fitting for the fit?

24 hours in and I can still see the game as being useful in an early years class.  Granted the graphics are not likely to set any graphics designers running for a security blanket but the concept of the game could easily be used to develop core strength and gross motor skills.  Like many Wii games you create your own character and this is a straightforward process.  The game is set in an island resort and the premise of community fitness could be extended to the classroom.  Gamers use the balance board and/ or controllers and there are two difficulty levels and 10 activities to choose from, my favourite being the tribal dance.

Having come across the game 'Junior Fitness Trainer' for the Wii and thinking it could be interesting for an early years classroom, I had a quick look for reviews.  I found just one (via the redlaser app on my iphone) and it was hardly complimentary with comments regarding basic graphics and difficult to use controls.  Not being one who takes what I am told as gospel I decided to buy the game and hand it over to my guinea pigs (daughters) to test it out.


Like any resource, you need to know this game before you would use it in a classroom.  I wouldn't specifically  bring a wii into a classroom just for Junior Fitness Trainer, rather add it to an existing school/ class game collection as while it seems fun and there are possible curriculum links. I believe there are other resources more fitting to the purpose.  As an additional activity it's perfect, as a context for learning I'm not sold.

video: why bird

The TEDtalk video that I had posted onto my blog (see previous post) prompted my light-bulb moment about the Curriculum for Excellence Principle of Depth.


It's fascinating to listen to Sugata Mitra discuss his research and to read more about how it was conducted and the conclusions drawn from this.  My first reaction to Mitra's work was acceptance: I've always believed that children can be the best guides in their learning and I initially thought that this proved it.  The children were clearly finding their way around the computer systems and through trial and error they were able to progress through their learning identifying where they could go next.  


Learning in this manner is the form of learning that occurs every single day of our lives.   This, of course relates to the work of John Holt (1982) who describes the process of early childhood development as an intuitive process.  We know from the work of psychologists such as Spalding, Lorenz, Schmidt and others that there are some key factors that must be in place for this intuitive learning to develop.  Montagu would further state that there is no human process that can take place without learning " and, of course, Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs' which was developed from the viewpoint that in order to reach full potential one must have a range of needs met.


So how does this relate to the Sugata Mitra video and the principle of depth?  As a novice teacher it is all too easy to observe the classroom practice of an experienced class teacher and underestimate the role.  When time comes for development practice it becomes clear that there are a multitude of factors which you were simple unaware of.  As a novice teacher looking at Mitra's work it may be easy to believe that, given the right resources, children will teach themselves but put into practice and the multidimensional process of this becomes apparent.  Children may engage with new and exciting equipment and they will, undoubtedly, learn from the experience but our role as the teacher is to develop this into a growing understanding; to build skills that can be applied in many areas.  What research has shown us is that children can be extrinsically motived to learn but it is our duty to take that motivation and nurture it.  Children may provide the learning but we must provide the depth to make it worthwhile.

Sugata Mitra shows how kids teach themselves | Video on TED.com

QR Treasure hunt ppt TMSLF2010

This is an overview of the workshop I led at TM SLF

linoit wall

FYI

A great new feature had been added to BrainPOP UK: The FYI.

This will provide additional information for each subject and will act as an extension to Tim And Moby's movies.  To help launch this new feature BrainPOP asked for help with creating a movie showing FYI being said in as many different and creative ways as possible.

At the same time, I had been working with a group of p6/7 pupils on a digital movie making project.  When the children heard about the BrainPOP request they decided that that would be a great focus for part of the project.  They worked extremely well together to plan the movies and completed all three in just two afternoons.  When they discovered their contributions would be included they were very excited.  They have also won a six month BrainPOP UK subscription for the school.

Below is the final BrainPOP movie, we hope you enjoy watching!

sweetshop awe

Seven years old and standing in the sweetshop surrounded by jars of temptation.  The decision is the hardest choice you have had to make all week and a week is a long time when you are seven.  You have your favourites but how do you choose?

There are bright colourful sweets that promise to be taste like a Willy Wonka taster trial with bells and whistles and there are the hidden gems that don't look promising but have more depth than you realise.  

After being asked which blog platform would be best to use with students I am standing in the virtual equivalent of a blog shop surrounded by promises of ease of use, fuss free set up, support, moderation and so on.  How do I choose my favourite?  Surely it's blogger, you may ask as that is where I am posting this?  Yet that would ignore the other platforms that offer variations for users.  I asked on Twitter what others use and have come up with a list of popular choices.  

As the blog is for educationalist use I am including Edublogs, Creativeblogs and Glow Blogs (Scotland only).  Wordpress, Blogger and Posterous are the favourites from my twitter network.

Edublogs - Edublogs is described as "safe, secure and reliable" and has many features beneficial for educational use including a guarantee of no adult content.  This feature not only provides safety for young users but it also means it is less likely to be on the blocked list in schools which is an eternal hazard when using anything web based. The downside is that the free version is limited in features: you do not get mobile blogging, video embedding or plugins which all enhance the blogging experience greatly.  The main benefit is the secure environment and this will be more appealing to those who are wary of blogs.

I have two examples of edublogs and how they can be used: the first is from @drewburrett and can be found at http://drewburrett.edublogs.org/

The second is from @MrBTec and can be found at http://teachmetekkie.com/

Creativeblogs - Creativeblogs are another educational blog provider.  They provide full set up and training in your school with follow up support and further training.  The set up and training that they provide sets them apart from other providers.  As the blogs are only available for education you need to contact the CreativeBlogs team to set up a blog.  You can do so by emailing john@creativeict.co.uk or you can find him on twitter  @HGJohn

Creativeblogs are hosts of wordpress and as such have all the word press features.  (also see wordpress)

An example of how Creativeblogs can be used can be found on Joanne's page http://joannec23.creativeblogs.net/

Glow Blogs - Glow blogs are also wordpress based blogs.  They can sit inside glow and only be accessed by people within the same establishment, all glow users or anybody depending on the privacy setting chosen.  Many schools in Scotland are now using Glow and the incorporation of blogs will encourage their use.  Like other educational targeted blogs, using glow blogs can provide reassurance for those who are wary of using blogs in education. (Also see wordpress)

An example of a glow based blog will be added here shortly.

Wordpress - wordpress can be set up as an online blog through wordpress.com, through a webhost or under your own domain.  Wordpress has many advantages and additional features which make the blogging experience as unique as you wish.  Tagging and categories are also very easy to use on wordpress.  It is very reliable and simple. In the words of Bill Lord wordpress seems "idiot-proof".  There is a great mobile format and posting both blog entries and comments is straightforward.  Wordpress is more than just a blogging tool and can be your own webspace with multiple pages.   You can also back up your wordpress blog.

Example wordpress blogs:

Tim - http://classroomtales.com/

2Simple - http://2simpleblog.wordpress.com/

Bill Lord - http://lordlit.wordpress.com/

Posterous - Posterous is so easy to set up it's unbelieveable, all you do is send an email to post@posterous.com and they send you your blog link.  That is it.  The format is simple and there are also additional features including tagging and a mobile version.

Examples of posterous blogs -

Mark Allen - http://edintheclouds.posterous.com/

Joanne - http://joannec23.posterous.com/

Blogger - Blogger has many features that I like and draft blogger has improved my blogger experience with new features such as the stats area which is something that was quite lacking from the site.  The main benefit of blogger is the google intergration for all things google related.  Tagging is a feature that I under use on blogger and I find it just plain annoys me at times.  Speaking from experience if you add third party widgets to your blog you can end up with hours of unravelling to recover your work.  

examples of blogger blogs (apart from this one obviously)

Tecnoteach - http://tecnoteacher.blogspot.com/

Juliet - http://creativestarlearning.blogspot.com/

Maybe the solution is Ip Dip...

Where do you blog?  Do you use one of the platforms mentioned or another?