Joe's Blog

  So much goes into educating children. They need to feel engaged, comfortable, and confident if learning is to take place. Although different elements change throughout time, these three fundamentals remain the same. Technology has changed so much in such a short amount of time, that many components of it are quickly being adopted as new literacies—several of which are proving to be profoundly successful. It takes effort, diligence, and vigilance on an educator’s part to determine what will work and what will not. This course has really opened my eyes to how many ways students can be reached through technology and media just as effectively—if not more so—than textbooks and standardized curriculum.   Peppler & Glosson (2013) state “that the tools we use and make available play a formidable role in shaping our conceptual understandings and moreover that new tools can bring clarity to concepts that are often challenging” (pg. 148). The new media we have reviewed offers int...

Until I thought about it, I never really considered myself a “gamer,” in the sense that I sit in front of a computer screen with a headset for hours trying to master level after level while communicating with people online. Yet, I do find myself on my phone playing Angry Birds occasionally while a significant amount of time passes. The point is, online gaming has become a gigantic part of popular culture for all sorts of people. Kids especially love gaming. Teachers are recognizing this, and it is even being engrained into school curriculum. On the topic of gaming, James Paul Gee states that “For humans, real learning is always associated with pleasure, is ultimately a form of play” (Gee, 2013, pg. 316). With the vast number of educational games that are available, gaming is quickly becoming a welcomed new literacy. The game I have chosen to focus on is “Kahoot.” Currently, I use it with my first graders to help me assess their knowledge of the basic ELA skills I am teaching them. Th...