the end to gamification

FINALLY!! This week in class we finally finished the Tech-Teacher game and boy am I glad!! (sorry professor!) Although the game let us explore so many different apps and practice all the skills we have learned so far, the game was often frustrating on the iPad and sometimes a lot of work. We created a commercial with our Creative Commons notes and I had a lot of fun doing that. It was cool to let loose a bit and do something we haven't done before. I really enjoyed watching the rest of the class's commercials too. We also presented our Horizon Report websites. It was interesting to see the different things that they believe will be the new up and coming technologies for the classroom. My favorite was mobile learning. My group was assigned 3D printing and although it was cool and could be helpful, I don't really think it will become a big part of schools so I am interested in seeing its exposure in the future.

gamification pt 2

This week in class we continued with our Tech Teacher game. We had to do several different tasks on twitter which was very easy. We also had to choose one of the content curation sites we learned about and create a page with at least 10 items referring to the topic we chose. I decided to use Pinterest because I like it the best and I am the most familiar with it. Then we had to get in our groups and read the Horizon Report and create a Google Site for the section we were assigned. My group was assigned 3D printing which is interesting, however, we were getting a bit frustrated because it is not too big of a thing yet and it was hard to find outside information about it. Lastly, we had to read articles and watch videos about Creative Commons and we are going to use them next week in class to create a video. I am looking forward to learning how to make the video. I think videos are a great way to keep students interested, as long as they are short, sweet and to the point.

gamification

This week in class, we explored gamification. I have never heard of gamification until this class. However, I have been in classes where teachers integrate games, especially when I was in the younger grades. I think gamification is a great way to change it up for students, keep them interested, having fun, all while learning. The game we played in class was a bit frustrating playing on the iPads. I think it would of been better on a computer. My favorite task of the game so far was exploring the Brain Pop and Game Up games and choosing 5 to play and describe. I am interested to see what the rest of the game has entail for us!

communication & organization

This week in class we finished up using Google Docs by exploring Forms. We each created a survey and a quiz using Forms and I found it so interesting. It makes it extremely easy on teachers to collect data and perform assessments especially if you use the tool which grades the quizzes for you! We then transferred our focus to Google Plus and used the Hangout feature. This was an awesome way for the whole class to collaborate through video chat and discuss different things. My favorite part about it was how the video constantly changed to show the video feed of the person who was speaking! Next, we all set up Twitter accounts. We used the hashtag #RossINTC2610 in order to see all the tweets relating to the class. We then used the Explore tab to search and follow several accounts that we thought would be useful for educational purposes. Although I have my own personal twitter, I never really use hashtags or the explore tab so I thought it was cool doing so. Lastly, we got into groups and worked on our curation project. My group explored the site Scoop.It. I personally have never heard of Scoop.It until this class, but after exploring, I found it to be a lot similar to Pinterest. My group created a Google Site for our Scoop.It project. Feel free to look at it here!