything in-game can be tweaked and modified in whatever ways the player chooses. In fact, the same code that underlies the game is the code the players see. And, bravely, Double Fine made a decision early on in development to not wall off or gate the code; instead, it's set up like a sandcastle waiting to be stomped. For players that's an empowering feeling – like the game can be fooled. Graphite hasn't reviewed it yet because it's still in-development, but are interested to \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/game/hack-n-slash\" target=\"_blank\">hear what teachers who have already played it think\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of the games mentioned above represent and expose a key quality of play that's often lost in stuffy, overly-scaffolded learning games -- subversion. While code might be all about rules and procedure, play isn't. Games are the things that harness play through rules, but play -- and players -- can never quite be tamed. Play is too big and too slippery, ever redefining itself and evolving. Yet code -- and in some sense games -- are defined by stability. How can the two be reconciled? By letting games be games -- finicky and structured -- and players be players -- risky and inventive. This offers an appealing counterpoint to the dominant and perhaps tired code literacy rhetoric: stop 'learning to code' and start messing with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Tanner Higgin is Senior Manager, Education Content, at \u003ca href=\"http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\" target=\"_blank\">Common Sense Media\u003c/a>, creator of \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Graphite ™\u003c/a>, a free service for educators in search of the best apps, games, and websites rated for learning. This post is one in a series collaboration. Games included here have received high ratings on Graphite by educators and by the editorial staff at Common Sense Media. Go to Graphite to read full reviews of games and how teachers use them for learning in class.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/6999459456_38f532a9b2_z-e1407197454220.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-37190\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/6999459456_38f532a9b2_z-e1407197454220-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"6999459456_38f532a9b2_z\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">School administrators are looking to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/tag/byod/\">Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)\u003c/a> policies as a way to bring technology resources in the community to bear in the classroom when there is little funding for school-owned devices. We are examining how three different teachers in three completely different communities -- urban, rural, and immigrant -- are dealing with BYOD issues, including trust, equity, and what happens when teachers try to put student-centered learning in the hands of students who've never experienced it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The advantage of BYOD has always been flexibility -- educators don’t have to wait until a school board approves funds for mobile technology, rolls out a policy and implements a training program. Instead, teachers began experimenting with technology to engage learners and allow them to have more ownership over their learning. Using student-owned devices has the added benefit of helping students to see their phones as learning tools that can be used for research at home. And while not all kids own smartphones or tablets to access the internet outside of school, many do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School districts that can afford it are opting to issue school-owned devices to students that stay at school. But the drawback to these types of one-to-one programs is that they don’t allow for anytime/anywhere learning. Other schools are \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/01/how-byod-programs-can-fuel-inquiry-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">combining BYOD with school devices\u003c/a> as a way to help mitigate equity gaps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this article, we learn how a ninth-grade teacher handles BYOD issues with a mostly immigrant population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/08/trust-equity-and-student-centered-learning-with-fourth-graders/\" target=\"_blank\">Read Part 1: Trust, Equity, and Student-Centered Learning With Fourth-Graders\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>PART 2: BYOD AND IMMIGRANT STUDENTS\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>At \u003ca href=\"http://washington.spps.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Washington Technology Magnet School \u003c/a> in St. Paul Minnesota, many students are recent immigrants from Burma, Bhutan, and East African countries like Somalia and Ethiopia. There’s also a sizable Hmong population. The school's diverse student population represents a shift experienced in schools across the country towards more immigrant children and English Language Learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"They don't have the academic language yet to show any critical thinking because that's where they're at in their language development.\"\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>In Stephanie Erickson’s ninth-grade Life Science class, students speak four or five different languages and have different levels of access to technology. Many newer immigrants have no phones at all. Other low-income students have devices, but not access to the internet at home. “It needs to be school-provided because they don’t have them and they can’t get them,” Erickson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The official school policy on BYOD allows students to use personal devices to aid learning, but it hasn't become a huge part of instruction because only some students have them. A few students use their phones to take pictures of notes or to use flashcard apps, but most of the technology in the classroom is school-issued. The leadership at Washington Tech is supportive of teachers trying to integrate student-owned devices, even sending along articles and ideas to the whole staff, but Erickson has been hesitant to embrace that freedom because of concerns that not all her students will be able to participate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Equitable access to devices comes up a lot in discussions of BYOD, but teachers committed to making technology work for them in the classroom often find learning can be just as powerful without one-to-one programs. In a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/04/how-do-we-address-the-needs-of-kids-without-mobile-access/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift article\u003c/a> from several years ago, sixth grade teacher \u003ca href=\"http://blog.williamferriter.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Bill Ferriter \u003c/a>noted that teachers are always dealing with a deficit of resources, but that shouldn't prevent change. \"If I can have kids work in groups of three—something that I do 9 days out of 10 anyway–then I really only need one student to have a cell phone with unlimited texting,\" Ferriter writes. \"The odds of that are pretty high in most middle schools. From there, groups can do anything.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erickson isn't entirely sure how many kids have devices, but she knows that only 30 percent of her 150 students use \u003ca href=\"https://www.remind.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Remind\u003c/a>, an app that lets teachers text students reminders en masse. The wide range of experience with technology has made Erickson wary of making devices central to her teaching. She did an informal survey with her students after trying to flip a lesson, asking students to watch a video at home so class time could be devoted to discussion and real-world problems. She found that 95 percent of her students liked the flip model, but only 50 percent could watch videos at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"j14zEk1mjQz5znbmkh0MQxsjDrUvPMkl\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, she's found some value in her experiments. “I think a major shift I've made is that everyday, the kids get immediate feedback,” Erickson said. She uses clicker apps to ascertain whether students are following and understanding the lesson, for example. But she hasn't been able to turn control over to students so they can have more input into how they will learn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My concern -- and maybe it’s just a fear rather than a real thing -- is my English Language Learners who have only been here one or two years,” Erickson said. “I think they wouldn’t know where to start.\" Students have trouble designing their own science experiments and Erickson doesn’t want to saddle them with the responsibility of directing their own learning when they're adjusting to a new language and school system at the same time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They don’t have the academic language yet to show any critical thinking because that’s where they’re at in their language development,” Erickson said. “To do student-centered, you need to do some critical thinking and show it.” This is a common dilemma for teachers who don’t speak the same first language as their students. But educators at schools in the \u003ca href=\"http://internationalsnps.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Internationals Network\u003c/a> would disagree with Erickson’s hesitation to ask students to demonstrate critical thinking skills for fear their grasp of the language isn't strong enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You don’t have to know how to read and write to think deeply,” said Claire Sylvan, founding executive director of the Internationals Network during a Deeper Learning MOOC. Instead, she suggests \u003ca href=\"engaging%20students%20with%20complex%20thinking%20on%20projects\" target=\"_blank\">engaging students with complex thinking\u003c/a> on projects that use both English and a student's’ native language. \"Provide them with on-ramps that allow them to develop literacy in the environment that they now inhabit,\" she said. The pedagogy behind the Internationals Network focuses on helping students develop literacy and critical thinking skills simultaneously by giving them more freedom to explore their interests in school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Erickson hasn’t seen how BYOD or even school-provided iPads have helped to engender student-centered learning, or put learning in the hands of students, she has used school-issued devices to help differentiate learning for the wide variety of learners in her classroom. She gives students extra research options so they can delve more deeply into lab work, and takes time to process what they’ve learned with her later. One day a week she has an intervention day, asking students to review topics they find difficult through video and discussion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, her school is moving towards an approach that favors technology in the classroom. The goal is to have a Chromebook cart in every classroom to help make sure students have the tools to work at their own pace. In this vision, students would get individualized homework, based on where they are in the course. Erickson says the IT team needs to do significant upgrades to the wireless system before the vision can be implemented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My dream is that the kids grab a device and they’re on right away,\" Erickson said. \"There's no logging in and no delay because of the wifi. The kids can get what they need to learn for that day. They get the slides and what’s going to be projected. They get some sort of way to get formative assessment with teacher feedback, and if it’s more of an intervention lesson, the kids know exactly what they need to do that day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That dream is within sight, but Erickson's frustration with the technical performance of devices in the classroom have kept her from embracing it wholeheartedly.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/6999459456_38f532a9b2_z-e1407197454220.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-37190\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/6999459456_38f532a9b2_z-e1407197454220-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"6999459456_38f532a9b2_z\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">School administrators are looking to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/tag/byod/\">Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)\u003c/a> policies as a way to bring technology resources in the community to bear in the classroom when there is little funding for school-owned devices. We are examining how three different teachers in three completely different communities -- urban, rural, and immigrant -- are dealing with BYOD issues, including trust, equity, and what happens when teachers try to put student-centered learning in the hands of students who've never experienced it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The advantage of BYOD has always been flexibility -- educators don’t have to wait until a school board approves funds for mobile technology, rolls out a policy and implements a training program. Instead, teachers began experimenting with technology to engage learners and allow them to have more ownership over their learning. Using student-owned devices has the added benefit of helping students to see their phones as learning tools that can be used for research at home. And while not all kids own smartphones or tablets to access the internet outside of school, many do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School districts that can afford it are opting to issue school-owned devices to students that stay at school. But the drawback to these types of one-to-one programs is that they don’t allow for anytime/anywhere learning. Other schools are \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/01/how-byod-programs-can-fuel-inquiry-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">combining BYOD with school devices\u003c/a> as a way to help mitigate equity gaps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this article, we learn how a ninth-grade teacher handles BYOD issues with a mostly immigrant population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/08/trust-equity-and-student-centered-learning-with-fourth-graders/\" target=\"_blank\">Read Part 1: Trust, Equity, and Student-Centered Learning With Fourth-Graders\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>PART 2: BYOD AND IMMIGRANT STUDENTS\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>At \u003ca href=\"http://washington.spps.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Washington Technology Magnet School \u003c/a> in St. Paul Minnesota, many students are recent immigrants from Burma, Bhutan, and East African countries like Somalia and Ethiopia. There’s also a sizable Hmong population. The school's diverse student population represents a shift experienced in schools across the country towards more immigrant children and English Language Learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"They don't have the academic language yet to show any critical thinking because that's where they're at in their language development.\"\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>In Stephanie Erickson’s ninth-grade Life Science class, students speak four or five different languages and have different levels of access to technology. Many newer immigrants have no phones at all. Other low-income students have devices, but not access to the internet at home. “It needs to be school-provided because they don’t have them and they can’t get them,” Erickson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The official school policy on BYOD allows students to use personal devices to aid learning, but it hasn't become a huge part of instruction because only some students have them. A few students use their phones to take pictures of notes or to use flashcard apps, but most of the technology in the classroom is school-issued. The leadership at Washington Tech is supportive of teachers trying to integrate student-owned devices, even sending along articles and ideas to the whole staff, but Erickson has been hesitant to embrace that freedom because of concerns that not all her students will be able to participate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Equitable access to devices comes up a lot in discussions of BYOD, but teachers committed to making technology work for them in the classroom often find learning can be just as powerful without one-to-one programs. In a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/04/how-do-we-address-the-needs-of-kids-without-mobile-access/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift article\u003c/a> from several years ago, sixth grade teacher \u003ca href=\"http://blog.williamferriter.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Bill Ferriter \u003c/a>noted that teachers are always dealing with a deficit of resources, but that shouldn't prevent change. \"If I can have kids work in groups of three—something that I do 9 days out of 10 anyway–then I really only need one student to have a cell phone with unlimited texting,\" Ferriter writes. \"The odds of that are pretty high in most middle schools. From there, groups can do anything.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erickson isn't entirely sure how many kids have devices, but she knows that only 30 percent of her 150 students use \u003ca href=\"https://www.remind.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Remind\u003c/a>, an app that lets teachers text students reminders en masse. The wide range of experience with technology has made Erickson wary of making devices central to her teaching. She did an informal survey with her students after trying to flip a lesson, asking students to watch a video at home so class time could be devoted to discussion and real-world problems. She found that 95 percent of her students liked the flip model, but only 50 percent could watch videos at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, she's found some value in her experiments. “I think a major shift I've made is that everyday, the kids get immediate feedback,” Erickson said. She uses clicker apps to ascertain whether students are following and understanding the lesson, for example. But she hasn't been able to turn control over to students so they can have more input into how they will learn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My concern -- and maybe it’s just a fear rather than a real thing -- is my English Language Learners who have only been here one or two years,” Erickson said. “I think they wouldn’t know where to start.\" Students have trouble designing their own science experiments and Erickson doesn’t want to saddle them with the responsibility of directing their own learning when they're adjusting to a new language and school system at the same time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They don’t have the academic language yet to show any critical thinking because that’s where they’re at in their language development,” Erickson said. “To do student-centered, you need to do some critical thinking and show it.” This is a common dilemma for teachers who don’t speak the same first language as their students. But educators at schools in the \u003ca href=\"http://internationalsnps.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Internationals Network\u003c/a> would disagree with Erickson’s hesitation to ask students to demonstrate critical thinking skills for fear their grasp of the language isn't strong enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You don’t have to know how to read and write to think deeply,” said Claire Sylvan, founding executive director of the Internationals Network during a Deeper Learning MOOC. Instead, she suggests \u003ca href=\"engaging%20students%20with%20complex%20thinking%20on%20projects\" target=\"_blank\">engaging students with complex thinking\u003c/a> on projects that use both English and a student's’ native language. \"Provide them with on-ramps that allow them to develop literacy in the environment that they now inhabit,\" she said. The pedagogy behind the Internationals Network focuses on helping students develop literacy and critical thinking skills simultaneously by giving them more freedom to explore their interests in school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Erickson hasn’t seen how BYOD or even school-provided iPads have helped to engender student-centered learning, or put learning in the hands of students, she has used school-issued devices to help differentiate learning for the wide variety of learners in her classroom. She gives students extra research options so they can delve more deeply into lab work, and takes time to process what they’ve learned with her later. One day a week she has an intervention day, asking students to review topics they find difficult through video and discussion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, her school is moving towards an approach that favors technology in the classroom. The goal is to have a Chromebook cart in every classroom to help make sure students have the tools to work at their own pace. In this vision, students would get individualized homework, based on where they are in the course. Erickson says the IT team needs to do significant upgrades to the wireless system before the vision can be implemented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My dream is that the kids grab a device and they’re on right away,\" Erickson said. \"There's no logging in and no delay because of the wifi. The kids can get what they need to learn for that day. They get the slides and what’s going to be projected. They get some sort of way to get formative assessment with teacher feedback, and if it’s more of an intervention lesson, the kids know exactly what they need to do that day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Teachers are already capitalizing on their students' fascination with the computer game Minecraft to teach everything from math to history. Now, a new add-on teaches kids to code their own modifications to the game. In his \u003ca href=\"http://www.wired.com/2014/08/learntomod/\" target=\"_blank\">Wired article\u003c/a>, Klint Finley explains how the creators of the add-on called LearnToMod hope their tool could be a gateway for students to discover a love of computer programming.\u003cbr>\nhttp://www.wired.com/2014/08/learntomod/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Teachers are already capitalizing on their students' fascination with the computer game Minecraft to teach everything from math to history. Now, a new add-on teaches kids to code their own modifications to the game. In his \u003ca href=\"http://www.wired.com/2014/08/learntomod/\" target=\"_blank\">Wired article\u003c/a>, Klint Finley explains how the creators of the add-on called LearnToMod hope their tool could be a gateway for students to discover a love of computer programming.\u003cbr>\nhttp://www.wired.com/2014/08/learntomod/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/choice.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-37460 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/choice.jpg\" alt=\"Getty\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/choice.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/choice-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/choice-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getty\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 17 of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/series/guide-to-games-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift's Guide to Games and Learning\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Many teachers are excited about trying games in the classroom but don’t know where to begin. The landscape of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/01/explosive-growth-in-education-apps/\" target=\"_blank\">learning games is vast and confusing\u003c/a> -- and it's growing and changing rapidly. Moving at the pace of the software industry, games are often updated and iterated so that new versions replace familiar ones before you’ve even had a chance to implement them in your classroom routine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And teachers have busy schedules. We have barely enough time to complete our prep or even to provide students with as much written feedback as they deserve. Exploring such unfamiliar territory as games for learning takes a considerable investment of time and energy. For over-scheduled and underpaid teachers, available time and energy is already scarce and face-to-face classroom time is our top priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other hand, not exploring, updating and reinventing our teaching strategies can cause us to miss valuable opportunities to reach students. We all chose teaching because we love it, and a good teacher is constantly motivated to improve the classroom experience. Games are a great tool that can add a spark of new vitality. But how do you go about choosing the right game? What criteria should you use to pick a game for your classroom?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cb>Is It Fun? Or, Is It Cool?\u003c/b>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Selecting the right game can be like walking the teachers’ tightrope. Both engagement and academic rigor need to be priorities, but there is often tension between them.\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401.png\">\u003cimg class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-35359\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401.png\" alt=\"MindShiftGames\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401.png 140w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401-32x32.png 32w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401-64x64.png 64w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401-96x96.png 96w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401-128x128.png 128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the same tension an English teacher might be forced to mediate when picking a text. For example, as much as I might want to assign James Joyce’s \"Ulysses\" to a class of sixth-graders, the chance that it will engage them is pretty slim. They would likely struggle with the complexity of the language and we would hardly be able to address the thematics. It would be an uphill battle against student boredom that would not serve anyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A great literature curriculum considers the particular students in the class and chooses books that are simultaneously fun to read, academically challenging and provide important canonical touchstones that can help contextualize future learning. Satisfying any one of these criteria, without the others, is problematic. The same is true for learning games. But for some reason, when it comes to games, many teachers are confused about the difference between “cool” and “fun.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cool and fun are not the same thing. Cool has to do with a game’s aesthetics: the art, sound design, characters, narrative, et cetera. But a game does not need to be cool in order to to be fun. Don’t be seduced by the spectacle. Making coolness a priority is tantamount to choosing to teach literature with \"People\" magazine because the students like to read it. Sure, pop culture gossip would satisfy the engagement criteria, but it wouldn’t satisfy any of the other academic criteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Think about games the same way. There’s nothing wrong with cool, but if it's our primary criterion, we are catering to our students instead of challenging them. Don’t meet the students where they are: Help them to move incrementally from one place to another. Look for games that are fun rather than games that are cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cb>The Mechanics Matter Most\u003c/b>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The best learning games are always fun. Try playing them yourself and see if \u003cem>you\u003c/em> enjoy them. No matter how advanced your understanding of the subject matter, a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/04/dont-forget-the-fun-factor-in-educational-games/\" target=\"_blank\">good game should still be fun\u003c/a>. I’ve understood algebra and number partitions for decades, but \"DragonBox\" and \"Wuzzit Trouble\" are still challenging puzzlers that I like to fiddle with on long airline flights. All good games offer challenges in intuitive ways. In fact, this is the reason games work so well for learning: Players are intrinsically motivated to identify and succeed at understanding the game’s mechanics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"BoGU1Vk11hWVPmYZZvktqTFyLi9dTQdE\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mechanics are what game designers call the collection of rules and structures that produce the actual game play. The mechanics organize the game’s components in the way that defines how a player’s actions will have an impact. In good learning games, the subject matter is always embedded into the mechanics themselves. Learning to navigate the game’s mechanics and learning the academic subject matter are one and the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bad games sometimes attempt to simply graft a topic onto existing game mechanics. They might add vocabulary words to \"Angry Birds,\" or multiplication tables to \"Temple Run.\" It never works. The best learning games teach in the same way good teachers teach: They don’t trick students into being interested, they help students find genuine excitement in learning a subject.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cb>Are You Comfortable?\u003c/b>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In order to find genuine excitement in learning a subject, students need to be comfortable with the game. In order to leverage the potential of learning games in the classroom, teachers need to be comfortable, too. When choosing a game for the classroom, you’ll need to assess comfort levels. And the factors that influence a teacher’s comfort level are not necessarily the same factors that will influence the students’.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For students, playability is the most important comfort factor. If the game is too complicated, they’ll spend more time trying to play than they do learning from playing. Look for \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/04/whats-the-secret-sauce-to-a-great-educational-game/\" target=\"_blank\">games that seem simple to play\u003c/a>. Paradoxically, the games that seem the simplest are usually the most complex. That’s because they do a good job at instructing students slowly. They teach one action at a time, in baby steps, until the complex world of the game seems intuitive. Suddenly, the students get it. And simultaneously, because the mechanics and the academics are one and the same, they’ve succeeded in meeting the learning objectives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In order to facilitate this, teachers need to be comfortable, too. You should be comfortable not only playing the game, but also integrating it into your curriculum. Make sure that you remain in the curricular driver's seat. Don’t allow the game to dictate the curriculum, nor the assessment strategy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From a curricular perspective, the best implementations see learning games as just one of many learning activities. The combination of activities are designed to offer multiple entry points to a key academic lesson. Each entry point is a perspective -- a single lens into a complex subject. Allowing any one perspective to dominate the conversation does your students a disservice. Look for games that enhance what you already do, not for games that disrupt your current strategies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to assessment, many \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/08/could-video-games-measure-skills-that-tests-cant-capture/\" target=\"_blank\">games have robust back ends \u003c/a>that provide assessment data about the students that play them. The data can be extremely useful, providing information about your students that is applicable well beyond the game itself. Teachers, however, need to make sure they’re comfortable with the game’s assessment strategies. Don’t allow the game to tell you how to assess, make sure it strengthens your current practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Remember, the games are tools to make your work more efficient and effective. Make sure you’re using the game, and that the game is not using you. And make sure you explain to your students how and why the game fits into the larger context of the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students might play the game willingly, but that doesn’t mean they understand how it relates to the other activities. Take the time to explain why you’ve chosen the game. Or, even better, let it be a class discussion. Ask your students to discuss what they’ve learned from the game and how it fits into the larger class context. You’ll likely discover that the game is working in ways you never could have imagined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/choice.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-37460 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/choice.jpg\" alt=\"Getty\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/choice.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/choice-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/choice-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getty\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 17 of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/series/guide-to-games-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift's Guide to Games and Learning\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Many teachers are excited about trying games in the classroom but don’t know where to begin. The landscape of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/01/explosive-growth-in-education-apps/\" target=\"_blank\">learning games is vast and confusing\u003c/a> -- and it's growing and changing rapidly. Moving at the pace of the software industry, games are often updated and iterated so that new versions replace familiar ones before you’ve even had a chance to implement them in your classroom routine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And teachers have busy schedules. We have barely enough time to complete our prep or even to provide students with as much written feedback as they deserve. Exploring such unfamiliar territory as games for learning takes a considerable investment of time and energy. For over-scheduled and underpaid teachers, available time and energy is already scarce and face-to-face classroom time is our top priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other hand, not exploring, updating and reinventing our teaching strategies can cause us to miss valuable opportunities to reach students. We all chose teaching because we love it, and a good teacher is constantly motivated to improve the classroom experience. Games are a great tool that can add a spark of new vitality. But how do you go about choosing the right game? What criteria should you use to pick a game for your classroom?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cb>Is It Fun? Or, Is It Cool?\u003c/b>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Selecting the right game can be like walking the teachers’ tightrope. Both engagement and academic rigor need to be priorities, but there is often tension between them.\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401.png\">\u003cimg class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-35359\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401.png\" alt=\"MindShiftGames\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401.png 140w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401-32x32.png 32w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401-64x64.png 64w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401-96x96.png 96w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x1401-128x128.png 128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the same tension an English teacher might be forced to mediate when picking a text. For example, as much as I might want to assign James Joyce’s \"Ulysses\" to a class of sixth-graders, the chance that it will engage them is pretty slim. They would likely struggle with the complexity of the language and we would hardly be able to address the thematics. It would be an uphill battle against student boredom that would not serve anyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A great literature curriculum considers the particular students in the class and chooses books that are simultaneously fun to read, academically challenging and provide important canonical touchstones that can help contextualize future learning. Satisfying any one of these criteria, without the others, is problematic. The same is true for learning games. But for some reason, when it comes to games, many teachers are confused about the difference between “cool” and “fun.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cool and fun are not the same thing. Cool has to do with a game’s aesthetics: the art, sound design, characters, narrative, et cetera. But a game does not need to be cool in order to to be fun. Don’t be seduced by the spectacle. Making coolness a priority is tantamount to choosing to teach literature with \"People\" magazine because the students like to read it. Sure, pop culture gossip would satisfy the engagement criteria, but it wouldn’t satisfy any of the other academic criteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Think about games the same way. There’s nothing wrong with cool, but if it's our primary criterion, we are catering to our students instead of challenging them. Don’t meet the students where they are: Help them to move incrementally from one place to another. Look for games that are fun rather than games that are cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cb>The Mechanics Matter Most\u003c/b>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The best learning games are always fun. Try playing them yourself and see if \u003cem>you\u003c/em> enjoy them. No matter how advanced your understanding of the subject matter, a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/04/dont-forget-the-fun-factor-in-educational-games/\" target=\"_blank\">good game should still be fun\u003c/a>. I’ve understood algebra and number partitions for decades, but \"DragonBox\" and \"Wuzzit Trouble\" are still challenging puzzlers that I like to fiddle with on long airline flights. All good games offer challenges in intuitive ways. In fact, this is the reason games work so well for learning: Players are intrinsically motivated to identify and succeed at understanding the game’s mechanics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mechanics are what game designers call the collection of rules and structures that produce the actual game play. The mechanics organize the game’s components in the way that defines how a player’s actions will have an impact. In good learning games, the subject matter is always embedded into the mechanics themselves. Learning to navigate the game’s mechanics and learning the academic subject matter are one and the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bad games sometimes attempt to simply graft a topic onto existing game mechanics. They might add vocabulary words to \"Angry Birds,\" or multiplication tables to \"Temple Run.\" It never works. The best learning games teach in the same way good teachers teach: They don’t trick students into being interested, they help students find genuine excitement in learning a subject.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cb>Are You Comfortable?\u003c/b>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In order to find genuine excitement in learning a subject, students need to be comfortable with the game. In order to leverage the potential of learning games in the classroom, teachers need to be comfortable, too. When choosing a game for the classroom, you’ll need to assess comfort levels. And the factors that influence a teacher’s comfort level are not necessarily the same factors that will influence the students’.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For students, playability is the most important comfort factor. If the game is too complicated, they’ll spend more time trying to play than they do learning from playing. Look for \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/04/whats-the-secret-sauce-to-a-great-educational-game/\" target=\"_blank\">games that seem simple to play\u003c/a>. Paradoxically, the games that seem the simplest are usually the most complex. That’s because they do a good job at instructing students slowly. They teach one action at a time, in baby steps, until the complex world of the game seems intuitive. Suddenly, the students get it. And simultaneously, because the mechanics and the academics are one and the same, they’ve succeeded in meeting the learning objectives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In order to facilitate this, teachers need to be comfortable, too. You should be comfortable not only playing the game, but also integrating it into your curriculum. Make sure that you remain in the curricular driver's seat. Don’t allow the game to dictate the curriculum, nor the assessment strategy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From a curricular perspective, the best implementations see learning games as just one of many learning activities. The combination of activities are designed to offer multiple entry points to a key academic lesson. Each entry point is a perspective -- a single lens into a complex subject. Allowing any one perspective to dominate the conversation does your students a disservice. Look for games that enhance what you already do, not for games that disrupt your current strategies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to assessment, many \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/08/could-video-games-measure-skills-that-tests-cant-capture/\" target=\"_blank\">games have robust back ends \u003c/a>that provide assessment data about the students that play them. The data can be extremely useful, providing information about your students that is applicable well beyond the game itself. Teachers, however, need to make sure they’re comfortable with the game’s assessment strategies. Don’t allow the game to tell you how to assess, make sure it strengthens your current practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Remember, the games are tools to make your work more efficient and effective. Make sure you’re using the game, and that the game is not using you. And make sure you explain to your students how and why the game fits into the larger context of the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students might play the game willingly, but that doesn’t mean they understand how it relates to the other activities. Take the time to explain why you’ve chosen the game. Or, even better, let it be a class discussion. Ask your students to discuss what they’ve learned from the game and how it fits into the larger class context. You’ll likely discover that the game is working in ways you never could have imagined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "Trust, Equity, and Student-Centered Learning With Fourth-Graders",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_35272\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-35272 size-medium\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/computing-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"computing\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Woodward/Flickr\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">School administrators are looking to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/tag/byod/\">Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)\u003c/a> policies as a way to bring technology resources in the community to bear in the classroom when there is little funding for classroom devices. We will examine how three different teachers in three completely different communities -- urban, rural, and immigrant -- are dealing with BYOD issues, including trust, equity, and what happens when teachers try to put student-centered learning in the hands of students who've never experienced it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The advantage of BYOD has always been flexibility -- educators don’t have to wait until a school board approves funds for mobile technology, rolls out a policy and implements a training program. Instead, teachers began experimenting with technology to engage learners and allow them to have more ownership over their learning. Using student-owned devices has the added benefit of helping students to see their phones as learning tools that can be used for research at home. And while not all kids own smartphones or tablets to access the internet outside of school, many do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School districts that can afford it are opting to issue school-owned devices to students that stay at school. But the drawback to these types of one-to-one programs is that they don’t allow for anytime/anywhere learning. Other schools are \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/01/how-byod-programs-can-fuel-inquiry-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">combining BYOD with school devices\u003c/a> as a way to help mitigate equity gaps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This article focuses on a fourth grade teacher's use of BYOD to give her students the freedom to work at their own pace, with her guidance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Part One: DIFFERENTIATING -- BUT NOT TOTALLY TRANSFORMING\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alisca Harris, a fourth-grade teacher at \u003ca href=\"http://craighead.mce.schoolinsites.com/\">Craighead Elementary\u003c/a> in Mobile, Alabama, has had to try different tactics before finding what sticks. Craighead has a predominantly African-American population and 95 percent of its students are eligible for free and reduced lunch. Harris has been steadily trying to integrate devices into her teaching practice, while being aware that kids and their families have different comfort levels with technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parents were receptive to letting their children bring tablets from home, but don’t always understand the nature of the digital work. “Parents just wanted to see it in black and white,” Harris said, \"because some of my students are being raised by grandparents and they really didn't know what these digital assignments were.” Some grandparents didn't believe their students were doing their reading on their devices. To strike a balance, Harris does paper and pencil creative projects, along with digital ones. She also sends all information home in various formats so everyone feels informed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris has found that student-owned tablets -- cell phones aren't allowed by the district in elementary school -- are most helpful for increasing engagement, allowing students opportunities for creative expression and for giving her more information about when students understand a concept and when they’re struggling. Even though she teaches fourth grade, some students are reading at a second-grade level, while others are charging ahead to seventh-grade content. The devices help bridge the broad gap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Students] can use the device to do research, they can move at their own pace, they’re not waiting on the slower ones,” Harris said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"JgXJjTnpApJcyvc6rCxddoXM6mfFtnTS\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris’ school uses an adaptive software called \u003ca href=\"http://strideacademy.com/\">Stride Academy\u003c/a> for reading, math and science. “They all like the sounds and animation,” Harris said. “They loved that because it was customized to them, no one else knew what they were doing.” Harris receives weekly updates on each student’s progress in the program, including whether they're just guessing, have clearly not understood concepts or if they're surpassing expectations. She can tailor her instruction to provide support to students who struggle and help the advanced students continue to challenge themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, a few of Harris’ fourth graders leveled up to reading \u003cem>Harry Potter\u003c/em>. To those who wanted to remember each of the plot twists and turns, Harris showed them how to use sticky note apps to keep notes. And though they could follow most of the story, there were often vocabulary words that they had trouble with. “It brought on a lot of dialogue,” Harris said. Together Harris and her students would discuss the meaning of words in context and how it impacted their understanding of the plot and context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a lot better than taking a fourth grade book because they’re in the fourth grade and not challenging themselves,” Harris said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>BLOCKING SITES\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the strict web filters favored by the school district in elementary schools have hindered those same precocious students from directing their own learning in many cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One day Harris noticed that a student was frowning at his screen. Thinking he was confused about a concept, she went over to help him. Instead, she found that he was frowning because the filter was blocking him from accessing a book he wanted to check out from the library. “He was trying to access his own books from the library and his personal library card number wouldn't work,” Harris said. “Only the school's would, and they’re only allowed to check out certain books.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris admits that sometimes a book will be banned based on a very cursory search of keywords, but she thinks it’s a fair price to pay to protect younger kids from seeing inappropriate content – things they’re just not ready for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a good thing they have a very strong block,” Harris said. “I trust them, but then I have to keep in mind that they are fourth graders. They're children and they're going to try to do things and they’re going to get off task as any child would do.” She knows they've already caught onto the trick of switching screens when a teacher isn't looking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris helped pioneer BYOD at her school, but she approves of the strict filters her school sets on the web, even though they can block her from useful sites. “Our children, the environment they’re in, it teaches them more than they should know at that age,” Harris said. Many of her students have older brothers and sisters who teach their younger siblings inappropriate language or ideas. For example, a new drug “spice” has become popular in the neighborhoods where her students live. One student wanted to look it up on the internet, but Harris worried photos and descriptions of the drug's effects on the body would be too much for him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I was a high school teacher, I wouldn't use the devices for apps, I would only use it for clicking a response or to look up something on a specific topic,” Harris said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She knows students can easily maneuver around filters and doesn't necessarily trust them to use their devices responsibly.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_35272\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-35272 size-medium\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/computing-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"computing\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Woodward/Flickr\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">School administrators are looking to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/tag/byod/\">Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)\u003c/a> policies as a way to bring technology resources in the community to bear in the classroom when there is little funding for classroom devices. We will examine how three different teachers in three completely different communities -- urban, rural, and immigrant -- are dealing with BYOD issues, including trust, equity, and what happens when teachers try to put student-centered learning in the hands of students who've never experienced it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The advantage of BYOD has always been flexibility -- educators don’t have to wait until a school board approves funds for mobile technology, rolls out a policy and implements a training program. Instead, teachers began experimenting with technology to engage learners and allow them to have more ownership over their learning. Using student-owned devices has the added benefit of helping students to see their phones as learning tools that can be used for research at home. And while not all kids own smartphones or tablets to access the internet outside of school, many do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School districts that can afford it are opting to issue school-owned devices to students that stay at school. But the drawback to these types of one-to-one programs is that they don’t allow for anytime/anywhere learning. Other schools are \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/01/how-byod-programs-can-fuel-inquiry-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">combining BYOD with school devices\u003c/a> as a way to help mitigate equity gaps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This article focuses on a fourth grade teacher's use of BYOD to give her students the freedom to work at their own pace, with her guidance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Part One: DIFFERENTIATING -- BUT NOT TOTALLY TRANSFORMING\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alisca Harris, a fourth-grade teacher at \u003ca href=\"http://craighead.mce.schoolinsites.com/\">Craighead Elementary\u003c/a> in Mobile, Alabama, has had to try different tactics before finding what sticks. Craighead has a predominantly African-American population and 95 percent of its students are eligible for free and reduced lunch. Harris has been steadily trying to integrate devices into her teaching practice, while being aware that kids and their families have different comfort levels with technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parents were receptive to letting their children bring tablets from home, but don’t always understand the nature of the digital work. “Parents just wanted to see it in black and white,” Harris said, \"because some of my students are being raised by grandparents and they really didn't know what these digital assignments were.” Some grandparents didn't believe their students were doing their reading on their devices. To strike a balance, Harris does paper and pencil creative projects, along with digital ones. She also sends all information home in various formats so everyone feels informed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris has found that student-owned tablets -- cell phones aren't allowed by the district in elementary school -- are most helpful for increasing engagement, allowing students opportunities for creative expression and for giving her more information about when students understand a concept and when they’re struggling. Even though she teaches fourth grade, some students are reading at a second-grade level, while others are charging ahead to seventh-grade content. The devices help bridge the broad gap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Students] can use the device to do research, they can move at their own pace, they’re not waiting on the slower ones,” Harris said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris’ school uses an adaptive software called \u003ca href=\"http://strideacademy.com/\">Stride Academy\u003c/a> for reading, math and science. “They all like the sounds and animation,” Harris said. “They loved that because it was customized to them, no one else knew what they were doing.” Harris receives weekly updates on each student’s progress in the program, including whether they're just guessing, have clearly not understood concepts or if they're surpassing expectations. She can tailor her instruction to provide support to students who struggle and help the advanced students continue to challenge themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, a few of Harris’ fourth graders leveled up to reading \u003cem>Harry Potter\u003c/em>. To those who wanted to remember each of the plot twists and turns, Harris showed them how to use sticky note apps to keep notes. And though they could follow most of the story, there were often vocabulary words that they had trouble with. “It brought on a lot of dialogue,” Harris said. Together Harris and her students would discuss the meaning of words in context and how it impacted their understanding of the plot and context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a lot better than taking a fourth grade book because they’re in the fourth grade and not challenging themselves,” Harris said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>BLOCKING SITES\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the strict web filters favored by the school district in elementary schools have hindered those same precocious students from directing their own learning in many cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One day Harris noticed that a student was frowning at his screen. Thinking he was confused about a concept, she went over to help him. Instead, she found that he was frowning because the filter was blocking him from accessing a book he wanted to check out from the library. “He was trying to access his own books from the library and his personal library card number wouldn't work,” Harris said. “Only the school's would, and they’re only allowed to check out certain books.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris admits that sometimes a book will be banned based on a very cursory search of keywords, but she thinks it’s a fair price to pay to protect younger kids from seeing inappropriate content – things they’re just not ready for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a good thing they have a very strong block,” Harris said. “I trust them, but then I have to keep in mind that they are fourth graders. They're children and they're going to try to do things and they’re going to get off task as any child would do.” She knows they've already caught onto the trick of switching screens when a teacher isn't looking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris helped pioneer BYOD at her school, but she approves of the strict filters her school sets on the web, even though they can block her from useful sites. “Our children, the environment they’re in, it teaches them more than they should know at that age,” Harris said. Many of her students have older brothers and sisters who teach their younger siblings inappropriate language or ideas. For example, a new drug “spice” has become popular in the neighborhoods where her students live. One student wanted to look it up on the internet, but Harris worried photos and descriptions of the drug's effects on the body would be too much for him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I was a high school teacher, I wouldn't use the devices for apps, I would only use it for clicking a response or to look up something on a specific topic,” Harris said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"headTitle": "The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning | MindShift | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37352\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/the-raven.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-37352\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/the-raven.jpg\" alt=\"Amplify's digital offering includes a dramatic reading of Edgar Allan Poe's \" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/the-raven.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/the-raven-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/the-raven-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amplify's digital offering includes a dramatic reading of Edgar Allen Poe's \"The Raven\" with animation.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 16 of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/series/guide-to-games-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift's Guide to Games and Learning\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">The textbook is a problem that consistently plagues classrooms. At best, textbooks are innocuous, offering simple summaries of a very broad subject area. At worst, they oversimplify things, providing less information than an encyclopedia article without enough nuance or context to make it meaningful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One \u003ca href=\"http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/40387551?uid=3739864&uid=2134&uid=2483481863&uid=2&uid=70&uid=3&uid=2483481853&uid=3739256&uid=60&sid=21104585359203\">study\u003c/a> showed that when students read textbooks, they tend to retain “absurd” details, but fail to “grasp the main point.” Susan M. Hubbuch writes, “The trouble with too many textbooks is that they are badly written” and “badly organized.” What’s more, they give students the wrong impression about knowledge. Typical subject areas -- physics, geography, algebra -- are all dynamic. “They are constantly being critiqued by members of the field, and all are open to change.” The traditional textbook approach, however, gives students the impression that knowledge is constructed of static ideas, facts, and definitions. [Watch \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq_XBP3NrBo\" target=\"_blank\">this scene in Dead Poets Society \u003c/a>that perfectly captures this quandary.]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers have always struggled with mediating the tension between the need for stable content and desire to support our students as they become creative and flexible thinking individuals. How can we keep things open-ended without doing a disservice to children? How do we encourage students to remain invested in learning ways of knowing that will always be questionable and uncertain? The very purpose of an education is to teach fluid critical thinking skills, to maintain analytical perspectives about the world, to teach people that problems can never be solved with certainty. But sometimes the way we teach contradicts our intentions. Sometimes we forget that \u003ci>what\u003c/i> we teach and \u003ci>how\u003c/i> we teach it will always be inseparable. And textbooks, unfortunately, seem to structure learning in a way that’s antithetical to our intended outcomes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames.png\">\u003cimg class=\"alignright wp-image-35200 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x140.png\" alt=\"MindShiftGames\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\">\u003c/a>Just as we need to move away from a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/11/subverting-the-system-student-and-teacher-as-equals/\" target=\"_blank\">top-down model of teaching\u003c/a>, we also need to move away from the textbook. In an ideal world, all learning would happen through direct engagement with primary texts. But unfortunately, not everyone can be a historian, perusing through documents and artifacts to piece together an account of the past. Nor can everyone read Euclid and Pythagoras in the original Greek. Some summarizing, briefing, and encapsulating will always be necessary. But is the problematic textbook really the only way?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many ed-tech entrepreneurs are currently attempting to address this problem with games and electronic media. It's probably an oversimplification to say they're attempting to update the textbook because to understand precisely what they are trying to do, we need to step outside of our habitual way of thinking about school and learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Game-based learning and electronic media enable us to blur the boundaries that separate the delivery of content, drilling for practice, and assessment. And in an educational atmosphere where those boundaries dissolve, the textbook becomes obsolete. Certainly, there is still academic content, but that content suddenly becomes interactive. The texts can be more easily and immediately tied directly into a broad set of activities and projects. Video and other multimedia content can be integrated right into the text -- perhaps videos of teachers--enabling the kind of\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/05/flipped-classroom-2-0-mastery-levelcomptenecy-learning-with-videos/\" target=\"_blank\"> flipped instruction\u003c/a> that is rapidly becoming popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One company that is really pushing a new approach is \u003ca href=\"http://www.amplify.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Amplify Learning\u003c/a>. They call their tablet-based platform a \"digital curriculum.\" In time for fall 2014, they released ELA programming for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students that includes more than 300 books and \"academic lessons authored by world-class intellectuals.\" Amplify has always focused on the content, and in addition to comprehensive interactive reading and writing activities, they also include some pretty dramatic and animated readings of classic texts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdgPQZ8yyTE&w=640&h=360]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time of release, Amplify CEO Joel Klein said, “This is not some old wine in a new bottle, like a digitized textbook with a few animations. We’ve brought together world-class instructional materials, rich multimedia and a powerful analytics engine that will transform the way teachers teach and students learn.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s most intriguing is the way Amplify curriculum integrates games. They're designing a suite of tablet-based games that are not envisioned as part of the formal curriculum, but rather as opportunities for additional student directed playful learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One such game is meant to let students experience the process of \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC5IP4flhes&list=UUboDxOGL7HIGSOBYcadIw4Q\" target=\"_blank\">metabolism\u003c/a> from the inside. It’s a fun game, where players need to manage their resources carefully in order to win. Students need to understand how each resource plays a part in the metabolic system. The game teaches basic biological literacy. Amplify is also making some other impressive biology, environmental science, math and literacy games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"OzNvsI4JYSOzuapWsW6deFHw72njYoX3\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The goal of our games is to both help recapture lost learning time—both after school and during holidays—and engage kids in ELA, math and science in ways that weren't possible until now,\" Klein said in an interview. When I asked him if he thought electronic media would detract from more traditional forms of text-based learning he said, \"Our goal is to encourage more reading and more writing. I think that if we can help middle school children develop a love for reading books, the positive impacts of that will be felt across their entire educational career.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The game \u003ci>Lexica \u003c/i>is a great example of Amplify’s approach to games. \u003ci>Lexica\u003c/i> is a literacy game that Greg Toppo \u003ca href=\"http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2013/06/18/lexica-game-classic-books/2431337/\">covered beautifully in USA Today\u003c/a>. Toppo describes \u003ci>Lexica\u003c/i> as “a massive role-playing game for young teens that invites them to interact with characters from great novels and read the books outside of class if they want to get ahead in the game.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Players free classic book characters that have been trapped in an imaginary library by an evil empire. By reading the books, students learn what kinds of powers the characters can offer them. They are motivated to save the characters and to do so they need to read the books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lexica\u003c/em> is so comprehensive that the sheer scale of complexity overwhelms. There are even mini games that, like everything in \u003ci>Lexica\u003c/i>, require familiarity with the characters and plots of classic books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many teachers have concerns about Amplify’s corporate origins and connections to News Corp mogul Rupert Murdoch. Questions about private for-profit curriculum development and the conflation of media and education demand a lot of consideration. And Amplify is not the only company we should approach with caution. But for the purposes of this post, it is the quality and ingenuity of the curriculum that interests us, the way the company's curriculum designers are rethinking not only the textbook, but also educational content delivery in general.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other companies are developing games that are imagined to be played all semester long. These are often multiplayer games that classes play together. For example, \u003ca href=\"http://muzzylane.com/project/mh_practice\">Muzzy Lane\u003c/a> has developed a series of games that provide an immersive experience for students. There is one, in particular, called \u003ca href=\"http://www.mhpractice.com/products/GinA\" target=\"_blank\">\u003ci>Government In Action \u003c/i>\u003c/a>that’s designed to allow students to “role play a member of Congress as a way of exploring American Government.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students sponsor bills, trade in influence, awareness, and approval. The game simulates meeting with lobbyists, donors, and volunteers. The object is to get reelected to office. It is a strategy game that requires students to become familiar with the mechanics and processes of U.S. government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a role-playing game like this supplements typical classroom content, students see how their new knowledge manifests as better in-game performance. They learn how the government of the United States works through the experience of digital simulation rather than through memorizing textbook blurbs and taking quizzes. The knowledge is contextualized and the motivation is intrinsic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For middle school students, there are games like \u003ca href=\"http://playhistoria.com/about/\">\u003ci>Historia\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. \u003c/i>This game started as a paper-based role playing game in which students “work in teams to lead fictional civilizations that compete alongside (and sometimes against) the great empires of the past.” Now it's being developed into a tablet, or PC based game that uses new ed-tech. One of the great things about \u003ci>Historia \u003c/i>is that, like a textbook, it forms the skeleton of a full curriculum. However, it also requires traditional teaching and ordinary research skills. Students use the information from book-based learning, handouts, videos, and other academic materials as if it were a collection of \"power-ups\" meant to give them the strength they need to succeed in the game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The thing about interactive electronic media is that it allows us to rethink the way we interact with information. The internet has already changed the way we think about media and now it is time to let it redefine the way we think about content in general. Academia was about participatory knowledge construction long before buzzwords like “crowd-sourced” entered our mainstream vernacular. But many of our academic conventions, like the textbook, have neglected to preserve the spirit of collaboration. Even worse, these methods of teaching have taught generations of young people that facts are fixed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Video games are one method of interacting with content in context that can change students’ approach to knowledge. Games can help them to understand that all ideas are located in some dynamic stage of ongoing iteration. And games can help to teach our students the value of a cooperative (or multiplayer) construction of truth.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37352\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/the-raven.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-37352\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/the-raven.jpg\" alt=\"Amplify's digital offering includes a dramatic reading of Edgar Allan Poe's \" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/the-raven.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/the-raven-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/the-raven-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amplify's digital offering includes a dramatic reading of Edgar Allen Poe's \"The Raven\" with animation.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 16 of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/series/guide-to-games-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift's Guide to Games and Learning\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">The textbook is a problem that consistently plagues classrooms. At best, textbooks are innocuous, offering simple summaries of a very broad subject area. At worst, they oversimplify things, providing less information than an encyclopedia article without enough nuance or context to make it meaningful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One \u003ca href=\"http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/40387551?uid=3739864&uid=2134&uid=2483481863&uid=2&uid=70&uid=3&uid=2483481853&uid=3739256&uid=60&sid=21104585359203\">study\u003c/a> showed that when students read textbooks, they tend to retain “absurd” details, but fail to “grasp the main point.” Susan M. Hubbuch writes, “The trouble with too many textbooks is that they are badly written” and “badly organized.” What’s more, they give students the wrong impression about knowledge. Typical subject areas -- physics, geography, algebra -- are all dynamic. “They are constantly being critiqued by members of the field, and all are open to change.” The traditional textbook approach, however, gives students the impression that knowledge is constructed of static ideas, facts, and definitions. [Watch \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq_XBP3NrBo\" target=\"_blank\">this scene in Dead Poets Society \u003c/a>that perfectly captures this quandary.]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers have always struggled with mediating the tension between the need for stable content and desire to support our students as they become creative and flexible thinking individuals. How can we keep things open-ended without doing a disservice to children? How do we encourage students to remain invested in learning ways of knowing that will always be questionable and uncertain? The very purpose of an education is to teach fluid critical thinking skills, to maintain analytical perspectives about the world, to teach people that problems can never be solved with certainty. But sometimes the way we teach contradicts our intentions. Sometimes we forget that \u003ci>what\u003c/i> we teach and \u003ci>how\u003c/i> we teach it will always be inseparable. And textbooks, unfortunately, seem to structure learning in a way that’s antithetical to our intended outcomes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames.png\">\u003cimg class=\"alignright wp-image-35200 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x140.png\" alt=\"MindShiftGames\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\">\u003c/a>Just as we need to move away from a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/11/subverting-the-system-student-and-teacher-as-equals/\" target=\"_blank\">top-down model of teaching\u003c/a>, we also need to move away from the textbook. In an ideal world, all learning would happen through direct engagement with primary texts. But unfortunately, not everyone can be a historian, perusing through documents and artifacts to piece together an account of the past. Nor can everyone read Euclid and Pythagoras in the original Greek. Some summarizing, briefing, and encapsulating will always be necessary. But is the problematic textbook really the only way?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many ed-tech entrepreneurs are currently attempting to address this problem with games and electronic media. It's probably an oversimplification to say they're attempting to update the textbook because to understand precisely what they are trying to do, we need to step outside of our habitual way of thinking about school and learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Game-based learning and electronic media enable us to blur the boundaries that separate the delivery of content, drilling for practice, and assessment. And in an educational atmosphere where those boundaries dissolve, the textbook becomes obsolete. Certainly, there is still academic content, but that content suddenly becomes interactive. The texts can be more easily and immediately tied directly into a broad set of activities and projects. Video and other multimedia content can be integrated right into the text -- perhaps videos of teachers--enabling the kind of\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/05/flipped-classroom-2-0-mastery-levelcomptenecy-learning-with-videos/\" target=\"_blank\"> flipped instruction\u003c/a> that is rapidly becoming popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One company that is really pushing a new approach is \u003ca href=\"http://www.amplify.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Amplify Learning\u003c/a>. They call their tablet-based platform a \"digital curriculum.\" In time for fall 2014, they released ELA programming for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students that includes more than 300 books and \"academic lessons authored by world-class intellectuals.\" Amplify has always focused on the content, and in addition to comprehensive interactive reading and writing activities, they also include some pretty dramatic and animated readings of classic texts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/gdgPQZ8yyTE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/gdgPQZ8yyTE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time of release, Amplify CEO Joel Klein said, “This is not some old wine in a new bottle, like a digitized textbook with a few animations. We’ve brought together world-class instructional materials, rich multimedia and a powerful analytics engine that will transform the way teachers teach and students learn.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s most intriguing is the way Amplify curriculum integrates games. They're designing a suite of tablet-based games that are not envisioned as part of the formal curriculum, but rather as opportunities for additional student directed playful learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One such game is meant to let students experience the process of \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC5IP4flhes&list=UUboDxOGL7HIGSOBYcadIw4Q\" target=\"_blank\">metabolism\u003c/a> from the inside. It’s a fun game, where players need to manage their resources carefully in order to win. Students need to understand how each resource plays a part in the metabolic system. The game teaches basic biological literacy. Amplify is also making some other impressive biology, environmental science, math and literacy games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The goal of our games is to both help recapture lost learning time—both after school and during holidays—and engage kids in ELA, math and science in ways that weren't possible until now,\" Klein said in an interview. When I asked him if he thought electronic media would detract from more traditional forms of text-based learning he said, \"Our goal is to encourage more reading and more writing. I think that if we can help middle school children develop a love for reading books, the positive impacts of that will be felt across their entire educational career.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The game \u003ci>Lexica \u003c/i>is a great example of Amplify’s approach to games. \u003ci>Lexica\u003c/i> is a literacy game that Greg Toppo \u003ca href=\"http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2013/06/18/lexica-game-classic-books/2431337/\">covered beautifully in USA Today\u003c/a>. Toppo describes \u003ci>Lexica\u003c/i> as “a massive role-playing game for young teens that invites them to interact with characters from great novels and read the books outside of class if they want to get ahead in the game.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Players free classic book characters that have been trapped in an imaginary library by an evil empire. By reading the books, students learn what kinds of powers the characters can offer them. They are motivated to save the characters and to do so they need to read the books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lexica\u003c/em> is so comprehensive that the sheer scale of complexity overwhelms. There are even mini games that, like everything in \u003ci>Lexica\u003c/i>, require familiarity with the characters and plots of classic books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many teachers have concerns about Amplify’s corporate origins and connections to News Corp mogul Rupert Murdoch. Questions about private for-profit curriculum development and the conflation of media and education demand a lot of consideration. And Amplify is not the only company we should approach with caution. But for the purposes of this post, it is the quality and ingenuity of the curriculum that interests us, the way the company's curriculum designers are rethinking not only the textbook, but also educational content delivery in general.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other companies are developing games that are imagined to be played all semester long. These are often multiplayer games that classes play together. For example, \u003ca href=\"http://muzzylane.com/project/mh_practice\">Muzzy Lane\u003c/a> has developed a series of games that provide an immersive experience for students. There is one, in particular, called \u003ca href=\"http://www.mhpractice.com/products/GinA\" target=\"_blank\">\u003ci>Government In Action \u003c/i>\u003c/a>that’s designed to allow students to “role play a member of Congress as a way of exploring American Government.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students sponsor bills, trade in influence, awareness, and approval. The game simulates meeting with lobbyists, donors, and volunteers. The object is to get reelected to office. It is a strategy game that requires students to become familiar with the mechanics and processes of U.S. government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a role-playing game like this supplements typical classroom content, students see how their new knowledge manifests as better in-game performance. They learn how the government of the United States works through the experience of digital simulation rather than through memorizing textbook blurbs and taking quizzes. The knowledge is contextualized and the motivation is intrinsic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For middle school students, there are games like \u003ca href=\"http://playhistoria.com/about/\">\u003ci>Historia\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. \u003c/i>This game started as a paper-based role playing game in which students “work in teams to lead fictional civilizations that compete alongside (and sometimes against) the great empires of the past.” Now it's being developed into a tablet, or PC based game that uses new ed-tech. One of the great things about \u003ci>Historia \u003c/i>is that, like a textbook, it forms the skeleton of a full curriculum. However, it also requires traditional teaching and ordinary research skills. Students use the information from book-based learning, handouts, videos, and other academic materials as if it were a collection of \"power-ups\" meant to give them the strength they need to succeed in the game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The thing about interactive electronic media is that it allows us to rethink the way we interact with information. The internet has already changed the way we think about media and now it is time to let it redefine the way we think about content in general. Academia was about participatory knowledge construction long before buzzwords like “crowd-sourced” entered our mainstream vernacular. But many of our academic conventions, like the textbook, have neglected to preserve the spirit of collaboration. Even worse, these methods of teaching have taught generations of young people that facts are fixed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Video games are one method of interacting with content in context that can change students’ approach to knowledge. Games can help them to understand that all ideas are located in some dynamic stage of ongoing iteration. And games can help to teach our students the value of a cooperative (or multiplayer) construction of truth.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37232\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/56155476@N08/5667294683/in/gallery-7357749@N03-72157635829325454/\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-37232\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/ipad-crowd.jpg\" alt=\"Brad Flickinger/Flickr\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/ipad-crowd.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/ipad-crowd-400x224.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/ipad-crowd-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brad Flickinger/Flickr\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Allowing students to bring their own devices to class can be a cost-effective way to quickly get access to the internet and to the many useful tools those devices carry. But students don’t always get the chance to use their devices, especially in low-income schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/07/the-struggles-and-realities-of-student-driven-learning-and-byod/\">previously reported\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/02/28/how-teachers-are-using-technology-at-home-and-in-their-classrooms/\">2013 Pew study\u003c/a> revealed that only 35 percent of teachers at the lowest income schools allow their students to look up information on their mobile devices, as compared to 52 percent of teachers at wealthier schools. And while 70 percent of teachers working in high-income areas say their schools do a good job providing resources and support to effectively integrate technology into the classroom, only 50 percent of teachers in low-income areas agree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it's not a lost cause -- the disparity \u003cem>can\u003c/em> be addressed, according to \u003ca href=\"http://uca.edu/teaching/facultystaff/michael-mills/\">Michael Mills\u003c/a>, assistant professor of teaching and learning at University of Central Arkansas, who trains in-service teachers and works in a seventh-grade classroom. Mills has spoken openly about how \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/for-low-income-kids-access-to-devices-could-be-the-equalizer/\">race and expectations may be playing into how teachers use devices\u003c/a> in the classroom. For him, this is a crucial issue, because without access to powerful tech use in school, kids who come from disadvantaged backgrounds will continue to fall behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bottom line for any teacher: technology works best as an extension of what's already happening in class. At the recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.isteconference.org/2014/\" target=\"_blank\">ISTE conference\u003c/a>, Mills outlined some essential ideas for successfully leveraging the power of technology for learning, regardless of a school's income status.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DEVELOP TRUST\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The kids who 'have' are going to keep having and the kids who 'have-not' are going to keep being over there,\" Mills said. He suggests the best way to build equitable classroom technology use is to create a culture of trust. That takes time, but Mills said teachers need to give students a chance to prove themselves before displaying mistrust. “Instead of automatically saying, 'I don’t trust you,' why not create opportunities where you can trust them,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To do that, Mills recommends developing engaging lessons that use technology in collaborative and creative ways. \"We've got to make sure the kids are doing the work, but we have to provide them with guidance,\" Mills said. The best way to make sure kids are on task is to move about the room and check on their work -- one of the oldest classroom management tools around -- but effective even in a high-tech classroom. \"Instead of relying on tech to be the policeman, cultivate a culture of responsibility,\" Mills said. \"You can’t fake that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Providing guidance on how devices can be used for learning is an essential role for teachers in this era. Despite their facility with the technology itself, kids need direction. \"The research says that if you hand kids a device, they aren't going to inherently use it for an educational purpose,\" Mills said. They need a teacher to guide them along that path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SHOW YOUR WORK\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Creating an environment of trust in the classroom extends beyond its walls and into the community. Not only will a transparent classroom make it easier to engage with parents, but it also helps the community come to grips with a different style of education from what they experienced as children. And being transparent about classroom practices opens up the door for more collaboration with colleagues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a teacher doesn't feel what they're doing in the classroom is strong enough to be seen by others, he or she probably shouldn't be doing it. \"If it's not good enough for everybody, it's not good enough for the kids,\" Mills said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"M5d333h0dzJz3s1vWoSNNFWRdVzK44E3\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SET GROUND RULES\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Technical issues with devices can be a headache, so setting some ground rules for device management helps mitigate some hiccups. Mills recommends making it clear that it is students' responsibility to bring their device to school charged and ready to go. Designating a spot on student desks or tables where devices go when they aren't being used for a specific assignment is also a great way to deter students from succumbing to distraction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Instead of relying on tech to be the policeman, cultivate a culture of responsibility.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>BE COMFORTABLE WITH DEVICE DIVERSITY \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills is not bothered by students bringing a variety of types of devices, with varying levels of computing powers. It shouldn't matter if students are working in groups and sharing their devices. “We need to make sure students have individual tasks asked of them within each group,” Mills said. “The beauty of that is the kids don’t all have to have the same device.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills is a firm believer that a powerful use of devices turns students into producers, not consumers of content. “The most important aspect of teaching is to give students an opportunity to create,” Mills said. Sometimes technology will be the perfect tool for that, but in other cases the wireless may give out, an app will go on the fritz or any number of other obstacles might arise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In those cases, have a back-up plan so the lesson and its creative energy isn't lost to the whims of malfunctioning technology. Mills described one project he planned for his class around \u003cem>The Diary of Anne Frank\u003c/em>. He wanted students to analyze primary and secondary sources, so he made QR codes to accompany various images relevant to the book. He put so much information into the codes that they didn't work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an alternative, students researched topics on their phones and cut and paste relevant passages to match the images. In the end, the backup plan required more critical thinking and collaboration than the original project and students had a good time doing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>ALLOW SPACE FOR COLLABORATION\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though many have lauded the benefits of one-to-one device initiatives, Mills isn't a proponent. \"I like a one-to-three [ratio] because it forces kids to collaborate more and the technology gives us an awesome way to facilitate collaboration,\" Mills said. \"We can’t let that laptop or iPad be the centerpiece of our instruction.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>FAVORITE APPS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills is a fan of simple, creative tools that he can use in lots of different ways. He worries that too many apps provide little added-value to the classroom and believes teachers should carefully analyze how and why a new app will be used.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We really have to think about our instructional objective,” Mills said. \"What is it we need our students to do or know? Without that [focus] we become product marketers.\" The standard he sets for himself is to ask whether the activity has students creating, synthesizing and analyzing. If it does those three things, it’s probably worthwhile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills also suggests teachers try out new apps on the school network, with a student account before planning a lesson around them. Some apps are blocked, or require too much bandwidth for the wireless. He also says it’s important to read the terms of service for any new product. Tumblr, for example, says it is not appropriate for students under 13 -- important information for a seventh grade teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills has a go-to list of apps he uses regularly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.infuselearning.com/\">Infuse Learning\u003c/a>: This is a free, formative assessment tool. Teachers can ask students multiple choice or written answer questions to assess how well or poorly they are understanding concepts. The teacher can also hover over a student’s name to see how long he or she took to answer the question. If there are a lot of wrong answers, the teacher knows she probably didn't teach it well enough the first time and needs to rethink her approach.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://padlet.com/\">Padlet\u003c/a>: Mills uses this app like a class Twitter account or a poster board. It has both display options, although some devices won’t show the poster view. Students can collaborate on different \"notes\" and drag in multimedia, images and documents from other places.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Google Docs: Aside from the obvious use of Google Docs to collaborate on writing projects, Mills likes the sheer amount of information that can be uploaded onto this platform, allowing kids to work on it at the same time. In a lesson about point of view, Mills started a \u003ca href=\"http://www.google.com/sheets/about/\">Google Sheet\u003c/a> and gave each student a column. He asked each student to write down the significant words that demonstrated a literary character's point of view in their column and then took all of them and made a word map with \u003ca href=\"http://www.wordle.net/\">Wordle\u003c/a>. This sparked a vibrant discussion about the words that rose to the top. And it was easy to do the exercise again from a different character’s point of view. “The tech gave us an opportunity to have a conversation and to really compare and contrast,” Mills said. While it’s a simple exercise, there wouldn’t have been enough space on a whiteboard and it would have been much more time consuming.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Mills used\u003ca href=\"http://www.google.com/trends/\"> Google Trends\u003c/a> to have students analyze who is more popular -- Jay Z or Beyonce. “What’s exciting is they start analyzing the graph instead of arguing about what they think they know,” Mills said. The quick Google Trend search got them talking about a topic they love from an academic point of view.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Another favorite tool is Instagram, which Mills often integrates into math class by having students photograph and share different shapes around town. In one high school project he even had students snap images of grammatical errors on signs in the community. “When students have to create something and put something out there, they work a lot harder,” Mills said. “If they know their peers are going to see it, they care.\" That doesn't mean teachers should share the results of formative assessment polling all the time. Mills strongly believes that kids have been told too often that they aren’t smart, so being shamed in front of the whole class doesn’t motivate them. Instead, teachers should try to be sensitive to students’ feelings.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Mills sees BYOD as a great way to engage kids through the tools that they use everyday. “My 'nefarious' purpose is for kids to see the device in their pocket as a learning device,\" he said. And if they learn some ways their phones can help them navigate life beyond Snapchat and selfies, that’s a good thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37232\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/56155476@N08/5667294683/in/gallery-7357749@N03-72157635829325454/\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-37232\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/ipad-crowd.jpg\" alt=\"Brad Flickinger/Flickr\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/ipad-crowd.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/ipad-crowd-400x224.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/ipad-crowd-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brad Flickinger/Flickr\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Allowing students to bring their own devices to class can be a cost-effective way to quickly get access to the internet and to the many useful tools those devices carry. But students don’t always get the chance to use their devices, especially in low-income schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/07/the-struggles-and-realities-of-student-driven-learning-and-byod/\">previously reported\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/02/28/how-teachers-are-using-technology-at-home-and-in-their-classrooms/\">2013 Pew study\u003c/a> revealed that only 35 percent of teachers at the lowest income schools allow their students to look up information on their mobile devices, as compared to 52 percent of teachers at wealthier schools. And while 70 percent of teachers working in high-income areas say their schools do a good job providing resources and support to effectively integrate technology into the classroom, only 50 percent of teachers in low-income areas agree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it's not a lost cause -- the disparity \u003cem>can\u003c/em> be addressed, according to \u003ca href=\"http://uca.edu/teaching/facultystaff/michael-mills/\">Michael Mills\u003c/a>, assistant professor of teaching and learning at University of Central Arkansas, who trains in-service teachers and works in a seventh-grade classroom. Mills has spoken openly about how \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/for-low-income-kids-access-to-devices-could-be-the-equalizer/\">race and expectations may be playing into how teachers use devices\u003c/a> in the classroom. For him, this is a crucial issue, because without access to powerful tech use in school, kids who come from disadvantaged backgrounds will continue to fall behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bottom line for any teacher: technology works best as an extension of what's already happening in class. At the recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.isteconference.org/2014/\" target=\"_blank\">ISTE conference\u003c/a>, Mills outlined some essential ideas for successfully leveraging the power of technology for learning, regardless of a school's income status.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DEVELOP TRUST\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The kids who 'have' are going to keep having and the kids who 'have-not' are going to keep being over there,\" Mills said. He suggests the best way to build equitable classroom technology use is to create a culture of trust. That takes time, but Mills said teachers need to give students a chance to prove themselves before displaying mistrust. “Instead of automatically saying, 'I don’t trust you,' why not create opportunities where you can trust them,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To do that, Mills recommends developing engaging lessons that use technology in collaborative and creative ways. \"We've got to make sure the kids are doing the work, but we have to provide them with guidance,\" Mills said. The best way to make sure kids are on task is to move about the room and check on their work -- one of the oldest classroom management tools around -- but effective even in a high-tech classroom. \"Instead of relying on tech to be the policeman, cultivate a culture of responsibility,\" Mills said. \"You can’t fake that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Providing guidance on how devices can be used for learning is an essential role for teachers in this era. Despite their facility with the technology itself, kids need direction. \"The research says that if you hand kids a device, they aren't going to inherently use it for an educational purpose,\" Mills said. They need a teacher to guide them along that path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SHOW YOUR WORK\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Creating an environment of trust in the classroom extends beyond its walls and into the community. Not only will a transparent classroom make it easier to engage with parents, but it also helps the community come to grips with a different style of education from what they experienced as children. And being transparent about classroom practices opens up the door for more collaboration with colleagues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a teacher doesn't feel what they're doing in the classroom is strong enough to be seen by others, he or she probably shouldn't be doing it. \"If it's not good enough for everybody, it's not good enough for the kids,\" Mills said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SET GROUND RULES\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Technical issues with devices can be a headache, so setting some ground rules for device management helps mitigate some hiccups. Mills recommends making it clear that it is students' responsibility to bring their device to school charged and ready to go. Designating a spot on student desks or tables where devices go when they aren't being used for a specific assignment is also a great way to deter students from succumbing to distraction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Instead of relying on tech to be the policeman, cultivate a culture of responsibility.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>BE COMFORTABLE WITH DEVICE DIVERSITY \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills is not bothered by students bringing a variety of types of devices, with varying levels of computing powers. It shouldn't matter if students are working in groups and sharing their devices. “We need to make sure students have individual tasks asked of them within each group,” Mills said. “The beauty of that is the kids don’t all have to have the same device.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills is a firm believer that a powerful use of devices turns students into producers, not consumers of content. “The most important aspect of teaching is to give students an opportunity to create,” Mills said. Sometimes technology will be the perfect tool for that, but in other cases the wireless may give out, an app will go on the fritz or any number of other obstacles might arise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In those cases, have a back-up plan so the lesson and its creative energy isn't lost to the whims of malfunctioning technology. Mills described one project he planned for his class around \u003cem>The Diary of Anne Frank\u003c/em>. He wanted students to analyze primary and secondary sources, so he made QR codes to accompany various images relevant to the book. He put so much information into the codes that they didn't work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an alternative, students researched topics on their phones and cut and paste relevant passages to match the images. In the end, the backup plan required more critical thinking and collaboration than the original project and students had a good time doing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>ALLOW SPACE FOR COLLABORATION\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though many have lauded the benefits of one-to-one device initiatives, Mills isn't a proponent. \"I like a one-to-three [ratio] because it forces kids to collaborate more and the technology gives us an awesome way to facilitate collaboration,\" Mills said. \"We can’t let that laptop or iPad be the centerpiece of our instruction.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>FAVORITE APPS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills is a fan of simple, creative tools that he can use in lots of different ways. He worries that too many apps provide little added-value to the classroom and believes teachers should carefully analyze how and why a new app will be used.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We really have to think about our instructional objective,” Mills said. \"What is it we need our students to do or know? Without that [focus] we become product marketers.\" The standard he sets for himself is to ask whether the activity has students creating, synthesizing and analyzing. If it does those three things, it’s probably worthwhile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills also suggests teachers try out new apps on the school network, with a student account before planning a lesson around them. Some apps are blocked, or require too much bandwidth for the wireless. He also says it’s important to read the terms of service for any new product. Tumblr, for example, says it is not appropriate for students under 13 -- important information for a seventh grade teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills has a go-to list of apps he uses regularly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.infuselearning.com/\">Infuse Learning\u003c/a>: This is a free, formative assessment tool. Teachers can ask students multiple choice or written answer questions to assess how well or poorly they are understanding concepts. The teacher can also hover over a student’s name to see how long he or she took to answer the question. If there are a lot of wrong answers, the teacher knows she probably didn't teach it well enough the first time and needs to rethink her approach.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://padlet.com/\">Padlet\u003c/a>: Mills uses this app like a class Twitter account or a poster board. It has both display options, although some devices won’t show the poster view. Students can collaborate on different \"notes\" and drag in multimedia, images and documents from other places.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Google Docs: Aside from the obvious use of Google Docs to collaborate on writing projects, Mills likes the sheer amount of information that can be uploaded onto this platform, allowing kids to work on it at the same time. In a lesson about point of view, Mills started a \u003ca href=\"http://www.google.com/sheets/about/\">Google Sheet\u003c/a> and gave each student a column. He asked each student to write down the significant words that demonstrated a literary character's point of view in their column and then took all of them and made a word map with \u003ca href=\"http://www.wordle.net/\">Wordle\u003c/a>. This sparked a vibrant discussion about the words that rose to the top. And it was easy to do the exercise again from a different character’s point of view. “The tech gave us an opportunity to have a conversation and to really compare and contrast,” Mills said. While it’s a simple exercise, there wouldn’t have been enough space on a whiteboard and it would have been much more time consuming.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Mills used\u003ca href=\"http://www.google.com/trends/\"> Google Trends\u003c/a> to have students analyze who is more popular -- Jay Z or Beyonce. “What’s exciting is they start analyzing the graph instead of arguing about what they think they know,” Mills said. The quick Google Trend search got them talking about a topic they love from an academic point of view.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Another favorite tool is Instagram, which Mills often integrates into math class by having students photograph and share different shapes around town. In one high school project he even had students snap images of grammatical errors on signs in the community. “When students have to create something and put something out there, they work a lot harder,” Mills said. “If they know their peers are going to see it, they care.\" That doesn't mean teachers should share the results of formative assessment polling all the time. Mills strongly believes that kids have been told too often that they aren’t smart, so being shamed in front of the whole class doesn’t motivate them. Instead, teachers should try to be sensitive to students’ feelings.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Mills sees BYOD as a great way to engage kids through the tools that they use everyday. “My 'nefarious' purpose is for kids to see the device in their pocket as a learning device,\" he said. And if they learn some ways their phones can help them navigate life beyond Snapchat and selfies, that’s a good thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37082\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-37082\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/178370753-e1407016238650.jpg\" alt=\"Getty\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/178370753-e1407016238650.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/178370753-e1407016238650-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/178370753-e1407016238650-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getty\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Kathy Baron\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Ryan Imbriale had a quick and concise answer when asked whether his school district, Baltimore County Public Schools, received enough state funding to pay for its transition from textbooks to software: “No.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As executive director of the district’s innovative learning department, Imbriale is overseeing a five-year project, called \u003ca href=\"http://www.bcps.org/academics/BCPSOne/\">BCPS One\u003c/a>, to move its entire curriculum online and make it available to teachers and students. He estimates that the district will spend more than $1 million a year on digital resources for its 108,376 students. The district was \"lucky enough,\" he said, to get one of the governor’s innovation grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other side of the country, the San Francisco Unified School District pays about $800,000 a year for software licenses and maintenance. Even with discounts from the companies, “the price tag is beyond the budget we get from the state” for technology, said Chief Technology Officer Matthew Kinzie. He said the district is seeking grants and donations to cover the costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But depending on these occasional infusions of money and continuing to look for outside resources isn't practical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those are not sustainable funding streams that people can count on year after year,” said Doug Levin, executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (\u003ca href=\"http://www.setda.org\">SETDA\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Funding – or lack of it – is the number one issue facing school districts as they convert to the digital learning world, said John Halpin, vice president of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.centerdigitaled.com/about/\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Digital Education\u003c/a>, a national research institute that focuses on in K-12 and higher education technology trends. It’s not that districts don’t necessarily have money for instructional materials; rather, state policy and district proclivity often haven’t caught up with tech realities. States have operated for decades in a system where they have huge textbook adoption cycles where they shell out millions for, say, middle school science texts that are expected to last for five-to-seven years -- even if a new planet is discovered or dumped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the transition to digital, districts buy a license for a specific software and pay based on the number of students using it. Though it's uncertain whether the move saves money, there are other benefits. Districts could negotiate for updates and improvements, just like any other software program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the software world you’re never done because every year people expect to take what you’ve learned about what works and doesn’t work and enhance it,” said Larry Singer, managing director for K-12 education at Pearson, one of the big three textbook publishing companies (along with McGraw-Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">“You have this period of time when many districts are going to be caught in between, using some textbooks and some digital content and devices, but we’re paying for both.\"\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>However, districts eager to go digital are often stymied by laws restricting textbook funds to print books. In other instances there’s no line item in district budgets for instructional software.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The technological innovations that have permeated our private lives seem “so far to have eluded many of the 50 million students enrolled in public K-12 education,” according to a 2012 \u003ca href=\"http://www.setda.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/SETDA_Out_of_Print_FNL.pdf\">report\u003c/a> by the State Education Technology Directors Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite every best intention, the transition to digital isn’t quite here yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>The Messy Decade\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The textbook market is slipping, but remains a multi-billion dollar industry for elementary and secondary schools. It added up to more than $2.5 billion for the 2009-2010 academic year, the most current \u003ca href=\"http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_210.asp\">figures\u003c/a> available from U.S. Department of Education. While that’s a lifetime ago in the digital sphere, Halpin said it’s still fairly accurate; he doesn’t anticipate a significant drop in print textbook sales for a few years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The decade we’re in right now is the decade of transformation. We’re transitioning from one to the other. It’s very messy; I often call it the messy decade,” joked Halpin. “You have this period of time when many districts are going to be caught in between, using some textbooks and some digital content and devices, but we’re paying for both.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that should change as state regulations become more flexible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 20 states have updated the definition of textbooks to include digital content and a handful, including Texas, California and Indiana, explicitly allow districts to use textbook dollars to buy digital instructional materials. North Carolina has moved to the forefront with a \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2013/Bills/House/PDF/H44v3.pdf\">state law\u003c/a> requiring districts to buy only electronic textbooks and materials by 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if districts had all the money they needed to purchase software, many would be unable to use it because they’re not connected to high-speed internet, have aging or too few computers or don’t have the capacity to bring the internet into every classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only 37 percent of schools today have the bandwidth they need for digital learning, according to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.educationsuperhighway.org\">Education SuperHighway\u003c/a>, a nonprofit that provided free bandwidth testing to schools in the run-up to the computer-based pilot tests designed for the new Common Core State Standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One rural school district in California bused 100 elementary school students to the high school to take the test, while another had to administer the exam one student at a time in order not to crash the computer network.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not surprisingly, the Education SuperHighway found that “the biggest correlation between those who have enough bandwidth and those who don’t is actually tied to the wealth of the school,” said Evan Marwell, the CEO and founder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wealthiest 2 percent of schools in the United States are three times more likely to have the bandwidth they need than are the poorest schools, those with three-quarters or more of their students eligible for the free and reduced lunch program.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Laudable and Insufficient\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The federal government is stepping in to help close the technology gap. On July 11, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to revamp the \u003ca href=\"http://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-modernizes-e-rate-expand-robust-wi-fi-schools-libraries\">E-Rate program\u003c/a>, which provides educational technology subsidies, and spend $2 billion dollars over the next two years to expand access to high-speed Internet and wifi to schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year ago, President Obama announced the launch of \u003ca href=\"http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/02/04/fact-sheet-opportunity-all-answering-president-s-call-enrich-american-ed\">ConnectED\u003c/a>, an initiative to solicit support from private industry to help close the digital divide in schools. Ten companies have so far signed on: Adobe, Apple, AT&T, Autodesk, Esri, Microsoft, O’Reilly Media, Prezi, Sprint, and Verizon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AT&T and Sprint have each pledged mobile broadband for 50,000 students who don’t have Internet access at home. Adobe, Autodesk and Esri have agreed to provide free software.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"iJlAs9cvw21lswvafHfkInSDQPfJy2Ja\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rarely do schools have all that they need,” said Charlie Fitzpatrick, K-12 education manager for \u003ca href=\"http://www.esri.com\">Esri\u003c/a>, which developed geographic mapping software.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He estimates the giveaway is valued at about $1 billion, but the company’s bread and butter comes from sales to government agencies and private companies, which use Esri’s software to analyze data on everything from finding patterns in earthquake depth, magnitude and location to improving public transportation routes. Fitzpatrick said the donation would help those paying customers by training the next generation of workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every industry is looking for people who know how to work with these tools. Students who learn this have a leg up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ConnectEd has attracted high profile companies and raised awareness of the challenges that some districts face, but neither education nor industry officials see it as a long-term solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Unified has looked into some ConnectED companies, but Kinzie is concerned that with the free services limited to low-income schools or students, it would create fragmentation of software and hardware at a time that the district is seeking more standardization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Discounts or free software from tech companies is not going to solve the bigger challenge we have, which is that we need a systemic investment in bringing our public school up to 21\u003csup>st\u003c/sup> century standards,” said Kinzie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SETDA’s Levin concurred, calling it “laudable” but not sufficient. SETD has called on the federal government to put some ongoing money into educational technology to close the digital divide, like the $3.73 billion invested in Enhancing Education Through Technology program between 2002 and 2010. Congress cut funding for the program in 2011; a year after the Obama Administration recommended the same thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pearson views ConnectEd as a sincere effort by the president to create technological equity between poor and wealthy districts. Some companies that aren’t a part of ConnectEd use similar marketing techniques by providing short-term, free software licenses to districts. To Singer, these programs won’t do much more than create an opportunity for low-income districts to experiment with various programs before plunking down any money to buy software.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Districts “see initiatives like this as interesting things to try to take advantage of, but they see them as one-time opportunities,” said Singer.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Sliding Scale Model for Low-Income Schools?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Pearson doesn’t offer free or sliding scale software licensing fees and Singer said that in his experience price is rarely the issue. He said school districts are more interested in finding software that’s the best fit for their needs and technological capabilities, not the cheapest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same is true of \u003ca href=\"http://www.hmhco.com\">Houghton Mifflin Harcourt\u003c/a>. Varying prices would violate “the most favored nation requirements established by our customers, which dictate equitable treatment across districts regardless of size or income levels,” explained spokesperson Leah Riviere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Discovery Education, which reaches more than a million students in 50 states with its streaming video service and online “techbooks,” also has no-haggle fees, but set them as low as possible to maintain profitability without pricing districts out of its market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year of streaming video is $2,000 to $3,000 per school, while techbooks are $45 per student through grade 8 and $55 per student in high school for six years – that includes updates so information stays current.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They can do this because the company was never a traditional publisher so it never had a traditional mindset, said Senior Vice President Scott Kinney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because we didn’t have that legacy, we could literally cut our costs in half and pass those right along to our [customers],” said Kinney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mindresearch.net\">Mind Research Institute\u003c/a>, creator of the popular ST Math, offers volume pricing as does Achieve3000, developer of a popular program for differentiated instruction that tailors the same lesson to meet the academic ability of each student in a class. Achieve also accommodates poorer districts with sliding scale fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even companies without discounts often provide free trials or work with school districts to meet their curriculum needs and budgets, while still keeping an eye on the corporate bottom line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can't give it away, it took a lot to build, but we can say we want to find a way to work with you and the means and resources you have available,” said Justin Hamilton, head of corporate communications for \u003ca href=\"http://www.amplify.com\">Amplify\u003c/a>, developer of digital curricula in math, science and English.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Samsung hopes to boost interest in its Chromebooks, tablets and interactive classroom platform with a contest worth $2 million in technology for public schools that submit the most innovative digital curricula in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM subjects.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>No Longer a One-Way Street?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Still, the switch to digital will force Pearson and other publishers of educational resources to reimagine their marketing strategies. In the past, a district would purchase a complete set of textbooks from a single publisher and everything students needed to learn in a particular subject would come out of those books. It was also a one-way street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When I was sitting on the other side of the desk as an educator, people would always want to tell me what they were selling,\" said Discovery Education’s Kinney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the digital era, sales are more personal and directed. Companies have to act as consultants and problem solvers. \"The new model is what are your goals and objectives and how can we help support you?\" added Kinney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Digital materials make it possible for \u003cem>à la carte\u003c/em> approaches, said Julia Freeland, co-author of \u003ca href=\"http://www.christenseninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Schools-and-Software.pdf\">\u003cem>Schools and Software: What’s Now and What’s Next\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, for the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The ed tech market is a weird beast with many limbs,” Freeland said with a laugh, adding that districts are “not looking for a one-stop shop. Schools don’t necessarily want your program to do everything for everyone. They’re currently jerry-rigging different programs to do different things for different students, which is logical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/10/open-education-sites-offer-free-content-for-all/\" target=\"_blank\">open-source movement\u003c/a> among teachers and some organizations who share curriculum, content, ideas, lesson plans and software for free. \u003ca href=\"http://www.ck12.org/\" target=\"_blank\">CK-12\u003c/a>, a nonprofit company that has been around since 2007, not only doesn’t charge for its online publications, it also works with school districts to adapt the content for their specific curriculum needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Founder Neeru Khosla said districts began paying more attention to them during the economic downturn when \"free\" wasn’t a commonly heard word.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They say, ‘How much is it going to cost me?’ I’m not kidding,\" Khosla said. \"They have to hear it a few times.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Los Angeles Unified, Seattle and Madison Metropolitan are among the growing list of CK-12 users.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pearson expects its share of both the print and online K-12 instructional market to dip in coming years, and has been building a new niche market for itself as a digital and services business. Over the past decade, the company has been buying testing and assessment companies that will position it, among other things, to give the online exams required by Common Core State Standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of that transition, Pearson announced earlier this month that it will have eliminated 4,000 positions in its global workforce by the end of this year, but is offsetting that with the creation of 1,800 new digital jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We expect we’re going to get, frankly, a larger share of the business,” Singer speculated, “and our traditional counterparts will find themselves mired in the old textbook model.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37082\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-37082\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/178370753-e1407016238650.jpg\" alt=\"Getty\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/178370753-e1407016238650.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/178370753-e1407016238650-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/178370753-e1407016238650-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getty\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Kathy Baron\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Ryan Imbriale had a quick and concise answer when asked whether his school district, Baltimore County Public Schools, received enough state funding to pay for its transition from textbooks to software: “No.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As executive director of the district’s innovative learning department, Imbriale is overseeing a five-year project, called \u003ca href=\"http://www.bcps.org/academics/BCPSOne/\">BCPS One\u003c/a>, to move its entire curriculum online and make it available to teachers and students. He estimates that the district will spend more than $1 million a year on digital resources for its 108,376 students. The district was \"lucky enough,\" he said, to get one of the governor’s innovation grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other side of the country, the San Francisco Unified School District pays about $800,000 a year for software licenses and maintenance. Even with discounts from the companies, “the price tag is beyond the budget we get from the state” for technology, said Chief Technology Officer Matthew Kinzie. He said the district is seeking grants and donations to cover the costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But depending on these occasional infusions of money and continuing to look for outside resources isn't practical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those are not sustainable funding streams that people can count on year after year,” said Doug Levin, executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (\u003ca href=\"http://www.setda.org\">SETDA\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Funding – or lack of it – is the number one issue facing school districts as they convert to the digital learning world, said John Halpin, vice president of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.centerdigitaled.com/about/\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Digital Education\u003c/a>, a national research institute that focuses on in K-12 and higher education technology trends. It’s not that districts don’t necessarily have money for instructional materials; rather, state policy and district proclivity often haven’t caught up with tech realities. States have operated for decades in a system where they have huge textbook adoption cycles where they shell out millions for, say, middle school science texts that are expected to last for five-to-seven years -- even if a new planet is discovered or dumped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the transition to digital, districts buy a license for a specific software and pay based on the number of students using it. Though it's uncertain whether the move saves money, there are other benefits. Districts could negotiate for updates and improvements, just like any other software program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the software world you’re never done because every year people expect to take what you’ve learned about what works and doesn’t work and enhance it,” said Larry Singer, managing director for K-12 education at Pearson, one of the big three textbook publishing companies (along with McGraw-Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">“You have this period of time when many districts are going to be caught in between, using some textbooks and some digital content and devices, but we’re paying for both.\"\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>However, districts eager to go digital are often stymied by laws restricting textbook funds to print books. In other instances there’s no line item in district budgets for instructional software.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The technological innovations that have permeated our private lives seem “so far to have eluded many of the 50 million students enrolled in public K-12 education,” according to a 2012 \u003ca href=\"http://www.setda.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/SETDA_Out_of_Print_FNL.pdf\">report\u003c/a> by the State Education Technology Directors Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite every best intention, the transition to digital isn’t quite here yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>The Messy Decade\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The textbook market is slipping, but remains a multi-billion dollar industry for elementary and secondary schools. It added up to more than $2.5 billion for the 2009-2010 academic year, the most current \u003ca href=\"http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_210.asp\">figures\u003c/a> available from U.S. Department of Education. While that’s a lifetime ago in the digital sphere, Halpin said it’s still fairly accurate; he doesn’t anticipate a significant drop in print textbook sales for a few years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The decade we’re in right now is the decade of transformation. We’re transitioning from one to the other. It’s very messy; I often call it the messy decade,” joked Halpin. “You have this period of time when many districts are going to be caught in between, using some textbooks and some digital content and devices, but we’re paying for both.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that should change as state regulations become more flexible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 20 states have updated the definition of textbooks to include digital content and a handful, including Texas, California and Indiana, explicitly allow districts to use textbook dollars to buy digital instructional materials. North Carolina has moved to the forefront with a \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2013/Bills/House/PDF/H44v3.pdf\">state law\u003c/a> requiring districts to buy only electronic textbooks and materials by 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if districts had all the money they needed to purchase software, many would be unable to use it because they’re not connected to high-speed internet, have aging or too few computers or don’t have the capacity to bring the internet into every classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only 37 percent of schools today have the bandwidth they need for digital learning, according to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.educationsuperhighway.org\">Education SuperHighway\u003c/a>, a nonprofit that provided free bandwidth testing to schools in the run-up to the computer-based pilot tests designed for the new Common Core State Standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One rural school district in California bused 100 elementary school students to the high school to take the test, while another had to administer the exam one student at a time in order not to crash the computer network.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not surprisingly, the Education SuperHighway found that “the biggest correlation between those who have enough bandwidth and those who don’t is actually tied to the wealth of the school,” said Evan Marwell, the CEO and founder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wealthiest 2 percent of schools in the United States are three times more likely to have the bandwidth they need than are the poorest schools, those with three-quarters or more of their students eligible for the free and reduced lunch program.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Laudable and Insufficient\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The federal government is stepping in to help close the technology gap. On July 11, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to revamp the \u003ca href=\"http://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-modernizes-e-rate-expand-robust-wi-fi-schools-libraries\">E-Rate program\u003c/a>, which provides educational technology subsidies, and spend $2 billion dollars over the next two years to expand access to high-speed Internet and wifi to schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year ago, President Obama announced the launch of \u003ca href=\"http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/02/04/fact-sheet-opportunity-all-answering-president-s-call-enrich-american-ed\">ConnectED\u003c/a>, an initiative to solicit support from private industry to help close the digital divide in schools. Ten companies have so far signed on: Adobe, Apple, AT&T, Autodesk, Esri, Microsoft, O’Reilly Media, Prezi, Sprint, and Verizon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AT&T and Sprint have each pledged mobile broadband for 50,000 students who don’t have Internet access at home. Adobe, Autodesk and Esri have agreed to provide free software.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rarely do schools have all that they need,” said Charlie Fitzpatrick, K-12 education manager for \u003ca href=\"http://www.esri.com\">Esri\u003c/a>, which developed geographic mapping software.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He estimates the giveaway is valued at about $1 billion, but the company’s bread and butter comes from sales to government agencies and private companies, which use Esri’s software to analyze data on everything from finding patterns in earthquake depth, magnitude and location to improving public transportation routes. Fitzpatrick said the donation would help those paying customers by training the next generation of workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every industry is looking for people who know how to work with these tools. Students who learn this have a leg up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ConnectEd has attracted high profile companies and raised awareness of the challenges that some districts face, but neither education nor industry officials see it as a long-term solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Unified has looked into some ConnectED companies, but Kinzie is concerned that with the free services limited to low-income schools or students, it would create fragmentation of software and hardware at a time that the district is seeking more standardization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Discounts or free software from tech companies is not going to solve the bigger challenge we have, which is that we need a systemic investment in bringing our public school up to 21\u003csup>st\u003c/sup> century standards,” said Kinzie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SETDA’s Levin concurred, calling it “laudable” but not sufficient. SETD has called on the federal government to put some ongoing money into educational technology to close the digital divide, like the $3.73 billion invested in Enhancing Education Through Technology program between 2002 and 2010. Congress cut funding for the program in 2011; a year after the Obama Administration recommended the same thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pearson views ConnectEd as a sincere effort by the president to create technological equity between poor and wealthy districts. Some companies that aren’t a part of ConnectEd use similar marketing techniques by providing short-term, free software licenses to districts. To Singer, these programs won’t do much more than create an opportunity for low-income districts to experiment with various programs before plunking down any money to buy software.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Districts “see initiatives like this as interesting things to try to take advantage of, but they see them as one-time opportunities,” said Singer.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Sliding Scale Model for Low-Income Schools?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Pearson doesn’t offer free or sliding scale software licensing fees and Singer said that in his experience price is rarely the issue. He said school districts are more interested in finding software that’s the best fit for their needs and technological capabilities, not the cheapest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same is true of \u003ca href=\"http://www.hmhco.com\">Houghton Mifflin Harcourt\u003c/a>. Varying prices would violate “the most favored nation requirements established by our customers, which dictate equitable treatment across districts regardless of size or income levels,” explained spokesperson Leah Riviere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Discovery Education, which reaches more than a million students in 50 states with its streaming video service and online “techbooks,” also has no-haggle fees, but set them as low as possible to maintain profitability without pricing districts out of its market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year of streaming video is $2,000 to $3,000 per school, while techbooks are $45 per student through grade 8 and $55 per student in high school for six years – that includes updates so information stays current.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They can do this because the company was never a traditional publisher so it never had a traditional mindset, said Senior Vice President Scott Kinney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because we didn’t have that legacy, we could literally cut our costs in half and pass those right along to our [customers],” said Kinney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mindresearch.net\">Mind Research Institute\u003c/a>, creator of the popular ST Math, offers volume pricing as does Achieve3000, developer of a popular program for differentiated instruction that tailors the same lesson to meet the academic ability of each student in a class. Achieve also accommodates poorer districts with sliding scale fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even companies without discounts often provide free trials or work with school districts to meet their curriculum needs and budgets, while still keeping an eye on the corporate bottom line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can't give it away, it took a lot to build, but we can say we want to find a way to work with you and the means and resources you have available,” said Justin Hamilton, head of corporate communications for \u003ca href=\"http://www.amplify.com\">Amplify\u003c/a>, developer of digital curricula in math, science and English.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Samsung hopes to boost interest in its Chromebooks, tablets and interactive classroom platform with a contest worth $2 million in technology for public schools that submit the most innovative digital curricula in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM subjects.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>No Longer a One-Way Street?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Still, the switch to digital will force Pearson and other publishers of educational resources to reimagine their marketing strategies. In the past, a district would purchase a complete set of textbooks from a single publisher and everything students needed to learn in a particular subject would come out of those books. It was also a one-way street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When I was sitting on the other side of the desk as an educator, people would always want to tell me what they were selling,\" said Discovery Education’s Kinney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the digital era, sales are more personal and directed. Companies have to act as consultants and problem solvers. \"The new model is what are your goals and objectives and how can we help support you?\" added Kinney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Digital materials make it possible for \u003cem>à la carte\u003c/em> approaches, said Julia Freeland, co-author of \u003ca href=\"http://www.christenseninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Schools-and-Software.pdf\">\u003cem>Schools and Software: What’s Now and What’s Next\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, for the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The ed tech market is a weird beast with many limbs,” Freeland said with a laugh, adding that districts are “not looking for a one-stop shop. Schools don’t necessarily want your program to do everything for everyone. They’re currently jerry-rigging different programs to do different things for different students, which is logical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/10/open-education-sites-offer-free-content-for-all/\" target=\"_blank\">open-source movement\u003c/a> among teachers and some organizations who share curriculum, content, ideas, lesson plans and software for free. \u003ca href=\"http://www.ck12.org/\" target=\"_blank\">CK-12\u003c/a>, a nonprofit company that has been around since 2007, not only doesn’t charge for its online publications, it also works with school districts to adapt the content for their specific curriculum needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Founder Neeru Khosla said districts began paying more attention to them during the economic downturn when \"free\" wasn’t a commonly heard word.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They say, ‘How much is it going to cost me?’ I’m not kidding,\" Khosla said. \"They have to hear it a few times.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Los Angeles Unified, Seattle and Madison Metropolitan are among the growing list of CK-12 users.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pearson expects its share of both the print and online K-12 instructional market to dip in coming years, and has been building a new niche market for itself as a digital and services business. Over the past decade, the company has been buying testing and assessment companies that will position it, among other things, to give the online exams required by Common Core State Standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of that transition, Pearson announced earlier this month that it will have eliminated 4,000 positions in its global workforce by the end of this year, but is offsetting that with the creation of 1,800 new digital jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We expect we’re going to get, frankly, a larger share of the business,” Singer speculated, “and our traditional counterparts will find themselves mired in the old textbook model.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Could Video Games Measure Skills That Tests Can't Capture?",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37279\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/posterlet2-e6ddbc7791828b57ffcd00a8958fee46a13f6f91-e1407528764883.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-37279\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/posterlet2-e6ddbc7791828b57ffcd00a8958fee46a13f6f91-e1407528764883.jpg\" alt=\"A screenshot from the Posterlet game: choosing negative or positive feedback.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/posterlet2-e6ddbc7791828b57ffcd00a8958fee46a13f6f91-e1407528764883.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/posterlet2-e6ddbc7791828b57ffcd00a8958fee46a13f6f91-e1407528764883-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/posterlet2-e6ddbc7791828b57ffcd00a8958fee46a13f6f91-e1407528764883-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A screenshot from the Posterlet game: choosing negative or positive feedback.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Imagine you're playing a computer game that asks you to design a poster for the school fair. You're fiddling with fonts, changing background colors and deciding what activity to feature: Will a basketball toss appeal to more people than a pie bake-off?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, animal characters — maybe a panda or an ostrich — offer feedback on your design. You can choose whether to hear a compliment or a complaint: \"The words are overlapping too much,\" or, \"I like that you put in the dates.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"They're not just measures of what the student already knows, but attempts to measure whether they are prepared to continue learning when they're no longer told exactly what to do.\"\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>You can use their critiques as guides to help you revise your poster. Finally, you get to see how many tickets your poster sold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This little Web-based game isn't just a game. It's a test, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In our assessments we make little fun games, and to do well at the games you need to learn something,\" says Dan Schwartz, the director of the \u003ca href=\"http://aaalab.stanford.edu/\">AAA Lab at Stanford University\u003c/a>. \"So they're not just measures of what the student already knows, but attempts to measure whether they are prepared to continue learning when they're no longer told exactly what to do.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schwartz is among a new breed of researchers who are applying the mechanics of games to the science of psychometrics — the measurement of the mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, he's working on a series of video games called Choicelets. They're designed to evaluate students on factors that traditional tests can't assess. He wants to measure how students learn, how they make decisions and how they respond to feedback.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Test Or A Learning Encounter?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most kids like video games — a lot more than they like taking tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the purpose of making tests more like games isn't just to add a spoonful of sugar to the medicine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scholars like \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/07/games-can-advance-education-a-conversation-with-james-paul-gee/\" target=\"_blank\">James Paul Gee\u003c/a> believe video games actually come much closer to capturing the learning process in action than traditional fill-in-the-bubble tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"AEMyggVrb11GysQCIi4T20XLCX9mVZWB\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gee, a professor of education at Arizona State University, is considered the godfather of game-based assessment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Is a video game a test or a learning encounter? It's both,\" he said. In fact, in a video game, \"you're always being tested — you can't get out of a level until you finish it.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gee and other experts explain that classic video games, like Mario Brothers or Tetris, are designed to adapt as the player gets better. Each level moves faster, or presents harder obstacles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The game tugs you along, held in a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/04/whats-the-secret-sauce-to-a-great-educational-game/\" target=\"_blank\">state of \"flow\" \u003c/a>between anxiety (when things get too hard) and boredom (when they're too easy).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, the researchers point out, at the same time you're playing a game, the game can record your actions. When it's over, the software can create a report: not just a record of right and wrong answers, but all the steps you took to get there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schwartz's \u003ca href=\"http://aaalab.stanford.edu/papers/Measuring_What_Matters_Most.pdf\">theory of assessment\u003c/a> focuses on choice. He argues that the ultimate goal of education is to create independent thinkers who make good decisions. And so we need assessments that test how students think, not what they happen to know at a given moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, the real point of the school-fair game, called Posterlet, is not to test how good students are at graphic design.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, the crux of the game comes when students choose to hear comments on their work. Seeking negative feedback, it turns out, is the best way to improve the design of your posters quickly. It's also a healthy strategy for doing well in school and in life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Photolet, another game from Schwartz's lab, players pretend to take photos of animals. Then they edit, crop and filter the shots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the surface, the game is about photography skills like focus and composition. Underneath, it emphasizes another concept: making several versions of your work and then self-editing to choose the best.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of Schwartz's experiments took place recently at \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/02/what-will-it-take-for-ipads-to-upend-teaching-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">Hillview Middle School\u003c/a> in Menlo Park, Calif. \"We took over their sixth grade and taught design thinking for five weeks,\" he says. Design thinking includes using empathy and fact-finding to understand people's needs, generate prototype solutions to problems and test them out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schwartz's study showed that students were able to apply the concepts they learned in social studies or science class to improve their performance on Posterlet or Photolet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larra Olson, who teaches humanities at Hillview, says her students loved playing the games. \"They were completely engaged,\" she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Olson said the project left her \"totally open\" to the potential of games as assessments, especially as an alternative to the traditional emphasis on grades and multiple-choice tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think you have to figure out the structure of the game so you're not 'leading the witness,' \" she said. \"But I think they're very powerful.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Tests+That+Look+Like+Video+Games&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\" alt=\"\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"headline": "Could Video Games Measure Skills That Tests Can't Capture?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37279\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/posterlet2-e6ddbc7791828b57ffcd00a8958fee46a13f6f91-e1407528764883.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-37279\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/posterlet2-e6ddbc7791828b57ffcd00a8958fee46a13f6f91-e1407528764883.jpg\" alt=\"A screenshot from the Posterlet game: choosing negative or positive feedback.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/posterlet2-e6ddbc7791828b57ffcd00a8958fee46a13f6f91-e1407528764883.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/posterlet2-e6ddbc7791828b57ffcd00a8958fee46a13f6f91-e1407528764883-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/posterlet2-e6ddbc7791828b57ffcd00a8958fee46a13f6f91-e1407528764883-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A screenshot from the Posterlet game: choosing negative or positive feedback.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Imagine you're playing a computer game that asks you to design a poster for the school fair. You're fiddling with fonts, changing background colors and deciding what activity to feature: Will a basketball toss appeal to more people than a pie bake-off?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, animal characters — maybe a panda or an ostrich — offer feedback on your design. You can choose whether to hear a compliment or a complaint: \"The words are overlapping too much,\" or, \"I like that you put in the dates.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"They're not just measures of what the student already knows, but attempts to measure whether they are prepared to continue learning when they're no longer told exactly what to do.\"\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>You can use their critiques as guides to help you revise your poster. Finally, you get to see how many tickets your poster sold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This little Web-based game isn't just a game. It's a test, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In our assessments we make little fun games, and to do well at the games you need to learn something,\" says Dan Schwartz, the director of the \u003ca href=\"http://aaalab.stanford.edu/\">AAA Lab at Stanford University\u003c/a>. \"So they're not just measures of what the student already knows, but attempts to measure whether they are prepared to continue learning when they're no longer told exactly what to do.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schwartz is among a new breed of researchers who are applying the mechanics of games to the science of psychometrics — the measurement of the mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, he's working on a series of video games called Choicelets. They're designed to evaluate students on factors that traditional tests can't assess. He wants to measure how students learn, how they make decisions and how they respond to feedback.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Test Or A Learning Encounter?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most kids like video games — a lot more than they like taking tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the purpose of making tests more like games isn't just to add a spoonful of sugar to the medicine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scholars like \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/07/games-can-advance-education-a-conversation-with-james-paul-gee/\" target=\"_blank\">James Paul Gee\u003c/a> believe video games actually come much closer to capturing the learning process in action than traditional fill-in-the-bubble tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gee, a professor of education at Arizona State University, is considered the godfather of game-based assessment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Is a video game a test or a learning encounter? It's both,\" he said. In fact, in a video game, \"you're always being tested — you can't get out of a level until you finish it.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gee and other experts explain that classic video games, like Mario Brothers or Tetris, are designed to adapt as the player gets better. Each level moves faster, or presents harder obstacles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The game tugs you along, held in a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/04/whats-the-secret-sauce-to-a-great-educational-game/\" target=\"_blank\">state of \"flow\" \u003c/a>between anxiety (when things get too hard) and boredom (when they're too easy).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, the researchers point out, at the same time you're playing a game, the game can record your actions. When it's over, the software can create a report: not just a record of right and wrong answers, but all the steps you took to get there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schwartz's \u003ca href=\"http://aaalab.stanford.edu/papers/Measuring_What_Matters_Most.pdf\">theory of assessment\u003c/a> focuses on choice. He argues that the ultimate goal of education is to create independent thinkers who make good decisions. And so we need assessments that test how students think, not what they happen to know at a given moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, the real point of the school-fair game, called Posterlet, is not to test how good students are at graphic design.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, the crux of the game comes when students choose to hear comments on their work. Seeking negative feedback, it turns out, is the best way to improve the design of your posters quickly. It's also a healthy strategy for doing well in school and in life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Photolet, another game from Schwartz's lab, players pretend to take photos of animals. Then they edit, crop and filter the shots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the surface, the game is about photography skills like focus and composition. Underneath, it emphasizes another concept: making several versions of your work and then self-editing to choose the best.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of Schwartz's experiments took place recently at \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/02/what-will-it-take-for-ipads-to-upend-teaching-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">Hillview Middle School\u003c/a> in Menlo Park, Calif. \"We took over their sixth grade and taught design thinking for five weeks,\" he says. Design thinking includes using empathy and fact-finding to understand people's needs, generate prototype solutions to problems and test them out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schwartz's study showed that students were able to apply the concepts they learned in social studies or science class to improve their performance on Posterlet or Photolet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larra Olson, who teaches humanities at Hillview, says her students loved playing the games. \"They were completely engaged,\" she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Olson said the project left her \"totally open\" to the potential of games as assessments, especially as an alternative to the traditional emphasis on grades and multiple-choice tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think you have to figure out the structure of the game so you're not 'leading the witness,' \" she said. \"But I think they're very powerful.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Tests+That+Look+Like+Video+Games&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\" alt=\"\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Screen Time That's Valuable For Young Kids",
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"headTitle": "The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning | MindShift | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37270\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-37270\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/6813669931_fb9abae43f_z-e1407474609262.jpg\" alt=\"Laurie Sullivan\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/6813669931_fb9abae43f_z-e1407474609262.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/6813669931_fb9abae43f_z-e1407474609262-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/6813669931_fb9abae43f_z-e1407474609262-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laurie Sullivan\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 15 of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/series/guide-to-games-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift’s Guide to Games and Learning\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Most people agree that implementing game-based learning makes sense for older students, but what about really young kids? Do screens have a place in early childhood education? How young is \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/03/screen-time-for-kids-is-it-learning-or-a-brain-drain/\" target=\"_blank\">too young for screen time\u003c/a>? If you have small children, you know that this is a hot topic among new parents. Some moms and dads believe that screen time will ruin their children. Others see tablets as an exceptional parenting gadget, a tool that can teach, distract, and educate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The American Academy Of Pediatrics (AAP) \u003ca href=\"http://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Pages/Media-and-Children.aspx\">recommends\u003c/a> that children younger than two years old have no screen time at all. Infants probably get more than enough screen time already, just being pushed in a stroller through the electronics aisle at Target or peaking over their parents’ shoulders. For older kids, AAP suggests one to two hours per day of electronic media. In addition, the AAP encourages parents to “establish ‘screen-free’ zones at home by making sure there are no televisions, computers or video games in children's bedrooms, and by turning off the TV during dinner.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But reducing the issue to an on/off switch oversimplifies things. When we understand the question of electronic media in such a polarized way, we are caught in the same way of thinking that can make screen time problematic. Tablets become like junk food, imagined as a temptation that children gravitate to but need to be protected from. On the contrary, it is only when electronic media is used to occupy children -- like a babysitter that provides parents or teachers with an hour or two of peace and quiet -- that justifying its use becomes more complicated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Videos can often carry the same baggage. We sometimes think that the motivation for showing the class a movie is that the teacher’s too busy to properly plan for the day. Or maybe when the teacher needs an extra hour for grading and preparation, a documentary can keep the students occupied. Of course, this is not always the case. There are certainly good pedagogical reasons to use video content in class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-35200 alignright\" style=\"border: 0\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x140.png\" alt=\"MindShiftGames\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Likewise, there are good pedagogical reasons to use video games and other electronic media in early childhood education. It is not about employing ed-tech for its own sake -- as if gadgets automatically make things more innovative or somehow better -- but rather about using tools that engage students toward specific learning objectives. Simply avoiding apps because of some nostalgia for a bygone era may cause educators to miss valuable early academic opportunities. The real question is not whether or not technology belongs in early childhood education, but rather, how can we leverage the efficiency of digital tools to best serve young learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It needs to happen carefully. Although the iOS and Android app stores are both full of content labeled as educational, it is not all good content. Let us look specifically at early literacy. Many apps drill and practice letter recognition and sounds, but few are grounded in good pedagogical practices. \u003ca href=\"http://www.slate.com/authors.lisa_guernsey.html\">Lisa Guernsey\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.slate.com/authors.michael_levine.html\">Michael Levine\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/12/13/kids_apps_and_ebooks_can_t_teach_them_to_read_without_parent_and_teacher.html\">wrote in Slate:\u003c/a> “Most of the top-selling reading apps appear to teach only the most basic of literacy skills. They lean toward easy-to-teach tasks, such as identifying the ABCs, but don’t address higher-level competencies that young children also need to become strong readers, such as developing vocabulary and understanding words in a narrative.” Just adding the alphabet to popular games like \u003ci>Angry Birds\u003c/i> or \u003ci>Temple Run\u003c/i> might make parents more willing to whip out their credit cards, but it won’t necessarily teach their children how to read. Good early childhood literacy options tend to blur the distinction between \"game\" and \"app,\" often looking more like apps than like traditional video games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Seeding Reading: Investing in Children’s Literacy in a Digital Age \u003c/i>is a \u003ca href=\"http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/2014/06/23/introducing-seeding-reading-investing-in-childrens-literacy-in-a-digital-age/\">new series\u003c/a> from \u003ca href=\"http://www.newamerica.org/\">New America\u003c/a>’s \u003ca href=\"http://education.newamerica.net/dashboard/\">Education Policy Program\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/\">Joan Ganz Cooney Center \u003c/a>at Sesame Workshop. The series (which has only just begun) looks at “early education and parenting initiatives that are harnessing new technologies.” It will also scrutinize “the marketplace of digital ‘reading’ products.” And bring information and analysis about “research that may illuminate how communications technologies and digital media are affecting the learning of reading, the act of reading, and the reading brain, in both good ways and bad.” This will become a valuable resource for early childhood educators that want to explore using games and apps in their classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"SOnSuylJQtxvNmP7s3kgdbYIlNYYATwg\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, there are already some great apps out there. \u003ca href=\"https://learnwithhomer.com/\">Learn With Homer\u003c/a>, for example, is an iPad app created by Stephanie Dua, a well-known education reformer. It provides a comprehensive contextualized literacy curriculum. “I know there’s a lot of great research on how to teach children to read,” says Dua. “But when my own daughter wanted to learn, I couldn’t find any suitable materials for parents. That’s when \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt1ddPqafnU&feature=share&list=UUc22ePreVTXl7k29goQj1SQ\">\u003ci>Learn with Homer\u003c/i>\u003c/a> was born. It brings the best early learning techniques together in one app.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Learn With Homer does some of the same things a good kindergarten or pre-school teacher would. It is interdisciplinary in that it “combines learning to read with learning to understand the world.” What does that mean? Kids are not only learning what the letter “A” sounds like and that “alligator” starts with “A,” but also taking virtual “field trips” to the zoo, where they learn about alligators. They also draw pictures, record their own voice discussing the subject matter, listen to stories, and play mini games that emphasize the letters, sounds, and ideas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, there are less comprehensive options: apps and games that can supplement the great non-digital learning that’s already happening in early childhood education. For example, \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/08/06/your-five-year-old-can-learn-to-code-with-an-ipad-app/\">ScratchJr\u003c/a> is an iPad app from MIT’s Media Lab that lets 5-7 year-olds create games and stories using a simple drag and drop interface that is designed to provide the foundation for learning computer coding. Most of us consider coding to be part of computer science, but it is also a form of expression. It reminds us that \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/math-science-history-games-break-boundaries-between-subjects-interdisciplinary-learning/\">the distinction between STEM and ELA\u003c/a> is an arbitrary and often superficial one. Mitchel Resnick, head of MIT Media Labs Lifelong Kindergarten Research Group and one of the creators of Scratch and ScratchJr, \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/08/06/your-five-year-old-can-learn-to-code-with-an-ipad-app/\" target=\"_blank\">says\u003c/a>, “When people learn to write, they can share their ideas with the rest of the world. So too with coding.” Good kindergarten teachers understand that for young students, literacy is as much about creating a love of formal self-expression and articulation as it is about learning to write letters on lined paper. Both are necessary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://kindoma.com/\">Kindoma \u003c/a>is another interesting app. It combines video conferencing, screen sharing, and reading into a single app. It was design with grandparents or traveling parents in mind. The idea was that you do not need to be right next to the child in order to both enjoy reading together. But there could also be many great classroom applications for this app. Imagine a fantastic twist on penpals. Kindergarten teachers could partner with other classrooms in other parts of the city, other states, even on opposite sides of the country. Students could have online reading buddies through Kindoma. Creative teachers will imagine tons of innovative ways to use this platform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are plenty of games aimed at younger kids that can be part of a balanced approach to technology in early childhood education. Check out games by \u003ca href=\"http://tocaboca.com/games/\">Toca Boca\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"http://www.launchpadtoys.com/toontastic/\">Toontastic\u003c/a>, or \u003ca href=\"http://motionmathgames.com/\">Motion Math\u003c/a>. Imagine ways to let these games supplement and enhance your well-worn curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's especially important in a digitally connected world where everything is always on that we start teaching children the importance of text, language, and expression as early as possible. With so many options for stimulation and entertainment, it is all too easy to imagine a generation of children that grow up believing that YouTube videos replace books. One is not an alternative to the other; they are two different types of communication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using games and apps not only offers engaging opportunities for young students to acquire important academic skills, it also teaches those students to associate screens with refined cognitive skills. It reinforces the idea that screens are more than just distraction machines. Early education should provide a foundation for critical thinking, including thinking critically about technology and digital media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/series/guide-to-games-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift Guide to Games and Learning\u003c/a> is made possible through the generous support of the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/math-science-history-games-break-boundaries-between-subjects-interdisciplinary-learning/www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Joan Ganz Cooney Center\u003c/a> and is a project of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/initiative/games-and-learning-publishing-council-analyzing-a-rising-sector/\" target=\"_blank\">Games and Learning Publishing Council\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37270\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-37270\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/6813669931_fb9abae43f_z-e1407474609262.jpg\" alt=\"Laurie Sullivan\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/6813669931_fb9abae43f_z-e1407474609262.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/6813669931_fb9abae43f_z-e1407474609262-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/6813669931_fb9abae43f_z-e1407474609262-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laurie Sullivan\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 15 of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/series/guide-to-games-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift’s Guide to Games and Learning\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Most people agree that implementing game-based learning makes sense for older students, but what about really young kids? Do screens have a place in early childhood education? How young is \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/03/screen-time-for-kids-is-it-learning-or-a-brain-drain/\" target=\"_blank\">too young for screen time\u003c/a>? If you have small children, you know that this is a hot topic among new parents. Some moms and dads believe that screen time will ruin their children. Others see tablets as an exceptional parenting gadget, a tool that can teach, distract, and educate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The American Academy Of Pediatrics (AAP) \u003ca href=\"http://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Pages/Media-and-Children.aspx\">recommends\u003c/a> that children younger than two years old have no screen time at all. Infants probably get more than enough screen time already, just being pushed in a stroller through the electronics aisle at Target or peaking over their parents’ shoulders. For older kids, AAP suggests one to two hours per day of electronic media. In addition, the AAP encourages parents to “establish ‘screen-free’ zones at home by making sure there are no televisions, computers or video games in children's bedrooms, and by turning off the TV during dinner.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But reducing the issue to an on/off switch oversimplifies things. When we understand the question of electronic media in such a polarized way, we are caught in the same way of thinking that can make screen time problematic. Tablets become like junk food, imagined as a temptation that children gravitate to but need to be protected from. On the contrary, it is only when electronic media is used to occupy children -- like a babysitter that provides parents or teachers with an hour or two of peace and quiet -- that justifying its use becomes more complicated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Videos can often carry the same baggage. We sometimes think that the motivation for showing the class a movie is that the teacher’s too busy to properly plan for the day. Or maybe when the teacher needs an extra hour for grading and preparation, a documentary can keep the students occupied. Of course, this is not always the case. There are certainly good pedagogical reasons to use video content in class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-35200 alignright\" style=\"border: 0\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x140.png\" alt=\"MindShiftGames\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Likewise, there are good pedagogical reasons to use video games and other electronic media in early childhood education. It is not about employing ed-tech for its own sake -- as if gadgets automatically make things more innovative or somehow better -- but rather about using tools that engage students toward specific learning objectives. Simply avoiding apps because of some nostalgia for a bygone era may cause educators to miss valuable early academic opportunities. The real question is not whether or not technology belongs in early childhood education, but rather, how can we leverage the efficiency of digital tools to best serve young learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It needs to happen carefully. Although the iOS and Android app stores are both full of content labeled as educational, it is not all good content. Let us look specifically at early literacy. Many apps drill and practice letter recognition and sounds, but few are grounded in good pedagogical practices. \u003ca href=\"http://www.slate.com/authors.lisa_guernsey.html\">Lisa Guernsey\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.slate.com/authors.michael_levine.html\">Michael Levine\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/12/13/kids_apps_and_ebooks_can_t_teach_them_to_read_without_parent_and_teacher.html\">wrote in Slate:\u003c/a> “Most of the top-selling reading apps appear to teach only the most basic of literacy skills. They lean toward easy-to-teach tasks, such as identifying the ABCs, but don’t address higher-level competencies that young children also need to become strong readers, such as developing vocabulary and understanding words in a narrative.” Just adding the alphabet to popular games like \u003ci>Angry Birds\u003c/i> or \u003ci>Temple Run\u003c/i> might make parents more willing to whip out their credit cards, but it won’t necessarily teach their children how to read. Good early childhood literacy options tend to blur the distinction between \"game\" and \"app,\" often looking more like apps than like traditional video games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Seeding Reading: Investing in Children’s Literacy in a Digital Age \u003c/i>is a \u003ca href=\"http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/2014/06/23/introducing-seeding-reading-investing-in-childrens-literacy-in-a-digital-age/\">new series\u003c/a> from \u003ca href=\"http://www.newamerica.org/\">New America\u003c/a>’s \u003ca href=\"http://education.newamerica.net/dashboard/\">Education Policy Program\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/\">Joan Ganz Cooney Center \u003c/a>at Sesame Workshop. The series (which has only just begun) looks at “early education and parenting initiatives that are harnessing new technologies.” It will also scrutinize “the marketplace of digital ‘reading’ products.” And bring information and analysis about “research that may illuminate how communications technologies and digital media are affecting the learning of reading, the act of reading, and the reading brain, in both good ways and bad.” This will become a valuable resource for early childhood educators that want to explore using games and apps in their classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, there are already some great apps out there. \u003ca href=\"https://learnwithhomer.com/\">Learn With Homer\u003c/a>, for example, is an iPad app created by Stephanie Dua, a well-known education reformer. It provides a comprehensive contextualized literacy curriculum. “I know there’s a lot of great research on how to teach children to read,” says Dua. “But when my own daughter wanted to learn, I couldn’t find any suitable materials for parents. That’s when \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt1ddPqafnU&feature=share&list=UUc22ePreVTXl7k29goQj1SQ\">\u003ci>Learn with Homer\u003c/i>\u003c/a> was born. It brings the best early learning techniques together in one app.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Learn With Homer does some of the same things a good kindergarten or pre-school teacher would. It is interdisciplinary in that it “combines learning to read with learning to understand the world.” What does that mean? Kids are not only learning what the letter “A” sounds like and that “alligator” starts with “A,” but also taking virtual “field trips” to the zoo, where they learn about alligators. They also draw pictures, record their own voice discussing the subject matter, listen to stories, and play mini games that emphasize the letters, sounds, and ideas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, there are less comprehensive options: apps and games that can supplement the great non-digital learning that’s already happening in early childhood education. For example, \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/08/06/your-five-year-old-can-learn-to-code-with-an-ipad-app/\">ScratchJr\u003c/a> is an iPad app from MIT’s Media Lab that lets 5-7 year-olds create games and stories using a simple drag and drop interface that is designed to provide the foundation for learning computer coding. Most of us consider coding to be part of computer science, but it is also a form of expression. It reminds us that \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/math-science-history-games-break-boundaries-between-subjects-interdisciplinary-learning/\">the distinction between STEM and ELA\u003c/a> is an arbitrary and often superficial one. Mitchel Resnick, head of MIT Media Labs Lifelong Kindergarten Research Group and one of the creators of Scratch and ScratchJr, \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/08/06/your-five-year-old-can-learn-to-code-with-an-ipad-app/\" target=\"_blank\">says\u003c/a>, “When people learn to write, they can share their ideas with the rest of the world. So too with coding.” Good kindergarten teachers understand that for young students, literacy is as much about creating a love of formal self-expression and articulation as it is about learning to write letters on lined paper. Both are necessary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://kindoma.com/\">Kindoma \u003c/a>is another interesting app. It combines video conferencing, screen sharing, and reading into a single app. It was design with grandparents or traveling parents in mind. The idea was that you do not need to be right next to the child in order to both enjoy reading together. But there could also be many great classroom applications for this app. Imagine a fantastic twist on penpals. Kindergarten teachers could partner with other classrooms in other parts of the city, other states, even on opposite sides of the country. Students could have online reading buddies through Kindoma. Creative teachers will imagine tons of innovative ways to use this platform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are plenty of games aimed at younger kids that can be part of a balanced approach to technology in early childhood education. Check out games by \u003ca href=\"http://tocaboca.com/games/\">Toca Boca\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"http://www.launchpadtoys.com/toontastic/\">Toontastic\u003c/a>, or \u003ca href=\"http://motionmathgames.com/\">Motion Math\u003c/a>. Imagine ways to let these games supplement and enhance your well-worn curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's especially important in a digitally connected world where everything is always on that we start teaching children the importance of text, language, and expression as early as possible. With so many options for stimulation and entertainment, it is all too easy to imagine a generation of children that grow up believing that YouTube videos replace books. One is not an alternative to the other; they are two different types of communication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using games and apps not only offers engaging opportunities for young students to acquire important academic skills, it also teaches those students to associate screens with refined cognitive skills. It reinforces the idea that screens are more than just distraction machines. Early education should provide a foundation for critical thinking, including thinking critically about technology and digital media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/series/guide-to-games-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift Guide to Games and Learning\u003c/a> is made possible through the generous support of the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/math-science-history-games-break-boundaries-between-subjects-interdisciplinary-learning/www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Joan Ganz Cooney Center\u003c/a> and is a project of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/initiative/games-and-learning-publishing-council-analyzing-a-rising-sector/\" target=\"_blank\">Games and Learning Publishing Council\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"headTitle": "The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning | MindShift | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37059\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/RS7421_5958586280_bf751bbddb_b-scr-e1406917583442.jpg\" alt=\"NASA\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"size-full wp-image-37059\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/RS7421_5958586280_bf751bbddb_b-scr-e1406917583442.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/RS7421_5958586280_bf751bbddb_b-scr-e1406917583442-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/RS7421_5958586280_bf751bbddb_b-scr-e1406917583442-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASA\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 14 of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/series/guide-to-games-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift’s Guide to Games and Learning\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">If there’s one thing we know for sure, it's that today’s technologies will one day be obsolete -- we shouldn’t be too enamored with any particular educational tool. Teachers will always play the most important role in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although ed-tech has a lot to offer, even the most interactive, adaptive software cannot provide the social and emotional benefits that a good teacher can. Early psychoanalytic research already made it clear at the beginning of the 20th century: the relationship between developing children and adult figures is important. Good teachers (especially in the younger grades) understand that they are responsible not only for transmitting new ideas and information, but also for creating a collaborative classroom structure that models, reinforces, and encourages positive social behaviors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teaching and learning are not simply about academic content and retention. Don’t imagine game-based learning as an innovative content distribution system. Instead, imagine it as a way to move out of a high-stakes testing mentality and away from a top-down pedagogy. Because they present \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/how-games-based-learning-teaches-problem-solving-in-context/\" target=\"_blank\">content in context\u003c/a>, video games encourage students to understand knowledge \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/07/31/our-schools-are-un-american-video-games-can-fix-that/\" target=\"_blank\">not as data to be downloaded into a biological hard drive\u003c/a>, but rather as the collective wisdom that enables one thing to interact with another in meaningful ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, such a lofty goal cannot be accomplished with video games alone. It will also require that teachers work directly with students. It requires that teachers move away from standardization and meet each student as a unique individual. The best learning happens when we abandon the “sage on the stage” classroom model and leave behind our reliance on set curricula. When education becomes rigidly homogenized, the change in student body from year to year, or semester to semester, is tantamount to kids taking turns playing an algorithmically predetermined arcade game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-35200 alignright\" style=\"border: 0\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x140.png\" alt=\"MindShiftGames\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although many people worry that game-based learning will lead to an increasingly standardized pedagogy, the best implementations do the exact opposite. They make differentiated instruction easier and more efficient. Teachers can use games as a supplement that enables increased one-on-one learning between teacher and student.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I visited one kindergarten classroom where \u003ca href=\"http://www.mindresearch.net/programs/\">ST Math\u003c/a> was part of the curriculum. The kids called it Jiji math because of the adorable animated penguin. Jiji the penguin is not only the ST Math mascot, but also a critical part of the program’s pedagogy. Created by the MIND Research Institute, ST (spatial temporal) Math offers a playful game-based program that teaches mathematical concepts without using words.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ST Math has all the bells and whistles of cutting-edge software but it is not revolutionary. That is, despite being digital, it remains grounded in three classic principles of good teaching: interactivity, informative feedback, and intrinsic motivation. I spoke to the company’s founder, Dr. Matthew Peterson, to understand how these three principles work in practice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>1. Interactivity.\u003c/b> Learning needs to be a dialogue. The child needs to come before the curriculum. At the same time, learning needs to be interactive because, as Dr. Peterson explains, “they need to own their own solutions.\" That's why multiple choice doesn’t work; it puts assessment before learning. If the student doesn’t generate his or her own answers, the quality of retention is severely debilitated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>2. Informative feedback. \u003c/b>Obviously video games and computer software offer substantially more opportunities for interactivity than the old fashioned textbook, or even the supplemental workbooks. But the majority of educational games are simply electronic tests with animated gold stars and smiley faces.They lack informative feedback, which is different from simple rewards because it is \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2012/11/23/mario-brothers-and-level-up-leadership-social-entrepreneurship-gamification-and-religion/\">transformational rather than transactional.\u003c/a> Unlike points and grades, which simply tell students whether they're right or wrong, informative feedback provides instant explanations about \u003cem>why\u003c/em> an answer is right or wrong. ST Math uses Jiji to provide informative feedback. When the answer is right the penguin can move across the screen; when it's wrong, he can’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>3. Intrinsic motivation. \u003c/b>When informative feedback works, students are no longer motivated by transactional rewards. Instead, they are intrinsically motivated to solve the problems, not to pass the test. Dr. Peterson explains this using the example of the Rubik’s Cube. The classic puzzle toy has nothing to do with gold stars, nor smiley faces, nor coins. Instead, one twists the cube because of the pure intrinsic pleasure you get from seeing all the colors line up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"mX90QMzi6UScXar9WH631KlCPqbTYGMO\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ST Math combines instruction, practice, and assessment so that they're always happening simultaneously, and it can be used even in classrooms with few computers. In the kindergarten classroom I visited, there were only four laptops. They were set up at a table near the “cozy corner.” This was just one station in a room full of math themed choices. There were manipulatives at another table. Worksheets and art supplies at others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The students were lively. Some were following instructions with the manipulatives. Some were tracing numbers on worksheets. Some were drawing number-themed pictures. And some were playing “Jiji Math” at the table of laptop computers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So how does the teacher incorporate the games into the curriculum? “Video games allow me to keep some students working on academic content while I give other students personal attention,” said Lisa Pack, the classroom teacher. She made her rounds, moving from one station to another, giving focused attention to each student that wasn’t working with Jiji. Then, after 15 or 20 minutes, she rotated some students off Jiji and moved others on. She immediately worked with the students who had been working with Jiji and then she continued to make rounds of the room. Sometimes she worked directly with groups of students, other times with individuals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was clear that she knew exactly what each student needed and was able to provide it in an individual way. ST Math was like a classroom assistant. It wasn’t doing the teaching, but rather reinforcing the concepts that had already been taught. The games were classroom management tools, providing engaging practice for some students while she worked with others. They enabled more personalized face-to-face instruction by making it more efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many of the classrooms I visit, digital games are being used in the same way. They're just one activity in a room full of diverse learning options. When thinking about game-based learning, we don’t always have to imagine the games at the center of the classroom. The games can belong on the margins, supplementing everyday teaching practices and providing the tools that enable differentiated instruction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/series/guide-to-games-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift Guide to Games and Learning\u003c/a> is made possible through the generous support of the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/math-science-history-games-break-boundaries-between-subjects-interdisciplinary-learning/www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Joan Ganz Cooney Center\u003c/a> and is a project of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/initiative/games-and-learning-publishing-council-analyzing-a-rising-sector/\" target=\"_blank\">Games and Learning Publishing Council\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_37059\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/RS7421_5958586280_bf751bbddb_b-scr-e1406917583442.jpg\" alt=\"NASA\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"size-full wp-image-37059\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/RS7421_5958586280_bf751bbddb_b-scr-e1406917583442.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/RS7421_5958586280_bf751bbddb_b-scr-e1406917583442-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/08/RS7421_5958586280_bf751bbddb_b-scr-e1406917583442-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASA\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 14 of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/series/guide-to-games-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift’s Guide to Games and Learning\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">If there’s one thing we know for sure, it's that today’s technologies will one day be obsolete -- we shouldn’t be too enamored with any particular educational tool. Teachers will always play the most important role in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although ed-tech has a lot to offer, even the most interactive, adaptive software cannot provide the social and emotional benefits that a good teacher can. Early psychoanalytic research already made it clear at the beginning of the 20th century: the relationship between developing children and adult figures is important. Good teachers (especially in the younger grades) understand that they are responsible not only for transmitting new ideas and information, but also for creating a collaborative classroom structure that models, reinforces, and encourages positive social behaviors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teaching and learning are not simply about academic content and retention. Don’t imagine game-based learning as an innovative content distribution system. Instead, imagine it as a way to move out of a high-stakes testing mentality and away from a top-down pedagogy. Because they present \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/how-games-based-learning-teaches-problem-solving-in-context/\" target=\"_blank\">content in context\u003c/a>, video games encourage students to understand knowledge \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/07/31/our-schools-are-un-american-video-games-can-fix-that/\" target=\"_blank\">not as data to be downloaded into a biological hard drive\u003c/a>, but rather as the collective wisdom that enables one thing to interact with another in meaningful ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, such a lofty goal cannot be accomplished with video games alone. It will also require that teachers work directly with students. It requires that teachers move away from standardization and meet each student as a unique individual. The best learning happens when we abandon the “sage on the stage” classroom model and leave behind our reliance on set curricula. When education becomes rigidly homogenized, the change in student body from year to year, or semester to semester, is tantamount to kids taking turns playing an algorithmically predetermined arcade game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-35200 alignright\" style=\"border: 0\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/04/MindShiftGames-140x140.png\" alt=\"MindShiftGames\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although many people worry that game-based learning will lead to an increasingly standardized pedagogy, the best implementations do the exact opposite. They make differentiated instruction easier and more efficient. Teachers can use games as a supplement that enables increased one-on-one learning between teacher and student.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I visited one kindergarten classroom where \u003ca href=\"http://www.mindresearch.net/programs/\">ST Math\u003c/a> was part of the curriculum. The kids called it Jiji math because of the adorable animated penguin. Jiji the penguin is not only the ST Math mascot, but also a critical part of the program’s pedagogy. Created by the MIND Research Institute, ST (spatial temporal) Math offers a playful game-based program that teaches mathematical concepts without using words.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ST Math has all the bells and whistles of cutting-edge software but it is not revolutionary. That is, despite being digital, it remains grounded in three classic principles of good teaching: interactivity, informative feedback, and intrinsic motivation. I spoke to the company’s founder, Dr. Matthew Peterson, to understand how these three principles work in practice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>1. Interactivity.\u003c/b> Learning needs to be a dialogue. The child needs to come before the curriculum. At the same time, learning needs to be interactive because, as Dr. Peterson explains, “they need to own their own solutions.\" That's why multiple choice doesn’t work; it puts assessment before learning. If the student doesn’t generate his or her own answers, the quality of retention is severely debilitated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>2. Informative feedback. \u003c/b>Obviously video games and computer software offer substantially more opportunities for interactivity than the old fashioned textbook, or even the supplemental workbooks. But the majority of educational games are simply electronic tests with animated gold stars and smiley faces.They lack informative feedback, which is different from simple rewards because it is \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2012/11/23/mario-brothers-and-level-up-leadership-social-entrepreneurship-gamification-and-religion/\">transformational rather than transactional.\u003c/a> Unlike points and grades, which simply tell students whether they're right or wrong, informative feedback provides instant explanations about \u003cem>why\u003c/em> an answer is right or wrong. ST Math uses Jiji to provide informative feedback. When the answer is right the penguin can move across the screen; when it's wrong, he can’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>3. Intrinsic motivation. \u003c/b>When informative feedback works, students are no longer motivated by transactional rewards. Instead, they are intrinsically motivated to solve the problems, not to pass the test. Dr. Peterson explains this using the example of the Rubik’s Cube. The classic puzzle toy has nothing to do with gold stars, nor smiley faces, nor coins. Instead, one twists the cube because of the pure intrinsic pleasure you get from seeing all the colors line up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ST Math combines instruction, practice, and assessment so that they're always happening simultaneously, and it can be used even in classrooms with few computers. In the kindergarten classroom I visited, there were only four laptops. They were set up at a table near the “cozy corner.” This was just one station in a room full of math themed choices. There were manipulatives at another table. Worksheets and art supplies at others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The students were lively. Some were following instructions with the manipulatives. Some were tracing numbers on worksheets. Some were drawing number-themed pictures. And some were playing “Jiji Math” at the table of laptop computers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So how does the teacher incorporate the games into the curriculum? “Video games allow me to keep some students working on academic content while I give other students personal attention,” said Lisa Pack, the classroom teacher. She made her rounds, moving from one station to another, giving focused attention to each student that wasn’t working with Jiji. Then, after 15 or 20 minutes, she rotated some students off Jiji and moved others on. She immediately worked with the students who had been working with Jiji and then she continued to make rounds of the room. Sometimes she worked directly with groups of students, other times with individuals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was clear that she knew exactly what each student needed and was able to provide it in an individual way. ST Math was like a classroom assistant. It wasn’t doing the teaching, but rather reinforcing the concepts that had already been taught. The games were classroom management tools, providing engaging practice for some students while she worked with others. They enabled more personalized face-to-face instruction by making it more efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many of the classrooms I visit, digital games are being used in the same way. They're just one activity in a room full of diverse learning options. When thinking about game-based learning, we don’t always have to imagine the games at the center of the classroom. The games can belong on the margins, supplementing everyday teaching practices and providing the tools that enable differentiated instruction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/series/guide-to-games-and-learning/\" target=\"_blank\">MindShift Guide to Games and Learning\u003c/a> is made possible through the generous support of the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/math-science-history-games-break-boundaries-between-subjects-interdisciplinary-learning/www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Joan Ganz Cooney Center\u003c/a> and is a project of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/initiative/games-and-learning-publishing-council-analyzing-a-rising-sector/\" target=\"_blank\">Games and Learning Publishing Council\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
},
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