Xtranormal Activity: The Mean Girls Experience
by: Bwelch1
Made with Briana Welch :)
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
All About Me: Scratch Project
Here is my scratch project About Me. In it I used the scratch card for glide on my person and change color on the rug.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
DEJ #10: Sowing the Seeds For a More Creative Society
Quote:
"Success is based not only on what you know or how much you know, but on your ability to
think and act creatively." (Resnick 2007)
Response:
When I first read the above quote I did not agree with it. I made it through high school pretty successfully without really having to think or act creatively, unless I was at band. However, I realized that high school isn't the real world, despite what some people think.In order to succeed in my profession in the real world, I'm going to need to improve my creative thinking, especially since I'm going to be a teacher. If I'm going to be a successful teacher, not only do I need to be able to think creatively to get lessons across, but I am going to have to help my students develop their creative thinking skills. That's slightly intimidating considering I had very few teachers tried to get us to think creatively and develop those skills. Fortunately, my skills are getting better from working as a tutor this year. I plan on intergrating technology, such as the Scratch program, into my classroom to help with developing creative thinking skills so my future students will have the best chance for success in their lives.
Related Resource:
This is a blog posting from Pyschology Today that talks about the 12 things that weren't taught in school about creative thinking. If teachers would use the 12 things mentioned in their classroom to help develop creative thinking, it would be a help to the students.
12 Things About Creative Thinking
References:
Resnick, M. (2007, December). Sowing the seeds for a more creative society. In International society for technology in education. Retrieved March 28, 2012, from http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/Learning-Leading-final.pdf
Michalko, M. (2011, December 2). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/creative-thinkering/201112/twelve-things-you-were-not-taught-in-school-about-creative-thinking
"Success is based not only on what you know or how much you know, but on your ability to
think and act creatively." (Resnick 2007)
Response:
When I first read the above quote I did not agree with it. I made it through high school pretty successfully without really having to think or act creatively, unless I was at band. However, I realized that high school isn't the real world, despite what some people think.In order to succeed in my profession in the real world, I'm going to need to improve my creative thinking, especially since I'm going to be a teacher. If I'm going to be a successful teacher, not only do I need to be able to think creatively to get lessons across, but I am going to have to help my students develop their creative thinking skills. That's slightly intimidating considering I had very few teachers tried to get us to think creatively and develop those skills. Fortunately, my skills are getting better from working as a tutor this year. I plan on intergrating technology, such as the Scratch program, into my classroom to help with developing creative thinking skills so my future students will have the best chance for success in their lives.
Related Resource:
This is a blog posting from Pyschology Today that talks about the 12 things that weren't taught in school about creative thinking. If teachers would use the 12 things mentioned in their classroom to help develop creative thinking, it would be a help to the students.
12 Things About Creative Thinking
References:
Resnick, M. (2007, December). Sowing the seeds for a more creative society. In International society for technology in education. Retrieved March 28, 2012, from http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/Learning-Leading-final.pdf
Michalko, M. (2011, December 2). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/creative-thinkering/201112/twelve-things-you-were-not-taught-in-school-about-creative-thinking
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Scratch Project
Here is the link to my scratch project. It is about a cat in space experiencing no gravity. A little silly but oh well.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
DEJ #9:10 Things Schools Can Learn from Video Games
Quote:
"It is traditional that schools would teach students to move as fast and efficiently as possible towards a goal, but games are different. They encourage players to sit back, explore and not move on too quickly, think laterally not linearly, and to re-evaluate one’s goals on occasion."
Response:
I chose the above quote because I agree with it. I feel that sometimes teachers move on to a new subject or skill too quickly. Sometimes students aren't given a chance to explore and have fun learning a skill. For example, sure elementary school students need to learn their multiplication tables. Instead of trying to see how fast the students can memorize them for a quiz, like my teachers did, why not play games or something to help the students have fun with learning. With adding games into education, the students still learn the same concepts and skills. They get to learn them in their own time and get to explore. For example, when I was in fifth or sixth grade, we learned about life on the Oregon Trail. Instead of just talking about it, our teacher let us play the game version so we could learn about it firsthand and explore for ourselves. Exploring events in history or different skills learned in the classroom is a great way to learn and games are an excellent way to explore.
Related Resource:
I found an article from EDUCAUSE Quarterly called Games and Learning that says, "Digital games have the potential to bring play back to the learning experience." The article also argues how games and play can help grow an effective learning environment for reasons such as "They are immersing; require the player to make frequent, important decisions; have clear goals; adapt to each player individually; and involve a social network."
Reference:
"10 things schools can learn from video games." . N.p., 2012. Web. Retrieved on March 21, 2102 from http://www.learningingaming.com/10-things-schools-can-learn-from-video-games/
Oblinger, D. G. (2006). Games and learning. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 29(3), Retrieved on March 21 2012 from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/GamesandLearning/157406
"It is traditional that schools would teach students to move as fast and efficiently as possible towards a goal, but games are different. They encourage players to sit back, explore and not move on too quickly, think laterally not linearly, and to re-evaluate one’s goals on occasion."
Response:
I chose the above quote because I agree with it. I feel that sometimes teachers move on to a new subject or skill too quickly. Sometimes students aren't given a chance to explore and have fun learning a skill. For example, sure elementary school students need to learn their multiplication tables. Instead of trying to see how fast the students can memorize them for a quiz, like my teachers did, why not play games or something to help the students have fun with learning. With adding games into education, the students still learn the same concepts and skills. They get to learn them in their own time and get to explore. For example, when I was in fifth or sixth grade, we learned about life on the Oregon Trail. Instead of just talking about it, our teacher let us play the game version so we could learn about it firsthand and explore for ourselves. Exploring events in history or different skills learned in the classroom is a great way to learn and games are an excellent way to explore.
Related Resource:
I found an article from EDUCAUSE Quarterly called Games and Learning that says, "Digital games have the potential to bring play back to the learning experience." The article also argues how games and play can help grow an effective learning environment for reasons such as "They are immersing; require the player to make frequent, important decisions; have clear goals; adapt to each player individually; and involve a social network."
Reference:
"10 things schools can learn from video games." . N.p., 2012. Web. Retrieved on March 21, 2102 from http://www.learningingaming.com/10-things-schools-can-learn-from-video-games/
Oblinger, D. G. (2006). Games and learning. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 29(3), Retrieved on March 21 2012 from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/GamesandLearning/157406
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Gardens of Time Activity
1. Interaction: This game is very interactive. For one thing, you have game characters giving you instructions and giving you background information. The characters introduce themselves and tell you about other characters. You also interact with other people by adding neighbors. Once they are neighbors you can visit their garden, hide gifts, send gifts, and also send help requests.
4. Customization: Gardens of Time lets you customize how your garden looks and what you put inside your garden. You can chose the flowers you place or which buildings and artifacts go in your garden. You can have a pattern to your arrangement or you can randomly place artifacts wherever. Gardens of Time lets you be creative.
5. Ordered Problems: Gardens of Time has order; it's not a random game. With Gardens of Time you have to complete quests in a certain order. You can't move on until you finish the previous quest.
8. Within the Regime of Competence: To me, Gardens of Time is engaging and doable, but also challenging. It is easy to get caught up in finding the items as fast as you can in order to get more points than your neighbors on a scene. It is also challenging because some of the items are harder to find than others.
10.Exploring: The game is all about exploring different background eras looking for different items. The gist of the game is that you are exploring back in time looking for artifacts to bring back
4. Customization: Gardens of Time lets you customize how your garden looks and what you put inside your garden. You can chose the flowers you place or which buildings and artifacts go in your garden. You can have a pattern to your arrangement or you can randomly place artifacts wherever. Gardens of Time lets you be creative.
5. Ordered Problems: Gardens of Time has order; it's not a random game. With Gardens of Time you have to complete quests in a certain order. You can't move on until you finish the previous quest.
8. Within the Regime of Competence: To me, Gardens of Time is engaging and doable, but also challenging. It is easy to get caught up in finding the items as fast as you can in order to get more points than your neighbors on a scene. It is also challenging because some of the items are harder to find than others.
10.Exploring: The game is all about exploring different background eras looking for different items. The gist of the game is that you are exploring back in time looking for artifacts to bring back
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Website Evaluation
The website I chose to validate was Dihydrogen Monoxide Research.
Who?
The organization in charge of this website is Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division because that is the name of the website. I know it is by an organization because the hmtl has a .org ending, http://www.dhmo.org/. However, it was written by a Tom Way. I know this because at the bottom of the page it specifically states "Copyright @ Tom Way." The webpage also has a logo from the United States Environmental Assessment Center that when you click on it, you are taken to an article entitled "Dihydrogen Monoxide-The Truth."
When?
The website says it was last updated on March 11, 2012, which is today's date. Yesterday when I looked at the website the last updated date was March 10, 2012. So apparently the website is updated every day? However underneath the last updated date there is a note that says "Note: content veracity not implied." Veracity is another word for truth, accuracy, or reliability. The note instantly causes the website to lose in validity that it may have had from the last updated date.
What?
The website makes a lot of claims about how harmful DMHO is but they don't have much to back it up with. Any links provided were the same way. I know that this is an "organization" but it just seems a little biased. They only present their side and view without presenting the other. That also loses credibility a little bit.
Overall:
I don't think the website is considered a reputable source. The note about how content veracity is not implied just proves that not all the information is necessarily the truth. They may be an organization but that doesn't always mean that they are a reputable source.
Who?
The organization in charge of this website is Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division because that is the name of the website. I know it is by an organization because the hmtl has a .org ending, http://www.dhmo.org/. However, it was written by a Tom Way. I know this because at the bottom of the page it specifically states "Copyright @ Tom Way." The webpage also has a logo from the United States Environmental Assessment Center that when you click on it, you are taken to an article entitled "Dihydrogen Monoxide-The Truth."
When?
The website says it was last updated on March 11, 2012, which is today's date. Yesterday when I looked at the website the last updated date was March 10, 2012. So apparently the website is updated every day? However underneath the last updated date there is a note that says "Note: content veracity not implied." Veracity is another word for truth, accuracy, or reliability. The note instantly causes the website to lose in validity that it may have had from the last updated date.
What?
The website makes a lot of claims about how harmful DMHO is but they don't have much to back it up with. Any links provided were the same way. I know that this is an "organization" but it just seems a little biased. They only present their side and view without presenting the other. That also loses credibility a little bit.
Overall:
I don't think the website is considered a reputable source. The note about how content veracity is not implied just proves that not all the information is necessarily the truth. They may be an organization but that doesn't always mean that they are a reputable source.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)