Reflections V, VI, VII on Game-Based Learning

COGNITIVE-AFFECTIVE-PSYCHOMOTOR evaluations

Dafur is Dying: As I was playing this game... I felt the pressure and fear that the Dafurians might be feeling. I have to be quick and stealthy, for being spotted would mean death, torture, rape... but what is worse is that my incompetence would result in someone else having to risk his/her life to collect fresh water for my other fellow refugees. Perhaps when students play this game, they too will feel compassion as they catch a glimpse of what refugees in war-torn countries go through.

Mcvideogame: Playing this game is fun but also very complex. I have to make a lot of decisions very quickly if not profits will be affected. Knowing that my speed, my decisions (good and bad) affect the ecology, the health and the psychological well-being of consumers, activists and doctors world-wide is something that makes business seem not so easy afterall. So in the future when I encounter students who want to take the "easy way out" by doing business because they will not need to study... I will recommend them this short quick game and let them learn experentially in a safe environment that doing business is also not easy.

Wii (Trauma Centre): My gosh! This game is SOOOOOO fun! The night after I played this game... I blew $800 buying my own Wii set and the game Trauma Centre so that my fiance (medical student) and I could play together! That aside... This game really is a test of one's dexterity. Besides the obvious cognitive aspects of surgical procedures and processes that are learnt, James Paul Gee's "Committed Learning Principle" became very apparent to me as the story unfolded and I found myself wanting to read up more on certain procedures that can "benefit virtual patients". Of course I also trained very hard to become a "A-grade" surgeon too just for competitive sake ("practice principle" and "achievement principle").

Edheads Hip Replacement Surgery Game: This game is like a non-psychomotor version of Trauma Centre where procedures are much simpler to follow and I believe can be used as a simple revision test for medical students. Very similar to Trauma Centre, my engagement in the surgery makes me want the operation to be successful so that the patient will recover well. But the many instructions and lectures embedded into the game makes the game slow-moving.

Freerice Vocabulary Game: Very cognitive game. Some affective aspects are roused as I recognise that every word I get right helps the poor people at some point. So wanting to get things right and wanting to help people become the two most important motivations for me in this game.

Wii (Sports & Fit): No... I didn't buy the Wii board thingy after this session though it's something that I will want to invest in in the future :P Games here were very psychomotor and made me extremely aware of my body in terms of my weight placement and body posture for the "balancing" games. It also gets very exciting during the boxing matches. Good for a fitness workout. Maybe these games can be good wet-weather substitutes for PE teachers since students will get their cardiac and stretching done.

Session IV: e-Learning

Managing technology integration

Section 1: Implementation issues and strategies in a face-to-face environment

Issue: Lack of training provided to teachers that is relevant to school culture and local context
Strategies: On-going relevant professional development for teachers instead of something that is merely one time off; Train up ICT specialist teachers within each department who will be available to conduct training and consultation to teachers who need more help; Provide on-site support for teachers from technical assistants.

Issue: Insufficient time to plan for ICT lessons
Strategies: School/departmental restructuring of timetable to free up time for teachers to plan for ICT-mediated lessons within the curriculum

Issue: Pressure to finish up syllabus in the simplest, most efficient way possible for semestral examinations; Resistance from teachers to risk changes and disbelief that ICT can enhance the learning process, thereby sticking with the traditional didactic approach to teaching.
Strategies: Cognitive apprenticeship model where teachers undergo an "immersion programme" to observe, learn from and emulate teachers who are experienced in conducting lessons with ICT integration so they recognise that it is not just novel, but is a relevant and efficient way for students to learn.

Issue: Lessons take too long due to outdated computers and limited units in the classroom/computer laboratory
Strategies: Financial support from the school leaders/administrators/MOE to upgrade units in order to stay abreast of technological advances and create a conducive ICT-mediated environment; Teachers need to streamline their lessons and plan realistically, taking into consideration the physical limitations of the facilities available.

Issue: Students demonstrate off-task behaviour while waiting for the teacher to assist them when they encounter technical problems.
Strategies: Establishment of discipline-specific rules and room use procedures (eg. red-alert cup); pairing of students strategically so playful students can be seated with ICT student helpers; on-site technical assistants to help students iron out technical issues so that teachers can concentrate on delivering the lesson and managing the class; teacher can spend more time planning so that students can proceed with other activities if they are stuck at one while waiting for help; Train up a team of student specialists who can be rostered to help their classmates out if they encounter any difficulties.


References:
1. http://www.ise.ee/kronoloogia/murphy/classroom_management.html
2. Teachers' ICT skills and knowledge needs- Final Report to SOEID http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library/ict/append-section4.htm
3. Zhao Y, Pugh K, Sheldon S, Byers JL (2002), Conditions for Classroom Technology Innovations, Teachers College Record, Vol.104(3):482-515
4. Lim CP, Teo YH, Wong P, Khine MS, Chai CS, Divaharan S (2003), Creating a Conducive Learning Environment for the Effective Integration of ICT: Classroom Management Issues, J. of Interactive Learning Research, Vol 14(4):405-423
5. Lim CP, Khine MS (2006), Managing Teachers' Barriers to ICT Integration in Singapore Schools, J. of Technology and Teacher Education, Vol 14(1):97-125
6. Lim CP, Pek MS, Chai CS (2005), Classroom Management Issues on ICT Mediated Learning Environments, J. of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, Vol 14(4):391-414

_________________________________________________________________

Section 2: Implementation issues and strategies in an online environment

a. Cyber-bullying
Issue: Students are maliciously intimidated or harassed by people they meet through online forums, chatting platforms, emails or websites, resulting in negative psychological and/or physiological effects on the victims.
Strategies: Online circumstances that students face are difficult for teachers to monitor. The best they can do is to educate and create awareness of this issue. Teachers can also give some practical tips like not publishing personal information online, being discreet with own passwords, not opening emails from strangers and/or bullies and not responding to messages when one is angry. Most importantly, they should be taught about self-respect and mutual respect, so they will treat other people, whether in a virtual or real environment, the way that they would like themselves to be treated.
In collaborative group projects where there are potential student victims, teachers can make it compulsory for themselves to be part of the correspondence so that they can monitor any online assaults. Alternatively, teachers can establish moderated chat rooms or forums for the online discussions to be held.

b. Internet Pornography
Issue: Seemingly harmless exploration of pornographic pop-up windows or deliberate surfing can escalate to cases of addiction and acting out of fantasies, the latter of which could lead to criminal sexual offences.
Strategies: Teachers will need to work closely with parents on this. Parents should be cautioned about the possibilities of pornography addiction online so they can install filtering software. Web browsers can also be switched to block pop-up windows and to engage in "safe search" mode so that adult content will be filtered out during searches. Parents should also make it a point to check in on their children randomly when they are using the internet so they will be less inclined to surf pornographic websites lest they get caught by their parents and suffer the embarrassment or lecture. Work stations can also be positioned in an open area of the house where people can walk past and "inspect" what the students are doing.
Students themselves should be educated about the consequences of pornography addiction and should be warned not to click on hyperlinks from dubious email senders or pop-ups.

References:
1. Australian Goverment: A Teacher's Guide to Internet Safety, http://www.netalert.gov.au/advice/publications/guides/a_teachers_guide_to_internet_safety.html
2. http://www.cyberbullying.ca
3. http://www3.moe.edu.sg/edumall/tl/cyberwellness.htm

Reflection III

Anchored Instruction, Case-Based Learning, Cognitive Apprenticeship, Goal-Based Scenario, Inquiry-Based Learning, Knowledge Building, Problem-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning... Some of these were really new to me but was truly an eye-opener to have these strategies explored this week. All along I'd taken them for granted, thinking that "hey... what that teacher did was very engaging and I can use that in my future classes". But this week, I learnt that these tactics have already been around a long time and are actually being strategically employed by educators and are not simply accidental.

I remember one project I did in Primary School, where the teacher organised us into groups and made us collect different types of wild grass/flowers, name them and classify them according to their modes of dispersal (wind, water, animal). Back then, I thought it was simply a project for project ends, but I had a lot of fun looking out for unique species that weren't already collected and naming them. Even till today, I can still look at some common grass species and ramble off names like "cow grass, carpet crass, egyptian fingers, lalang, elephant grass, yellow wood sorrel, etc..." because the learning that took place at that moment was so engaging. In retrospect, I now understand that that was a form of project-based learning and/or goal-based scenario. And it was good because in the group we learnt to identify based on observing and comparing features from guide books (back then didn't have Internet...). The mini-competition to try and identify as many species as possible also gave my group motivation to look for more species in locations that were less convenient. Most groups only got their samples from near the school or their homes. But I recall we actually went to relatively distant fields to get some unique grass types. It was a very fun project.

If ICT was more readily available then, it would have been possible to upload all our findings onto a common database that we can still refer to today. Cos' I have forgotten some of these lesser-known species and it's nice to just remember so I can show-off from time to time! Hahas. Alas, our projects back then were presented on vanguard-sheets and they have been long chucked and trashed I believe. And we probably could just take a digital photo of the species instead of plucking and killing them (even though the few we took wouldn't have been missed since there are soooo many of them around anyway!).

So moral of the story: we should exploit ICT in today's digital age since it's already so accessible. Project presentations can now be done on Powerpoint or Keynote instead of on vanguard paper; data-logging and calculations can be easily achieved using Excel or other software; group discussions can be done online via Skype, MSN, email or forum boards instead of always having to do it F2F after school hours; and resources have never been so easily available thanks to Internet and Google. Good-bye to Britannica and long hours in the library! And if all these exist to make teaching easier... no. It means different types of classroom management issues will have to be addressed.

Quote of the Day

The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after generation. -Pearl S. Buck

Reflections II

Still trying to reconcile engaging lessons doesn't equal fun lessons. In a book written by Garth Boomer in the 1980s, the author went around interviewing students how they learnt best and he compiled some answers...

___________________________________________________________________


1 Engagement. We learn best when we intend to learn, when we become personally involved and interested in the learning we are to do. Our learning should be purposeful - our purposes not the teachers! We need to know what we are to do and why and how we are to do it, but we do like our intentions to 'mesh' with the teachers so that, as much as is possible, we are all thinking along the same lines. Our intention to learn becomes engaged when we become curious or puzzled by things we are to learn. It matters to us that we solve our puzzlement and find satisfactory solutions to our own problems.

2 Exploration. We need it acknowledge that we are all not equal in experience in what we know and can do so we need learning experiences personalised as much as possible to cater for our differences in starting points, needs and interests. We like the teacher to open up a range of options to give us some choices in our learning.
We need to be helped to inquire in ways that suit our needs and to learn through trial and error, and by finding out, rather than being told by the teacher. We need to be involved actively in real learning experiences and not be passive receivers. We understand best when we do things ourselves and arrive at new knowledge through our own discovery.

We need to work and relate with other learners and our teacher. We like working individually, in groups, and as a whole class but small groups is our preferred option because it allows us to learn together, and from each other, as we go along. We like to use each other as sounding boards and as an audience for our ideas. We feel most secure working in groups.

We need help from our teachers, but not dominance by them.We want a supporter, a facilitator, not a dictator. We need to take risks as we struggle for new understandings but will only take those risks in a supportive environment - one in which we are both challenged and encouraged to stretch our thinking. We don't like being frightened of being wrong and like it when teachers help us through any difficulties.

Besides this supportive role we want the teacher to be available to work with us when we need help. We don't want to be bored or confused by the teacher telling things to the class when we already know what is being explained or are hopelessly lost because don't know enough to understand. Anyway in the whole class situations all too often we can't ask real questions or talk things through and we need to do those things.

3 Reflection. At the need of the learning experience we want to feel we have achieved something worthwhile to us. We need to come up with products that mean something important to us and that will please the audience we are preparing for. We don't doing things for no reason at all. We like to share what we have found and the sharing is a way to show others how well we have learnt.

We need to think about what we have done and how we could do it better next time. Out of such reflection new questions, challenges, and ideas will arise that we can use to continue our learning.
[Source: Leading Learning Blogspot]
____________________________________________________________________

So I gather that in order to make a lesson engaging, I have to be able to rouse not merely their interest, but also their curiosity. It makes my role as an educator different. My job is no longer to teach per se, but to facilitate students' learning. It puts a whole new perspective into my jobscope. I think when I start practicum, planning for a lesson will not be that tough. But to plan for an engaging lesson... that will take some brains racking. But I think that's what makes teaching so challenging. Where teachers are "forced" to be creative to meet the needs of today's youths.

And how does ICT come in? The generation today are already termed "digital natives" and we as teachers sometimes have to hurry to keep up. But even though the youths today spend so much time online, how much of that time is put to constructive use? The web and the media are still so much for social networking among youths than for other purposes. If we can only harness the tools out there and give students an avenue to channel that time/energy to actually learning something relevant for their lives in future, then cyberspace can be a true learning hub. Now... if only I can start my creative juices churning.

And to share an interesting article "Engage Me or Enrage Me" by Marc Prensky, the CEO of Games2Train, a games-based learning company.

Quote of the Day

The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think - rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men. - Bill Beattie

Digital Classroom- Secondlife

Digitalising education... the quote from Marshall McLuhan provoked some thoughts. He said

"Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn't know the first thing about either."

Is that really true? It almost seems as if he's proposing that education and entertainment should be analagous to each other. As much as it would be good that education is fun, it doesn't always have to be does it? Because if that's the case, then very much any stand-up comedian, thespian, Oprah Winfrey, Amy Winehouse (help...!), etc, could be a teacher. So what will differentiate between an entertainer and an educator then? Motive? Passion? I think I need to mull over this abit... Cos' this perspective puts a certain pressure for me to make every lesson fun. And that is not easy. Possible, but not easy. Suddenly I'm in the edu-tainment industry?