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"disqusTitle": "Digital Games and the Future of Math Class: A Conversation With Keith Devlin",
"title": "Digital Games and the Future of Math Class: A Conversation With Keith Devlin",
"headTitle": "The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning | MindShift | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36356\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 559px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36356\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-17-at-9.39.33-AM.png\" alt=\"Keith Devlin\" width=\"559\" height=\"257\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-17-at-9.39.33-AM.png 559w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-17-at-9.39.33-AM-400x184.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-17-at-9.39.33-AM-320x147.png 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 559px) 100vw, 559px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keith Devlin\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 8 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\">\u003ca href=\"http://profkeithdevlin.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Keith Devlin\u003c/a> is a well-known mathematician and the author of many popular math books. He is co-founder and Executive Director of Stanford University’s Human-Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute and is well known as the “\u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2014/04/12/302166509/martin-gardner-a-genius-of-recreational-mathematics\" target=\"_blank\">NPR Math Guy\u003c/a>.” He’s also a big fan of using video games as a teaching tool and the founder of an education technology company called BrainQuake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Devlin believes the future demands a substantial change in the way we think about math education. “So many people in the U.S. have never experienced good mathematics teaching. They have a totally false impression of what mathematics is,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this conversation, he explains why we now need different mathematical skills than we once did, and points out that the math curriculum of the 20th century did not equip today’s adults to mentor children in the math skills of the 21st century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Devlin argues that video games are the perfect tool for teaching math. He also sheds some light on those Common Core math problems that are so controversial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jordan Shapiro: In 2011, you published a book entitled \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>\u003ca href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-Education-New-Era-Learning/dp/1568814313\" target=\"_blank\">Mathematics Education For A New Era: Video Games As A Medium For Learning\u003c/a>.\u003c/i> W\u003c/b>\u003cb>hat inspired you to write that book? Do you play video games?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Keith Devlin: \u003c/b>I not only play video games, I actually wrote one, way back in the early 1980s when personal home computers were just starting to appear. I wrote a math game where you use trigonometry to find buried pirates’ treasure on a desert island. I did it for use in the math class at the local elementary school my daughters attended. When I saw how my daughters were totally engaged by video games (professional ones, much better than mine!), I recognized at once their potential in mathematics education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wrote the book to try to give teachers some sense of what it would take to build a good video game for mathematics learning and to explain to game designers what it would take to embed \u003ci>good\u003c/i> mathematics learning into a game. I was not thinking about building a video game myself (back then).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>JS: In the book, you argue that video games are the best way to teach math to middle school kids. We’ve spoken about this before and you’ve talked about the importance of learning through doing. Why is context so important? And how can thinking of video games as math simulations help to move the typical math class from an product based pedagogy to a process based pedagogy?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KD: \u003c/b>Video games are an ideal medium for developing mathematical thinking. It’s a classic case where a technology that renders old skills less relevant actually provides their replacement. Many people outside of the worlds of mathematics (particularly math as used in the world) and mathematics education are simply not aware of the dramatic shift that both disciplines have undergone as a result of digital technologies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When today’s parents were going through schools, the main focus in mathematics was on mastery of a collection of standard procedures for solving well-defined problems that have unique right answers. If you did well at that, you were pretty well guaranteed a good job. Learning mathematics had been that way for several thousand years. Math textbooks were essentially recipe books.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"The problems we need mathematics for today come in a messy, real-world context, and part of making progress is to figure out just what you need from that context.\"\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>But now all those math recipes have been coded into devices, some of which we carry round in our pockets. Suddenly, in a single generation, mastery of the procedural math skills that had ruled supreme for three thousand years has become largely irrelevant. In my book, I used the term “mathematical thinking” to distinguish the kind of math that is relevant today from the (procedural) “mathematics” most people are familiar with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The skill that is in great demand today, and will continue to grow, is the ability to take a novel problem, possibly not well-defined, and likely not having a single “right” answer, and make progress on it, in some cases (but not all!) “solving” it (whatever that turns out to mean). The problems we need mathematics for today come in a messy, real-world context, and part of making progress is to figure out just what you need from that context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"8e0286063995d3d5540997f09b77cdea\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Books and lectures (in a room or on a screen) are useful \u003ci>resources\u003c/i> for mathematical thinking, but they are no longer at the heart of math learning. The only way to acquire mathematical thinking ability is by a process of exploration – lots of trial-and-error and reflection. This is exactly what video games can deliver. They can provide small scale simulations of the kinds of open-ended, context-influenced, project-based, problem solving that is at such a premium in today’s world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>JS: I wrote about your game Wuzzit Trouble \u003c/b>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/how-games-based-learning-teaches-problem-solving-in-context/\">\u003cb>earlier in this series\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cb>. I also sometimes show it when I’m doing workshops or public speaking. I’ve used your metaphor often: learning games should work like musical instruments. What does it mean to create a mathematical instrument? Can we do the equivalent for other subjects?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KD: \u003c/b>Yes, it’s fortunate that the word “play” applies both to musical instruments and video games. Everyone knows that the best way to learn an instrument is to start to play it. We don’t ask someone to learn to read music before they sit at a piano or pick up a guitar. But that’s exactly what we do in mathematics! The reason we do is that through most of its history, mathematics did not have any instruments. Video games can provide math instruments you can use to learn mathematics. Take a look at the \u003ca href=\"https://vimeo.com/89583763\">twenty-minute video\u003c/a> of the talk I gave recently. In it, I use \u003ci>Wuzzit Troubl\u003c/i>e to explain how this can be done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We can do the same kind of thing in other subjects, but many of them already have instruments (e.g. laboratory equipment in the natural sciences). Before video game technologies, however, all we had for math were paper and pencil, augmented with ruler and compass for geometry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>JS: So, are you saying that kids don’t need to learn how to scribble numbers and equations on paper? Does that mean the symbolic Hindu-Arabic representation of mathematics is obsolete? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Keith: \u003c/b>No, kids need to master Hindu-Arithmetic \u003ci>representation\u003c/i> of numbers far more today than in the past. What they don’t need to do – and I think this is what you’re getting at with your question – is train themselves to do long computations, as was necessary when I was a child. No one calculates that way any more! What they (we) need in today’s world is a deeper understanding of how and why Hindu-Arabic arithmetic works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all four offerings of \u003ca href=\"https://www.coursera.org/course/maththink\">my mathematical thinking MOOC\u003c/a> to date, I have had as students, engineers with years of experience who suddenly found themselves out of a job when their employers replaced them with software systems (or sometimes overseas outsource services). Those engineers are now having to retool to learn this other skill of creative problem solving – \u003ci>mathematical thinking\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Incidentally, the Common Core State Standards that are so much in the news were designed to guide the shift to this new kind of mathematics, as \u003ca href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-keith-devlin/common-core-math-standards_b_5369939.html\">I’ve tried to explain before\u003c/a>. Many of the parents who object to the basic goal of Common Core appear do so because they too have not realized how much the world has changed in its demands for mathematical skills. (There is a lot to argue about when it comes to the implementation of the Core, but that’s a separate issue.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-35200 alignleft\" 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>\u003cb>JS: In the past, you and I have discussed the “Symbol Barrier.” Now I think I misunderstood the concept. I always thought you meant that Hindu-Arabic representation was an obstacle to mathematical thinking. But clearly that’s not what you meant. Explain the “Symbol Barrier” and how video games can help to circumvent it.\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Keith: \u003c/b>The Symbol Barrier is the name I gave to a phenomenon first noticed in the early 1990s. If people need to use basic computational mathematics in their everyday lives or careers, they quickly pick it up and are able to perform at a 98 percent accuracy level. That’s not just some people, it’s ALL people (apart from around 3 percent who have a brain condition called dyscalculia). But if you ask those same people to solve the same math problems presented in a traditional, school, paper-and-pencil test format, their performance levels drops from 98 percent accuracy to a mere 37 percent correct. Those people (all of us) don’t have an inherent math problem, they (we) have a language problem! That’s the Symbol Barrier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Symbol Barrier is a problem – i.e. a barrier to entry into mathematical thinking – because at the moment, learning mathematics and being tested in mathematics is all done by way of the symbolic representation! It’s as if we taught and tested people’s musical ability by instructing them in musical notation and testing how well they could write music using that notation. We don’t do that. We ask them to sit down and play an instrument!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Same with driving. Would you prefer to be driven by someone who had just passed the written part of the driving test, or would you want to know they had passed the road test?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or an airline pilot. Which gives you more confidence, someone who has flown successfully in a simulator or a trainee pilot who has just passed a written test on how to fly a plane?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Likewise for mathematics. I would feel much more confident in the arithmetical ability of someone who had scored highly on my own game \u003ci>Wuzzit Trouble\u003c/i> than someone who had simply learned how to line up numbers in columns and apply the standard algorithms of arithmetic. The latter just requires rule following, the former makes you \u003ci>think\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>JS: What other types of learning products are you working on at your company, BrainQuake? Which mathematical concepts are you trying to tackle? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KD: \u003c/b>Our basic platform is mobile games, though we intend to bring out Web-based PC versions for classroom use. The user data we obtained from the release of \u003ci>Wuzzit Trouble\u003c/i>, last fall was as good, if not better, than we had hoped. We were ranked highly in many general game categories, not just educational games, and we were appealing to people of all ages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once we knew \u003ci>Wuzzit Trouble\u003c/i> was succeeding as a general category video game, it made sense to develop that side more, so as to appeal to the widest possible audience. So we have been focusing on embedding that basic gears mechanic into a richer video game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, to be honest, \u003ci>Wuzzit Trouble\u003c/i> is barely classified as a game. I would (and did) call it an entertaining and engaging math-based mobile app. To reach a much wider audience, we need to incorporate more of the elements of the highly successful video games that attract tens of millions of players. Teaming up with John Romero (the legendary creator of \u003ci>Doom\u003c/i> and \u003ci>Quake\u003c/i>) as our chief Game designer provided us an exciting opportunity to go after that elusive big audience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We are also developing the assessment side. Students, parents, and teachers – and adult player-learners – want to know how well they are progressing in terms of math learning. Video-game learning provides extremely powerful mechanisms to track learning – potentially far better than the existing methods used in standardized tests. Doing that requires the development of powerful algorithms that take the raw player data (which goes right down to individual finger actions on the screen) and use it to infer the player’s thought processes behind those actions, so we can see \u003ci>how\u003c/i> a player is trying to solve the problem. This will take the old idea of “show your working” to a whole different level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>JS: This sounds great. Should we be trying to do this for every part of the mathematics curriculum? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KD: \u003c/b>BrainQuake is absolutely \u003cem>not\u003c/em> obsessed with trying to achieve “full curriculum coverage,” whatever that might mean. To my mind it makes no sense to try to use video games to provide learning for parts of mathematics where an alternative, interactive representation does not add anything significantly new.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, I think it will always be largely up to a good teacher to help learners master the symbolic approach necessary for more advanced mathematics. I think that people who see technology as a way to eliminate the need for good classroom teachers fundamentally misunderstand what it takes to help someone learn how to think a different way – in my case the mathematical way. Technology can help. It can help in significant ways. But it cannot replace a good teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>JS: What do teachers and parents need to know about the future of game-based learning, the future of pedagogy, and the future of education in general?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KD: \u003c/b>Game-based learning \u003ci>is\u003c/i> the future. Games are just simulators with an internal incentive structure (often dopamine based). That means they tap into the way humans, and all living creatures, are hard-wired to learn: \u003ci>by doing\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But people are not machines. We are social creatures. If you want a child to develop into a useful citizen who can have a good life and contribute to society, you need to develop that child fully as a human being. That requires good parenting and great teaching. Doing it right requires close integration of the technologies with the human interactions.\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_36356\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 559px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36356\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-17-at-9.39.33-AM.png\" alt=\"Keith Devlin\" width=\"559\" height=\"257\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-17-at-9.39.33-AM.png 559w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-17-at-9.39.33-AM-400x184.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-17-at-9.39.33-AM-320x147.png 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 559px) 100vw, 559px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keith Devlin\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 8 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\">\u003ca href=\"http://profkeithdevlin.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Keith Devlin\u003c/a> is a well-known mathematician and the author of many popular math books. He is co-founder and Executive Director of Stanford University’s Human-Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute and is well known as the “\u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2014/04/12/302166509/martin-gardner-a-genius-of-recreational-mathematics\" target=\"_blank\">NPR Math Guy\u003c/a>.” He’s also a big fan of using video games as a teaching tool and the founder of an education technology company called BrainQuake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Devlin believes the future demands a substantial change in the way we think about math education. “So many people in the U.S. have never experienced good mathematics teaching. They have a totally false impression of what mathematics is,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this conversation, he explains why we now need different mathematical skills than we once did, and points out that the math curriculum of the 20th century did not equip today’s adults to mentor children in the math skills of the 21st century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Devlin argues that video games are the perfect tool for teaching math. He also sheds some light on those Common Core math problems that are so controversial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jordan Shapiro: In 2011, you published a book entitled \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>\u003ca href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-Education-New-Era-Learning/dp/1568814313\" target=\"_blank\">Mathematics Education For A New Era: Video Games As A Medium For Learning\u003c/a>.\u003c/i> W\u003c/b>\u003cb>hat inspired you to write that book? Do you play video games?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Keith Devlin: \u003c/b>I not only play video games, I actually wrote one, way back in the early 1980s when personal home computers were just starting to appear. I wrote a math game where you use trigonometry to find buried pirates’ treasure on a desert island. I did it for use in the math class at the local elementary school my daughters attended. When I saw how my daughters were totally engaged by video games (professional ones, much better than mine!), I recognized at once their potential in mathematics education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wrote the book to try to give teachers some sense of what it would take to build a good video game for mathematics learning and to explain to game designers what it would take to embed \u003ci>good\u003c/i> mathematics learning into a game. I was not thinking about building a video game myself (back then).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>JS: In the book, you argue that video games are the best way to teach math to middle school kids. We’ve spoken about this before and you’ve talked about the importance of learning through doing. Why is context so important? And how can thinking of video games as math simulations help to move the typical math class from an product based pedagogy to a process based pedagogy?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KD: \u003c/b>Video games are an ideal medium for developing mathematical thinking. It’s a classic case where a technology that renders old skills less relevant actually provides their replacement. Many people outside of the worlds of mathematics (particularly math as used in the world) and mathematics education are simply not aware of the dramatic shift that both disciplines have undergone as a result of digital technologies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When today’s parents were going through schools, the main focus in mathematics was on mastery of a collection of standard procedures for solving well-defined problems that have unique right answers. If you did well at that, you were pretty well guaranteed a good job. Learning mathematics had been that way for several thousand years. Math textbooks were essentially recipe books.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"The problems we need mathematics for today come in a messy, real-world context, and part of making progress is to figure out just what you need from that context.\"\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>But now all those math recipes have been coded into devices, some of which we carry round in our pockets. Suddenly, in a single generation, mastery of the procedural math skills that had ruled supreme for three thousand years has become largely irrelevant. In my book, I used the term “mathematical thinking” to distinguish the kind of math that is relevant today from the (procedural) “mathematics” most people are familiar with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The skill that is in great demand today, and will continue to grow, is the ability to take a novel problem, possibly not well-defined, and likely not having a single “right” answer, and make progress on it, in some cases (but not all!) “solving” it (whatever that turns out to mean). The problems we need mathematics for today come in a messy, real-world context, and part of making progress is to figure out just what you need from that context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Books and lectures (in a room or on a screen) are useful \u003ci>resources\u003c/i> for mathematical thinking, but they are no longer at the heart of math learning. The only way to acquire mathematical thinking ability is by a process of exploration – lots of trial-and-error and reflection. This is exactly what video games can deliver. They can provide small scale simulations of the kinds of open-ended, context-influenced, project-based, problem solving that is at such a premium in today’s world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>JS: I wrote about your game Wuzzit Trouble \u003c/b>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/how-games-based-learning-teaches-problem-solving-in-context/\">\u003cb>earlier in this series\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cb>. I also sometimes show it when I’m doing workshops or public speaking. I’ve used your metaphor often: learning games should work like musical instruments. What does it mean to create a mathematical instrument? Can we do the equivalent for other subjects?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KD: \u003c/b>Yes, it’s fortunate that the word “play” applies both to musical instruments and video games. Everyone knows that the best way to learn an instrument is to start to play it. We don’t ask someone to learn to read music before they sit at a piano or pick up a guitar. But that’s exactly what we do in mathematics! The reason we do is that through most of its history, mathematics did not have any instruments. Video games can provide math instruments you can use to learn mathematics. Take a look at the \u003ca href=\"https://vimeo.com/89583763\">twenty-minute video\u003c/a> of the talk I gave recently. In it, I use \u003ci>Wuzzit Troubl\u003c/i>e to explain how this can be done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We can do the same kind of thing in other subjects, but many of them already have instruments (e.g. laboratory equipment in the natural sciences). Before video game technologies, however, all we had for math were paper and pencil, augmented with ruler and compass for geometry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>JS: So, are you saying that kids don’t need to learn how to scribble numbers and equations on paper? Does that mean the symbolic Hindu-Arabic representation of mathematics is obsolete? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Keith: \u003c/b>No, kids need to master Hindu-Arithmetic \u003ci>representation\u003c/i> of numbers far more today than in the past. What they don’t need to do – and I think this is what you’re getting at with your question – is train themselves to do long computations, as was necessary when I was a child. No one calculates that way any more! What they (we) need in today’s world is a deeper understanding of how and why Hindu-Arabic arithmetic works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all four offerings of \u003ca href=\"https://www.coursera.org/course/maththink\">my mathematical thinking MOOC\u003c/a> to date, I have had as students, engineers with years of experience who suddenly found themselves out of a job when their employers replaced them with software systems (or sometimes overseas outsource services). Those engineers are now having to retool to learn this other skill of creative problem solving – \u003ci>mathematical thinking\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Incidentally, the Common Core State Standards that are so much in the news were designed to guide the shift to this new kind of mathematics, as \u003ca href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-keith-devlin/common-core-math-standards_b_5369939.html\">I’ve tried to explain before\u003c/a>. Many of the parents who object to the basic goal of Common Core appear do so because they too have not realized how much the world has changed in its demands for mathematical skills. (There is a lot to argue about when it comes to the implementation of the Core, but that’s a separate issue.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-35200 alignleft\" 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>\u003cb>JS: In the past, you and I have discussed the “Symbol Barrier.” Now I think I misunderstood the concept. I always thought you meant that Hindu-Arabic representation was an obstacle to mathematical thinking. But clearly that’s not what you meant. Explain the “Symbol Barrier” and how video games can help to circumvent it.\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Keith: \u003c/b>The Symbol Barrier is the name I gave to a phenomenon first noticed in the early 1990s. If people need to use basic computational mathematics in their everyday lives or careers, they quickly pick it up and are able to perform at a 98 percent accuracy level. That’s not just some people, it’s ALL people (apart from around 3 percent who have a brain condition called dyscalculia). But if you ask those same people to solve the same math problems presented in a traditional, school, paper-and-pencil test format, their performance levels drops from 98 percent accuracy to a mere 37 percent correct. Those people (all of us) don’t have an inherent math problem, they (we) have a language problem! That’s the Symbol Barrier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Symbol Barrier is a problem – i.e. a barrier to entry into mathematical thinking – because at the moment, learning mathematics and being tested in mathematics is all done by way of the symbolic representation! It’s as if we taught and tested people’s musical ability by instructing them in musical notation and testing how well they could write music using that notation. We don’t do that. We ask them to sit down and play an instrument!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Same with driving. Would you prefer to be driven by someone who had just passed the written part of the driving test, or would you want to know they had passed the road test?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or an airline pilot. Which gives you more confidence, someone who has flown successfully in a simulator or a trainee pilot who has just passed a written test on how to fly a plane?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Likewise for mathematics. I would feel much more confident in the arithmetical ability of someone who had scored highly on my own game \u003ci>Wuzzit Trouble\u003c/i> than someone who had simply learned how to line up numbers in columns and apply the standard algorithms of arithmetic. The latter just requires rule following, the former makes you \u003ci>think\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>JS: What other types of learning products are you working on at your company, BrainQuake? Which mathematical concepts are you trying to tackle? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KD: \u003c/b>Our basic platform is mobile games, though we intend to bring out Web-based PC versions for classroom use. The user data we obtained from the release of \u003ci>Wuzzit Trouble\u003c/i>, last fall was as good, if not better, than we had hoped. We were ranked highly in many general game categories, not just educational games, and we were appealing to people of all ages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once we knew \u003ci>Wuzzit Trouble\u003c/i> was succeeding as a general category video game, it made sense to develop that side more, so as to appeal to the widest possible audience. So we have been focusing on embedding that basic gears mechanic into a richer video game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, to be honest, \u003ci>Wuzzit Trouble\u003c/i> is barely classified as a game. I would (and did) call it an entertaining and engaging math-based mobile app. To reach a much wider audience, we need to incorporate more of the elements of the highly successful video games that attract tens of millions of players. Teaming up with John Romero (the legendary creator of \u003ci>Doom\u003c/i> and \u003ci>Quake\u003c/i>) as our chief Game designer provided us an exciting opportunity to go after that elusive big audience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We are also developing the assessment side. Students, parents, and teachers – and adult player-learners – want to know how well they are progressing in terms of math learning. Video-game learning provides extremely powerful mechanisms to track learning – potentially far better than the existing methods used in standardized tests. Doing that requires the development of powerful algorithms that take the raw player data (which goes right down to individual finger actions on the screen) and use it to infer the player’s thought processes behind those actions, so we can see \u003ci>how\u003c/i> a player is trying to solve the problem. This will take the old idea of “show your working” to a whole different level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>JS: This sounds great. Should we be trying to do this for every part of the mathematics curriculum? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KD: \u003c/b>BrainQuake is absolutely \u003cem>not\u003c/em> obsessed with trying to achieve “full curriculum coverage,” whatever that might mean. To my mind it makes no sense to try to use video games to provide learning for parts of mathematics where an alternative, interactive representation does not add anything significantly new.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, I think it will always be largely up to a good teacher to help learners master the symbolic approach necessary for more advanced mathematics. I think that people who see technology as a way to eliminate the need for good classroom teachers fundamentally misunderstand what it takes to help someone learn how to think a different way – in my case the mathematical way. Technology can help. It can help in significant ways. But it cannot replace a good teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>JS: What do teachers and parents need to know about the future of game-based learning, the future of pedagogy, and the future of education in general?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KD: \u003c/b>Game-based learning \u003ci>is\u003c/i> the future. Games are just simulators with an internal incentive structure (often dopamine based). That means they tap into the way humans, and all living creatures, are hard-wired to learn: \u003ci>by doing\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But people are not machines. We are social creatures. If you want a child to develop into a useful citizen who can have a good life and contribute to society, you need to develop that child fully as a human being. That requires good parenting and great teaching. Doing it right requires close integration of the technologies with the human interactions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Learning computational thinking and its language, various forms of computer code, needs to be elevated to the same level of importance as reading as writing, lest we risk perpetuating inequality in public education, argues Tasneem Raja in her \u003ca href=\"http://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/06/computer-science-programming-code-diversity-sexism-education\" target=\"_blank\">Mother Jones article\u003c/a>.Raja writes:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In other words, computational thinking opens doors. For while it may seem premature to claim that today every kid needs to code, it's clear that they're increasingly surrounded by opportunities to code—opportunities that the children of the privileged are already seizing. The parents of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg got him a private computer tutor when he was in middle school. Last year, 13,000 people chipped in more than $600,000 via Kickstarter for their own limited-edition copy of Robot Turtles, a board game that teaches programming basics to kids as young as three. There are plenty of free, kid-oriented code-learning sites—like Scratch, a programming language for children developed at MIT—but parents and kids in places like San Francisco or Austin are more likely to know they exist.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>http://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/06/computer-science-programming-code-diversity-sexism-education\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36297\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36297\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/img_4110-e1402697343967.jpg\" alt=\"Jason Haughton sings an original tune composed by the PS 177 Technology Band. Eric Westervelt \" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/img_4110-e1402697343967.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/img_4110-e1402697343967-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/img_4110-e1402697343967-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jason Haughton sings an original tune composed by the PS 177 Technology Band. Eric Westervelt\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There's a steady stream of hype surrounding the pluses and pitfalls of classroom tablet computers. But for a growing number of special education students tablets and their apps are proving transformative. The tablets aren't merely novel and fun. With guidance from creative teachers, they are helping to deepen engagement, communication, and creativity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a typical red brick public school building in the Fresh Meadows section of Queens, New York, one creative and passionate music instructor is using tablet computers to help reach students with disabilities. In the process, he's opening doors for some kids with severe mental and physical challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the surface, the PS 177 Technology Band looks like a typical high school orchestra. But there are two big differences. First, while they use traditional instruments, they also play iPads. And all of the band members have disabilities. Some have autism spectrum disorders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm Tobi Lakes, I'm 15 years old. I'm in ninth grade. I'm four grades away from college.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"2RY0PvaS5CowUF77f0zxhgk5ntjr6ME1\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morning sunlight pushes through large, old windows into the school's well-worn and empty-seated auditorium. On the stage, iPads on small stands sit in a semicircle. It's rehearsal time. The students mingle and chat before practice starts. Tobi Lakes, a tall, wire-thin teen with thick glasses sits at an electric piano. He taught himself to play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm very good. I like the piano. I like the keyboard. Keyboard is the best. Number one!\" Tobi says with a wide smile. On his school-issued tablet computer, using a music app called Thumb Jam, Tobi also loves his iPad \"guitar.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As rehearsal heats up Tobi takes the lead on rock guitarist Jeff Beck's version of Puccini's \"Nesun Dorma.\" Tobi Lakes, iPad guitar shredder, is learning disabled. He's autistic. And he's also blind in one eye. Adam Goldberg, the creator of the PS 177 band, gets the music started.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The first note of the second line please,\" he tells them. \"In blue. There ya go. That's the pizzicato.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 53 year old teacher is a classically trained pianist with a degree from the Manhattan School of Music. About 20 years ago he began substitute-teaching here while playing freelance jazz and rock gigs. He was soon offered a job at PS 177, and he's been at the school ever since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>'Sing, Sing, Sing!'\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seventeen-year-old Jason Houghton walks in a little late for rehearsal. One of his teachers says Jason is \"classically severely autistic.\" His speech is often marked by echolalia, a communication disorder where he repeats back what you say to him. Before the band, Jason rarely spoke at all. But music helped change that. \"Some people were very surprised when they could see that he could sing because some people thought that he was non-verbal,\" Goldberg says. \"At first I kept saying 'sing, sing, sing.' And he wouldn't sing until I said 'Jason like this 'dah dah dah dah.' Then he would go 'dah dah dah dah.' And I would say 'no, do something of your own.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Goldberg says several of the students were previously non-verbal or only occasionally verbal. He eventually got Jason to hum his own notes and soon built an original song \"Being Me\" around that phrase. These days Jason takes 'lead' vocals on that tune. And he doesn't just echo back lyrics. He even improvises – or scat sings – in his own way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It was mostly persistence, you know, and the confidence that it was there inside of him. It goes back to that summer when we had some extra time. And I just kept pushing him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-36292\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/img_4085-15db04a3707c5e74fcac0603055e65add5bb5e57-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"Practice time for the PS 177 band.\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\">I admit sometimes I push them,\" Goldberg says. \"Not in a mean way. But I know inside there's something and I have the confidence in them that they can find a way to bring it out.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The teacher calls himself a hesitant technophile. \"I'm an acoustic guy,\" he says. He sits at the piano and starts playing jazz, his first musical love. \"I was always reluctant to get involved with technology but that was mostly because there was so much work involved to get the technology to work properly.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Goldberg says the iPad and its apps have allowed the band to produce complex orchestral-style arrangements. With the tablets, he says, kids can play all kinds of different virtual instruments by just tapping buttons on the touch screen, instead of getting bogged down in learning technique.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"All the technical stuff that, you know, is admittedly very worthwhile,\" he says. \"I'm coming from classical background. But for people who can't, and don't have the resources, if you give them something like this as a musical instrument you can really kind of break through barriers and teach so much of the art of the whole process of music-making. Which these guys do beautifully with that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A New Look\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just what is it about a tablet, or the iPad in particular, that works so well with some students with disabilities and children on the autism spectrum?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators believe there's something about the combination of the big, bright, clear visual cues of some of the music apps, and the touchscreen that's easy to use without creating a sensory or visual overload. Beyond that, many teachers and parents aren't really sure. It's still a bit of a mystery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have some really, really low-functioning students who I could never really involve in the music activities,\" Goldberg says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"But the iPad has pretty much taken care of that. I can't say I have 100 percent involvement. But it's pretty close.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And educators say there's another way the tablets are proving to be game changers for special ed. They've begun to make obsolete those large and costly learning devices, allowing a student with disabilities to look like every other student.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It has changed the way people look at people with disabilities,\" says Karen Gorman, the director of Assistive Technology for New York City's Public schools. For years, she said, many kids with severe autism, cerebral palsy or other serious challenges needed these large, clunky and expensive assistive-speaking devices. Some looked like small accordions, worn around students' necks. Gorman says they looked a little odd, and screamed \"disabled kid.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now the iPad and other tablets, she says, have helped level the playing field socially.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Parents thought for the first time my child with disabilities is using something that looks very cool, and modern and current. And other kids will come over to them now and interact with them.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once, Gorman says, other students tended to see only the disability: \"Kid in a wheelchair, kid in a wheelchair,\" she explains. \"Kid in a wheelchair with an iPad? How interesting.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Game-Changer\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tobi Lakes stands and sways rhythmically back and forth on stage, the iPad braced in a stand as he summons his inner Jeff Beck. His thumbs furiously tap the music app's buttons as the song \"Nesun Dorma\" begins to crescendo. \"Really awesome. We're ninety-nine percent there,\" Goldberg tells the band with a grin. \"Very good. I love doing this!\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apple, Samsung and other tech giants certainly didn't intend for their tablets to become essential tools for students with disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I have a feeling they had no idea\" says Leslie Schect, the Director of Technology for New York City's Department of Education. \"The iPad is a game-changer because it's affordable and accessible. It really opens doors. At times we don't often know what's really inside because they're not speaking. This helps give them the voice.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shecht says there's more to these students than many people realize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Music is a natural way in. It just makes sense that it's something they'd gravitate to.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still Schect and other educators are quick to point out that the tablets are just tools, not some cure-all. Students still need a creative, engaged teacher – like Adam Goldberg - to make the devices transformative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Goldberg says a key is getting students to open up and express themselves freely, \"instead of being afraid 'oh, that isn't going to sound good.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schect says her department and the city have no financial relationship or get any incentive from Apple for using their products. \"I wish,\" she says. The company is simply one of the city's vendors and suppliers, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>'I Love Music'\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My name is William Hernandez; I play the iPad and the piano. I love Mr. Goldberg so much.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The band works to get the sound right on the South African anti-apartheid song \"When You Come Back,\" which they perform as a tribute to the late Nelson Mandela.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teenagers Rachel Rodriquez and Ulysses Rivers are on backing vocals. Nineteen year old Ryan Rodriquez takes the lead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps even more important than the music, Goldberg says, is that the band has given students a sense of belonging, friendship and joint accomplishment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They all support each other. It doesn't matter who is taking the solo. They're essential to making the whole thing work. That translates to a wider idea of socialization out in the general world. And I see a huge leap in their socialization and social abilities and the fact they say hello to each other. A couple of years ago that wasn't happening.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, band members dream of performing for a wider audience. 17-year-old Jaquan Bostick says he wants to try to make music his profession.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You know when we graduate we should do all start a tour, like a world tour\" he tells the band. \"That's what I've been thinking about a lot. I've been thinking about that a lot. Like since yesterday.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His band mates and friends nod in agreement. \"Me too.\" \"Me three.\" Goldberg knows from experience how tough the professional musician road is and says he's straight with the students about it. Yet, he says he'd never strip them of their vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Some of these kids, you know, don't have a chance to dream,\" he says. \"Again, it comes from confidence. It may be a very difficult dream to achieve. But it's attached to reality. They really do play music. They're not dreaming of being Superman or Spiderman.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says the students are dreaming of something they can do where they can say to themselves, \" 'I have this.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Tobi Lakes – and many others here – playing in the iPad band has helped him socially and creatively. \"I feel excited. I feel happy. I love music,\" he says with a broad smile. \"It feels like I'm going crazy and all the audience was clapping!\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Listen to students making more music here:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[soundcloud url=\"https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/153008108\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/06/11/320882414/ipads-allow-kids-with-challenges-to-play-in-high-schools-band\" target=\"_blank\">This post originally appeared on NPR.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36297\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36297\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/img_4110-e1402697343967.jpg\" alt=\"Jason Haughton sings an original tune composed by the PS 177 Technology Band. Eric Westervelt \" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/img_4110-e1402697343967.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/img_4110-e1402697343967-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/img_4110-e1402697343967-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jason Haughton sings an original tune composed by the PS 177 Technology Band. Eric Westervelt\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There's a steady stream of hype surrounding the pluses and pitfalls of classroom tablet computers. But for a growing number of special education students tablets and their apps are proving transformative. The tablets aren't merely novel and fun. With guidance from creative teachers, they are helping to deepen engagement, communication, and creativity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a typical red brick public school building in the Fresh Meadows section of Queens, New York, one creative and passionate music instructor is using tablet computers to help reach students with disabilities. In the process, he's opening doors for some kids with severe mental and physical challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the surface, the PS 177 Technology Band looks like a typical high school orchestra. But there are two big differences. First, while they use traditional instruments, they also play iPads. And all of the band members have disabilities. Some have autism spectrum disorders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm Tobi Lakes, I'm 15 years old. I'm in ninth grade. I'm four grades away from college.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morning sunlight pushes through large, old windows into the school's well-worn and empty-seated auditorium. On the stage, iPads on small stands sit in a semicircle. It's rehearsal time. The students mingle and chat before practice starts. Tobi Lakes, a tall, wire-thin teen with thick glasses sits at an electric piano. He taught himself to play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm very good. I like the piano. I like the keyboard. Keyboard is the best. Number one!\" Tobi says with a wide smile. On his school-issued tablet computer, using a music app called Thumb Jam, Tobi also loves his iPad \"guitar.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As rehearsal heats up Tobi takes the lead on rock guitarist Jeff Beck's version of Puccini's \"Nesun Dorma.\" Tobi Lakes, iPad guitar shredder, is learning disabled. He's autistic. And he's also blind in one eye. Adam Goldberg, the creator of the PS 177 band, gets the music started.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The first note of the second line please,\" he tells them. \"In blue. There ya go. That's the pizzicato.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 53 year old teacher is a classically trained pianist with a degree from the Manhattan School of Music. About 20 years ago he began substitute-teaching here while playing freelance jazz and rock gigs. He was soon offered a job at PS 177, and he's been at the school ever since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>'Sing, Sing, Sing!'\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seventeen-year-old Jason Houghton walks in a little late for rehearsal. One of his teachers says Jason is \"classically severely autistic.\" His speech is often marked by echolalia, a communication disorder where he repeats back what you say to him. Before the band, Jason rarely spoke at all. But music helped change that. \"Some people were very surprised when they could see that he could sing because some people thought that he was non-verbal,\" Goldberg says. \"At first I kept saying 'sing, sing, sing.' And he wouldn't sing until I said 'Jason like this 'dah dah dah dah.' Then he would go 'dah dah dah dah.' And I would say 'no, do something of your own.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Goldberg says several of the students were previously non-verbal or only occasionally verbal. He eventually got Jason to hum his own notes and soon built an original song \"Being Me\" around that phrase. These days Jason takes 'lead' vocals on that tune. And he doesn't just echo back lyrics. He even improvises – or scat sings – in his own way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It was mostly persistence, you know, and the confidence that it was there inside of him. It goes back to that summer when we had some extra time. And I just kept pushing him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-36292\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/img_4085-15db04a3707c5e74fcac0603055e65add5bb5e57-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"Practice time for the PS 177 band.\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\">I admit sometimes I push them,\" Goldberg says. \"Not in a mean way. But I know inside there's something and I have the confidence in them that they can find a way to bring it out.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The teacher calls himself a hesitant technophile. \"I'm an acoustic guy,\" he says. He sits at the piano and starts playing jazz, his first musical love. \"I was always reluctant to get involved with technology but that was mostly because there was so much work involved to get the technology to work properly.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Goldberg says the iPad and its apps have allowed the band to produce complex orchestral-style arrangements. With the tablets, he says, kids can play all kinds of different virtual instruments by just tapping buttons on the touch screen, instead of getting bogged down in learning technique.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"All the technical stuff that, you know, is admittedly very worthwhile,\" he says. \"I'm coming from classical background. But for people who can't, and don't have the resources, if you give them something like this as a musical instrument you can really kind of break through barriers and teach so much of the art of the whole process of music-making. Which these guys do beautifully with that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A New Look\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just what is it about a tablet, or the iPad in particular, that works so well with some students with disabilities and children on the autism spectrum?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators believe there's something about the combination of the big, bright, clear visual cues of some of the music apps, and the touchscreen that's easy to use without creating a sensory or visual overload. Beyond that, many teachers and parents aren't really sure. It's still a bit of a mystery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have some really, really low-functioning students who I could never really involve in the music activities,\" Goldberg says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"But the iPad has pretty much taken care of that. I can't say I have 100 percent involvement. But it's pretty close.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And educators say there's another way the tablets are proving to be game changers for special ed. They've begun to make obsolete those large and costly learning devices, allowing a student with disabilities to look like every other student.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It has changed the way people look at people with disabilities,\" says Karen Gorman, the director of Assistive Technology for New York City's Public schools. For years, she said, many kids with severe autism, cerebral palsy or other serious challenges needed these large, clunky and expensive assistive-speaking devices. Some looked like small accordions, worn around students' necks. Gorman says they looked a little odd, and screamed \"disabled kid.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now the iPad and other tablets, she says, have helped level the playing field socially.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Parents thought for the first time my child with disabilities is using something that looks very cool, and modern and current. And other kids will come over to them now and interact with them.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once, Gorman says, other students tended to see only the disability: \"Kid in a wheelchair, kid in a wheelchair,\" she explains. \"Kid in a wheelchair with an iPad? How interesting.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Game-Changer\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tobi Lakes stands and sways rhythmically back and forth on stage, the iPad braced in a stand as he summons his inner Jeff Beck. His thumbs furiously tap the music app's buttons as the song \"Nesun Dorma\" begins to crescendo. \"Really awesome. We're ninety-nine percent there,\" Goldberg tells the band with a grin. \"Very good. I love doing this!\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apple, Samsung and other tech giants certainly didn't intend for their tablets to become essential tools for students with disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I have a feeling they had no idea\" says Leslie Schect, the Director of Technology for New York City's Department of Education. \"The iPad is a game-changer because it's affordable and accessible. It really opens doors. At times we don't often know what's really inside because they're not speaking. This helps give them the voice.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shecht says there's more to these students than many people realize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Music is a natural way in. It just makes sense that it's something they'd gravitate to.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still Schect and other educators are quick to point out that the tablets are just tools, not some cure-all. Students still need a creative, engaged teacher – like Adam Goldberg - to make the devices transformative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Goldberg says a key is getting students to open up and express themselves freely, \"instead of being afraid 'oh, that isn't going to sound good.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schect says her department and the city have no financial relationship or get any incentive from Apple for using their products. \"I wish,\" she says. The company is simply one of the city's vendors and suppliers, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>'I Love Music'\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My name is William Hernandez; I play the iPad and the piano. I love Mr. Goldberg so much.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The band works to get the sound right on the South African anti-apartheid song \"When You Come Back,\" which they perform as a tribute to the late Nelson Mandela.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teenagers Rachel Rodriquez and Ulysses Rivers are on backing vocals. Nineteen year old Ryan Rodriquez takes the lead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps even more important than the music, Goldberg says, is that the band has given students a sense of belonging, friendship and joint accomplishment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They all support each other. It doesn't matter who is taking the solo. They're essential to making the whole thing work. That translates to a wider idea of socialization out in the general world. And I see a huge leap in their socialization and social abilities and the fact they say hello to each other. A couple of years ago that wasn't happening.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, band members dream of performing for a wider audience. 17-year-old Jaquan Bostick says he wants to try to make music his profession.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You know when we graduate we should do all start a tour, like a world tour\" he tells the band. \"That's what I've been thinking about a lot. I've been thinking about that a lot. Like since yesterday.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His band mates and friends nod in agreement. \"Me too.\" \"Me three.\" Goldberg knows from experience how tough the professional musician road is and says he's straight with the students about it. Yet, he says he'd never strip them of their vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Some of these kids, you know, don't have a chance to dream,\" he says. \"Again, it comes from confidence. It may be a very difficult dream to achieve. But it's attached to reality. They really do play music. They're not dreaming of being Superman or Spiderman.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says the students are dreaming of something they can do where they can say to themselves, \" 'I have this.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Tobi Lakes – and many others here – playing in the iPad band has helped him socially and creatively. \"I feel excited. I feel happy. I love music,\" he says with a broad smile. \"It feels like I'm going crazy and all the audience was clapping!\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Listen to students making more music here:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe width='undefined' height='undefined'\n scrolling='no' frameborder='no'\n src='https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/153008108&visual=true&undefined'\n title='https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/153008108'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\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://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/06/11/320882414/ipads-allow-kids-with-challenges-to-play-in-high-schools-band\" target=\"_blank\">This post originally appeared on NPR.\u003c/a>\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_36273\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36273\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/4975313325_1168f12b5b_z-e1402670196428.jpg\" alt=\"Doug Kline\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/4975313325_1168f12b5b_z-e1402670196428.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/4975313325_1168f12b5b_z-e1402670196428-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/4975313325_1168f12b5b_z-e1402670196428-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Doug Kline\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 7 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\">Games and learning advocates often come up against the video game stigma. Despite the fact that we’ve now seen decades of game play, and that \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/02/05/how-video-games-nurtured-a-generation-of-entrepreneurs/\" target=\"_blank\">a generation of gamers\u003c/a> has grown up without a civilization collapsing, the bad reputation persists -- and it's mostly based around fear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>News stories abound: games make kids hyper, violent, stupid, anti-social. It's not only that people are generally wary of the unfamiliar, we also live in a culture of heroism and progress that casts every innovation as a revolution. Rather than celebrating modification and iteration, we divide the world into what’s cutting-edge and what’s obsolete. We’re always afraid that the new school will completely displace an old school that we’re not quite ready to abandon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the introduction of video games in the classroom does not need to mean the end of books. Blended learning will not necessarily replace the lecture. Games, however, can supplement time-tested pedagogical practices with new technological solutions to long-term problems. We can have the best of both the new and the old. Other posts in this series have already discussed the way games can help educators answer the ongoing \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/can-games-make-high-stakes-tests-obsolete/\">assessment\u003c/a> question, the way games can help develop kid’s \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/social-and-emotional-benefits-of-video-games-metacognition-and-relationships/\">metacognitive skills and empathy\u003c/a>, and the way they can help to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/math-science-history-games-break-boundaries-between-subjects-interdisciplinary-learning/\">break down the boundaries between academic subjects\u003c/a>. Still, not everyone’s convinced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, researchers have begun to look at the positive impact of games both in a general way and for learning in particular. The data is still sparse, but there are already some important takeaways. Here, I’ll summarize some of the general research on the positive impact of gameplay. In a future post, I’ll look at the research specific to games in school, education, and learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"6c41feb69d0a4029c27f00ab9f8bef8e\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The\u003ca href=\"http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-a0034857.pdf\"> recent APA (American Psychological Association) article\u003c/a> entitled, “The Benefits of Playing Video Games” by authors Isabela Granic, Adam Lobel, and Rutger C. M. E. Engels surveyed the landscape of video games. They identified four types of positive impact that video games have on the kids who play them: cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gameplay has cognitive benefit because games have been shown to improve attention, focus, and reaction time. Games have motivational benefit because they encourage an \u003ci>incremental\u003c/i>, rather than an \u003ci>entity\u003c/i> theory of intelligence. Games have emotional benefit because they induce positive mood states; in addition, there is speculative evidence that games may help kids develop adaptive emotion regulation. Games have social benefit because gamers are able to translate the prosocial skills that they learn from co-playing or multiplayer gameplay to “peer and family relations outside the gaming environment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thinking about cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social skills reminds us that educators are not just responsible for the transmission of content and facts. Of course, this is one of the reasons that there is so much controversy over testing. Standardized tests measure only quantifiable outcomes. Educators, however, are also responsible for the non-quantifiable well-being of our students. Some of these skills are taken into account in some schools when folks talk about “character education.” But mostly, there is little curricular systematization in these areas. Still, teachers are accountable for conflict resolution and other interpersonal skills. Video games can help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A survey done in Ireland\u003ca href=\"http://www.integrationcentre.ie/getattachment/3728d764-143f-4ece-bf9a-a0134ceda102/Online-Gaming-and-Youth-Cultural-Perceptions.aspx\">, \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://www.integrationcentre.ie/getattachment/3728d764-143f-4ece-bf9a-a0134ceda102/Online-Gaming-and-Youth-Cultural-Perceptions.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Online Gaming and Youth Cultural Perceptions\u003c/a> by Killian Forde and Catherine Kenny, suggests that kids who play multi-player games online are more likely to have a positive attitude toward people from another country: 62 percent of online gamers hold a favorable view of people from different cultures compared to 50 percent of non-gamers. Unlike school, where the diversity of the institution is rarely reflected by individuals’ peer groups, interactive online gaming correlates with a more diverse group of friends. Might the same principle be applied to the classroom? Could multi-player learning games help eliminate bullying and build camaraderie among classmates?\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>Studies like these are generally held at face value, but critics of games are quick to point out that the violent ones are morally reprehensible. Though I’m not a fan of violent video games, studies have shown that there are even positive benefits from playing these types of games. One study, published \u003ca href=\"http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v12/n5/full/nn0509-527.html\">in \u003ci>Nature\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, \u003c/i>showed that playing fast-paced “action based” video games improves “attentional processing” and also “induces long-lasting improvements in contrast sensitivity, a basic visual function that commonly deteriorates with age.” Of course, the violent narrative content is not likely responsible for these benefits. It seems more likely that it has something to do with the fast pace which demands quick reflexes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most convincing neurological \u003ca href=\"http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v19/n2/full/mp2013120a.html\">research shows\u003c/a> that video games contribute to neural plasticity because games provide “a multitude of complex motor and cognitive demands.” In this study, players played platformers such as \u003ci>Super Mario Brothers \u003c/i>for at least 30 minutes a day for 2 months. They showed \"significant gray matter (GM) increase in right hippocampal formation (HC), right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and bilateral cerebellum.” These are the areas of the brain “crucial for spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DIFFERENT GAMES FOR DIFFERENT GOALS\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it's a little disingenuous to say that games are “good for kids.” Games are not like vegetables. Don’t imagine them as if they were packed with vitamins and nutrients that help kids grow into healthy adults. Like all forms of media, it depends on the particular games and how they are used.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One can no more say what the effects of video games are, than one can say what the effects of food are. There are millions of individual games, hundreds of distinct genres and sub-genres, and they can be played on computers, consoles, hand-held devices and cell phones. Simply put, if one wants to know what the effects of video games are, the devil is in the details.” Say Daphne Bavelier & C. Shawn Green, in \u003ca href=\"http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v12/n12/full/nrn3135.html\">\u003ci>Nature Reviews Neuroscience.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The details include, among other things, the narrative content: the story of the game. Games with very similar mechanics could have drastically different stories. For example, replace PacMan and the Space-Ghosts with Theseus and the Minotaur and it is a very different game. I can imagine a game called \u003ci>Steve the Fracker\u003c/i> that might look very similar to Minecraft, but the implications are altogether different. Understanding how shifting the narrative can change the game gives developers a clue about how they might build learning games and also helps teachers imagine how they might use existing commercial games to reinforce learning outcomes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Imagine if we could build learning games that provided the same kinds of complex motor and cognitive demands as fast paced action games while featuring narrative content that was curricularly relevant. Games all feature stories laid atop interactive mechanics. One approach to learning games might be to build narratives that reinforce educational content while employing the same familiar game mechanics. Teachers could also have students imagine how existing commercial game narratives might be retold to be relevant to class content.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The studies summarized here identify some of the ways that games, considered in a general way, can have positive impact on the people that play them. To get the most out of games, however, the facilitation and mentoring that adults can provide children is absolutely essential. Teachers should design curriculum that not only uses game-based instruction, but also makes kids aware of the way games are designed. Parents should play games with their kids at home.\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_36273\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36273\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/4975313325_1168f12b5b_z-e1402670196428.jpg\" alt=\"Doug Kline\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/4975313325_1168f12b5b_z-e1402670196428.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/4975313325_1168f12b5b_z-e1402670196428-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/4975313325_1168f12b5b_z-e1402670196428-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Doug Kline\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 7 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\">Games and learning advocates often come up against the video game stigma. Despite the fact that we’ve now seen decades of game play, and that \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/02/05/how-video-games-nurtured-a-generation-of-entrepreneurs/\" target=\"_blank\">a generation of gamers\u003c/a> has grown up without a civilization collapsing, the bad reputation persists -- and it's mostly based around fear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>News stories abound: games make kids hyper, violent, stupid, anti-social. It's not only that people are generally wary of the unfamiliar, we also live in a culture of heroism and progress that casts every innovation as a revolution. Rather than celebrating modification and iteration, we divide the world into what’s cutting-edge and what’s obsolete. We’re always afraid that the new school will completely displace an old school that we’re not quite ready to abandon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the introduction of video games in the classroom does not need to mean the end of books. Blended learning will not necessarily replace the lecture. Games, however, can supplement time-tested pedagogical practices with new technological solutions to long-term problems. We can have the best of both the new and the old. Other posts in this series have already discussed the way games can help educators answer the ongoing \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/can-games-make-high-stakes-tests-obsolete/\">assessment\u003c/a> question, the way games can help develop kid’s \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/social-and-emotional-benefits-of-video-games-metacognition-and-relationships/\">metacognitive skills and empathy\u003c/a>, and the way they can help to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/math-science-history-games-break-boundaries-between-subjects-interdisciplinary-learning/\">break down the boundaries between academic subjects\u003c/a>. Still, not everyone’s convinced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, researchers have begun to look at the positive impact of games both in a general way and for learning in particular. The data is still sparse, but there are already some important takeaways. Here, I’ll summarize some of the general research on the positive impact of gameplay. In a future post, I’ll look at the research specific to games in school, education, and learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The\u003ca href=\"http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-a0034857.pdf\"> recent APA (American Psychological Association) article\u003c/a> entitled, “The Benefits of Playing Video Games” by authors Isabela Granic, Adam Lobel, and Rutger C. M. E. Engels surveyed the landscape of video games. They identified four types of positive impact that video games have on the kids who play them: cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gameplay has cognitive benefit because games have been shown to improve attention, focus, and reaction time. Games have motivational benefit because they encourage an \u003ci>incremental\u003c/i>, rather than an \u003ci>entity\u003c/i> theory of intelligence. Games have emotional benefit because they induce positive mood states; in addition, there is speculative evidence that games may help kids develop adaptive emotion regulation. Games have social benefit because gamers are able to translate the prosocial skills that they learn from co-playing or multiplayer gameplay to “peer and family relations outside the gaming environment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thinking about cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social skills reminds us that educators are not just responsible for the transmission of content and facts. Of course, this is one of the reasons that there is so much controversy over testing. Standardized tests measure only quantifiable outcomes. Educators, however, are also responsible for the non-quantifiable well-being of our students. Some of these skills are taken into account in some schools when folks talk about “character education.” But mostly, there is little curricular systematization in these areas. Still, teachers are accountable for conflict resolution and other interpersonal skills. Video games can help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A survey done in Ireland\u003ca href=\"http://www.integrationcentre.ie/getattachment/3728d764-143f-4ece-bf9a-a0134ceda102/Online-Gaming-and-Youth-Cultural-Perceptions.aspx\">, \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://www.integrationcentre.ie/getattachment/3728d764-143f-4ece-bf9a-a0134ceda102/Online-Gaming-and-Youth-Cultural-Perceptions.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Online Gaming and Youth Cultural Perceptions\u003c/a> by Killian Forde and Catherine Kenny, suggests that kids who play multi-player games online are more likely to have a positive attitude toward people from another country: 62 percent of online gamers hold a favorable view of people from different cultures compared to 50 percent of non-gamers. Unlike school, where the diversity of the institution is rarely reflected by individuals’ peer groups, interactive online gaming correlates with a more diverse group of friends. Might the same principle be applied to the classroom? Could multi-player learning games help eliminate bullying and build camaraderie among classmates?\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>Studies like these are generally held at face value, but critics of games are quick to point out that the violent ones are morally reprehensible. Though I’m not a fan of violent video games, studies have shown that there are even positive benefits from playing these types of games. One study, published \u003ca href=\"http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v12/n5/full/nn0509-527.html\">in \u003ci>Nature\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, \u003c/i>showed that playing fast-paced “action based” video games improves “attentional processing” and also “induces long-lasting improvements in contrast sensitivity, a basic visual function that commonly deteriorates with age.” Of course, the violent narrative content is not likely responsible for these benefits. It seems more likely that it has something to do with the fast pace which demands quick reflexes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most convincing neurological \u003ca href=\"http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v19/n2/full/mp2013120a.html\">research shows\u003c/a> that video games contribute to neural plasticity because games provide “a multitude of complex motor and cognitive demands.” In this study, players played platformers such as \u003ci>Super Mario Brothers \u003c/i>for at least 30 minutes a day for 2 months. They showed \"significant gray matter (GM) increase in right hippocampal formation (HC), right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and bilateral cerebellum.” These are the areas of the brain “crucial for spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DIFFERENT GAMES FOR DIFFERENT GOALS\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it's a little disingenuous to say that games are “good for kids.” Games are not like vegetables. Don’t imagine them as if they were packed with vitamins and nutrients that help kids grow into healthy adults. Like all forms of media, it depends on the particular games and how they are used.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One can no more say what the effects of video games are, than one can say what the effects of food are. There are millions of individual games, hundreds of distinct genres and sub-genres, and they can be played on computers, consoles, hand-held devices and cell phones. Simply put, if one wants to know what the effects of video games are, the devil is in the details.” Say Daphne Bavelier & C. Shawn Green, in \u003ca href=\"http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v12/n12/full/nrn3135.html\">\u003ci>Nature Reviews Neuroscience.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The details include, among other things, the narrative content: the story of the game. Games with very similar mechanics could have drastically different stories. For example, replace PacMan and the Space-Ghosts with Theseus and the Minotaur and it is a very different game. I can imagine a game called \u003ci>Steve the Fracker\u003c/i> that might look very similar to Minecraft, but the implications are altogether different. Understanding how shifting the narrative can change the game gives developers a clue about how they might build learning games and also helps teachers imagine how they might use existing commercial games to reinforce learning outcomes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Imagine if we could build learning games that provided the same kinds of complex motor and cognitive demands as fast paced action games while featuring narrative content that was curricularly relevant. Games all feature stories laid atop interactive mechanics. One approach to learning games might be to build narratives that reinforce educational content while employing the same familiar game mechanics. Teachers could also have students imagine how existing commercial game narratives might be retold to be relevant to class content.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The studies summarized here identify some of the ways that games, considered in a general way, can have positive impact on the people that play them. To get the most out of games, however, the facilitation and mentoring that adults can provide children is absolutely essential. Teachers should design curriculum that not only uses game-based instruction, but also makes kids aware of the way games are designed. Parents should play games with their kids at home.\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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"disqusTitle": "Can Parents Protect Their Kids' School-Collected Data?",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36256\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36256\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/8169560070_290a4e1fc4_z1-e1402596139671.jpg\" alt=\"Katie Hiscock\" width=\"640\" height=\"355\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/8169560070_290a4e1fc4_z1-e1402596139671.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/8169560070_290a4e1fc4_z1-e1402596139671-400x222.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/8169560070_290a4e1fc4_z1-e1402596139671-320x178.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katie Hiscock\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Gone are the days when parents could tuck all their children’s homework in a drawer or rest assured that their child’s complete records were under lock and key, on paper, in the school’s main office. For the past few years, most American public schools have been moving student records online and many teachers have been assigning homework online. Children are logging on to school assignments in class, at home and on the go, generating a deluge of data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With all this accumulation of data comes a \u003ca href=\"http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/internet-data-mining-children-107461.html\" target=\"_blank\">distinct feeling of consternation\u003c/a> on the part of some parents. The thought of losing control of a child’s personal information can be unnerving. Arielle Piastunovich, a social worker in San Francisco is concerned her kids’ data could be captured by a marketer or a predator, although the chances of the latter have proven to be almost negligible. “It’s a scary thought,” she says. “As a parent you want to protect your kids and make them safe in the world, and the world gets less and less safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some parents who work in the tech industry have more comfort with the idea of online data. “There is no problem aside from us adults having a very old-fashioned perspective on our privacy,” says Tomo Moriwaki, a father and video game developer in Los Angeles. “The most sinister thing they can try and do is profit from the information. Even spying on our kids because they might be terrorists is no big deal to me, aside from how much a waste of time and effort it represents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s futile to try and keep track of student data according to Simon Jones, a father of three and a marketer in Burlingame, Calif. “Privacy efforts are sort of like TSA agents. They make you feel better but you can’t protect your privacy in today’s world.” Jones finds comfort in believing that everyone is being tracked somehow and, “if it’s everybody, it’s nobody, you disappear into an ocean of names and numbers.” He says he doesn’t worry about privacy, because he believes there’s nothing he can do about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Laws Protecting Student Data\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Not everyone is resigned to handing over student data to the wilds and will of the internet. “Privacy rules may well be the seatbelts of this generation,” said Arne Duncan in a \u003ca href=\"http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/technology-education-privacy-and-progress\">recent speech\u003c/a> on privacy. The Data Quality Campaign found that 80 student-data-privacy bills have been considered in 32 states in 2014 alone. In addition to the state laws under consideration, there are at least three federal laws already on the books designed to protect student data, FERPA, PPRA and COPPA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 1974 \u003ca href=\"http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html\">Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act\u003c/a> or FERPA, mandates that schools must keep educational records confidential and that student data can only be used for educational purposes. Using student data to sell or market products is prohibited. But there is an exception: schools can share “personally identifiable” student information with a contracted third party, for example, an educational software company, provided that information is only used for the purpose the school requested.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"d627ac8dc5dd4ebfce512214deecb03c\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another statute, the \u003ca href=\"http://ptac.ed.gov/sites/default/files/Student%20Privacy%20and%20Online%20Educational%20Services%20%28February%202014%29.pdf\">Protection Pupil Rights Amendment\u003c/a> or PPRA deals directly with sharing K-12 student data for marketing purposes. Under this amendment, “a school district must, with exceptions, directly notify parents of students who are scheduled to participate in activities involving the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for marketing purposes, or to sell or otherwise provide that information to others for marketing purposes, and to give parents the opportunity to opt-out of these activities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither FERPA nor the PPRA is airtight. According to the Department of Education “student information collected or maintained as part of an online educational service may be protected under FERPA, under PPRA, under both statutes, or not protected by either. Which statute applies depends on the content of the information, how it is collected or disclosed, and the purposes for which it is used.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act or \u003ca href=\"http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/0493-Complying-with-COPPA-Frequently-Asked-Questions\">COPPA \u003c/a>is directed at operators of websites or online services directed at children under 13. Under COPPA, these operators have to get verifiable parental consent before collecting or using the personal information about children under 13. Under some circumstances, schools can act as a parent’s agent and consent to the collection of kids’ information, as long as that information is used for educational, not commercial purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Federal law provides only some of the guard rails for data and privacy practice. Much of the control over these issues lies in the policies of states and districts,” Duncan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>How Parents Can Protect Their Child’s Data\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Parents can play a significant role in protecting their kids’ information. Kathleen Styles, Chief Privacy Officer at the U.S. Dept. of Education, says parents must educate kids about where they share their information online. “Our children are now citizens in an online world, and conversations about privacy need to happen in schools but they need to happen at home as well,” Styles says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joni Lupovitz of Common Sense Media takes a more aggressive approach, advocating for careful parent scrutiny of a child’s online activity. “There’s no substitute for P-O-S. Parent Over Shoulder,” Lupovitz says. \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/school-privacy-zone\">Common Sense Media\u003c/a> has created a list of principles governing student privacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At school, parents concerned about privacy are encouraged to ask administrators how they’re collecting, storing and sharing data. “Make sure schools have self-awareness,” Styles says. “I would be looking for the currency of the privacy policy, evidence that the district is aware of what kind of data the schools and district are capturing and evidence that the data is classified by sensitivity -- that more sensitive data is being protected in a more stringent fashion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some privacy advocates call for more intense policing of adults who deal with student data, Richard Culatta, Director of the Office of Educational Technology takes a more moderate approach. “I think it’s really important to ask good questions – but we need to be careful that we don’t get swayed by hype.” He adds, “I wouldn’t expect every parent to understand what 'encryption at rest' means… I think the question is, do they trust their schools? Is the school providing evidence that they are being stewards of data?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the school can show that it’s being responsible with data, then Culatta says parents can focus on leveraging student data to improve their child’s education.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36256\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36256\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/8169560070_290a4e1fc4_z1-e1402596139671.jpg\" alt=\"Katie Hiscock\" width=\"640\" height=\"355\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/8169560070_290a4e1fc4_z1-e1402596139671.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/8169560070_290a4e1fc4_z1-e1402596139671-400x222.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/8169560070_290a4e1fc4_z1-e1402596139671-320x178.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katie Hiscock\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Gone are the days when parents could tuck all their children’s homework in a drawer or rest assured that their child’s complete records were under lock and key, on paper, in the school’s main office. For the past few years, most American public schools have been moving student records online and many teachers have been assigning homework online. Children are logging on to school assignments in class, at home and on the go, generating a deluge of data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With all this accumulation of data comes a \u003ca href=\"http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/internet-data-mining-children-107461.html\" target=\"_blank\">distinct feeling of consternation\u003c/a> on the part of some parents. The thought of losing control of a child’s personal information can be unnerving. Arielle Piastunovich, a social worker in San Francisco is concerned her kids’ data could be captured by a marketer or a predator, although the chances of the latter have proven to be almost negligible. “It’s a scary thought,” she says. “As a parent you want to protect your kids and make them safe in the world, and the world gets less and less safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some parents who work in the tech industry have more comfort with the idea of online data. “There is no problem aside from us adults having a very old-fashioned perspective on our privacy,” says Tomo Moriwaki, a father and video game developer in Los Angeles. “The most sinister thing they can try and do is profit from the information. Even spying on our kids because they might be terrorists is no big deal to me, aside from how much a waste of time and effort it represents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s futile to try and keep track of student data according to Simon Jones, a father of three and a marketer in Burlingame, Calif. “Privacy efforts are sort of like TSA agents. They make you feel better but you can’t protect your privacy in today’s world.” Jones finds comfort in believing that everyone is being tracked somehow and, “if it’s everybody, it’s nobody, you disappear into an ocean of names and numbers.” He says he doesn’t worry about privacy, because he believes there’s nothing he can do about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Laws Protecting Student Data\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Not everyone is resigned to handing over student data to the wilds and will of the internet. “Privacy rules may well be the seatbelts of this generation,” said Arne Duncan in a \u003ca href=\"http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/technology-education-privacy-and-progress\">recent speech\u003c/a> on privacy. The Data Quality Campaign found that 80 student-data-privacy bills have been considered in 32 states in 2014 alone. In addition to the state laws under consideration, there are at least three federal laws already on the books designed to protect student data, FERPA, PPRA and COPPA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 1974 \u003ca href=\"http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html\">Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act\u003c/a> or FERPA, mandates that schools must keep educational records confidential and that student data can only be used for educational purposes. Using student data to sell or market products is prohibited. But there is an exception: schools can share “personally identifiable” student information with a contracted third party, for example, an educational software company, provided that information is only used for the purpose the school requested.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another statute, the \u003ca href=\"http://ptac.ed.gov/sites/default/files/Student%20Privacy%20and%20Online%20Educational%20Services%20%28February%202014%29.pdf\">Protection Pupil Rights Amendment\u003c/a> or PPRA deals directly with sharing K-12 student data for marketing purposes. Under this amendment, “a school district must, with exceptions, directly notify parents of students who are scheduled to participate in activities involving the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for marketing purposes, or to sell or otherwise provide that information to others for marketing purposes, and to give parents the opportunity to opt-out of these activities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither FERPA nor the PPRA is airtight. According to the Department of Education “student information collected or maintained as part of an online educational service may be protected under FERPA, under PPRA, under both statutes, or not protected by either. Which statute applies depends on the content of the information, how it is collected or disclosed, and the purposes for which it is used.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act or \u003ca href=\"http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/0493-Complying-with-COPPA-Frequently-Asked-Questions\">COPPA \u003c/a>is directed at operators of websites or online services directed at children under 13. Under COPPA, these operators have to get verifiable parental consent before collecting or using the personal information about children under 13. Under some circumstances, schools can act as a parent’s agent and consent to the collection of kids’ information, as long as that information is used for educational, not commercial purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Federal law provides only some of the guard rails for data and privacy practice. Much of the control over these issues lies in the policies of states and districts,” Duncan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>How Parents Can Protect Their Child’s Data\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Parents can play a significant role in protecting their kids’ information. Kathleen Styles, Chief Privacy Officer at the U.S. Dept. of Education, says parents must educate kids about where they share their information online. “Our children are now citizens in an online world, and conversations about privacy need to happen in schools but they need to happen at home as well,” Styles says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joni Lupovitz of Common Sense Media takes a more aggressive approach, advocating for careful parent scrutiny of a child’s online activity. “There’s no substitute for P-O-S. Parent Over Shoulder,” Lupovitz says. \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/school-privacy-zone\">Common Sense Media\u003c/a> has created a list of principles governing student privacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At school, parents concerned about privacy are encouraged to ask administrators how they’re collecting, storing and sharing data. “Make sure schools have self-awareness,” Styles says. “I would be looking for the currency of the privacy policy, evidence that the district is aware of what kind of data the schools and district are capturing and evidence that the data is classified by sensitivity -- that more sensitive data is being protected in a more stringent fashion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some privacy advocates call for more intense policing of adults who deal with student data, Richard Culatta, Director of the Office of Educational Technology takes a more moderate approach. “I think it’s really important to ask good questions – but we need to be careful that we don’t get swayed by hype.” He adds, “I wouldn’t expect every parent to understand what 'encryption at rest' means… I think the question is, do they trust their schools? Is the school providing evidence that they are being stewards of data?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_35927\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"https://edshelf.com//profile/qzufyn3/edwebet47-the-a-list\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-35927\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/edshelf.jpg\" alt=\"Michelle Luhtala/Edshelf\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/edshelf.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/edshelf-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/edshelf-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelle Luhtala/Edshelf\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">With the thousands of educational apps vying for the attention of busy teachers, it can be hard to sift for the gold. Michelle Luhtala, a savvy librarian from \u003ca href=\"http://www2.newcanaan.k12.ct.us/education/school/school.php?sectionid=20\" target=\"_blank\">New Canaan High School\u003c/a> in Connecticut has crowd-sourced the best, most\u003ca href=\"https://edshelf.com/shelf/qzufyn3-edwebet47-the-a-list/\" target=\"_blank\"> extensive list \u003c/a>of\u003ca href=\"https://edshelf.com/shelf/qzufyn3-edwebet47-the-a-list/\" target=\"_blank\"> apps\u003c/a> voted on by educators around the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to make sure we had some flexibility because there’s no one app that’s better than all the others,” Luhtala said. Some apps are best for younger students, others are more complicated, better suited for high school students. Many apps do one thing really well, but aren’t great at everything. Still others are bought, redesigned or just disappear -- so it’s always good to know about an array of tools to suit the need at hand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DIGITAL STORYTELLING AND PRESENTATION TOOLS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.30hands.net/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>30Hands\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>allows a user to make pictures, annotate them, record a voice explainer and then packages it all into a video. Luhtala likes it because it’s intuitive and easy to use with no training. Its simple interface and ease of use make it great for young students, like kindergarteners. One downside is that the teacher has to manually enter individual student accounts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://getvoice.adobe.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Adobe Voice\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a recently released education product from Adobe that allows students to narrate a story over an array of digital images. It doesn’t require any video, rather the tool moves images forward in a cinematic fashion. “It has gorgeous templates in terms of storytelling and a huge library of copyright friendly music and images,” Luhtala said. While schools often want to teach students about good digital citizenship, including copyright laws, having a pre-reviewed library can be useful for quicker projects. It can be seen on any platform since it is web based.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.redjumper.net/bookcreator/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Book Creator\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is only available for iPads, allowing kids to easily create their own iBook by importing images, multimedia, text, and audio. Its simplicity makes it good for kids of all ages. Even though it has been around for quite some time, some educators still call it their number-one tool. One downside is that the output can only be viewed on iOS devices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://tellagami.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Tellagami\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a tool to share quick animated messages. Users pick a character, record an audio message or type text and send it to someone else. It can be used in conjunction with other tools to make it even more powerful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.morriscooke.com/?p=134\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>ExplainEverything\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is another tool for creating video like tutorials. Students or teachers can take photos or images, annotate them, record voices over them and explain different concepts that way. It could be good for giving students directions or for having students explain what they’ve learned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"8f262a7638eb609dabfa9120ff4c22aa\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.haikudeck.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Haiku Desk\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a free presentation tool with many themes and Creative Commons images to choose from. Users can import photos, make charts, and generally tailor a presentation to their own style.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://slideidea.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>SlideIdea\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is another tool that allows teachers and students to make presentations come alive. The tool allows users to embed polls, annotate slides, and add audio recordings over images or text on a slide. “The thing about iPads and iPhones is they have cameras and microphones so we should use them,” Luhtala said. “The idea is to embed the world you are experiencing in your presentation.” This app is free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.knowmia.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Knowmia\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a free presentation tool alternative to \u003ca href=\"http://www.showme.com/\" target=\"_blank\">ShowMe\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/explain-everything/id431493086?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\">ExplainEverything\u003c/a>. While these tools have similar functionalities, some teachers see them as progressing in sophistication with \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/screenchomp/id442415881?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\">ScreenChomp\u003c/a> best for elementary school teachers, ShowMe a good choice for middle school, and ExplainEverything a better option for high school students. Knowmia includes a class roster list and some learning management system functions in addition to the presentation tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/timeline-30007.html\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>ReadWriteThink Timeline\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> allows students to arrange work sequentially. “It used to be that you would have to finish your task online before you could stop or you would lose it and now you can store it,” Luhtala said of the updated version.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>VIDEO TOOLS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.apple.com/mac/imovie/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>iMovie\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is still the preferred tool for many teachers using school issued iPads or other Apple products in their classrooms. It comes preloaded on the devices, is a powerful tool and can be used in conjunction with other apps like Green Screen or Tellagami.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlH3h19ablI\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Green Screen\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is an app that allows students to combine recorded video footage with a background of their choice ($2.99). The weatherman standing in front of a map is a good example of the green screen effect. Many educators report using it in conjunction with other video apps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.boinx.com/istopmotion/mac/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>iStopMotion\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a fairly simple tool for creating animated videos. Students can record or import audio and match it up to their visuals. One teacher used this app in conjunction with Aurasma to create a live diorama in the library. It’s pricier than most education apps at $9.99\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://crowdflik.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>CrowdFlik\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a free app that allows a group of people observing the same event from multiple perspectives to combine all their photos or video footage together. Users upload all the collected footage and CrowdFlik stores it in the cloud. Then users can edit the media clips together into a video containing multiple viewpoints or perspectives of the same event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/koma-koma-for-ipad/id635794784?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Koma Koma\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a simple stop-motion animation tool. It only has four commands -- shoot, delete, play and save -- so kids can focus on the content without having to worry about complicated controls. One teacher asked her students to use the app to record music videos that include claymation and collage. The simplicity allows for lots of creativity, and it’s free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.videoscribe.co/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>VideoScribe\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is another, more expensive, way to create animated videos. It replicates the stop motion fast note taking style that has become popular in advertisements or when explaining things. The British app is available under a licensing fee of 16 pounds per month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>PHOTO EDITING\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://pixlr.com/editor/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Pixlr Editor\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://pixlr.com/express/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Pixlr Express\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> allow for free, easy photo editing and fun filters and overlays respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://iphonephotographyschool.com/snapseed-tutorial/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>SnapSpeed\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a free photo editing tool which, in conjunction with a camera phone, lets a user select a part of a photo and highlight that without discoloring the rest of the person. It’s a good way to call attention to different parts of a photo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AUGMENTED REALITY\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.aurasma.com/#/whats-your-aura\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Aurasma\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is one of the most popular augmented reality tools and it's free. It allows teachers to “tag” physical objects with videos, animations or 3D scenes so that if a student hovers over the object with their mobile device they’ll see the attachment. In Luhtala’s school students record videos of their excitement about different books in the library and attach them to different books. Students looking for something to read can get a direct recommendation from a classmate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another librarian made a claymation video and attached it to a diorama in the library. When students scanned the diorama using Aurasma, they watched it come to life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://chromville.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Chromville\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a free app that is part augmented reality experience and part game. Focused on younger students, it’s centered around a world in a galaxy far away where the colors are fading. Students download a blank coloring page, fill it in with color and then hover over the images to make them come to life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>READING ENGAGEMENT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.biblionasium.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>BiblioNasium\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is not a mobile app (yet) but Luhtala finds it to be a great way for younger kids to engage socially around reading. Similar to GoodReads, but aimed at a younger audience, the platform allows teachers to pose reading challenges in a set time period. Students can add books they’ve read and post reviews. Some librarians have found this gamification approach can make reading more fun and can inspire young readers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.renaissance.com/products/subtext\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Subtext\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>allows teachers to upload PDFs and embed questions to help students be close readers and understand point of view: “This has been the one thing that has wowed our English department to get them on board with iPads,” Luhtala said. The department is using it in single articles, to compare to articles and with e-books. It also prompts readers to write comments at the end of each chapter, creating a reading journal. It is free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mexircus.com/Strip_Designer/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>StripDesigner\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>lets students become comic book writers using their own photos and templates available within the app. Student can write text bubbles, place them in the frame and create color gradients for added effect. The app costs $2.99.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://kidblog.org/home/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong> Kidblog\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> offers a free, safe place for younger students to blog. Teachers have control over all the publishing features and student blog entries are private by default. Despite the sanitized environment, many teachers feel their student write better for the larger class audience than they do when they know only a teacher will read their work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.poemsbyheart.org/poems_by_heart/Poems_by_Heart.html\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Poems By Heart\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a game to help students memorize classic poetry. While many teachers are moving away from memorization as the most important skill in the classroom, it can be fun for brain training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.poetryfoundation.org/mobile/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong> Poetry\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>, a free app made by the Poetry Foundation, is a wheel that spits out a poem. Luhtala likes it because it’s a way to broaden students’ thinking about what kinds of poetry they like and gives them access to a wide range of poetry in different styles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>COMMENTING TOOLS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ask3.me/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong> Ask3\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a tool for quickly sharing text and audio between teachers and students. It allows a user to turn an iPad into a whiteboard, record voice and text to either ask a question or get feedback. It’s a good way to have an interactive conversation with another student in the class. Students sometimes send Luhtala an Ask3 video and she can record comments or annotate and send it right back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.join.me/howitworks\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Join.me\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> allows educators to screen share with students so both parties can control the same desktop. “We’re trying to offer online services to students at night when they’re doing they’re homework,” Luhtala said. This tool has allowed her easy access to the problem a student is working through. She also likes it because it’s easy to set up accounts for students. There are free and pro versions, but for education uses free offers lots of useful tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://readdle.com/products/pdfexpert5/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>PDF Expert\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is an app that allows students to annotate, highlight, place bookmarks and in other ways mark up digital texts. Luhtala recommends using it with smaller classes. One frustration is that it doesn’t integrate well with Google drive, which many schools are now using for student work. It’s also a bit pricey at $9.99.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>CODING\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.gethopscotch.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Hopscotch\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a simple, free app to teach rudimentary coding ideas to younger students. Students can make characters of their choosing do actions using a visual coding language consisting of blocks of code.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://light-bot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>LightBot\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is another programming tool for slightly older children. Rather than trying to make a character move or create an animation, this app is more of a game, with students using a visual programming language to move through various levels. The \"lite\" version is free, but the version with codeable puzzles costs $2.99.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>NOTE TAKING AND ORGANIZATION\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clear-tasks-reminders-to-do/id493136154?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Clear\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a simple, gesture-based to-do manager. It’s easy to stay organized, take notes, make different to-do lists and delete things.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://evernote.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Evernote\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a note-taking and organizational app that has become common in and outside of education. One nice feature allows users to upload handwritten notes to better enable users to keep all their thoughts in one place. Luhtala suggests that the more users tag their notes the more effective this tool can be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.gingerlabs.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Notability\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is favored by many schools for note taking. It allows teachers and students to share notes and annotate PDFs. Luhtala wishes it allowed her to grab a document out of a student’s document folder, comment on it with her voice and send it back. But using the app so fluidly is a bit tricky. The app costs $1.99\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.paperportnotes.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>PaperPort Notes\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> offers a free alternative note taking tool to Notability. Luhtala likes it because she almost never writes text notes to students, preferring to record herself explaining comments and attaching the recording to specific parts of a document. This app does allow for text notes too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fiftythree.com/paper\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Paper\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> allows for more creative note taking for those who like sketches, diagrams and other non-textual notes. It has clean, simple visuals. “This is a beautiful application,” Luhtala said. “The problem is that it has in-app purchasing, which is always a problem for iPads that are circulating.” In other words, it’s free to try, but if a user wants more functionality he can click over the app store and go wild -- not something schools want students doing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.digitalpassport.org/educator-registration\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Digital PassPort\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is one of Luhtala’s favorite tools for teaching digital citizenship lessons. Created by Common Sense Media, a non-profit that has been creating digital citizenship content and curriculum for schools, it comes highly recommended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.nearpod.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Nearpod\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a participatory presentation tool that allows students to interact with the content while keeping control with the teacher. Luhtala says it’s as a good tool to transition middle-schoolers into appropriate behavior online. They can practice by interacting with the teacher first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>BIBLIOGRAPHY\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.easybib.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>EasyBib\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"http://www.noodletools.com/\" target=\"_blank\">NoodleTools\u003c/a> are both bibliography tools that can help students stay organized and track their research online. Once a student signs in for the first time these apps connect him or her to other online resources they’ve stored.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SOCIAL MEDIA\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators have been using \u003ca href=\"https://www.pinterest.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Pinterest\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>for a long time to share ideas with one another. Now some educators are finding it to be a simple portal to parents who want to support their learners at home. Teachers can stash resources on different subject areas on boards so parents can further learning at home. It can be a great way to bolster the school to home connection in some communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://instagram.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Instagram\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is best known as a social media tool, but some educators are using it to help students document their experiences. “The next big thing is Instagram,” Luhtala said. Hashtags can help keep photos of the same topic together and students can use it in the field to take notes. Later their ‘grams and tweets from the field can be pulled into something more cohesive using Storify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://storify.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Storify\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a way to archive social media. Some educators are finding it to be a good way to archive a school’s backchannel over a day or week. There’s no app yet, but this could be another powerful tool for adding transparency to the discussions taking place online.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>APPS FOR EDUCATORS/LIBRARIANS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://home.edweb.net/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>edWeb.net\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a community of educators discussing tips and trends through online discussions. While the site hosts webinars that teachers can attend for continuing education credits, Luhtala uses the mobile app to keep tabs on different evolving conversations with her professional learning community throughout the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.follettsoftware.com/library-automation-software\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Follett Destiny\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a powerful tool for active librarians who spend more time visiting classrooms than sitting in the library -- librarians like Luhtala. When she does an activity in a classroom, she can check out books to students on the spot using this mobile app. It’s a handy way to make sure a student gets the resource he needs at the moment it is suggested to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://destiny.sccresa.org/quest/servlet/presentquestform.do?site=100&context=peckcs\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>DestinyQuest\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a free app that allows students and teachers to access the library catalogue from a mobile device. Students can search for resources, leave reviews, and check account information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.titlewave.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Follet TitleWave\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> gives librarians an easy way to order new books. When out and about, if an educators sees a book that would make a good addition to the library she can take a picture of the cover and the app will automatically start populating a cart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.gvconnect.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong> Google Voice Connects\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a call forwarding service. Luhtala uses the app to make herself available to students after hours without releasing her personal phone number. Text messages can be collected through the app or in an email, making it less intrusive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>MISCELLANEOUS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://educlipper.net/main.html\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>EduClipper\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a popular portfolio tool that allows teachers to manage the portfolio for a secure environment, but still allows kids to work independently. Students create their own content, use online resources and mash it all together to create projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thinglink.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>ThingLink\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a free app that lets a user tag images with audio or video and share them widely. “It’s one of my favorite go-to things,” Luhtala said. She uses it to feature book awards or other things she wants students and staff to notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.remind.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Remind101\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is an easy way to text students through a distribution list. They can see the message, but have no access to the teacher’s cell phone number. “I’m all about finding ways to reach out to your kids,” Luhtala said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.socrative.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Socrative\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> offers free versions of its app for \u003ca href=\"https://edshelf.com/tool/socrative-student\" target=\"_blank\">students\u003c/a> and for\u003ca href=\"https://edshelf.com/tool/socrative-teacher\" target=\"_blank\"> teachers\u003c/a>. It's an easy polling app that gives teachers an instant assessment of whether students are understanding concepts in class. Teachers can also create short answer questions in the app. \u003ca href=\"http://www.polleverywhere.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Polleverywhere\u003c/a> is a similar tool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/symphonizer/id828535391?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Symphonizer\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is great for music classes. Teachers or students upload sheet music and can then turn the page by smiling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.voicedream.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Voice Dream Reader\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>will take any text, like an online article, and read it aloud. It has a much nicer computer voice than many computer assisted devices and could be a good alternative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.questvisual.wordlens.demo&hl=en\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>WordLens\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is the free app to go to for a quick translation from one language to another. Just hold a mobile device over the text and scan it for a translation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.whatwasthere.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>WhatWasThere\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a free, interactive app that tells users the history of the spot where he or she is standing. It could be a good tool for history teachers.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_35927\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"https://edshelf.com//profile/qzufyn3/edwebet47-the-a-list\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-35927\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/edshelf.jpg\" alt=\"Michelle Luhtala/Edshelf\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/edshelf.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/edshelf-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/edshelf-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelle Luhtala/Edshelf\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">With the thousands of educational apps vying for the attention of busy teachers, it can be hard to sift for the gold. Michelle Luhtala, a savvy librarian from \u003ca href=\"http://www2.newcanaan.k12.ct.us/education/school/school.php?sectionid=20\" target=\"_blank\">New Canaan High School\u003c/a> in Connecticut has crowd-sourced the best, most\u003ca href=\"https://edshelf.com/shelf/qzufyn3-edwebet47-the-a-list/\" target=\"_blank\"> extensive list \u003c/a>of\u003ca href=\"https://edshelf.com/shelf/qzufyn3-edwebet47-the-a-list/\" target=\"_blank\"> apps\u003c/a> voted on by educators around the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to make sure we had some flexibility because there’s no one app that’s better than all the others,” Luhtala said. Some apps are best for younger students, others are more complicated, better suited for high school students. Many apps do one thing really well, but aren’t great at everything. Still others are bought, redesigned or just disappear -- so it’s always good to know about an array of tools to suit the need at hand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DIGITAL STORYTELLING AND PRESENTATION TOOLS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.30hands.net/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>30Hands\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>allows a user to make pictures, annotate them, record a voice explainer and then packages it all into a video. Luhtala likes it because it’s intuitive and easy to use with no training. Its simple interface and ease of use make it great for young students, like kindergarteners. One downside is that the teacher has to manually enter individual student accounts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://getvoice.adobe.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Adobe Voice\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a recently released education product from Adobe that allows students to narrate a story over an array of digital images. It doesn’t require any video, rather the tool moves images forward in a cinematic fashion. “It has gorgeous templates in terms of storytelling and a huge library of copyright friendly music and images,” Luhtala said. While schools often want to teach students about good digital citizenship, including copyright laws, having a pre-reviewed library can be useful for quicker projects. It can be seen on any platform since it is web based.\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://www.redjumper.net/bookcreator/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Book Creator\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is only available for iPads, allowing kids to easily create their own iBook by importing images, multimedia, text, and audio. Its simplicity makes it good for kids of all ages. Even though it has been around for quite some time, some educators still call it their number-one tool. One downside is that the output can only be viewed on iOS devices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://tellagami.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Tellagami\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a tool to share quick animated messages. Users pick a character, record an audio message or type text and send it to someone else. It can be used in conjunction with other tools to make it even more powerful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.morriscooke.com/?p=134\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>ExplainEverything\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is another tool for creating video like tutorials. Students or teachers can take photos or images, annotate them, record voices over them and explain different concepts that way. It could be good for giving students directions or for having students explain what they’ve learned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.haikudeck.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Haiku Desk\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a free presentation tool with many themes and Creative Commons images to choose from. Users can import photos, make charts, and generally tailor a presentation to their own style.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://slideidea.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>SlideIdea\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is another tool that allows teachers and students to make presentations come alive. The tool allows users to embed polls, annotate slides, and add audio recordings over images or text on a slide. “The thing about iPads and iPhones is they have cameras and microphones so we should use them,” Luhtala said. “The idea is to embed the world you are experiencing in your presentation.” This app is free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.knowmia.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Knowmia\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a free presentation tool alternative to \u003ca href=\"http://www.showme.com/\" target=\"_blank\">ShowMe\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/explain-everything/id431493086?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\">ExplainEverything\u003c/a>. While these tools have similar functionalities, some teachers see them as progressing in sophistication with \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/screenchomp/id442415881?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\">ScreenChomp\u003c/a> best for elementary school teachers, ShowMe a good choice for middle school, and ExplainEverything a better option for high school students. Knowmia includes a class roster list and some learning management system functions in addition to the presentation tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/timeline-30007.html\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>ReadWriteThink Timeline\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> allows students to arrange work sequentially. “It used to be that you would have to finish your task online before you could stop or you would lose it and now you can store it,” Luhtala said of the updated version.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>VIDEO TOOLS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.apple.com/mac/imovie/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>iMovie\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is still the preferred tool for many teachers using school issued iPads or other Apple products in their classrooms. It comes preloaded on the devices, is a powerful tool and can be used in conjunction with other apps like Green Screen or Tellagami.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlH3h19ablI\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Green Screen\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is an app that allows students to combine recorded video footage with a background of their choice ($2.99). The weatherman standing in front of a map is a good example of the green screen effect. Many educators report using it in conjunction with other video apps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.boinx.com/istopmotion/mac/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>iStopMotion\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a fairly simple tool for creating animated videos. Students can record or import audio and match it up to their visuals. One teacher used this app in conjunction with Aurasma to create a live diorama in the library. It’s pricier than most education apps at $9.99\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://crowdflik.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>CrowdFlik\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a free app that allows a group of people observing the same event from multiple perspectives to combine all their photos or video footage together. Users upload all the collected footage and CrowdFlik stores it in the cloud. Then users can edit the media clips together into a video containing multiple viewpoints or perspectives of the same event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/koma-koma-for-ipad/id635794784?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Koma Koma\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a simple stop-motion animation tool. It only has four commands -- shoot, delete, play and save -- so kids can focus on the content without having to worry about complicated controls. One teacher asked her students to use the app to record music videos that include claymation and collage. The simplicity allows for lots of creativity, and it’s free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.videoscribe.co/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>VideoScribe\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is another, more expensive, way to create animated videos. It replicates the stop motion fast note taking style that has become popular in advertisements or when explaining things. The British app is available under a licensing fee of 16 pounds per month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>PHOTO EDITING\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://pixlr.com/editor/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Pixlr Editor\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://pixlr.com/express/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Pixlr Express\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> allow for free, easy photo editing and fun filters and overlays respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://iphonephotographyschool.com/snapseed-tutorial/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>SnapSpeed\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a free photo editing tool which, in conjunction with a camera phone, lets a user select a part of a photo and highlight that without discoloring the rest of the person. It’s a good way to call attention to different parts of a photo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AUGMENTED REALITY\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.aurasma.com/#/whats-your-aura\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Aurasma\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is one of the most popular augmented reality tools and it's free. It allows teachers to “tag” physical objects with videos, animations or 3D scenes so that if a student hovers over the object with their mobile device they’ll see the attachment. In Luhtala’s school students record videos of their excitement about different books in the library and attach them to different books. Students looking for something to read can get a direct recommendation from a classmate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another librarian made a claymation video and attached it to a diorama in the library. When students scanned the diorama using Aurasma, they watched it come to life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://chromville.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Chromville\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a free app that is part augmented reality experience and part game. Focused on younger students, it’s centered around a world in a galaxy far away where the colors are fading. Students download a blank coloring page, fill it in with color and then hover over the images to make them come to life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>READING ENGAGEMENT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.biblionasium.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>BiblioNasium\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is not a mobile app (yet) but Luhtala finds it to be a great way for younger kids to engage socially around reading. Similar to GoodReads, but aimed at a younger audience, the platform allows teachers to pose reading challenges in a set time period. Students can add books they’ve read and post reviews. Some librarians have found this gamification approach can make reading more fun and can inspire young readers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.renaissance.com/products/subtext\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Subtext\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>allows teachers to upload PDFs and embed questions to help students be close readers and understand point of view: “This has been the one thing that has wowed our English department to get them on board with iPads,” Luhtala said. The department is using it in single articles, to compare to articles and with e-books. It also prompts readers to write comments at the end of each chapter, creating a reading journal. It is free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mexircus.com/Strip_Designer/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>StripDesigner\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>lets students become comic book writers using their own photos and templates available within the app. Student can write text bubbles, place them in the frame and create color gradients for added effect. The app costs $2.99.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://kidblog.org/home/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong> Kidblog\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> offers a free, safe place for younger students to blog. Teachers have control over all the publishing features and student blog entries are private by default. Despite the sanitized environment, many teachers feel their student write better for the larger class audience than they do when they know only a teacher will read their work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.poemsbyheart.org/poems_by_heart/Poems_by_Heart.html\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Poems By Heart\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a game to help students memorize classic poetry. While many teachers are moving away from memorization as the most important skill in the classroom, it can be fun for brain training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.poetryfoundation.org/mobile/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong> Poetry\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>, a free app made by the Poetry Foundation, is a wheel that spits out a poem. Luhtala likes it because it’s a way to broaden students’ thinking about what kinds of poetry they like and gives them access to a wide range of poetry in different styles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>COMMENTING TOOLS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ask3.me/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong> Ask3\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a tool for quickly sharing text and audio between teachers and students. It allows a user to turn an iPad into a whiteboard, record voice and text to either ask a question or get feedback. It’s a good way to have an interactive conversation with another student in the class. Students sometimes send Luhtala an Ask3 video and she can record comments or annotate and send it right back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.join.me/howitworks\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Join.me\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> allows educators to screen share with students so both parties can control the same desktop. “We’re trying to offer online services to students at night when they’re doing they’re homework,” Luhtala said. This tool has allowed her easy access to the problem a student is working through. She also likes it because it’s easy to set up accounts for students. There are free and pro versions, but for education uses free offers lots of useful tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://readdle.com/products/pdfexpert5/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>PDF Expert\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is an app that allows students to annotate, highlight, place bookmarks and in other ways mark up digital texts. Luhtala recommends using it with smaller classes. One frustration is that it doesn’t integrate well with Google drive, which many schools are now using for student work. It’s also a bit pricey at $9.99.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>CODING\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.gethopscotch.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Hopscotch\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a simple, free app to teach rudimentary coding ideas to younger students. Students can make characters of their choosing do actions using a visual coding language consisting of blocks of code.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://light-bot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>LightBot\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is another programming tool for slightly older children. Rather than trying to make a character move or create an animation, this app is more of a game, with students using a visual programming language to move through various levels. The \"lite\" version is free, but the version with codeable puzzles costs $2.99.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>NOTE TAKING AND ORGANIZATION\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clear-tasks-reminders-to-do/id493136154?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Clear\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a simple, gesture-based to-do manager. It’s easy to stay organized, take notes, make different to-do lists and delete things.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://evernote.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Evernote\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a note-taking and organizational app that has become common in and outside of education. One nice feature allows users to upload handwritten notes to better enable users to keep all their thoughts in one place. Luhtala suggests that the more users tag their notes the more effective this tool can be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.gingerlabs.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Notability\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is favored by many schools for note taking. It allows teachers and students to share notes and annotate PDFs. Luhtala wishes it allowed her to grab a document out of a student’s document folder, comment on it with her voice and send it back. But using the app so fluidly is a bit tricky. The app costs $1.99\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.paperportnotes.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>PaperPort Notes\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> offers a free alternative note taking tool to Notability. Luhtala likes it because she almost never writes text notes to students, preferring to record herself explaining comments and attaching the recording to specific parts of a document. This app does allow for text notes too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fiftythree.com/paper\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Paper\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> allows for more creative note taking for those who like sketches, diagrams and other non-textual notes. It has clean, simple visuals. “This is a beautiful application,” Luhtala said. “The problem is that it has in-app purchasing, which is always a problem for iPads that are circulating.” In other words, it’s free to try, but if a user wants more functionality he can click over the app store and go wild -- not something schools want students doing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.digitalpassport.org/educator-registration\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Digital PassPort\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is one of Luhtala’s favorite tools for teaching digital citizenship lessons. Created by Common Sense Media, a non-profit that has been creating digital citizenship content and curriculum for schools, it comes highly recommended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.nearpod.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Nearpod\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a participatory presentation tool that allows students to interact with the content while keeping control with the teacher. Luhtala says it’s as a good tool to transition middle-schoolers into appropriate behavior online. They can practice by interacting with the teacher first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>BIBLIOGRAPHY\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.easybib.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>EasyBib\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"http://www.noodletools.com/\" target=\"_blank\">NoodleTools\u003c/a> are both bibliography tools that can help students stay organized and track their research online. Once a student signs in for the first time these apps connect him or her to other online resources they’ve stored.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SOCIAL MEDIA\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators have been using \u003ca href=\"https://www.pinterest.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Pinterest\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>for a long time to share ideas with one another. Now some educators are finding it to be a simple portal to parents who want to support their learners at home. Teachers can stash resources on different subject areas on boards so parents can further learning at home. It can be a great way to bolster the school to home connection in some communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://instagram.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Instagram\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is best known as a social media tool, but some educators are using it to help students document their experiences. “The next big thing is Instagram,” Luhtala said. Hashtags can help keep photos of the same topic together and students can use it in the field to take notes. Later their ‘grams and tweets from the field can be pulled into something more cohesive using Storify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://storify.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Storify\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a way to archive social media. Some educators are finding it to be a good way to archive a school’s backchannel over a day or week. There’s no app yet, but this could be another powerful tool for adding transparency to the discussions taking place online.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>APPS FOR EDUCATORS/LIBRARIANS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://home.edweb.net/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>edWeb.net\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a community of educators discussing tips and trends through online discussions. While the site hosts webinars that teachers can attend for continuing education credits, Luhtala uses the mobile app to keep tabs on different evolving conversations with her professional learning community throughout the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.follettsoftware.com/library-automation-software\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Follett Destiny\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a powerful tool for active librarians who spend more time visiting classrooms than sitting in the library -- librarians like Luhtala. When she does an activity in a classroom, she can check out books to students on the spot using this mobile app. It’s a handy way to make sure a student gets the resource he needs at the moment it is suggested to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://destiny.sccresa.org/quest/servlet/presentquestform.do?site=100&context=peckcs\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>DestinyQuest\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>is a free app that allows students and teachers to access the library catalogue from a mobile device. Students can search for resources, leave reviews, and check account information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.titlewave.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Follet TitleWave\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> gives librarians an easy way to order new books. When out and about, if an educators sees a book that would make a good addition to the library she can take a picture of the cover and the app will automatically start populating a cart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.gvconnect.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong> Google Voice Connects\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a call forwarding service. Luhtala uses the app to make herself available to students after hours without releasing her personal phone number. Text messages can be collected through the app or in an email, making it less intrusive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>MISCELLANEOUS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://educlipper.net/main.html\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>EduClipper\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a popular portfolio tool that allows teachers to manage the portfolio for a secure environment, but still allows kids to work independently. Students create their own content, use online resources and mash it all together to create projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thinglink.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>ThingLink\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a free app that lets a user tag images with audio or video and share them widely. “It’s one of my favorite go-to things,” Luhtala said. She uses it to feature book awards or other things she wants students and staff to notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.remind.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Remind101\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is an easy way to text students through a distribution list. They can see the message, but have no access to the teacher’s cell phone number. “I’m all about finding ways to reach out to your kids,” Luhtala said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.socrative.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Socrative\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> offers free versions of its app for \u003ca href=\"https://edshelf.com/tool/socrative-student\" target=\"_blank\">students\u003c/a> and for\u003ca href=\"https://edshelf.com/tool/socrative-teacher\" target=\"_blank\"> teachers\u003c/a>. It's an easy polling app that gives teachers an instant assessment of whether students are understanding concepts in class. Teachers can also create short answer questions in the app. \u003ca href=\"http://www.polleverywhere.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Polleverywhere\u003c/a> is a similar tool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/symphonizer/id828535391?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Symphonizer\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is great for music classes. Teachers or students upload sheet music and can then turn the page by smiling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.voicedream.com/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>Voice Dream Reader\u003c/strong> \u003c/a>will take any text, like an online article, and read it aloud. It has a much nicer computer voice than many computer assisted devices and could be a good alternative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.questvisual.wordlens.demo&hl=en\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong>WordLens\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is the free app to go to for a quick translation from one language to another. Just hold a mobile device over the text and scan it for a translation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_34057\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/02/erinscott_-71592.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-34057 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/02/erinscott_-71592.jpg\" alt=\"Math teacher Michael Doroquez works with students.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/02/erinscott_-71592.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/02/erinscott_-71592-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/02/erinscott_-71592-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Math teacher Michael Doroquez works with students.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Matt Levinson\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the school year heads into the final days and weeks, now's the perfect opportunity to gather feedback from students about their use of iPads. Taking the time to construct a thoughtful survey that will elicit helpful feedback can help set the stage for professional development, program enhancements, and more thoughtful steps into using the devices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are eight key questions to ask:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1. Mobility:\u003c/strong> How often did you use the iPad indoor versus outdoor? Apple's \u003ca href=\"https://www.apple.com/your-verse/\" target=\"_blank\">Your Verse Ad campaign\u003c/a> makes a compelling case for the outdoor use of the iPad. How did your school take advantage of indoor and outdoor spaces with the iPad?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2. Gaming: \u003c/strong> What types of games did you play? How much time did you spend gaming? Kids love to play games, and learning can be part-and-parcel of playing games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3. Classes:\u003c/strong> In which classes did you use the iPad the most? Get specific data and feedback. This can serve as your focal point for professional development efforts with teachers. Without this key data, schools are left guessing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4. Email:\u003c/strong> How often did you use your school email? Did you check your email every day? Kids don't use email. They prefer texting and social media and schools have to create a reason for kids to check and use email. Find out how often and why kids used their school email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5. Engagement:\u003c/strong> What was the best assignment you had this year involving the use of the iPad? What made the assignment so strong? Read more about how educators are using iPads to foster \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/08/how-tablets-can-enable-meaningful-connections-for-students-and-teachers/\" target=\"_blank\">collaboration\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/07/potential-and-reality-the-ipad-as-a-tool-for-creation/\" target=\"_blank\">creation\u003c/a> -- \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/05/the-future-of-tablets-in-education-potential-vs-reality/\" target=\"_blank\">not just consumption\u003c/a> -- and using the devices for \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/06/to-get-the-best-out-of-tablets-for-education-classrooms-use-smart-curation/\" target=\"_blank\">curation\u003c/a> and See this \u003ca href=\"http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/46-students-explain-assignments-got-attention-year/\" target=\"_blank\">post by Grant Wiggins\u003c/a> on student engagement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>6. Screen time:\u003c/strong> How many hours per day did you spend on a screen at (a) school and at (b) home? There is often a perception in 1-1 iPad schools that kids are on screens all the time. Gathering specific data is important to framing a useful conversation with families about balance both at school and at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>7. Personalization:\u003c/strong> What was the most interesting thing you learned on your own on the iPad? Kids can learn a lot on their own, when driven by their interests and passions. Finding out what motivates students can be great information to collect in determining clubs and activities to offer for the following school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>8. Creation vs. consumption:\u003c/strong> What percent of your time on the iPad was devoted to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/05/the-future-of-tablets-in-education-potential-vs-reality/\" target=\"_blank\">creating vs. consuming content\u003c/a>? Drawing this distinction can serve as a wonderful way to frame teaching and learning with the iPad for both students and teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_34057\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/02/erinscott_-71592.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-34057 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/02/erinscott_-71592.jpg\" alt=\"Math teacher Michael Doroquez works with students.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/02/erinscott_-71592.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/02/erinscott_-71592-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/02/erinscott_-71592-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Math teacher Michael Doroquez works with students.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Matt Levinson\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the school year heads into the final days and weeks, now's the perfect opportunity to gather feedback from students about their use of iPads. Taking the time to construct a thoughtful survey that will elicit helpful feedback can help set the stage for professional development, program enhancements, and more thoughtful steps into using the devices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are eight key questions to ask:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1. Mobility:\u003c/strong> How often did you use the iPad indoor versus outdoor? Apple's \u003ca href=\"https://www.apple.com/your-verse/\" target=\"_blank\">Your Verse Ad campaign\u003c/a> makes a compelling case for the outdoor use of the iPad. How did your school take advantage of indoor and outdoor spaces with the iPad?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2. Gaming: \u003c/strong> What types of games did you play? How much time did you spend gaming? Kids love to play games, and learning can be part-and-parcel of playing games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3. Classes:\u003c/strong> In which classes did you use the iPad the most? Get specific data and feedback. This can serve as your focal point for professional development efforts with teachers. Without this key data, schools are left guessing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4. Email:\u003c/strong> How often did you use your school email? Did you check your email every day? Kids don't use email. They prefer texting and social media and schools have to create a reason for kids to check and use email. Find out how often and why kids used their school email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5. Engagement:\u003c/strong> What was the best assignment you had this year involving the use of the iPad? What made the assignment so strong? Read more about how educators are using iPads to foster \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/08/how-tablets-can-enable-meaningful-connections-for-students-and-teachers/\" target=\"_blank\">collaboration\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/07/potential-and-reality-the-ipad-as-a-tool-for-creation/\" target=\"_blank\">creation\u003c/a> -- \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/05/the-future-of-tablets-in-education-potential-vs-reality/\" target=\"_blank\">not just consumption\u003c/a> -- and using the devices for \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/06/to-get-the-best-out-of-tablets-for-education-classrooms-use-smart-curation/\" target=\"_blank\">curation\u003c/a> and See this \u003ca href=\"http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/46-students-explain-assignments-got-attention-year/\" target=\"_blank\">post by Grant Wiggins\u003c/a> on student engagement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>6. Screen time:\u003c/strong> How many hours per day did you spend on a screen at (a) school and at (b) home? There is often a perception in 1-1 iPad schools that kids are on screens all the time. Gathering specific data is important to framing a useful conversation with families about balance both at school and at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>7. Personalization:\u003c/strong> What was the most interesting thing you learned on your own on the iPad? Kids can learn a lot on their own, when driven by their interests and passions. Finding out what motivates students can be great information to collect in determining clubs and activities to offer for the following school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>8. Creation vs. consumption:\u003c/strong> What percent of your time on the iPad was devoted to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/05/the-future-of-tablets-in-education-potential-vs-reality/\" target=\"_blank\">creating vs. consuming content\u003c/a>? Drawing this distinction can serve as a wonderful way to frame teaching and learning with the iPad for both students and teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-36165\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/6660134265_88e8afab92_z-e1402325724588.jpg\" alt=\"6660134265_88e8afab92_z\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/6660134265_88e8afab92_z-e1402325724588.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/6660134265_88e8afab92_z-e1402325724588-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/6660134265_88e8afab92_z-e1402325724588-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">More teachers are using digital games in the classroom, and they're using them more frequently, according to a new teacher survey just released by the \u003ca href=\"http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/\">Joan Ganz Cooney Center\u003c/a>. But more surprisingly, the study reveals that teachers are finding that one of the most impactful use of games is for motivating and rewarding students, specifically those who are low-performing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The survey, which interviewed 694 K-8 teachers with an average of 14.5 years of teaching experience, aims to understand how and why teachers are using digital games in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than three-quarters of teachers surveyed -- 78 percent -- report using digital games in class, and that's up from 50 percent who \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/05/new-survey-half-of-teachers-use-digital-games-in-class/\">reported using them in a different survey\u003c/a> two years ago. “Teachers say they want to use digital games to deliver standards-based content and assess student knowledge and skills,” said Cooney Center’s Senior Director and Research Scientist (and survey designer) Lori Takeuchi. “But they're mixed on how effective games have been in doing these things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of those who do use games in the classroom, 53 percent said they use video game devices to motivate and reward students, and 41 percent said they use non-digital games for that same reason. Teachers also said they offer games to their students as a way of giving them a break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost half the teachers surveyed -- 47 percent -- said low-performing students who've been struggling in traditional school settings\u003ca href=\"http://www.gamesandlearning.org/2014/06/09/teachers-on-using-games-in-class/\" target=\"_blank\"> benefited the most from using games.\u003c/a> Conversely, only 15 percent of teachers said that high-performing students benefited from playing games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of those who use games in the classroom, more teachers (41 percent) are using them to cover content mandated by state or national standards than for formative assessment (29 percent).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With more findings to be released in a later report, it’s still too soon to find an overarching theme other than the fact that games are becoming more commonplace in classrooms, Takeuchi said. Yet the first half of the survey released Monday does include important information about the future of digital gaming in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers report the greatest barriers to using more digital games in the classroom to be time (45 percent) and cost (44 percent), but researchers found that teachers who play digital games themselves are less likely to be unsure of how to integrate games into the classroom (20 percent) as compared to teachers who don’t play digital games outside the classroom (29 percent).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps most surprising is the strong use of non-digital games, more than video games, to connect students to one another: 41 percent of teachers use non-digital games to practice material already learned, 41 percent for motivation and reward, and 26 percent use them to “connect students to one another.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36168\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-36168\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-09-at-8.02.30-AM-300x300.png\" alt=\"Gamesandlearning.org\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gamesandlearning.org\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What is it about a game of Scrabble or Sorry that fosters connection? Takeuchi said that it’s more than just the individual nature of digital games -- in fact, the survey suggests that most digital game-playing students play in twos or small groups. “What's interesting about the board game findings is that they're still being used quite a lot - more than video games,” said Takeuchi. “And there is something about the face-to-face orientation of board game play, and the fact that you have to play board games with other people that make ‘connection’ a frequent purpose of this medium in K-8 classrooms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The release of the Gates Foundation-funded survey is seen as a timely conversation due to a convergence of factors surrounding games in the classroom. “There are demographic, policy, and empirical circumstances that make this survey particularly timely,” Takeuchi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2014, 91 percent of 2–17-year-olds play video games (NPD, 2013), and 58 percent of American adults also play, according to the Entertainment Software Association’s 2013 estimates. \"And since teachers are adults, it stands to reason that today’s teachers would be more open to the notion of using games to teach,” Takeuchi said. In addition, the Common Core implementation has teachers searching for ways to deliver content set by the new standards, and two recent meta-analyses published by \u003ca href=\"http://www.instituteofplay.org/work/projects/glasslab/\">GlassLab\u003c/a>, according to Takeuchi, “have unequivocally ruled in DGBL’s (Digital Game-Based Learning’s) favor.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DIFFERENT DEVICES\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As expected, teachers are using tech in the classroom regularly: 81 percent of teachers report using laptops and desktops on a weekly basis. The technology teachers rely on most to deliver new material to students are projectors (72 percent) and digital white boards (73 percent). While this conjures the image of a traditional lecture model on nothing more than fancier devices, Takeuchi said that digital white boards and projectors offer much more: both can be used for multiple purposes, including group digital game play. When it comes to assessment, teachers appear to be split, but most do not currently use technology to assess students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About half of teachers (55 percent) report using digital games in classrooms, most commonly on Mac or PC desktops and laptops, on a weekly basis -- though Takeuchi said they defined “digital games” for the survey quite broadly.* With thousands of games to choose from, finding the most appropriate ones for their class is teachers' biggest complaint, according to the study. For the most part, teachers choose which games to use by talking with other teachers, playing with the games themselves, and asking students their opinions about the games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"5577d573453aa6096f94ba5c1e933d9b\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other factors in drawing teachers toward games include whether they track students' performance (43 percent) and whether they find evidence that the game is effective (37 percent). Perhaps surprisingly, only 15 percent of teachers noted the reviews the game received and only a quarter cited the cost of the games as factors that influenced their decisions to use a game in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The use of video gaming devices in particular in classrooms remains low. Nearly 80 percent of teachers report they “never” use video gaming devices in the classroom, and only 13 percent report use these devices to cover new material. But when it comes to motivating or rewarding students for a job well done, 53 percent of teachers allow students to play video games on gaming devices as motivation or reward. (Nearly half of teachers surveyed use TV, DVDs and DVR for the same purpose.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More information on teachers and games, including gaming teacher profiles and the kinds of students who seem to benefit most from digital games, is coming when the second half of the survey is released in the fall of 2014. At that time, researches will get a more complete view of where classrooms are when it comes to game-based learning, and how far they have to go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>* Update June 10, 2014: This version of the article reflects the removal of a reference to games that were not part of the initial release of the study.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/em>\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>\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-36165\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/6660134265_88e8afab92_z-e1402325724588.jpg\" alt=\"6660134265_88e8afab92_z\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/6660134265_88e8afab92_z-e1402325724588.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/6660134265_88e8afab92_z-e1402325724588-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/6660134265_88e8afab92_z-e1402325724588-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">More teachers are using digital games in the classroom, and they're using them more frequently, according to a new teacher survey just released by the \u003ca href=\"http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/\">Joan Ganz Cooney Center\u003c/a>. But more surprisingly, the study reveals that teachers are finding that one of the most impactful use of games is for motivating and rewarding students, specifically those who are low-performing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The survey, which interviewed 694 K-8 teachers with an average of 14.5 years of teaching experience, aims to understand how and why teachers are using digital games in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than three-quarters of teachers surveyed -- 78 percent -- report using digital games in class, and that's up from 50 percent who \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/05/new-survey-half-of-teachers-use-digital-games-in-class/\">reported using them in a different survey\u003c/a> two years ago. “Teachers say they want to use digital games to deliver standards-based content and assess student knowledge and skills,” said Cooney Center’s Senior Director and Research Scientist (and survey designer) Lori Takeuchi. “But they're mixed on how effective games have been in doing these things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of those who do use games in the classroom, 53 percent said they use video game devices to motivate and reward students, and 41 percent said they use non-digital games for that same reason. Teachers also said they offer games to their students as a way of giving them a break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost half the teachers surveyed -- 47 percent -- said low-performing students who've been struggling in traditional school settings\u003ca href=\"http://www.gamesandlearning.org/2014/06/09/teachers-on-using-games-in-class/\" target=\"_blank\"> benefited the most from using games.\u003c/a> Conversely, only 15 percent of teachers said that high-performing students benefited from playing games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of those who use games in the classroom, more teachers (41 percent) are using them to cover content mandated by state or national standards than for formative assessment (29 percent).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With more findings to be released in a later report, it’s still too soon to find an overarching theme other than the fact that games are becoming more commonplace in classrooms, Takeuchi said. Yet the first half of the survey released Monday does include important information about the future of digital gaming in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers report the greatest barriers to using more digital games in the classroom to be time (45 percent) and cost (44 percent), but researchers found that teachers who play digital games themselves are less likely to be unsure of how to integrate games into the classroom (20 percent) as compared to teachers who don’t play digital games outside the classroom (29 percent).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps most surprising is the strong use of non-digital games, more than video games, to connect students to one another: 41 percent of teachers use non-digital games to practice material already learned, 41 percent for motivation and reward, and 26 percent use them to “connect students to one another.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36168\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-36168\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-09-at-8.02.30-AM-300x300.png\" alt=\"Gamesandlearning.org\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gamesandlearning.org\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What is it about a game of Scrabble or Sorry that fosters connection? Takeuchi said that it’s more than just the individual nature of digital games -- in fact, the survey suggests that most digital game-playing students play in twos or small groups. “What's interesting about the board game findings is that they're still being used quite a lot - more than video games,” said Takeuchi. “And there is something about the face-to-face orientation of board game play, and the fact that you have to play board games with other people that make ‘connection’ a frequent purpose of this medium in K-8 classrooms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The release of the Gates Foundation-funded survey is seen as a timely conversation due to a convergence of factors surrounding games in the classroom. “There are demographic, policy, and empirical circumstances that make this survey particularly timely,” Takeuchi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2014, 91 percent of 2–17-year-olds play video games (NPD, 2013), and 58 percent of American adults also play, according to the Entertainment Software Association’s 2013 estimates. \"And since teachers are adults, it stands to reason that today’s teachers would be more open to the notion of using games to teach,” Takeuchi said. In addition, the Common Core implementation has teachers searching for ways to deliver content set by the new standards, and two recent meta-analyses published by \u003ca href=\"http://www.instituteofplay.org/work/projects/glasslab/\">GlassLab\u003c/a>, according to Takeuchi, “have unequivocally ruled in DGBL’s (Digital Game-Based Learning’s) favor.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DIFFERENT DEVICES\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As expected, teachers are using tech in the classroom regularly: 81 percent of teachers report using laptops and desktops on a weekly basis. The technology teachers rely on most to deliver new material to students are projectors (72 percent) and digital white boards (73 percent). While this conjures the image of a traditional lecture model on nothing more than fancier devices, Takeuchi said that digital white boards and projectors offer much more: both can be used for multiple purposes, including group digital game play. When it comes to assessment, teachers appear to be split, but most do not currently use technology to assess students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About half of teachers (55 percent) report using digital games in classrooms, most commonly on Mac or PC desktops and laptops, on a weekly basis -- though Takeuchi said they defined “digital games” for the survey quite broadly.* With thousands of games to choose from, finding the most appropriate ones for their class is teachers' biggest complaint, according to the study. For the most part, teachers choose which games to use by talking with other teachers, playing with the games themselves, and asking students their opinions about the games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other factors in drawing teachers toward games include whether they track students' performance (43 percent) and whether they find evidence that the game is effective (37 percent). Perhaps surprisingly, only 15 percent of teachers noted the reviews the game received and only a quarter cited the cost of the games as factors that influenced their decisions to use a game in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The use of video gaming devices in particular in classrooms remains low. Nearly 80 percent of teachers report they “never” use video gaming devices in the classroom, and only 13 percent report use these devices to cover new material. But when it comes to motivating or rewarding students for a job well done, 53 percent of teachers allow students to play video games on gaming devices as motivation or reward. (Nearly half of teachers surveyed use TV, DVDs and DVR for the same purpose.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More information on teachers and games, including gaming teacher profiles and the kinds of students who seem to benefit most from digital games, is coming when the second half of the survey is released in the fall of 2014. At that time, researches will get a more complete view of where classrooms are when it comes to game-based learning, and how far they have to go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>* Update June 10, 2014: This version of the article reflects the removal of a reference to games that were not part of the initial release of the study.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "Making Games: The Ultimate Project-Based Learning",
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"headTitle": "The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning | MindShift | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36118\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36118\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-06-at-9.30.59-AM-e1402072334517.png\" alt=\"Gamestar Mechanic\" width=\"640\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-06-at-9.30.59-AM-e1402072334517.png 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-06-at-9.30.59-AM-e1402072334517-400x212.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-06-at-9.30.59-AM-e1402072334517-320x170.png 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gamestar Mechanic\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 6 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\">As game-based learning increases in popularity, it's easy to get pigeon-holed into one particular way of thinking about it or one way of employing it. This is true regardless of how teachers feel about gaming in the classroom, whether they’re for or against it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One common objection to game-based learning is that students will sit in front of screens being taught \u003ci>at. \u003c/i>Sure, games are interactive, but on some level, don’t they still just replace the sage on the stage with the sage on the screen? Does a joystick really change the nature of pedagogy?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In previous posts in this series, I’ve argued that because games involve systems thinking, they \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/how-games-based-learning-teaches-problem-solving-in-context/\" target=\"_blank\">contextualize learning\u003c/a>. Game-based learning could bring us a step closer to John Dewey’s call for “learning by doing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>“\u003c/b>Games are just simulators with an internal incentive structure (often dopamine based). That means they tap into the way humans, and all living creatures, are hard-wired to learn: \u003ci>by doing,\u003c/i>” says Keith Devlin, author of \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-Education-New-Era-Learning/dp/1568814313\" target=\"_blank\">Mathematics Education For A New Era: Video Games As A Medium For Learning.\u003c/a> \u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, virtual simulations of hands-on experience are not the same as tangibly engaging with the world. Simulating doing is, by definition, not the real thing. Plus, some of game-based learning’s strengths can also be seen as weaknesses. Games provide sequenced instruction blended with practice, feedback, and assessment. But even adaptive games have a finite number of sequential variations. Structures, and therefore, frameworks and perspectives, all remain fixed in a game. Certainly it is part of an educator’s job to frame content, but we don’t want to do it in a way that prevents students from figuring out their own way to make meaning out of the material. In order to model a respect for diverse perspectives, we need to employ a variety of teaching methods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fortunately, few people are calling for games to replace school as we know it. Kids shouldn’t sit in front of screens all day. Games are just one of the many tools that teachers can use in the classroom. In addition, there is more than one way to teach using games. It's not just about playing the games, it's also about \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/06/three-awesome-apps-that-help-kids-make-games/\" target=\"_blank\">making them\u003c/a>. Game making is one way to create a space where students are empowered to freely experiment with their own way of framing ideas and choosing perspectives. In this way, game making is tantamount to project-based learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just as there are many apps and platforms designed to teach kids coding, there are also many apps and platforms that make it easy for kids to design their own games. \u003ca href=\"https://gamestarmechanic.com/\">Gamestar Mechanic\u003c/a> is one of the better examples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Created by \u003ca href=\"http://elinemedia.com/\">E-Line Media\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"http://www.instituteofplay.org/\">Institute of Play\u003c/a>, with initial funding from the \u003ca href=\"http://www.macfound.org/\">MacArthur Foundation\u003c/a>, Gamestar Mechanic is currently used in more than 7,000 schools, with over 600,000 youth-created games published and played over 20 million times in 100+ countries. It was created, the company states, “with the understanding that game design is an activity that allows learners to build technical, technological, artistic, cognitive, social, and linguistic skills suitable for our current and future world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gamestar Mechanic is a web-based software platform with a drag and drop interface that makes it simple for kids to make their own games. Successfully manipulating Gamestar Mechanic requires that students learn pretty sophisticated “systems thinking,” or systems-based problem solving. “Game mechanics” learn to adjust settings and manipulate the relationship between components within a particular framework.\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>Brian Alspach, Executive Vice President at E-Line Media, explains that “a game is a system designed to create a fun, challenging experience for the player. Within the systems they design, kids get to set how things work, and their rules can be very different from the real world. Kids have to understand how all the pieces of the system they design will fit together. This system based thinking -- which can let you create a really fun, well-designed and unique game -- is also vital in understanding how systems in the real world work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just fiddling with Gamestar Mechanic, or some other game design platform is a great way to get students thinking about how separate components relate to one another within a fixed system. On a general level, it might serve as a way to convey the nature of bio-systems or economic systems. By constructing their own games, students get a tangible project-based introduction to the big abstract concept of systems thinking. But there’s no reason to be so philosophical. It can also be concrete. Teachers have also created \u003ca href=\"https://gamestarmechanic.com/teachers/sample_lesson_petty\">game-making exercises\u003c/a> that “provide reinforcement and review of concepts related to ratios, proportions and percents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Additionally, game design \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/02/18/how-game-based-learning-can-save-the-humanities/\">is one way\u003c/a> that the arts and humanities can benefit from game-based learning. In a world of non-linear networked communication, modes of self-expression take on new forms. The personal essay, the autobiography, and the self-portrait are no longer sufficient by themselves. Intelligent educational models need to consider how to provide meaningful creative and interpretive skills that embrace interactive social technologies. Forward thinking teachers in so-called “soft” subjects might begin to see video games as a new narrative genre. Perhaps we can reimagine some of our creative writing assignments so that students design games, exploring nonlinear narrative conventions in addition to linear ones. Both are forms of self-expression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://scratch.mit.edu/\">Scratch\u003c/a>, from MIT media lab, is another simple platform that allows students to build their own “interactive stories, games, and animations.” Based on basic coding, or algorithmic thinking, “Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century.” Scratch emphasizes the way coding can break down the boundary between STEM and ELA education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"78ed92004d34abc748ace644abc35c55\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although coding, as a skill, is usually classified as a STEM subject, game design shows kids that it is ultimately a semiotic system. That is, it is about language. Through design-thinking, coding allows folks to put together specific metaphors, signs, and systems in ways that enable the articulation of experiences through a shared system of meaning-making. Whether they belong to STEM or ELA, metaphors are all we have. We represent the universe through analogies that make social, technological, and medical accomplishments possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The great thing about any kind of project based learning -- whether it involves game design or not -- is that when students make meaning through creative articulations, they have to make active and intentional choices. Just as students need to choose paint colors or media in a fine arts class, they need to choose components in order to make a game. While these might seems like simple aesthetic choices, the right mentoring can show students how they are constructing their framework, how constructing a system is like constructing a viewpoint. When we challenge students to consider and explain why they make each choice, a sophisticated lesson in perspective is learned in a fun, engaging, hands-on way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ve written a lot about \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/social-and-emotional-benefits-of-video-games-metacognition-and-relationships/\">metacognition\u003c/a> in this series, emphasizing the importance of teaching kids to think about their own thinking. With game design students take metacognition to the next level, learning that ideas are \u003ci>constructed\u003c/i>. They understand that knowledge is always framed from a particular perspective, with a particular kind of intention. The benefits of this kind of reflexive consideration are intellectual, social, and emotional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Intellectually, students learn that all information is presented in \u003ci>some\u003c/i> way -- a lesson in methodology and epistemology. Socially, they become cognizant of the ways in which others construct knowledge -- a lesson in tolerance and empathy. Emotionally, they understand that feelings are part of a complex meaning system within which individuals are empowered to make their own decisions -- they have emotions rather than emotions having them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Imagine a classroom where you swap back and forth between books, essays, lectures, and games. Imagine if your students sometimes demonstrated understanding and retention by expressing themselves using game design platforms. Students might even begin to design their own learning games, constructing game-based curriculum for other students. Every teacher knows that the best way to learn is to teach. If an individual can create a game that delivers the content, you can be pretty sure that he or she understands it in a comprehensive way.\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_36118\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36118\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-06-at-9.30.59-AM-e1402072334517.png\" alt=\"Gamestar Mechanic\" width=\"640\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-06-at-9.30.59-AM-e1402072334517.png 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-06-at-9.30.59-AM-e1402072334517-400x212.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-06-at-9.30.59-AM-e1402072334517-320x170.png 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gamestar Mechanic\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 6 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\">As game-based learning increases in popularity, it's easy to get pigeon-holed into one particular way of thinking about it or one way of employing it. This is true regardless of how teachers feel about gaming in the classroom, whether they’re for or against it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One common objection to game-based learning is that students will sit in front of screens being taught \u003ci>at. \u003c/i>Sure, games are interactive, but on some level, don’t they still just replace the sage on the stage with the sage on the screen? Does a joystick really change the nature of pedagogy?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In previous posts in this series, I’ve argued that because games involve systems thinking, they \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/how-games-based-learning-teaches-problem-solving-in-context/\" target=\"_blank\">contextualize learning\u003c/a>. Game-based learning could bring us a step closer to John Dewey’s call for “learning by doing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>“\u003c/b>Games are just simulators with an internal incentive structure (often dopamine based). That means they tap into the way humans, and all living creatures, are hard-wired to learn: \u003ci>by doing,\u003c/i>” says Keith Devlin, author of \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-Education-New-Era-Learning/dp/1568814313\" target=\"_blank\">Mathematics Education For A New Era: Video Games As A Medium For Learning.\u003c/a> \u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, virtual simulations of hands-on experience are not the same as tangibly engaging with the world. Simulating doing is, by definition, not the real thing. Plus, some of game-based learning’s strengths can also be seen as weaknesses. Games provide sequenced instruction blended with practice, feedback, and assessment. But even adaptive games have a finite number of sequential variations. Structures, and therefore, frameworks and perspectives, all remain fixed in a game. Certainly it is part of an educator’s job to frame content, but we don’t want to do it in a way that prevents students from figuring out their own way to make meaning out of the material. In order to model a respect for diverse perspectives, we need to employ a variety of teaching methods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fortunately, few people are calling for games to replace school as we know it. Kids shouldn’t sit in front of screens all day. Games are just one of the many tools that teachers can use in the classroom. In addition, there is more than one way to teach using games. It's not just about playing the games, it's also about \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/06/three-awesome-apps-that-help-kids-make-games/\" target=\"_blank\">making them\u003c/a>. Game making is one way to create a space where students are empowered to freely experiment with their own way of framing ideas and choosing perspectives. In this way, game making is tantamount to project-based learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just as there are many apps and platforms designed to teach kids coding, there are also many apps and platforms that make it easy for kids to design their own games. \u003ca href=\"https://gamestarmechanic.com/\">Gamestar Mechanic\u003c/a> is one of the better examples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Created by \u003ca href=\"http://elinemedia.com/\">E-Line Media\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"http://www.instituteofplay.org/\">Institute of Play\u003c/a>, with initial funding from the \u003ca href=\"http://www.macfound.org/\">MacArthur Foundation\u003c/a>, Gamestar Mechanic is currently used in more than 7,000 schools, with over 600,000 youth-created games published and played over 20 million times in 100+ countries. It was created, the company states, “with the understanding that game design is an activity that allows learners to build technical, technological, artistic, cognitive, social, and linguistic skills suitable for our current and future world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gamestar Mechanic is a web-based software platform with a drag and drop interface that makes it simple for kids to make their own games. Successfully manipulating Gamestar Mechanic requires that students learn pretty sophisticated “systems thinking,” or systems-based problem solving. “Game mechanics” learn to adjust settings and manipulate the relationship between components within a particular framework.\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>Brian Alspach, Executive Vice President at E-Line Media, explains that “a game is a system designed to create a fun, challenging experience for the player. Within the systems they design, kids get to set how things work, and their rules can be very different from the real world. Kids have to understand how all the pieces of the system they design will fit together. This system based thinking -- which can let you create a really fun, well-designed and unique game -- is also vital in understanding how systems in the real world work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just fiddling with Gamestar Mechanic, or some other game design platform is a great way to get students thinking about how separate components relate to one another within a fixed system. On a general level, it might serve as a way to convey the nature of bio-systems or economic systems. By constructing their own games, students get a tangible project-based introduction to the big abstract concept of systems thinking. But there’s no reason to be so philosophical. It can also be concrete. Teachers have also created \u003ca href=\"https://gamestarmechanic.com/teachers/sample_lesson_petty\">game-making exercises\u003c/a> that “provide reinforcement and review of concepts related to ratios, proportions and percents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Additionally, game design \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/02/18/how-game-based-learning-can-save-the-humanities/\">is one way\u003c/a> that the arts and humanities can benefit from game-based learning. In a world of non-linear networked communication, modes of self-expression take on new forms. The personal essay, the autobiography, and the self-portrait are no longer sufficient by themselves. Intelligent educational models need to consider how to provide meaningful creative and interpretive skills that embrace interactive social technologies. Forward thinking teachers in so-called “soft” subjects might begin to see video games as a new narrative genre. Perhaps we can reimagine some of our creative writing assignments so that students design games, exploring nonlinear narrative conventions in addition to linear ones. Both are forms of self-expression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://scratch.mit.edu/\">Scratch\u003c/a>, from MIT media lab, is another simple platform that allows students to build their own “interactive stories, games, and animations.” Based on basic coding, or algorithmic thinking, “Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century.” Scratch emphasizes the way coding can break down the boundary between STEM and ELA education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although coding, as a skill, is usually classified as a STEM subject, game design shows kids that it is ultimately a semiotic system. That is, it is about language. Through design-thinking, coding allows folks to put together specific metaphors, signs, and systems in ways that enable the articulation of experiences through a shared system of meaning-making. Whether they belong to STEM or ELA, metaphors are all we have. We represent the universe through analogies that make social, technological, and medical accomplishments possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The great thing about any kind of project based learning -- whether it involves game design or not -- is that when students make meaning through creative articulations, they have to make active and intentional choices. Just as students need to choose paint colors or media in a fine arts class, they need to choose components in order to make a game. While these might seems like simple aesthetic choices, the right mentoring can show students how they are constructing their framework, how constructing a system is like constructing a viewpoint. When we challenge students to consider and explain why they make each choice, a sophisticated lesson in perspective is learned in a fun, engaging, hands-on way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ve written a lot about \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/social-and-emotional-benefits-of-video-games-metacognition-and-relationships/\">metacognition\u003c/a> in this series, emphasizing the importance of teaching kids to think about their own thinking. With game design students take metacognition to the next level, learning that ideas are \u003ci>constructed\u003c/i>. They understand that knowledge is always framed from a particular perspective, with a particular kind of intention. The benefits of this kind of reflexive consideration are intellectual, social, and emotional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Intellectually, students learn that all information is presented in \u003ci>some\u003c/i> way -- a lesson in methodology and epistemology. Socially, they become cognizant of the ways in which others construct knowledge -- a lesson in tolerance and empathy. Emotionally, they understand that feelings are part of a complex meaning system within which individuals are empowered to make their own decisions -- they have emotions rather than emotions having them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Imagine a classroom where you swap back and forth between books, essays, lectures, and games. Imagine if your students sometimes demonstrated understanding and retention by expressing themselves using game design platforms. Students might even begin to design their own learning games, constructing game-based curriculum for other students. Every teacher knows that the best way to learn is to teach. If an individual can create a game that delivers the content, you can be pretty sure that he or she understands it in a comprehensive way.\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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"content": "\u003ch5>By Tanner Higgin, \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org\">Graphite\u003c/a>\u003c/h5>\n\u003cp>Some of the best games for learning aren't developed with schools in mind. But these more commercial games can be tough to wedge into a classroom. Even the most motivated teachers have to sideline these games because of scarce technology, budget, and/or time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Summer break presents the perfect opportunity for students to dig into games and build skills that'll reap huge rewards when they return in the fall. Game making can be one of the best ways to get students thinking creatively while cultivating useful technical literacies, and there's a ton of absorbing tools that students won't tire of over the long break. Here are three options to choose from depending on the type of technology students have at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca href=\"http://littlebigplanet.playstation.com/en/games/littlebigplanet-2\" target=\"_blank\">1. LittleBigPlanet 2\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>LittleBigPlanet 2 (\u003c/em>PlayStation 3) on the one hand, is a side-scrolling platformer in the \u003cem>Super Mario Bros.\u003c/em> mold. On the other hand, it's an accessible but complex tool for making a variety of games just like the ones featured in the game. This second feature-set is where it really excels; the developers basically hand over the keys to the workshop and let players run wild. The DIY, handmade aesthetic appeals to students of any age, and the supportive and vibrant community encourages players to play and critique each other's levels constructively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36073\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 497px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36073\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/LittleBigPlanet-e1401842506361.jpg\" alt=\"LittleBigPlanet\" width=\"497\" height=\"290\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">LittleBigPlanet\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>2. \u003ca href=\"http://projectpixelpress.com/floors/\" target=\"_blank\">Pixel Press Floors\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>For those students that love games but are a bit intimidated by the technological chops it takes to make one, \u003cem>Pixel Press Floors \u003c/em>(iPad) is perfect. Users hand draw their levels using a pencil, grid paper, and specific markings called \"glyphs,\" and then \u003cem>Pixel Press\u003c/em> transforms that schematic into a modifiable, playable, and sharable digital version. As Graphite reviewer and arts educator Megan Leppla puts it, \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/app/pixel-press-floors\">the whole physical to digital transformation is \"pretty magical\"\u003c/a> and opens doorways to game making for kids more analogically inclined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36074\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 480px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36074\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/PixelPressFloors-e1401842581646.jpeg\" alt=\"PixelPressFloors\" width=\"480\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/PixelPressFloors-e1401842581646.jpeg 480w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/PixelPressFloors-e1401842581646-400x252.jpeg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/PixelPressFloors-e1401842581646-320x201.jpeg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PixelPressFloors\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>3. \u003ca href=\"https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Portal_2_Puzzle_Maker\" target=\"_blank\">Portal 2 Puzzle Maker\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Many students will likely be familiar with \u003cem>Portal 2 \u003c/em>(PC and Mac), a joke-filled, brain-breaking physics puzzler that has sold millions of copies. What students might not know is that there's a tool bundled with the game that lets players build levels (or, as they're called in-game, \"test chambers\"). Be aware though that the intellectual challenge of making a properly puzzling \u003cem>Portal 2\u003c/em> level is best tackled by middle and high school students. And while it'll likely appeal to students who already love math and science, level building might be a means for students who struggle in STEM subjects to build confidence and ignite interest. In fact, JK Sooja, who reviewed this tool for Graphite, thinks \u003cem>Portal 2 Puzzle Maker\u003c/em> covers \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/game/portal-2-puzzle-maker\">\"just about every introductory [physics] concept,\"\u003c/a> making it a great option for students ready to tackle upper level science.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36075\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 476px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36075\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/portal2puzzlemaker-e1401842623990.jpg\" alt=\"Portal2Puzzlemaker\" width=\"476\" height=\"272\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/portal2puzzlemaker-e1401842623990.jpg 476w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/portal2puzzlemaker-e1401842623990-400x229.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/portal2puzzlemaker-e1401842623990-320x183.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 476px) 100vw, 476px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Portal2Puzzlemaker\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What's particularly great about all of these tools is that they achieve something that's hard to do: connecting the classroom to the home. Ideally, we'd like learning to extend out from the classroom, adapting to students' different contexts as they move from school to home to wherever. Unfortunately, a lot of what students are doing in school or for homework just doesn't make sense when not tied to a desk, and can't compete with other things like, well, games. When students ditch class or ignore homework, it's tools like the ones listed above that they tinker with for hours on end. So this summer let's try something out; let's encourage students to forget about school, slack off, make some games, and learn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Tanner Higgin is Senior Manager, Education Content, at \u003ca href=\"http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\">Common Sense Media\u003c/a>, creator of \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org\">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 \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org\">Graphite\u003c/a> to read full reviews of games and how teachers use them for learning in class.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/04/Podcast-Square-e1463002696628.jpg\" alt=\"\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1078765985\">Subscribe in iTunes\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Don't miss an episode of \u003cem>Stories Teachers Share\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also available via \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/category/stories-teachers-share/feed/\">RSS\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Summer break presents the perfect opportunity for students to dig into games and build skills that'll reap huge rewards when they return in the fall. Game making can be one of the best ways to get students thinking creatively while cultivating useful technical literacies, and there's a ton of absorbing tools that students won't tire of over the long break. Here are three options to choose from depending on the type of technology students have at home.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003ch5>By Tanner Higgin, \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org\">Graphite\u003c/a>\u003c/h5>\n\u003cp>Some of the best games for learning aren't developed with schools in mind. But these more commercial games can be tough to wedge into a classroom. Even the most motivated teachers have to sideline these games because of scarce technology, budget, and/or time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Summer break presents the perfect opportunity for students to dig into games and build skills that'll reap huge rewards when they return in the fall. Game making can be one of the best ways to get students thinking creatively while cultivating useful technical literacies, and there's a ton of absorbing tools that students won't tire of over the long break. Here are three options to choose from depending on the type of technology students have at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca href=\"http://littlebigplanet.playstation.com/en/games/littlebigplanet-2\" target=\"_blank\">1. LittleBigPlanet 2\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>LittleBigPlanet 2 (\u003c/em>PlayStation 3) on the one hand, is a side-scrolling platformer in the \u003cem>Super Mario Bros.\u003c/em> mold. On the other hand, it's an accessible but complex tool for making a variety of games just like the ones featured in the game. This second feature-set is where it really excels; the developers basically hand over the keys to the workshop and let players run wild. The DIY, handmade aesthetic appeals to students of any age, and the supportive and vibrant community encourages players to play and critique each other's levels constructively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36073\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 497px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36073\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/LittleBigPlanet-e1401842506361.jpg\" alt=\"LittleBigPlanet\" width=\"497\" height=\"290\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">LittleBigPlanet\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>2. \u003ca href=\"http://projectpixelpress.com/floors/\" target=\"_blank\">Pixel Press Floors\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>For those students that love games but are a bit intimidated by the technological chops it takes to make one, \u003cem>Pixel Press Floors \u003c/em>(iPad) is perfect. Users hand draw their levels using a pencil, grid paper, and specific markings called \"glyphs,\" and then \u003cem>Pixel Press\u003c/em> transforms that schematic into a modifiable, playable, and sharable digital version. As Graphite reviewer and arts educator Megan Leppla puts it, \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/app/pixel-press-floors\">the whole physical to digital transformation is \"pretty magical\"\u003c/a> and opens doorways to game making for kids more analogically inclined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36074\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 480px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36074\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/PixelPressFloors-e1401842581646.jpeg\" alt=\"PixelPressFloors\" width=\"480\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/PixelPressFloors-e1401842581646.jpeg 480w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/PixelPressFloors-e1401842581646-400x252.jpeg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/PixelPressFloors-e1401842581646-320x201.jpeg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PixelPressFloors\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>3. \u003ca href=\"https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Portal_2_Puzzle_Maker\" target=\"_blank\">Portal 2 Puzzle Maker\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Many students will likely be familiar with \u003cem>Portal 2 \u003c/em>(PC and Mac), a joke-filled, brain-breaking physics puzzler that has sold millions of copies. What students might not know is that there's a tool bundled with the game that lets players build levels (or, as they're called in-game, \"test chambers\"). Be aware though that the intellectual challenge of making a properly puzzling \u003cem>Portal 2\u003c/em> level is best tackled by middle and high school students. And while it'll likely appeal to students who already love math and science, level building might be a means for students who struggle in STEM subjects to build confidence and ignite interest. In fact, JK Sooja, who reviewed this tool for Graphite, thinks \u003cem>Portal 2 Puzzle Maker\u003c/em> covers \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org/game/portal-2-puzzle-maker\">\"just about every introductory [physics] concept,\"\u003c/a> making it a great option for students ready to tackle upper level science.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_36075\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 476px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-36075\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/portal2puzzlemaker-e1401842623990.jpg\" alt=\"Portal2Puzzlemaker\" width=\"476\" height=\"272\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/portal2puzzlemaker-e1401842623990.jpg 476w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/portal2puzzlemaker-e1401842623990-400x229.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/06/portal2puzzlemaker-e1401842623990-320x183.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 476px) 100vw, 476px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Portal2Puzzlemaker\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What's particularly great about all of these tools is that they achieve something that's hard to do: connecting the classroom to the home. Ideally, we'd like learning to extend out from the classroom, adapting to students' different contexts as they move from school to home to wherever. Unfortunately, a lot of what students are doing in school or for homework just doesn't make sense when not tied to a desk, and can't compete with other things like, well, games. When students ditch class or ignore homework, it's tools like the ones listed above that they tinker with for hours on end. So this summer let's try something out; let's encourage students to forget about school, slack off, make some games, and learn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Tanner Higgin is Senior Manager, Education Content, at \u003ca href=\"http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators\">Common Sense Media\u003c/a>, creator of \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org\">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 \u003ca href=\"http://www.graphite.org\">Graphite\u003c/a> to read full reviews of games and how teachers use them for learning in class.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/04/Podcast-Square-e1463002696628.jpg\" alt=\"\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1078765985\">Subscribe in iTunes\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Don't miss an episode of \u003cem>Stories Teachers Share\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also available via \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/category/stories-teachers-share/feed/\">RSS\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Can Games Make High-Stakes Tests Obsolete?",
"title": "Can Games Make High-Stakes Tests Obsolete?",
"headTitle": "The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning | MindShift | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_35964\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-35964\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/3585052105_1052a5e228_z.jpg\" alt=\"timlewisln\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/3585052105_1052a5e228_z.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/3585052105_1052a5e228_z-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/3585052105_1052a5e228_z-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">timlewisln\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 5 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\">Nobody likes high-stakes testing. The problems are \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/04/movement-against-standardized-testing-grows-as-parents-opt-out/\" target=\"_blank\">well documented\u003c/a>. But maybe games can help to change the way we approach assessment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least since John Dewey, educational theorists and scholars have been clear about the inherent shortcomings of thinking about education in terms of standardized, quantifiable outcomes. In order for instructional strategies to be successful at a large scale, they need to take individual differences under consideration. Not all students are the same. They don’t learn in the same ways and it's a fantasy to believe we can accurately assess them all using identical rubrics. Likewise, a great many of our widely accepted developmental theories are only accurate in a vacuum; they fail to take all the subjective cultural, ethnic, and socio-economic factors into account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Howard Gardner, John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor in Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is best known for his theory of \"multiple intelligences.\" “Human beings have very different kinds of intellectual strengths and these strengths are very, very important in how kids learn and how people represent things in their minds, and then how people use them in order to show what it is that they've understood,” h\u003ca href=\"http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-howard-gardner-video\">e says. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you disagree with his theory about different learning styles, it's hard to disagree with the notion that making learning personal to students is beneficial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as teachers know, bringing that personalized level of attention and assessment in a classroom of 20 or 30 students is a challenge: identifying individualized learning objectives on a daily basis, imagining measurements of incremental achievement, monitoring for mastery, and undertaking ongoing formative and substantive assessments. Consider the compounded complexity for the hundreds or thousands of students in a single school. Tens of thousands in a district. Hundreds of thousands in each state. Millions in the United States of America and globally.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Games allow processes to take place all at once--instruction and assessment simultaneously happening through practice reimagined as play.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Adaptive and game-based learning technologies aim to untangle the complexity that makes widespread personalized instruction and assessment seem unfathomable. Behind the shiny graphics and mechanics, many games and apps feature complex assessment algorithms that collect and analyze student data. Sometimes that data is simply there for the teacher to view (and also for the student in the best implementations). Other times, the software is collecting data about the learner and adapting accordingly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the simplest level, adapting might mean changing the order in which the student is presented with challenges. But it can get way more complex, even factoring in \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/04/do-games-have-a-future-as-assessment-tools/\" target=\"_blank\">metacognitive data\u003c/a> and analyzing the confidence with which a student solves a problem or completes a level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adaptive games and apps isolate skills and iterate contextualized instructional sequences, creating precise curricula tailored to the needs, strengths, and challenges of the individual learner. In addition, by cross referencing the data of all students using the system, these technologies can also continually monitor overall effectiveness in a comparative way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In order to understand how this works, you’ll need to step out of the ordinary way of thinking about education. We tend to break the school experience into three parts: instruction, practice, and assessment. The teacher delivers content to the student. The student does homework. We test for retention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Games allow these three processes to take place all at once--instruction and assessment simultaneously happening through practice reimagined as play. The promise of game-based learning is not only about increased student engagement and intrinsic motivation, but also about changing the way we think about assessment so that it is no longer in a category by itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using games, we eliminate the negative consequences of summative assessments and replace them with engaging formative assessments. Games provide the ability to evaluate students continuously in order to understand how to improve our teaching throughout the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's not too hard to imagine. After all, this is what teachers already do in the classroom. We constantly change our teaching style so that it best serves the particular mix of learners in the room. When the pupil doesn’t “get it,” we instantly adapt our approach. Just think about how we all communicate casually in everyday conversation. We are personalizing assessment when we say, “do you know what I mean?” We are iterating instruction when we say, “think about it this way,” or, “in other words.”\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>All good teachers do this regularly, but they can only do this for a\u003ci> \u003c/i>few of their students some of the time. It just wouldn’t be feasible to do it for everyone all the time. Humans are fallible and subjective. We just can’t match the speed and comprehensive efficiency of a computer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, in the not-too-distant future, and in a few schools even now, a teacher could tap an icon on a tablet every morning and receive precise assessment data about all the students in the class -- data that can be organized and optimized in whatever way is preferable, information that can help teachers design more impactful human-to-human lesson plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dave McCool, President and CEO of \u003ca href=\"http://muzzylane.com/projects\">Muzzy Lane\u003c/a>, a game developer that specializes in 3D multiplayer games for the classroom, is passionate about designing games that can help teachers reach students more effectively. “Unlike traditional assessment,” he says, “game-based learning provides moment-to-moment opportunities for learners to apply their knowledge and demonstrate competency while solving problems in a relevant context. Assessment data reflecting player decision-making can be used to present a personalized learning experience as the game adapts to the learner's strengths and weaknesses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McCool is describing a model where assessment is so fully integrated into a contextualized everyday learning experience that familiar questions about accountability are rendered irrelevant. We may not even talk about assessment anymore. Instead, we’ll simply be able to leverage the data that comes out of ongoing gameplay. Games don’t replace tests; they make tests unnecessary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Institute of Play’s \u003ca href=\"http://glasslabgames.org/\">GlassLab\u003c/a> is working on that very objective (Glass is an abbreviation for \"games and learning assessments\"). Their mission is to make continuous, research driven game-based assessments available for all standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jessica Lindl, GlassLab’s general manager, reiterated that the enormous amount of data that comes out of game play, contextualized appropriately, has the potential to be “just as reliable as high stakes assessments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The unique thing about using gameplay data for assessment purposes is that it enables teachers to assess the choices that learners make rather than content they can regurgitate. Process is prioritized over the rote learning. The game monitors the decisions that learners make, evaluating students’ incremental progress. In other words, games assess \u003ci>how\u003c/i> kids are learning rather than \u003ci>what\u003c/i> they are learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some people worry that the very notion of using games as assessments is problematic. Most of this criticism is more about the problem with summative assessment than it is with using games themselves. James Paul Gee, a longtime proponent and researcher of games who has written many books on the subject, doesn’t want to see us replace the current “\u003ca href=\"https://www.edsurge.com/n/2013-08-19-games-standards-and-assessment-staying-out-of-the-toxic-mess\" target=\"_blank\">toxic mess\u003c/a>” of standardized tests with games. Like Muzzy Lane and GlassLab, Gee understands that, “in a game, assessment and learning are completely integrated. It is hard to tell them apart.” The key point is that good game-based learning should use data that comes from continuous gameplay for the purpose of ongoing formative assessment, not just replace tests with games in a way that barely addresses the current student experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only will game-based assessment translate into a better student experience, but also the data that games and adaptive learning systems provide will enable researchers to understand, with increasing precision, how students learn best. The promise is certainly exciting. But there’s also a scary side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you're creeped out by the targeted advertising that shows up in your Facebook timeline, or beside your Google search results, imagine what the world would look like if advertisers had been tracking your decision making processes since grade-school. Our concerns about the NSA are nothing compared to the big brother surveillance state that we could inadvertently let into our classrooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of the developers interviewed for this series say they're interested in these nefarious uses of data. But teachers should still be on guard. Avoid free games and apps that make your students sign up with personal info. Chances are, if they’re free, you're paying them with data. In addition, whenever you download an app for the classroom, read the terms of service carefully. When learning resources are cloud-based, make sure you agree with the privacy policy. Be cynical and skeptical and remember that part of your job is to protect your students. There’s a Department of Education \u003ca href=\"http://ptac.ed.gov/document/protecting-student-privacy-while-using-online-educational-services\">guide\u003c/a> on privacy and student data if you need more information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Be cautious, but don’t be alarmed. Some of the fear around big data is just \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/whats-really-at-stake-untangling-issues-around-student-data-privacy/\" target=\"_blank\">a fear of the unknown\u003c/a>. In many ways, the world is changing more quickly than we can comprehend. We cannot slow it down, but we can take the ride mindfully.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most importantly, we can use the new game-based technologies to educate a generation of citizens with more playful personalization than has ever been possible. Game-based learning has the potential to address many of the shortcomings and challenges that our current high-stakes testing environment presents.\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_35964\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-35964\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/3585052105_1052a5e228_z.jpg\" alt=\"timlewisln\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/3585052105_1052a5e228_z.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/3585052105_1052a5e228_z-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/3585052105_1052a5e228_z-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">timlewisln\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Part 5 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\">Nobody likes high-stakes testing. The problems are \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/04/movement-against-standardized-testing-grows-as-parents-opt-out/\" target=\"_blank\">well documented\u003c/a>. But maybe games can help to change the way we approach assessment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least since John Dewey, educational theorists and scholars have been clear about the inherent shortcomings of thinking about education in terms of standardized, quantifiable outcomes. In order for instructional strategies to be successful at a large scale, they need to take individual differences under consideration. Not all students are the same. They don’t learn in the same ways and it's a fantasy to believe we can accurately assess them all using identical rubrics. Likewise, a great many of our widely accepted developmental theories are only accurate in a vacuum; they fail to take all the subjective cultural, ethnic, and socio-economic factors into account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Howard Gardner, John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor in Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is best known for his theory of \"multiple intelligences.\" “Human beings have very different kinds of intellectual strengths and these strengths are very, very important in how kids learn and how people represent things in their minds, and then how people use them in order to show what it is that they've understood,” h\u003ca href=\"http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-howard-gardner-video\">e says. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you disagree with his theory about different learning styles, it's hard to disagree with the notion that making learning personal to students is beneficial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as teachers know, bringing that personalized level of attention and assessment in a classroom of 20 or 30 students is a challenge: identifying individualized learning objectives on a daily basis, imagining measurements of incremental achievement, monitoring for mastery, and undertaking ongoing formative and substantive assessments. Consider the compounded complexity for the hundreds or thousands of students in a single school. Tens of thousands in a district. Hundreds of thousands in each state. Millions in the United States of America and globally.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Games allow processes to take place all at once--instruction and assessment simultaneously happening through practice reimagined as play.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Adaptive and game-based learning technologies aim to untangle the complexity that makes widespread personalized instruction and assessment seem unfathomable. Behind the shiny graphics and mechanics, many games and apps feature complex assessment algorithms that collect and analyze student data. Sometimes that data is simply there for the teacher to view (and also for the student in the best implementations). Other times, the software is collecting data about the learner and adapting accordingly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the simplest level, adapting might mean changing the order in which the student is presented with challenges. But it can get way more complex, even factoring in \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/04/do-games-have-a-future-as-assessment-tools/\" target=\"_blank\">metacognitive data\u003c/a> and analyzing the confidence with which a student solves a problem or completes a level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adaptive games and apps isolate skills and iterate contextualized instructional sequences, creating precise curricula tailored to the needs, strengths, and challenges of the individual learner. In addition, by cross referencing the data of all students using the system, these technologies can also continually monitor overall effectiveness in a comparative way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In order to understand how this works, you’ll need to step out of the ordinary way of thinking about education. We tend to break the school experience into three parts: instruction, practice, and assessment. The teacher delivers content to the student. The student does homework. We test for retention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Games allow these three processes to take place all at once--instruction and assessment simultaneously happening through practice reimagined as play. The promise of game-based learning is not only about increased student engagement and intrinsic motivation, but also about changing the way we think about assessment so that it is no longer in a category by itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using games, we eliminate the negative consequences of summative assessments and replace them with engaging formative assessments. Games provide the ability to evaluate students continuously in order to understand how to improve our teaching throughout the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's not too hard to imagine. After all, this is what teachers already do in the classroom. We constantly change our teaching style so that it best serves the particular mix of learners in the room. When the pupil doesn’t “get it,” we instantly adapt our approach. Just think about how we all communicate casually in everyday conversation. We are personalizing assessment when we say, “do you know what I mean?” We are iterating instruction when we say, “think about it this way,” or, “in other words.”\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>All good teachers do this regularly, but they can only do this for a\u003ci> \u003c/i>few of their students some of the time. It just wouldn’t be feasible to do it for everyone all the time. Humans are fallible and subjective. We just can’t match the speed and comprehensive efficiency of a computer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, in the not-too-distant future, and in a few schools even now, a teacher could tap an icon on a tablet every morning and receive precise assessment data about all the students in the class -- data that can be organized and optimized in whatever way is preferable, information that can help teachers design more impactful human-to-human lesson plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dave McCool, President and CEO of \u003ca href=\"http://muzzylane.com/projects\">Muzzy Lane\u003c/a>, a game developer that specializes in 3D multiplayer games for the classroom, is passionate about designing games that can help teachers reach students more effectively. “Unlike traditional assessment,” he says, “game-based learning provides moment-to-moment opportunities for learners to apply their knowledge and demonstrate competency while solving problems in a relevant context. Assessment data reflecting player decision-making can be used to present a personalized learning experience as the game adapts to the learner's strengths and weaknesses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McCool is describing a model where assessment is so fully integrated into a contextualized everyday learning experience that familiar questions about accountability are rendered irrelevant. We may not even talk about assessment anymore. Instead, we’ll simply be able to leverage the data that comes out of ongoing gameplay. Games don’t replace tests; they make tests unnecessary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Institute of Play’s \u003ca href=\"http://glasslabgames.org/\">GlassLab\u003c/a> is working on that very objective (Glass is an abbreviation for \"games and learning assessments\"). Their mission is to make continuous, research driven game-based assessments available for all standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jessica Lindl, GlassLab’s general manager, reiterated that the enormous amount of data that comes out of game play, contextualized appropriately, has the potential to be “just as reliable as high stakes assessments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The unique thing about using gameplay data for assessment purposes is that it enables teachers to assess the choices that learners make rather than content they can regurgitate. Process is prioritized over the rote learning. The game monitors the decisions that learners make, evaluating students’ incremental progress. In other words, games assess \u003ci>how\u003c/i> kids are learning rather than \u003ci>what\u003c/i> they are learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some people worry that the very notion of using games as assessments is problematic. Most of this criticism is more about the problem with summative assessment than it is with using games themselves. James Paul Gee, a longtime proponent and researcher of games who has written many books on the subject, doesn’t want to see us replace the current “\u003ca href=\"https://www.edsurge.com/n/2013-08-19-games-standards-and-assessment-staying-out-of-the-toxic-mess\" target=\"_blank\">toxic mess\u003c/a>” of standardized tests with games. Like Muzzy Lane and GlassLab, Gee understands that, “in a game, assessment and learning are completely integrated. It is hard to tell them apart.” The key point is that good game-based learning should use data that comes from continuous gameplay for the purpose of ongoing formative assessment, not just replace tests with games in a way that barely addresses the current student experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only will game-based assessment translate into a better student experience, but also the data that games and adaptive learning systems provide will enable researchers to understand, with increasing precision, how students learn best. The promise is certainly exciting. But there’s also a scary side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you're creeped out by the targeted advertising that shows up in your Facebook timeline, or beside your Google search results, imagine what the world would look like if advertisers had been tracking your decision making processes since grade-school. Our concerns about the NSA are nothing compared to the big brother surveillance state that we could inadvertently let into our classrooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of the developers interviewed for this series say they're interested in these nefarious uses of data. But teachers should still be on guard. Avoid free games and apps that make your students sign up with personal info. Chances are, if they’re free, you're paying them with data. In addition, whenever you download an app for the classroom, read the terms of service carefully. When learning resources are cloud-based, make sure you agree with the privacy policy. Be cynical and skeptical and remember that part of your job is to protect your students. There’s a Department of Education \u003ca href=\"http://ptac.ed.gov/document/protecting-student-privacy-while-using-online-educational-services\">guide\u003c/a> on privacy and student data if you need more information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Be cautious, but don’t be alarmed. Some of the fear around big data is just \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/whats-really-at-stake-untangling-issues-around-student-data-privacy/\" target=\"_blank\">a fear of the unknown\u003c/a>. In many ways, the world is changing more quickly than we can comprehend. We cannot slow it down, but we can take the ride mindfully.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most importantly, we can use the new game-based technologies to educate a generation of citizens with more playful personalization than has ever been possible. Game-based learning has the potential to address many of the shortcomings and challenges that our current high-stakes testing environment presents.\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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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_35639\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/steveonjava/12628872993/in/photolist-keYgXx-keZTBs-keY7mP-keXVyr-keXBuT-keXwBg-keXjG4-keZY2j-keXWFX-keXQxz-keZv6L-keZwvu-keXuqc-keXm3v-keXQ5v-keZKKq-keXpJD-keYi6e-keY7R6-keXkJK-keZvzw-keZMwS-keZw2U-keZHNQ-keZxnE-keXDzz-keZKwj-keXktV-keZExw-keXw92-keZR2s-keXrhP-keXTuM-keXyJc-keXchK-keXqFZ-keXpeF-keYgfv-keYfFK-keXeFn-keXs6c-keZN2j-keZDZN-keY9Cn-keXtYv-keXRJc-keXuWx-keXzJP-keXoj4-keZGVs\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-35639\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/robot.jpg\" alt=\"(Stephen Chin/Flickr)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/robot.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/robot-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/robot-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Stephen Chin/Flickr)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Talk of robots in the classroom may have seemed far fetched a few years ago, but it’s safe to say that the future has arrived – at least in some classrooms. Educators are beginning to experiment with how robots can add value to their classrooms, and while it’s by no means common -- they’re still quite expensive for many school budgets -- robots paired with specific software and curriculum are offering interesting new learning opportunities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DEMONSTRATING ABSTRACT CONCEPTS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To explain difficult abstract concepts in science and math subjects, some teachers are using \u003ca href=\"http://www.robotslab.com/\" target=\"_blank\">RobotsLab BOX\u003c/a>. It's a kit that includes a quadcopter, tablet, robotic arm, a spherical robot, a circular robot and lesson plans to go with all of them. Teachers use the tablet to manipulate the various robots into demonstrating different STEM concepts. Because all the software and lessons come preloaded, teachers don't need programming or robotics knowledge to make it work. The whole kit costs $3,500.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The founder of RobotsLab, Elad Inbar, said that teachers complained that their students were coming into first year engineering and computer science college classes without a solid foundation of math concepts. The suite of products his team ultimately developed use robots to show students that the equations and graphs they slave over mean something in the physical world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are trying to use the power of visual learning to bridge all the ‘I’m not a math person’ stuff,” Inbar said. “They can actually use their senses to understand it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, a lesson about quadratic functions uses a quadcopter robot to demonstrate what the equation means in real life by correlating the area viewed on a camera attached to the bottom, with the graph. If programmed with a quadratic equation, the quadcopter rises to specific heights, demonstrating the visible relationship between the hovering robot and the area captured by the camera.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n“They want to work with the robot for as long as possible. Every time their lesson is done they're disappointed.”\u003cbr>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>After students have been introduced to the concept and have seen it demonstrated on the robot, they can try to program the robot themselves. The hands-on aspect helps students to understand that they can manipulate the robot themselves with the right code, Ibar said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have teachers who are doing project-based learning and they give the robots to the students with the tablet and they say, 'You figure it out and come back and tell me what you learned,'” Inbar said. While his product includes curriculum and lessons teachers can use, the robot itself is just a platform that can be programmed by tinkering students just as effectively as by a teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jerry Moldenhauer has been using \u003ca href=\"http://www.vexrobotics.com/\" target=\"_blank\">VEX\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/?domainredir=mindstorms.lego.com\" target=\"_blank\">Lego Mindstorm\u003c/a> robots in his engineering classes at Eastside Memorial High School in Austin, Texas for several years. Until now, he's mostly used them to offer advanced students challenge problems, giving them opportunities to design concepts and practice programming. This year, he started using the RobotLab BOX kit with his whole class, and he's found that it boosts engagement and crystallizes difficult concepts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They have solved a big problem and that is bringing in curriculum, especially for math and physics,” Moldenhauer said. He prefers teaching with project-based methods, but said it can be challenging for math teachers to come up with engaging and relevant projects that also get students to practice enough math to solidify what they've learned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[The robot] gives the instructors a tool to get them interested in the learning and then the math behind it is a surprise to them,” Moldenhauer said. Kids are calculating the velocity of the robot without realizing they’re using algebra. \"It really makes the connection better for them,” he said. Moldenhauer finds the robot especially useful for explaining the math behind more advanced engineering topics his class will work towards. They often don't have a firm grasp of the algebra they'll need and using the robot to visually demonstrate the concepts helps them review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moldenhauer is especially grateful for the extra engagement and excitement students show when working with the robot at this time of year, when most are already checking out for the summer. He used funds his department set aside for the engineering program to purchase the RobotLab BOX, but expects to use it across science and math departments. Sharing the robots that way helps justify the cost, but even without it, Moldenhauer says it was well worth the expense for the change he's seen in his student's ability to understand abstract concepts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>INCREASES ENGAGEMENT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Onslow County, North Carolina, Gretchen Robinson is using robots with students at Northwoods Elementary School of Technology and Innovation. She’s started out slowly, incorporating the humanoid NAO robot her school purchased into a few lessons with each grade K-5. Different models of the NAO robot range from $16,000 to $20,000. Students named the robot ABBI, short for Awesome Bot Bringing Innovation, the winner of a student name contest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whereas many schools are focusing on using robots to teach science, technology, engineering and math, Robinson’s school is focusing on literacy. The kindergarten class has been learning about basic storytelling, so Robinson programmed a story the teacher wrote into the robot for it to read aloud to students. Afterwards the students answered questions the ABBI posed to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"float: left;width: 50%\">\u003cimg src=\"http://www.robotslab.com/BLOGIMGS/2wbws.gif\" alt=\"logo\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cdiv style=\"float: right;width: 50%\">\u003cimg src=\"http://www.robotslab.com/BLOGIMGS/ar%20drone%20graph.gif\" alt=\"logo\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>The second-graders were learning common economic vocabulary like \"income\" or \"expense.\" ABBI described a term without using the word itself and a small group of students discussed which answer to choose from a pile of 20 flashcards. When they reached a decision, they held up the vocabulary term and the robot used visual recognition to “read” what they had written and tell them if they’d gotten it right or wrong. “Through trial and error I learned that the students really liked the vision recognition,” Robinson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While she’s pleased with the engagement the robot has generated -- students never want the lesson to end when ABBI is involved -- Robinson said learning to program it was a steep learning curve. “Learning to program the robot at the beginning of the year was very time-consuming,” Robinson said. She spent around 40 hours programming a single lesson. Now that she’s had more practice she can do the same lesson in just a few hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robinson has started to teach students the programming language and is helping the winners of a poetry contest code their work into ABBI so it will recite it back to them. Next year she hopes to do some small group programming work to at least expose kids to programming concepts before they move onto middle and high school where they might take it up more seriously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a school of technology so I think it will be something that’s useful for us,” Robinson said. She’s aware that right now the robot is taking more time than it should, but she wants her students to be exposed to the many ways it can be programmed early to pique their interest in robotics and programming for more exploration down the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s also noticed that students are more willing to retry answering a question again without argument when ABBI tells them they are wrong. “The kids sometimes work better not for their teacher,” Robinson said. “Because the robot is cool and unusual they are excited about working with him.” The robot also gets everyone participating. “A lot of kids don’t want to disappoint their teacher, so they either won’t answer or they’ll mumble an answer,” Robinson said. “Whereas with the robot everybody wants to answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Robinson doesn't take it personally. She sees it as just another tool to help reach all kids, even the quiet ones. Her school has only been experimenting with the robot for a short time and hasn't even had a chance to poll students on the differences between learning from a teacher or from the robot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robinson sees students' willingness to engage, to collaborate and to work on a lesson for as long as it takes to understand the content as positive signs of learning. “They want to work with the robot for as long as possible,\" Robinson said. \"Every time their lesson is done they're disappointed.” She's also quizzed students on content after they're done working with the robot and has found them to have a greater grasp of the information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Robinson has programmed ABBI to teach short group lessons on things like how to read a bar graph or vocabulary, she's never tried to have the robot lead an entire lesson. She thinks its possible, but would be a heavy programming lift and probably isn't possible anytime soon without some changes to the coding software.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>EXPOSURE TO COMPUTATIONAL THINKING\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A big selling point for robots in classrooms is their novelty. Educators are hoping to turn student excitement into a passion for learning how to program and manipulate a robotic platform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robot company founders, like Inbar, know the novelty factor is working in their favor, but they don't see robots getting old. The robot is just a platform for students and teachers to manipulate, after all, and its applications can constantly change and evolve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robinson isn't concerned her students will get tired of their robot anytime soon. Her school only has one, so students only engage with it once or twice a month, for lessons that lend themselves to it. \"I do think the robot is a powerful learning tool,\" Robinson said. \"However, I do not feel like it would be as commanding if it was used on a daily basis as an instructional tool, students may lose interest.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s about opening up the world of computational thinking in an age appropriate way for them,” said Vikas Gupta, CEO of Play-i, a nascent educational robotics company with aspirations in both the consumer and education markets. The robot can be controlled with simple swipes on a tablet, and was designed for children as young as five. Gupta insists that even without writing code, children are beginning to develop “computational thinking,” the ability to break down a problem into its parts, understand those individual elements and then rearrange them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For kids who see this technology all around them, if we can give them a mental model for how things work, that’s really important,” Gupta said. As kids manipulate the tablet, they watch the robot dance or sing and realize their power to create in a software-driven world. For older kids, Play-i has software to allow kids to see blocks of code that they can string together to dictate the robots actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>GIRLS AND ROBOTS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An interesting observation struck both Gupta and Inbar as they designed their robots. When testing a prototype of his robot with kids, Gupta discovered that girls were uninterested in the robot when it had visible wheels and wires. Little girls quickly identified that first version of the robot as a mechanical toy meant for boys. The company then developed a robot with rounded curves, more of a fantastical critter than the stereotypical boxy robot. “It became something that they could see in their imaginations,” said Gupta. “There was no stereotype they could apply.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As educators think about the benefits and drawbacks of using robots in the classroom, drawing in girls has become an important focus. Anectdotally, Inbar said teachers report that girls outperform boys in computer science when they’re in all-female environments. “If you go to an all-girls school you will see that the performance is actually higher than in all-boys schools,” Inbar said. But if girls aren't exposed early to science and technology, many quickly succumb to stereotypes that those fields aren't appropriate for girls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to show robots and programming is not just for boys,” Inbar said. RobotLab is currently running two contests, a fashion show in Austin and a Robot Idol competition between schools in Northern and Southern California. Inbar found girls were more interested in programming robots if it was connected to designing something creative. “There is no problem with girls’ engagement in STEM subjects,” Inbar said. Educators just have to help them realize they like it and try to downplay the competition with boys, which can sometimes make girls withdraw.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers often run into a similar situation when teaching computer science. “Boys already love computers, they already know they are going to be awesome at this,\" said Sheena Vaidyanathan, a computer science teacher in Los Altos public schools. \"Girls have to be sold on the idea. The machine itself doesn't attract them as much, but what it can do does.\" Girls are often battling stereotypes about the kind of boy, or girl, who likes programming. Drawing girls into subjects like computer science and robotics well before high school norms set in -- not to mention the accompanying hormones -- is critical, Vaidyanathan said.\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_35639\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/steveonjava/12628872993/in/photolist-keYgXx-keZTBs-keY7mP-keXVyr-keXBuT-keXwBg-keXjG4-keZY2j-keXWFX-keXQxz-keZv6L-keZwvu-keXuqc-keXm3v-keXQ5v-keZKKq-keXpJD-keYi6e-keY7R6-keXkJK-keZvzw-keZMwS-keZw2U-keZHNQ-keZxnE-keXDzz-keZKwj-keXktV-keZExw-keXw92-keZR2s-keXrhP-keXTuM-keXyJc-keXchK-keXqFZ-keXpeF-keYgfv-keYfFK-keXeFn-keXs6c-keZN2j-keZDZN-keY9Cn-keXtYv-keXRJc-keXuWx-keXzJP-keXoj4-keZGVs\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-35639\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/robot.jpg\" alt=\"(Stephen Chin/Flickr)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/robot.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/robot-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2014/05/robot-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Stephen Chin/Flickr)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp class=\"dropcap-serif\">Talk of robots in the classroom may have seemed far fetched a few years ago, but it’s safe to say that the future has arrived – at least in some classrooms. Educators are beginning to experiment with how robots can add value to their classrooms, and while it’s by no means common -- they’re still quite expensive for many school budgets -- robots paired with specific software and curriculum are offering interesting new learning opportunities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DEMONSTRATING ABSTRACT CONCEPTS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To explain difficult abstract concepts in science and math subjects, some teachers are using \u003ca href=\"http://www.robotslab.com/\" target=\"_blank\">RobotsLab BOX\u003c/a>. It's a kit that includes a quadcopter, tablet, robotic arm, a spherical robot, a circular robot and lesson plans to go with all of them. Teachers use the tablet to manipulate the various robots into demonstrating different STEM concepts. Because all the software and lessons come preloaded, teachers don't need programming or robotics knowledge to make it work. The whole kit costs $3,500.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The founder of RobotsLab, Elad Inbar, said that teachers complained that their students were coming into first year engineering and computer science college classes without a solid foundation of math concepts. The suite of products his team ultimately developed use robots to show students that the equations and graphs they slave over mean something in the physical world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are trying to use the power of visual learning to bridge all the ‘I’m not a math person’ stuff,” Inbar said. “They can actually use their senses to understand it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, a lesson about quadratic functions uses a quadcopter robot to demonstrate what the equation means in real life by correlating the area viewed on a camera attached to the bottom, with the graph. If programmed with a quadratic equation, the quadcopter rises to specific heights, demonstrating the visible relationship between the hovering robot and the area captured by the camera.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n“They want to work with the robot for as long as possible. Every time their lesson is done they're disappointed.”\u003cbr>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>After students have been introduced to the concept and have seen it demonstrated on the robot, they can try to program the robot themselves. The hands-on aspect helps students to understand that they can manipulate the robot themselves with the right code, Ibar said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have teachers who are doing project-based learning and they give the robots to the students with the tablet and they say, 'You figure it out and come back and tell me what you learned,'” Inbar said. While his product includes curriculum and lessons teachers can use, the robot itself is just a platform that can be programmed by tinkering students just as effectively as by a teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jerry Moldenhauer has been using \u003ca href=\"http://www.vexrobotics.com/\" target=\"_blank\">VEX\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/?domainredir=mindstorms.lego.com\" target=\"_blank\">Lego Mindstorm\u003c/a> robots in his engineering classes at Eastside Memorial High School in Austin, Texas for several years. Until now, he's mostly used them to offer advanced students challenge problems, giving them opportunities to design concepts and practice programming. This year, he started using the RobotLab BOX kit with his whole class, and he's found that it boosts engagement and crystallizes difficult concepts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They have solved a big problem and that is bringing in curriculum, especially for math and physics,” Moldenhauer said. He prefers teaching with project-based methods, but said it can be challenging for math teachers to come up with engaging and relevant projects that also get students to practice enough math to solidify what they've learned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[The robot] gives the instructors a tool to get them interested in the learning and then the math behind it is a surprise to them,” Moldenhauer said. Kids are calculating the velocity of the robot without realizing they’re using algebra. \"It really makes the connection better for them,” he said. Moldenhauer finds the robot especially useful for explaining the math behind more advanced engineering topics his class will work towards. They often don't have a firm grasp of the algebra they'll need and using the robot to visually demonstrate the concepts helps them review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moldenhauer is especially grateful for the extra engagement and excitement students show when working with the robot at this time of year, when most are already checking out for the summer. He used funds his department set aside for the engineering program to purchase the RobotLab BOX, but expects to use it across science and math departments. Sharing the robots that way helps justify the cost, but even without it, Moldenhauer says it was well worth the expense for the change he's seen in his student's ability to understand abstract concepts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>INCREASES ENGAGEMENT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Onslow County, North Carolina, Gretchen Robinson is using robots with students at Northwoods Elementary School of Technology and Innovation. She’s started out slowly, incorporating the humanoid NAO robot her school purchased into a few lessons with each grade K-5. Different models of the NAO robot range from $16,000 to $20,000. Students named the robot ABBI, short for Awesome Bot Bringing Innovation, the winner of a student name contest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whereas many schools are focusing on using robots to teach science, technology, engineering and math, Robinson’s school is focusing on literacy. The kindergarten class has been learning about basic storytelling, so Robinson programmed a story the teacher wrote into the robot for it to read aloud to students. Afterwards the students answered questions the ABBI posed to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"float: left;width: 50%\">\u003cimg src=\"http://www.robotslab.com/BLOGIMGS/2wbws.gif\" alt=\"logo\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cdiv style=\"float: right;width: 50%\">\u003cimg src=\"http://www.robotslab.com/BLOGIMGS/ar%20drone%20graph.gif\" alt=\"logo\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>The second-graders were learning common economic vocabulary like \"income\" or \"expense.\" ABBI described a term without using the word itself and a small group of students discussed which answer to choose from a pile of 20 flashcards. When they reached a decision, they held up the vocabulary term and the robot used visual recognition to “read” what they had written and tell them if they’d gotten it right or wrong. “Through trial and error I learned that the students really liked the vision recognition,” Robinson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While she’s pleased with the engagement the robot has generated -- students never want the lesson to end when ABBI is involved -- Robinson said learning to program it was a steep learning curve. “Learning to program the robot at the beginning of the year was very time-consuming,” Robinson said. She spent around 40 hours programming a single lesson. Now that she’s had more practice she can do the same lesson in just a few hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robinson has started to teach students the programming language and is helping the winners of a poetry contest code their work into ABBI so it will recite it back to them. Next year she hopes to do some small group programming work to at least expose kids to programming concepts before they move onto middle and high school where they might take it up more seriously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a school of technology so I think it will be something that’s useful for us,” Robinson said. She’s aware that right now the robot is taking more time than it should, but she wants her students to be exposed to the many ways it can be programmed early to pique their interest in robotics and programming for more exploration down the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s also noticed that students are more willing to retry answering a question again without argument when ABBI tells them they are wrong. “The kids sometimes work better not for their teacher,” Robinson said. “Because the robot is cool and unusual they are excited about working with him.” The robot also gets everyone participating. “A lot of kids don’t want to disappoint their teacher, so they either won’t answer or they’ll mumble an answer,” Robinson said. “Whereas with the robot everybody wants to answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Robinson doesn't take it personally. She sees it as just another tool to help reach all kids, even the quiet ones. Her school has only been experimenting with the robot for a short time and hasn't even had a chance to poll students on the differences between learning from a teacher or from the robot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robinson sees students' willingness to engage, to collaborate and to work on a lesson for as long as it takes to understand the content as positive signs of learning. “They want to work with the robot for as long as possible,\" Robinson said. \"Every time their lesson is done they're disappointed.” She's also quizzed students on content after they're done working with the robot and has found them to have a greater grasp of the information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Robinson has programmed ABBI to teach short group lessons on things like how to read a bar graph or vocabulary, she's never tried to have the robot lead an entire lesson. She thinks its possible, but would be a heavy programming lift and probably isn't possible anytime soon without some changes to the coding software.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>EXPOSURE TO COMPUTATIONAL THINKING\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A big selling point for robots in classrooms is their novelty. Educators are hoping to turn student excitement into a passion for learning how to program and manipulate a robotic platform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robot company founders, like Inbar, know the novelty factor is working in their favor, but they don't see robots getting old. The robot is just a platform for students and teachers to manipulate, after all, and its applications can constantly change and evolve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robinson isn't concerned her students will get tired of their robot anytime soon. Her school only has one, so students only engage with it once or twice a month, for lessons that lend themselves to it. \"I do think the robot is a powerful learning tool,\" Robinson said. \"However, I do not feel like it would be as commanding if it was used on a daily basis as an instructional tool, students may lose interest.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s about opening up the world of computational thinking in an age appropriate way for them,” said Vikas Gupta, CEO of Play-i, a nascent educational robotics company with aspirations in both the consumer and education markets. The robot can be controlled with simple swipes on a tablet, and was designed for children as young as five. Gupta insists that even without writing code, children are beginning to develop “computational thinking,” the ability to break down a problem into its parts, understand those individual elements and then rearrange them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For kids who see this technology all around them, if we can give them a mental model for how things work, that’s really important,” Gupta said. As kids manipulate the tablet, they watch the robot dance or sing and realize their power to create in a software-driven world. For older kids, Play-i has software to allow kids to see blocks of code that they can string together to dictate the robots actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>GIRLS AND ROBOTS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An interesting observation struck both Gupta and Inbar as they designed their robots. When testing a prototype of his robot with kids, Gupta discovered that girls were uninterested in the robot when it had visible wheels and wires. Little girls quickly identified that first version of the robot as a mechanical toy meant for boys. The company then developed a robot with rounded curves, more of a fantastical critter than the stereotypical boxy robot. “It became something that they could see in their imaginations,” said Gupta. “There was no stereotype they could apply.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As educators think about the benefits and drawbacks of using robots in the classroom, drawing in girls has become an important focus. Anectdotally, Inbar said teachers report that girls outperform boys in computer science when they’re in all-female environments. “If you go to an all-girls school you will see that the performance is actually higher than in all-boys schools,” Inbar said. But if girls aren't exposed early to science and technology, many quickly succumb to stereotypes that those fields aren't appropriate for girls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to show robots and programming is not just for boys,” Inbar said. RobotLab is currently running two contests, a fashion show in Austin and a Robot Idol competition between schools in Northern and Southern California. Inbar found girls were more interested in programming robots if it was connected to designing something creative. “There is no problem with girls’ engagement in STEM subjects,” Inbar said. Educators just have to help them realize they like it and try to downplay the competition with boys, which can sometimes make girls withdraw.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers often run into a similar situation when teaching computer science. “Boys already love computers, they already know they are going to be awesome at this,\" said Sheena Vaidyanathan, a computer science teacher in Los Altos public schools. \"Girls have to be sold on the idea. The machine itself doesn't attract them as much, but what it can do does.\" Girls are often battling stereotypes about the kind of boy, or girl, who likes programming. Drawing girls into subjects like computer science and robotics well before high school norms set in -- not to mention the accompanying hormones -- is critical, Vaidyanathan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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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": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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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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"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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"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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"radiolab": {
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},
"rightnowish": {
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"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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"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
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"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
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"restaurantDataById": {},
"restaurantIdsSorted": [],
"error": null
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)",
"isBot": true
},
"requestOutcomesReducer": {
"notFound": []
}
}
