Gamification: How grand it is!

Hello everyone!

Despite the fact that at this point I should not be surprised at how much technology is being integrated into our society or education, I continue to be surprised by the way technology is used in classrooms. Personally, I wanted to employ the use of using computer games in a language learning environment in order to ease the tension that comes with learning a second language. As I intend to teach in South Korea, it is well known that East Asia is known for students' high stress levels due to pressure in passing college examinations. I feel that gamification can be used as a method of relaxation for students but also engaging and challenging that students will progress in language learning at a much quicker pace as opposed to fixed positioning and memorization. 

Gamification is a tool that educators may use for their students by taking elements of games and applying it into situations that would prove both beneficial and challenging for students. Gamification, although containing positives and negatives, is used to create an environment for students in which learning curriculum will become enjoyable as opposed to a bore. In terms of its application in language learning, gamification can act as a perfect model for language learners to follow. For example, the website Memrise is a language learning site in which students may choose any language to learn. From experience in learning Korean through the site and its use of gamification, my vocabulary has expanded through the enjoyable methods of the gamified site. The site is botanically themed, and with new vocabulary learns comes the sprouting of a plant. If left unattended (otherwise if left without any means of studying) the plant could die (along with the memory of the vocabulary word learned). Learners are awarded points that raise their level higher and higher, thus allowing them to progress into newer vocabulary words and creating a beautiful garden. If learners of the English language were to use this game, they would be able to enjoy themselves and simultaneously learn. 

However, I feel that Memrise itself does not fall under the category of casual games. With that, through Big Fish Games, I found the game Word Zen. 

Word Zen is somewhat like the game Scrabble or the mobile application Words With Friends; the gamer must make words in English and by the formation of words made, they will be awarded points. The more difficult the words or longer in letters, the higher the awarded points will be. I enjoyed this game a lot; with my Bachelor's Degree being in English I myself played it over five times for the simple enjoyment in word formation. 

In terms of objectives within a language learning environment, I would set it to be the following:

1. Word Zen can be used as a means of building students English vocabulary; as they will be allowed to use a dictionary as a reference.

2. Students can write down their words before submission in the game to be used later in sentence-making exercises. 

3. Students who write down difficult words and are awarded higher points in the games can be given extra credit or plus marks to be used later during examination periods. 

Although Word Zen can be used as a supplement for vocabulary expansion, in a beginner level course for L2 learners, it will prove useful. Students will become actively involved through the incentive of reward in playing Word Zen. The lack of pressure in the game itself will ease students into looking up longer words in dictionaries; in addition to the usage of their submitted words in sentences would allow for the teacher to continue the role of the facilitator in viewing the progress of vocabulary in each student. 

For beginner level courses, a walk through may be necessary. I would use a projector to the learners what would need to be done in order to complete the modes of difficulty in Word Zen. I would accompany the use of diagrams and images; using arrows and circles to highlight the letters within the game in order to map out how words may be formed. Obtaining the images would be through the use of print-screening on Windows Software in order to be able to draw out the diagrams and necessary pointers. I would also point out where the scoreboard would be and the assortment of letters included in the game. However, I feel for intermediate and generally more comfortable L2 learners, a walk through may not be necessary.  

As a teacher and overall facilitator, the student's submission of sentences featuring words made in the game would allow for me to view their progress. Through observation and grading of the learners' submission would I see their effort and progression. If there were to be any problems, they would be addressed promptly. 

I believe that the use of casual games or games that generally stimulate learning is necessary. Growing up with the use of educational games and some casual gaming was essential to my progression in expanding my vocabulary for my L1 and L2 learning. For L2 classrooms, these elements must be taken into consideration and implemented in order to create a fun but educational environment for the learners. 

Microblogging: Twitter and Teaching

  

The world of social networking is constantly evolving. I feel that I am slowly realizing my ignorance for social networking's place in today's society despite the fact that I took part in its earlier use. Truthfully, I do not take part in FaceBook as much as I did when it had first debuted. With that, since Twitter's inception I had not taken part in it nor have I actually read about it. I personally feel that the hashtag phenomenon that exists everywhere in today's culture including the media and social networking, is getting out of hand. Reading about the use of Twitter through the educational environment through the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel Online's article by Erica Perez entitled, "Professors experiment with Twitter as teaching tool" and Steve Wheeler's Blog Post: "Teaching with Twitter" steered me in a neutral direction. I do, however, have certain negative feelings toward using Twitter in classroom environments.
     Certain points from the two links I viewed caught my eye. The Journal Sentinel's article featured that the Twitter's use in classroom environments would allow for students to become more familiar with the social media and it provides an informal interaction between students and teachers. Steve Wheeler listed 10 reasons to why Twitter would be useful for teaching; it included that students would learn discipline through making short summaries of articles or ideas in the restricted character number. He also included informal upsides to using Twitter, which also gives students comfort in using social media as a means of learning and expanding their knowledge in the field of communication and in broadening their horizons through tools such as the 'Micro Write' or 'Twitter Stalking'.
     Although the Twitter proves to have some factors that students would find to be satisfactory and it would bring some value into classroom environments, I still do not find that it would be useful as a primary or even secondary tool in all educational settings. In terms of second language learning, I believe that a brief use of Twitter may be useful for students to express themselves in a second language. Without the pressures of having massive text in the world of blogging, second language learners would be able to use Twitter as a stepping stone in breaking out of an awkward shell they may have towards their second language. Twitter as an essential tool in a classroom, especially that of a second language learning environment, is something I cannot visualize. The Journal Sentinel's article also featured that some students become "converts" to Twitter, while others do not. I believe that Twitter should be used interchangeably with online tools such as Diigo, Blogger, Blogspot and WordPress.
     It may take some time for me to warm up to Twitter as I have recently opened up an account. I may have a post later on taking back my words should I become a "convert" like the Journal Sentinel article mentioned. For now, I will rely on the use of blogs such as Blogger or WordPress to express my thoughts and expression as an upcoming teacher in the world of Second Language Teaching. Have a great weekend everyone!

Social networking in the classroom

Hello everyone!

A few weeks ago, I had thought that social networking was nothing but a waste of time due to the lack of productivity I had experienced from FaceBook for the past few years. I had known social networking to be cancerous, destroying the minds of young learners. Although I still believe some of it to be true, there is always a positive side to social networking. For the past few weeks, I have come to realize that there are positive applications to social networking.

Tonight I explored the EFL Classroom 2.0 social networking group and through it, I found that there are collaborative efforts made by teachers who teach English as a Foreign Language to create and share educational environments for their students. It also includes sections in which students can practice and build their English skills.

     In the future, I will surely make references and contributions to this group, as it gives many helpful insights to the world of teaching English as a foreign language in various countries and classroom environments. I believe that collaboration is important, especially with teachers who may not be in the same area or school but are having the same problems. The song "With a Little Help from my Friends" comes to mind, as colleagues in the teaching field may increase productivity within their lesson plans through collaboration with one another. The group stated that they are a "supporter community" and although there is a one-time price of $19.95, it can be seen that with the large number of members and supporters, the price is well below the worth of its function. If like me, you are seeking to become a teacher in ESL or EFL, please click on the link and take a look. You might like what you see!

Have a good weekend everyone!

A learner is like a martial artist...

...with each new element in the art they practice, they learn something and its constant alteration forces them to stay within the relevance of their art. Martial arts is part of a lifestyle in which I participate in and through it I have learned that adaptation is best in terms of survival and learning new components to the art in which I practice. Prior to reading George Siemens' "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age" and  watching his YouTube video, "The Changing Nature of Knowledge" ,I had always heard a quote from someone close to me, "Humans are learning animals". Through martial arts I was aware of this and upon reading and watching the contributions to this by Siemens, I was intrigued.

     Siemens stated that "Knowledge is growing exponentially" and that "Technology is altering (rewiring) our brains. The tools we use define and shape our thinking". In contrast to this, Vieira stated that at this point in time, "Knowledge is really about the distribution that occurs across an entire network" through Connectivism. Connecting with other individuals and staying relevant is what is now deemed important in the minds of learners. Technology now shapes the way that we learn and Vieira stated that prior to technology, it was thought that learning was "something that happens in the head of an individual". With both ideas in mind, it can be seen that with technology expanding and constantly changing within a short frame of time, learners must stay refreshed with the change in order to learn.

     Adaptation is a trait that many people thrive in, because without it, the human race itself would have been extinct ages ago. As knowledge has moved into the digital age, certain essentials must be attained in this manner. I agree with Siemens that as learners we are being "rewired" in how we learn. As teachers, however, we do not have to rewire ourselves completely because it has not gotten to the point where teachers must completely rely on technology in order to teach. In terms of Vieira stating that people learn through networks, I believe this to be true. In certain classroom or learning environments, networks must be established, whether they be physical or digital, in order to create the appropriate plane for learners. Siemens stated that "Experience has long been considered the best teacher of knowledge." In order for that to be true, Vieira's theory must be considered, as experience comes with physical or digital networking. Without it, we as people would not properly adapt or change our method of thinking and learning. As the digital age moves forward and beyond, regardless of whether we want to or not, adapting will take place in order to have the necessary knowledge for basic survival.

Shape Development in the art of Teaching

Hello everyone!
Today I encountered a website created by Lori Wolfe, "Fun to Teach ESL - Teaching English as a Second Language" and it included a finding on her post entitled "25 Things" of another blogger's post entitled, "25 Things Successful Educators Do Differently" by blogger Julie DeNeen. DeNeen's post included several factors that can be seen as important in the development of teaching. Wolfe proposed that the bloggers reading her post find which factors they held important to themselves. As for myself, I found that these factors were important out of the 25:
#1. Objectives: As a teacher, I feel it is best to know your objectives. If you are lost in this, then all else will fall behind.
#2. Purpose: Without purpose, we are aimless. As a teacher who is essentially leading others, especially in language learning, without a purpose we cannot lead.
#5. Positivism: Positivism is what drives motivation and vigor for those who are eager to learn. For those who are not eager, it still stands as a method in which teachers can utilize to drive the students into the path of proper motivation.
#7. Humor: Humor always finds its way into classrooms, although I believe its best to receive humor from the teacher rather than sarcastic or unrelated humor from students. It can be disruptive but if a teacher uses humor in context to the classroom environment, then it will ease the stress of language learning and provide a comfortable zone for students.
#10. Consistency: A teacher's lesson plan should be filled with consistency; with proper planning as well as proper follow-up, a teacher can set an example as a consistent figure. If students see their teacher as inconsistent with their teaching, then students will also be inconsistent with their learning.
#11. Reflection: Reflection is completely essential to teaching. Reflection teaches us as teachers to remember the things we did that ended in both positive and negative outcomes in our classrooms. With reflection we will surely benefit and progress as educators.
#12. Mentor: Personally I feel that a mentor is important because if we are alone in the field without any sort of guidance, we may be running around like a chicken without a head. My intention of going to South Korea to teach ESL already had be hoping to find a mentor there. Mentors serve as a guiding light for teachers who may be fresh out of certification, as we will soon be.
#13. Parental communication: A proper communicative connection with parents will raise their confidence in us as educators and will confirm mutual intentions for the progression of education in their children and our students.
#18. Providing emotional support to students: Emotional support is important, although I believe there should be a serious line drawn to it. Students, especially young children, need the support of the adults in their cultural environment; which includes home, school, the library and so on. We as teachers must guide them, but only within the boundaries that we set as educators. We must remember to not act as parents.
#25. Master your subject: A mastery of subject may take some time, but ultimately this must be something that we strive for as educators. Without mastery, how can we teach?

Reading DeNeen's post was very insightful to me and I hope that it will serve to help other educators, upcoming and current, to shape themselves in developing their teaching.

J

 Have a good day!

Educational Changes and the Digital Revolution

     Today I watched a video on YouTube, entitled "Educational Change Challenge" and I was intrigued by the many quotes that were narrated by Darren Cannell. The constant questioning of the general North American teaching system included that of a 1999 quote by Molebash asking "If you put a doctor of 100 years ago in today's operating rooms, she would be lost, yet if you placed a teacher of 100 years into one of today's classrooms she wouldn't skip a beat." Another quote I was intrigued by was that "Teachers need to exist in the spaces the students exist, understand their culture. You have no credibility if you are not where they are." One final intriguing quote was Cannell's ending question of "Am I preparing my students for my age or for theirs?"
     Although I agree that certain teaching systems have not changed, I also believe that the quote Molebash used, is obviously outdated. I also had thought that teaching systems everywhere had been similar depending on the areas. However, upon researching in an early childhood classroom environment that had many technological resources, I saw that the teaching methods I saw to be bland and robotic did not exist in that environment. In addition, the teachers in the classroom were taking on the quote of understanding the culture of their students in order to create a sense of mutuality and connection. The change in education is indeed being done; although it won't be a sudden change. It is something that will happen gradually. Many educational environments are score-based; this may help some students but does not always produce healthy learning and cultural understanding for students.
     The YouTube video, entitled "Social Media Revolution 2011" by Erik Qualman and based off of his Best-Selling Book "Socialnomics", was visually and audibly refreshing as it used beautiful music and graphics in order to express that social matters are caused due to the ever-expanding internet.

The use of the social networks, as well as technology in general, were shown to be responsible for many activities that people do; such as marriage, divorce, etc. Several ideas were generated considering the change in business actions and humanity's new reliance on technology for things that had to be physically done. Qualman displayed that the "Social Media Revolution" indeed has commenced and has spread like wildfire, including the statistic that 93% of businesses use social media in their deals. This video was very informing and I am actually following with this "revolution" by sharing it with others.
     I really enjoyed this video because although I was aware that I was a part of this, I had forgotten that it was a revolution. I was in elementary school when this revolution first exploded onto the scene so it being called a revolution must have been used at the time. Since technology and the internet has become so engraved into my mind and the minds of my peers, it was bittersweet to be reminded of where we've come from physical means of doing business, being taught in school, even to leisurely activities such as reading. It is indeed a bittersweet feeling that I hope can be compromised, so that we do not forget where we came from before the technological advances of the past 15 years.
    

A Digital Frontier

     Technology is constantly advancing around us. With e-books growing in popularity as well as the tablets they are viewed on, paperless seems to be the beneficial way to go; as it's marketed to be better for the planet with less trees being cut down. My generation was the first to grow up technologically savvy. When I was in elementary school, being that it was a private one my parents had to pay a high tuition in order for me to attend. With the money that was put into the school, there were several classroom programs that included the heavy use of computers to aid in teaching. In my mathematics classes, periodically we engaged in playing the game "Math Blaster". With the theme of space and battling to get the correct number and blasting the incorrect ones out of the way, needless to say it was a very popular game, especially among the males in my class. Moving into Middle School, there were similar themes. I was at a middle school for higher educated learning and with the decent budget, I also engaged in technologically attached classrooms. As I grew older, I became more aware of social networks and I participated in all of the popular ones such as Facebook, MySpace, Xanga, and others. Xanga served as my first blogging experience as I used it to constantly reflect and express myself as a young man. With Facebook and MySpace, I opened my eyes to the risky lifestyle that is social networking. 

     Upon reading Will Richardon's Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, I noticed that for seasoned teachers and professors, they feel that they lack in being as technologically savvy as their students. With that, there is a gap that exists. I have personally experienced this as the role of the student. I have had several teachers and professors who struggle to use technology in application to their curriculum. Although technology has advanced and school databases move into paperless structures, I found that regardless of educational establishments moving forward by installing these technologies into their respective areas, I feel there is still some negligence for teachers who are not technologically savvy. Despite this, I feel that this gap will close up as newer teachers from my generation will proceed to use technology as a resource in their classrooms.

     As a teacher-in-training, in the future I will absolutely install the usage of technology in my classroom, as a means of teaching, to post assignments, and to communicate with my students who may not want to do so face to face. In terms of teaching a second language, I feel very strongly about using technology as a very valuable resource. Today there are programs that exist such as the Rosetta Stone Language Program, the Pimsleur Learning Program and many other branches of language programs that rely on technology in order to reach to students all over the world. I intend to teach English abroad to elementary students between second to fourth grade so the standards for students of English as a Second Language, as described on the New York State Education Department website: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/resource/ESL/03Elem.pdf include that of students demonstrating "cross-cultural knowledge and understanding" as well as learning to "listen, speak, read and write in English for classroom and social interaction." 

     Using a combination of curriculum that can be applied in the concrete classroom as well as the digital one, I believe that these standards can be accomplished. On education-friendly websites such as ePal and with the digital classroom set towards English language teaching, the student will learn how to demonstrate cross-cultural knowledge and understanding through the inclusion of culture in the curriculum. The combination of technology and concrete classroom teaching would provide more than enough for the standards of listening, speaking, reading and writing activities along with social interaction. As more students enroll into school, students as young as kindergarten consistently build up their technological skills. With more tablets being used as paperless bedtime stories for children, it is natural at this point that the incoming students are savvy with technology.

     Even though technology serves positively in teaching, as well as an enjoyable way for students to learn and express themselves, it must not be forgotten that a concrete classroom environment is also necessary to teach at times. In my future classrooms, I would like to implement a balanced blend between concrete and digital classrooms. As I grew up in the generation that looked to the digital frontier for many answers, I know the dangers of losing oneself and forgetting the concrete world. There are many positives and negatives to the digital world, as there is to the concrete one so with that, we, as future teachers and current teachers alike must look to balance these worlds in order to create a better environment for our students.