My learning diary for "Learning with creativity: Let the game begin!" by Jelena Aleknienė

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jelenapro — 2019-05-02 19:35:41 UTC

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About me

jelenapro — 2019-05-02 19:47:02 UTC

Hello. I am Jelena from Vilnius, capital of Lithuania. I teach math and computer science in secondary school.
I am currently on parental leave, but I will try to do all the tasks and participate in all activities.

About my school: Vilnius Adult Education Centre was established in 1993. Here adult students can acquire complete or partial upper secondary education. The Centre offers flexible study programs and also organizes various supplementary modules in English, Lithuanian (for non-Lithuanians as a state language), IT. The democratization of lifelong learning is widening the learning opportunities to all citizens. The customers of the Centre are people over 18 years old. They can freely express their learning needs.

In my classroom I have a smartboard, which often use with the math learning objects. Also, at school we use distance learning environment Moodle , were I have created the materials of mathematics and computer science course for 9-12 grades.

1.1 How do we learn with games?

jelenapro — 2019-05-02 19:50:07 UTC

Learning through games encourages the acquisition and development of various hard and soft skills, as it stimulates problem-solving, encourages experiential learning and increases motivation. The player learns through repetition, failure, ongoing and non-threatening feedback and accomplishment of goals in a risk-free environment, which is aligned with clear objectives.

Serious games – games designed specifically for learning a certain topic or skill
Games for thematic learning – using games not specifically designed for learning but for entertainment to engage students in learning about a certain theme or topic
Games as tools of creation – developing key skills and creative capacity through the process of creating a product or output with a game
Designing games – using the process of game design to develop key skills and creative capacity

My favorite outside game was “Cossacks and robbers”. The robbers were running and drawing arrows on the street and the Cossacks were looking for robbers. We spend all the day outdoor playing this game. Everyone wanted to be robbers, so we made the rule that one time you are the robber and another time you must be Cossack.  We learned how to respect the rules, how to communicate in group, and to make strategy.It is really interesting, that people from different countries play this game with the similar rules but they call this game differently.

1.2 Gamification

jelenapro — 2019-05-02 20:33:37 UTC

https://academiccolab.org/resources/documents/Good_Learning.pdf

In my lessons I use a quiz (Kahoot, Quizizz), QR codes, jeopardylabs, moodle and other interactive environments. Now I would like to learn how to use Minecraft for math lessons.

1.3 How do games impact teaching & learning dynamics?

jelenapro — 2019-05-03 10:07:21 UTC

We educators need to grow into a new role when using games in the classroom: the role of facilitator of learning. Teachers as facilitators provide their students with resources, opportunities and guidance, as students take on agency for other aspects of their learning. They are flexible, and support students in taking charge of their own growth and development. Games may promote a student-centred pedagogy that facilitates a more personalised learning approach.

I think that teacher’s role in the classroom depends on the type of lesson. If i need to explain new important information I stand in front of the class, most of the time I move around the class giving my students formative assessment and helping with some issue. I try to make my students active and responsible for their learning outcomes. The use of ICT helps me as a teacher to be facilitator and I hope, that games will give me more opportunities.

1.4 Creativity and games

jelenapro — 2019-05-03 11:10:31 UTC

Creativity is associated with characteristics like "curiosity (or inquisitiveness), use of imagination, critical thinking, problem-solving, and perseverance (resilience or persistence) which includes positive risk-taking".
Good games stimulate creative problem-solving by providing players with risk-free, judgement-free environments that give them ownership and allow for experimentation.

To develop my students creativity I'm trying not to give them full information and avoid telling how exactly to solve the task, but use more open-ended questions. Aslo I try to give them more task with problem solving.

1.5 Challenges for implementation

jelenapro — 2019-05-06 11:05:33 UTC

Traditional assessment mechanisms and timetable structures make the use of games – which often require a more prolonged engagement – difficult to implement in our day-to-day teaching.

1.6 Challenge break: try to gamify the grading and alter its meaning.

jelenapro — 2019-05-06 11:15:21 UTC

My students are adults aged 17 and over. They all feel uncomfortable and timid when they start thinking about evaluation. Therefore, besides the usual assessment of control work I use the self-assessment system for students.

For almost every lesson I create quiz by kahoot, quizizz or google forms that helps students to self-assess. Students evaluate their work by writing a grade on self-assessment sheets prepared by the teacher. After half a year I noticed changes: the students honestly and boldly spoke about their progress and less feared the control work.

2.1 Game-based learning

jelenapro — 2019-05-06 11:46:37 UTC

Important questions to evaluate a game’s learning potential:

What is your goal and how does this fit with your curriculum goals? For example, are you aiming to cover content or develop a skill by using the game? Your answers to such questions should direct you in your evaluation.
What are the game mechanics? Do they promote experimentation? Do they offer progression? How “free” is the player to find different solutions/paths?
Is the game engaging for students?
How much time does the game take to play? Does this fit with your lesson or homework time? Does it fit with your curriculum timetable?
What thematic links can you make to the game’s content?
What skills do students need to succeed in the game?
Can students customise the game? Does a possible customisation impede the student from achieving the goals you’ve set? Does the process of customisation develop certain skills?

If I let my studet play a game as a part of a lesson, I think that bigest part of them would decide that I'm joking. Older students would think that games are not learning, but after some time they would like such lessons.

2.2 Serious games: what is it all about?

jelenapro — 2019-05-09 20:14:42 UTC

Serious games can be defined as games in which education (in its various forms) is the primary goal, rather than entertainment (Michael and Chen, 2006).
Some examples:
UNI! The Regions Game a role-playing game which helps educators and 10- to 12-year-old students to learn about the European Union while playing.
The ‘Partners’ web doc is an investigation game with a full complement of multimedia tools which takes you to 6 regions of the European Union.
Aqua Republica, a serious game to raise awareness of the importance of managing water and ecosystems in a sustainable way.
PeaceMaker challenges you to succeed as a leader where others have failed
WolfQuest, a science-based game, lets players learn what it’s like to live life as a wolf in Yellowstone National Park.
http://www.econfidence.eu/

I have never used serious game in my teaching, but I hope this course will help me to improve my teaching. I have done some research and have found the Lithuanian serious game for primary school students: https://ismaniejirobotai.ugdome.lt

2.3 Real-life adventure games

jelenapro — 2019-05-09 20:28:07 UTC

The main ingredients of an escape room in the classroom are:

A purpose – there is always a mystery to be solved or a goal to be reached
Clues – a series of puzzles or questions to solve that lead you to the goal
Time limit – the time limit drives motivation and focus.

Example: https://sites.google.com/view/thinss/home

Geocaching is another interesting concept that fits in the category of real-life adventure games. Geocaching is probably the world’s largest Treasure Hunt, using a handheld GPS. Actually, there are many geocaches around you right now. You can create an account on the website and find them.
More info:
https://www.teachprimary.com/learning_resources/view/using-geocaching-in-primary-schools
http://www.educaching.com/

You can use tools like Flippity to create virtual locks.

2.4 Using games for thematic learning

jelenapro — 2019-05-09 21:14:16 UTC

almost any game can be used in athematic learning context. This means that games can be used to explore or illustrate a certain dynamic, situation, action or topic. For example, at a very basic level, one can explore the theme of probabilities in Maths by playing a dice-based game like Ludo or Yahtzee.

I think that some games could be used as team-building activities.

3.1 Stop-Play-Create

jelenapro — 2019-05-17 19:37:21 UTC

Playful activities put us into a psychological state where failure is accepted and even promoted and “what if” musings are encouraged.
Play is the cornerstone of creativity. It provides an authentic place to be fearless and experiment, to collaborate, to raise questions and to try to find solutions that you would otherwise not have conceived of, because the imagination runs free.

3.2 Maker movement moving into classrooms

jelenapro — 2019-05-17 19:40:59 UTC

In the school context, a makerspace can be any space where students and teachers come together to create, invent, prototype, design, tinker, explore, discover, code, build, craft, draft or draw.
DIY (coming from the acronym Do It Yourself) is a free online communityfor kids (6-16) to upload, share and view pictures and videos of projects they create, to learn new skills and find friends around the world who share their passions.
The Tinkering Studio, located inside the Exploratorium, the museum of science, art and human perception in California, motivates aspiring makers around the world to generate new ideas. Check out some of the projects here.

DOWNLOAD A PRACTITIONER GUIDE FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING TINKERING ACTIVITIES (.pdf | 12MB)

3.3 Creating and learning in virtual worlds

jelenapro — 2019-05-17 19:52:30 UTC

One of the most popular games of the last decade, which has at its heart the process of creation, is Minecraft.

Minecraft Education Edition is a specific tool designed for teachers : http://education.minecraft.net.

The amazing Nelly Hamed from Egypt shares a Lesson here: https://education.minecraft.net/…/how-one-minecraft-mentor…/

I have the honor to collaborate with her and Stephen Reid at ImmersiveMinds to create resources and trainings for teachers: http://www.immersiveminds.com

3.4 The playground of coding

jelenapro — 2019-05-17 19:58:04 UTC

There are plenty of coding tools and activities that approach the topic in a playful manner and let students, in the process of learning to code, create something new: Scratch is the best-known example of this.

I 've heard about Scrach and even tried to use it. But with my students I more often use code.org coding platform. There are lot of projects for the students from 4 years old.

3.5 Challenge break

jelenapro — 2019-05-17 20:11:14 UTC

Assessing competences using gamification mechanisms:

First of all for assessment we need to use the rubrics. And to assess such competencies as creativity I think would help the tasks were students need to create something.

4.5 Challenge break:Stirring up competitions for reviewOne way to gamify the process of review is to set up competitions. Do you think a competition is motivating or damaging? Considering the subject you teach, what kind of competition could you develop for your upcoming review?

jelenapro — 2019-05-26 13:04:12 UTC

I Do not think that competition are motivating for all students. Especially for students that can't win. That is why I think, that the best competition is the competition with yourself, it helps to measure every student progress.

4.3 Game design tools

jelenapro — 2019-05-26 13:05:10 UTC

For quizis I use kahoot, quizizz, plickers or google forms. For viktorins I use jeopardylabs.com. To make a crosswords I use crosswordlab.com. For coding games or apps I use code.org

4.2 Game design and design thinking

jelenapro — 2019-05-26 13:13:26 UTC

https://youtu.be/hvqST2ggvA0

5.1 Breaking the rules: gamification of learning

jelenapro — 2019-05-29 19:51:33 UTC

Games are commonly structured for players to solve a problem. They usually promote communication, cooperation, and even competition amongst players. A primary component is also the rich narrative that spawns creativity and imagination in its players. Another inherently appealing component of games that is useful for educators is their ability to encourage players to make mistakes and persist when they fail. The authenticity of the game’s tasks and the embracing of emotions are also paramount elements of games.

5.2 Game on!

jelenapro — 2019-05-29 20:18:15 UTC

In this teaching scenario, the biggest challenge for the teacher is to create an activity that would be relevant to the subject and engage the students.

5.5 Treasure box

jelenapro — 2019-05-29 20:23:12 UTC

Useful resources:

jelenapro — 2019-05-29 20:25:14 UTC

jelenapro — 2019-05-29 20:26:02 UTC

jelenapro — 2019-05-29 20:27:42 UTC

M

jelenapro — 2019-06-02 19:44:25 UTC

My lesson plan:

jelenapro — 2019-06-02 19:44:25 UTC