Week 6: Programming and Simulation contd & Learning through Gaming

In this session we continued to look at software programs which allow children to explore programming, and began to look a little further into how gaming and creating your own computer game, can enrich or enhance learning.


Gaming Software 


Microsoft Kodu Gamelab

http://www.kodugamelab.com


In this great piece of software you create your own world and character and design a puzzle like game or activity for them to complete through programming them.

The interface is very user-friendly with a great colourful and simple aesthetic. We had a go creating our own game using a template as a base. Though a little baffling at first, once I had an understanding of the controls and how to control my 'Kodu', I really enjoyed using the software. 

I can imagine that children, once given clear instrcutions as to how the software works, would have lots of fun creating their own game. I think it would be more suitable for a KS2 class. I also had some issues with the fact that you can get your character to 'shoot' at other things. Though the shooting didn't have violent outcomes within the game, I don't  think it's something I'd necessarily want to encourage in the classroom.

But the idea of children being able to create their own game is a really exciting one. It can imagine it would bring the children a great sense of achievement and pride, and it's a great way of engaging  them in computer programming wihtout it feeling something too abstract and irrelevent a skill; it becomes a skill which is meaningful.


Also children are no longer the passive consumers of games, they become the game makers themselves. This enables them to become more discerning consumers, more critical and engaged with how games are designed effectively and what the possibilities for gaming are.


Dance to Advance

http://www.easilearn.com/global/browse2.aspx?selectedId=31659

This brilliant software useful for both teachers and children enables you to set up questions which are answered through performing certain dance moves on an interactive dance mat. Much like the ones you see in arcades, you can step forwards, backwards, left, right and diagonally. The software is really easy to use; you can choose your own avatar and music. It has different levels already designed which correlate to certain ages of children so you can make sure they are appropriate.

Teacher or  pupil are able to make their own questions and  put multiple choice questions that correspond to a step to be answered. I really enjoyed using this software, and can see it being used effectively in the classroom. It would be a great starter or plenary activity, to see how much children have understood from previous lessons, or picked up in the lesson that day.


I also think children would enjoying designign their own ones for their friends, and again would allow a teacher to see how a topic is understood through which questions and answers the child poses.

Other useful Resources


We also briefly looked at some useful websites the children could use to enrich their learning in the classroom.


Voki

http://www.voki.com

This website lets you create an Avatar of your choice and choose a background for them so it looks like a little postcard. You can record a message onto the postcard through a microphone or type, which your avatar then recounts. This avatar can be accessed anywhere remotely, and be sent to friends and family. 


I thought this would be lovely to use for a Geography project, where children send a postcard message home about what they have seen on their travels, or for English, to retell a story they had been looking at in the classroom. There are also lessons plans included on the site, to help give teachers ideas as to how they could use Voki in their lessons.


Wordle

http://www.wordle.net

ICT in Primary Education


This website allows you to create your own colourful word map which can customise. The visuals are really aethetic, it would be a great thing to use to make word banks for the children, or key words for a topic sheet, or for the children to use to write up key words of a certain topic they have been studying.





Is there a place for Gaming in the Classroom?


After trying these different programs I began to think about what place gaming has in learning and the classroom? Is the use of gaming effective?


I think gaming, if used in a focused way for a particular reason, could be effective in the classroom. I can see children looking forward to me getting out the Dance to Advance mat to see what I would be trying to catch them out on this time. I also think things like game lab do help children develop their skills in perception and dimension and spatial awareness, as well as logic, strategy and forward- thinking. If used in the right way, gaming can have great educational value as a means of enriching learning.

Gaming can also inspire other kinds of work across the curriculum. During our seminar we watched a video about a game which a teacher had used as inspiration for poetry - the children had to write about their games, and in doing so were developing their skills in building narratives and using adjectives and rhyme. 






M-Learning


We concluded the seminar by looking briefly at the idea of M-Learning. 
M-Learning is "Mobile Learning". It is considered more prevalent than e-Learning now. M-Learning refers to the way in which resources are now accessible from a wide range of mobile resources - from smart phones to iPads - learning resources can be accessed from anywhere now. We looked at how a school was faciliating this kind of learning through asking children to research a project on the Tudors via the use of iPods. It made me aware of the possibility that this kind of learning could be happening more in the future.

Week 5: Computer Programming and Simulation

This week we began to look at game-based learning, and the progression of the teaching of programming from the more basic like that of the BeeBots in a previous week, to something much closer to real programming for older children. We also looked at some software which allows children to contruct their own computer simulations and discussed the uses of these.

Modelling Software

Modelling in relation to computing is not the kind in front of a camera. It is very similar to simulation - it is a way to try something, test out that ' What if?' scenario. It allows you to undergo some trial and error before making the real thing.

Modelling and simulation can be (and is!) used in areas such as aeronautics, design, medicine and architecture.

We looked at some modelling software and websites designed for children:

My Modelling Toolkit

• My Modelling Toolkit - designed for KS1 children, this software allows you to try all sorts of things, from designing your own monster to arranging and decorating your room.
• Purple Mash - this site has a huge range of simulation and modelling activities, from designing a car, to constructing a maze.
• ICT Kent - on this site are a collection of modelling programs from designing your own garden to simulating the perfect roller coaster or parachute landing.
• Poissant Rouge - this site has no words on it at all and is very play based, so would be great for an EAL child as there would be no language barrier stopping them interacting with the material.

These were all incredibly simple to use and would be very engaging for children. They could be used in a wide range of subjects, from the more obvious ones like DT, to others like Science (making predictions, testing ideas) and Maths (thinking up strategies, seeing patterns, understanding 2D and 3D shapes) and even provide inspiration for Literacy work.

Programming

Moving on to Programming, we looked at software and websites where this could be developed with children in the classroom. Progressing on from using a physical object and programming it, children can begin to program virtual spaces, places and things.

Microsoft Logo

This software is the closest I have seen to what I would understand as programming. It allows you to move an arrow in any direction you like, and in doing so can make shapes and designs which get more and more complex according to how confident you are with the software. 

What's more, the commands themselves can get noticeably more complex, with a facility to program in certain shapes which only need one command to be drawn but which you need to tell the computer to create first. There are particular commands which need to be used, so if using this with a class I would have to make sure I had a worksheet with them all listed so as to prevent any unnecessary confusion and frustration.

Once again, in using this software children are drawing on a vast pool of skills and knowledge. they have to understand shapes, angles, degrees, geometry. They need to have good spatial awareness, and be able to think ahead and strategise.

Scratch

http://scratch.mit.edu

This software moves into a kind of games-based programming. You choose a 'sprite' and get them to do things in sequence. You are able to customise your sprites surroundings and add music and sound effects too, though these all need to be sequentially programmed by selecting certain commands and putting them into a kind of jigsaw to create a 'script'. 

This felt more like an animation than gaming, as there was only one path or outcome for the programmed sprite. However, I thought it was very user friendly and can imagine children enjoying using it and it acting as inspiration for a variety of different cross curricular activities; like writing a story about your sprite or a fictional geographical report on where it comes from.

In Reflection...

I can see where things  like programming and modelling fill a kind of void which other forms of activity cannot fill; being able to try things out infinitely and incredibly abstract logic puzzles like those on Logo certainly develop skills which ICT can uniquely provide. I do think that children should be encouraged to try things out for real where possible, but I know that is not always possible, and in these cases, activities like simulating a parachute fall or a roller coaster enable children to apply their knowledge a little further than they would have done other wise.

Week 4: Speaking and Listening

This week we looked at how ICT can help children explore and improve their speaking and listening skills through a variety of gadgets. We looked at how they would be useful and had a go at using some ourselves!

We began by asking: How does technology encourage speaking and listening? we came up with these ideas:

• can record discussions through it to listen back and reflect on
• interactivity - a way of communcating between people
• peer-assistance when using computers in the classroom encourages children to co-operate and comminicate with each other
• podcasts - can listen to the views of others

Speaking and Listening Gadgets

We then looked at some gadgets useful in the classroom for develoing speaking and listening skills.

Talking Photo Album

On the face of it this gadget looks like any old photo album - with the polythene sleeves and hard back cover. But this photo album allows you to record things over each photo graph. It's very simple to use, and would be great to use for all sorts of subjects; from retelling a story in english or as an aid for phonics letter and sounds, describing a life cycle in science or a book of animals which tells you facts about them, or even documenting a field trip. It is a great means of communication, especially for EAL children who might find writing too challenging or SEN children with motor skills.

'Talk Tins' 

These curious hockey-puck like things similarly allow you to record anything you like into them. 
They would be incredibly useful for recording instructions into, so that when children got to their tables to complete an activity, all they would need to do is listen to the teachers instructions as opposed to having to go back to the teacher to repeat it.
They would also be great to use for treasure hunts; each one giving a different clue as the children progress.

'Talk Time Cards' 

These are essentially whiteboards with a recording facility built within them. I have seen them in use in the classroom and they can be really useful and effective. They could be a great learning aid for EAL children, as the whiteboard could feature an image to accompany the sound to aid with writing. 
These can also be found with multiple buttons on them so several messages can be recorded in sequence; again this would be a useful tool for recording instructions into; they could be used by the in Science to recount the steps of an experiment or in History or Geography to ask a sequence of questions on a topic.

Podcasting

We moved on to look at Podcasting as something which could be useful for learning in the classroom. Podcasts are like Radio shows, but which you can download at any time and subscribe to through iTunes. We listened to some extracts from Podcasts made by children through their school, and it was clear that they loved the process!

Podcasting is a great way to give children a voice - a means by which children can learn to articulate their thoughts and ideas and also listen to the thoughts and ideas of others. In doing so, they feel more connected to their world and community, and contribute to the vast deposits of ideas and knowledge which can be found on the internet.

We listened to some school radio stations through a site called: http://www.radioanywhere.co.uk which is specifically for schools to upload audio programs onto.

There is also a site called http://audacity.sourceforge.net where you can download easy-to-use software which allows you to record and edit audio. You can get creative with the editing by changing acoustics and pitch and then export the end result into an mp3 or wav file ready for publishing anywhere.




Digital Imaging

Although not directly linked with Speaking and Listening, we looked at child-friendly tools for catching video and images, which could be used to facilitate speaking and listening opportunities.

Tough Cams

As tough as they sound, these hard wearing video/photo cameras are very child friendly and very easy to use. The photos and videos captured on them can be connected to a computer simply by plugging one in via a USB port in true plug n' play fashion. These can be edited through accompanying software which is also easy to use.




Microsoft Photo Story

This software, similar to Microsoft Movie Maker but much more simple to use, allows you to upload video or images and 'make a story'  - you can add sound effects or record over the images and add text captions, as well as effects to move between images. These would be great to use for any subject, and provide opportunities for children to work on their speaking and listening skills through both creating the 'stories' and then watching other peoples and commenting and engaging with them.

I had a little bit of time to create a little something of my own, and here it is!

In Reflection...

I think there are many ways technology can help children with their speaking and listening skills. The gadgets we looked at are effective because they can be used across the curriculum subjects. They are also easy to use and the children seem to engage positively with them. It would be nice to see if I could use some of this software or gadgetry when I am in the classroom.