I do seem to remember a process where you people ask me questions and I give you answers, and then I ask you questions and you give me answers, and that’s the way we find out things. I think I read that in a manual somewhere.
-Dr. Heywood Floyd,
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Posted 14 June 2010
† Chad
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Also tagged: Authentic assessment, Authentic learning, Authentic work, Choice Theory, Democratic learning, Education reform, Instructional technology, Parent involvement, Relationships, Relevance, Self-directed learning, Student blogging, Student portfolios
This past week I rediscovered the UVA Young Writers Workshop. I’ve been looking around for out-of-school learning opportunities that could replace parts of the traditional school day to bring more authentic work into schools without diluting the power or appeal of the programs. Too Quixotic?
Margo Figgins, an associate professor with the university’s Curry School [...]
This week three girls took up what might be the most ambitious project I’ve ever suggested to a student: create a World War II museum in LittleBigPlanet, a PlayStation 3 (PS3) game. None of us has any idea what to expect (apart from students somehow sharing the unit’s content through visualization and gameplay) – the [...]
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Posted 07 March 2010
† Chad
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Also tagged: Authentic learning, Authentic work, Game-based learning, Instructional technology, Learning with games, LittleBigPlanet, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network, PS3, PSN, STEM, Video games
This week we spent some time Thursday coming up with teamwork and game-play strategies for our Friday Wii collaboration contest.
Results of our strategizing were mixed with only half the groups improving from last week to this week. At this point I’m wishing I had taken a research-design course sometime in the past decade so I [...]
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Posted 27 February 2010
† Chad
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Also tagged: Authentic learning, Authentic work, Collaboration, Cooperation, Game-based learning, Instructional technology, Learn with games, Lives lost: levels won metric, Relevance, Small-group gaming, Video games
Our impromptu two week vacation at the beginning of February did little for our teamwork. It seems like we need to be together to practice cooperating.
Or, really, do we? If we had a social network (or better used our existing Edmodo network) or virtual day set up, couldn’t student teams compete with [...]
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Posted 23 February 2010
† Chad
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Also tagged: Authentic learning, Authentic work, Collaboration, Cooperation, Game-based learning, Instructional technology, Learn with games, Lives lost: levels won metric, Relevance, Small-group gaming, Video games
What’s the goal of differentiation? Mastery of a curriculum? Inquiry-based life-long learning? Relationship building?
Can we ask the question another way: what is school?
Is it 1:1 learning? Is it 1:1 curriculum? Is it 1:1 access to “the best of what’s been thought and said?” Is it the 1:1:1:1:1… replication of workers or citizens?
We have the tools [...]
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Posted 31 January 2010
† Chad
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Also tagged: 1:1 curriculum, 1:1 learning, All But Graduated, Authentic learning, Authentic work, Blended, Charter school, Cloud-based learning, CTE, Differentiation, Dual-enrollment, Education reform, F2F, Hybrid, Magnet school, Specialty center, Student-sourced curriculum
This Monday we dedicated a station to analyzing our data from last week’s small-group gaming.
Students used a formula to determine each group’s live lost to levels won ratio.
Students analyzed the differences in observed and noted behaviors between the groups with the highest and lowest ratios.
Students analyzed their own behavior to see if it aligned more [...]
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Posted 29 January 2010
† Chad
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Also tagged: Authentic learning, Authentic work, Collaboration, Game-based learning, Instructional technology, Learning with games, Lives lost: levels won metric, Relevance, Small-group gaming, Strategic thinking, Video games
Here’s a quick post on an imperfect start to using video games in the classroom for teaching the soft-skills necessary for collaboration in a manner (hopefully) authentic and relevant to students’ media experience.
Teams of 3-4 students played New Super Mario Bros. Wii at a classroom station.
Teams were asked to win the most levels possible with [...]
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Posted 25 January 2010
† Chad
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Anecdote
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Also tagged: Authentic learning, Authentic work, Collaboration, Communication, Game-based learning, Instructional technology, Leadership, Learning with games, Lives lost: levels won metric, Meaning making, Relevance, Small-group gaming, Social learning, Social stories, Soft skills, Strategic thinking, Video games
Students engaged in creating media that they value mostly do so either outside of school or underground at school. Many teams of teachers and students create work together that both value, but too often the “fun stuff” is either cut out of the school day or limited to what @budtheteacher calls “semi-school environments” in [...]
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Posted 19 November 2009
† Chad
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Also tagged: Alfie Kohn, Authentic learning, Authentic work, Becky Fisher, Bud Hunt, Education reform, NCTE, NWP, Personal meaning, Semi-school environment, Standards, Student entrepreneurship, Student publication
I’m sure many of you are familiar with the TwitterKids of Tanzania – students tweeting in English with followers from around the world. I’m also sure many of you are much more adept than I am at breaking down the walls of the classroom with tools like Twitter, Skype, Google for Educators, wikis, [...]
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Posted 06 November 2009
† Chad
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Also tagged: Africa, Arusha, Authentic learning, Authentic work, Instructional technology, Interactive whiteboard, Plot structure, Relevance, Seesmic, Shepherd's Junior School, Tanzania, Twitter, Twitterkids
