- You just added an idea for people to vote on: Lack of equipment (computers, laptops..) in the classrooms.
Activity 2 - Ways to address the challenges – message to policymakers
The main challenge is having technological equipment for all students to play the game. There is only an ICT classroom and it is difficult to have access to it. I think that the number of students we have in our classroom creates some difficulties when playing games. I also agree that the pressure of accomplish the curriculum sometimes creates barriers, we need more time in class. 

 

 

If I let them play a game as part of the lesson, they would love it! Sometimes I use games as part of the lesson, not very often as they would like. In my opinion games reach students with different profiles, because games have dynamics, challenges and it motivates and engages students, even SEN students. I think that with games SEN students learn better! 

I have never used serious games in my teaching practice. But I’ m going to do some research and see if I can use a serious game with my class. Perhaps a serious game related to prevent bullying, a problem that most students deal at school nowadays. 

Well I’ve never used real-life adventure games. For me this is completely new and I’m very excited because I’m learning a lot about different types of games we can use in our class! I teach English as a second language in primary school, so I could use an Escape Room experience with my class. Giving them clues for them to solve puzzles and word searches with vocabulary in English… it is an idea! I’m going to try this for sure!  

 

As a teacher of ESL in Primary school I usually use games such as Bingo, Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, and other board games that were not directly designed for learning. My students love these games and I adapt them to practise vocabulary, language structures and even to practise conversation while they are playing them. For example,  I use Bingo with vocabulary instead of numbers. They learn how to write words, and recognise them when they hear them! It’s quite effective in terms of learning. I’ve never tried videogames for thematic learning, because I teach very young students, but I’m willing to try it. I´m sure that students will love it!  

 

Well, using the Learningapps.org, for instance, I can create an app and this way I gamify the homework.  I can create quizzes and at home they solve them. So, at home students play and put in practise what they have learned. This way the word homework would be more exciting… (But there are some difficulties, because I teach ESL in primary school and I know that some students don’t have computer or internet at home). I think this is an excellent idea, because gamifying homework makes our students more motivated and engaged in the activity we assigned.

 

I teach very young students, so I always try to encourage creativity. I give them tasks in which they have to create something to present to the whole class about a theme we are studying. For example creating a city map with recycled materials and presenting their favourite food using varied material. Awesome presentations I must say! I also use games, because students become more engaged and motivated! 

I’ve never heard about tinkering but I’m willing to find out more about it! So, I´ve never been involved in a project like this. Well, but this year to commemorate Halloween students did Halloween masks using recycled material! They had to develop their masks and they did well. 

I’ve never played Minecraft, but after watching this video I think That I can see myself using it in my teaching. I teach English as ESL and after watching some examples of using Minecraft it can useful for some themes. However first it is important to have computers in class enough for students to play, because in my school we don’t have these resources available. Then I can use it to practise vocabulary related to the house and furniture. I think it is a good tool for that.

Well I'm not an expert in coding, but I tried Scratch and I created this project for my ESL students to introduce themselves answering the question:"What's your name?" It was a challenge for me! But I want to learn more....

I think that I could ask them to create a game or a poster to assess my students creativity at the end of a unit, for example. They could use some sites, such as LearningApps and create a game to check the contents of a unit. That could be a way to assess this competence, but also collaboration if this work is made in group.

 

The process of creating a game is complex, however I can see myself introducing game design in my classes. As a ESL teacher I could ask my students to design a game to practice vocabulary, for example. That would be very interesting and engaging. I teach young students so this could develop several skills: problem-solving skills, digital skills and collaborative work. They could put in practice what they have learnt and develop their creativity and learning perspective. I think that it would take time to get students introduced to game designing and for that it is important to have available resources like we saw in the previous shared videos. 

 

 

In my opinion the process of design thinking is useful to construct learning experiences for students. It gives students the opportunity to think by themselves and give them more confidence in creating something. It helps students to be more collaborative, to define what they want to create and its purpose. Then they define their ideas to make a prototype and finally testing if that works! It is a way to prepare our students for the challenges of the upcoming future. I could rearrange my lessons in a way following the design thinking process. I could challenge my students to create a game in which they could practice the vocabulary of a house. To reach this stage, they have first to follow the stages of the process of design thinking… 

I have some experience in creating games with LearningApps. I’ve already used Scratch, but in a very simple way, creating a scene for my students to interact. However, I think that there are many potentials in using game design tools. I’m ready to try a learn more about this, because from the experiences shared and that I learned in this module it leads our students to a more effective learning process. Students get more motivated and boosts the way they learn! I feel very motivated and willing to try all these methods! 

 

 

In my opinion using a game competition in the beginning of a lesson as a process of review of the last lesson can be very motivating. Students love competitions and they get more involved in the activity. I think that if we control the way they compete it is never damaging, because the point is not winning but what they can learn from it. That’s the most important goal of playing a game. 

 The role of the teacher is to organise the information and guide the students, monitoring their work, challenging them to use their creativity. This challenge empowers students making them more confident and autonomous. The main role is on the side of the students. They are the most important in the learning process and they decide and think how to do things. They develop lots of skills, such as  problem solving skills.