Reflection: Scratch, a 21st century learning tool

What is Scratch?
Scratch is an interactive programming environment developed at MIT Media Lab by the Lifelong Kindergarten research group.

How it supports 21st century Learning
According to Learning with Scratch - 21st Century Learning Skills, this environment teaches the users: information and communication skills, thinking and problem solving skills, and interpersonal and self directional skills.

This type of programming environment, a user friendly game design interface, inspires learning in a new and creative way that is attractive to students. In addition to playing an online game, they have the opportunity to actually design and create a game around a particular subject.

My Reflection on Scratch
I think this program is a great tool to use because students have to use a variety of skills to put their game together: they need to build the codes themselves which will require research, planning, knowledge of subject matter, creativity and the possibility of collaboration in team assignments. In the process, as stated by Andreas Monroy-Hernandez and Mitchel Resnick in Empowering Kids to Create and Share Programmable Media, "they not only learn important math and computer science concepts, but they also develop important learning skills: creative thinking, effective communication, critical analysis, systematic experimentation, iterative design, and continual learning".

• Describe how using Scratch with students helps you as a teacher address the ISTE NETS-T Standards 1a:
• promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.

My reflection above describes how Scratch helps to address Standard 1a however, an additional powerful feature of Scratch that also applies is the user's ability to build on what other users have created. This feature allows the students to use their inventiveness and innovative thinking to either improve on an existing program or take it in a completely new direction while still giving credit to the original designer.

Game Example
Here is a game I found in Scratch called Lost in Chemistry. I'm still practicing my gaming skills so I haven't conquered it yet, however it is an excellent example of how useful Scratch can be in a given content area.

Find a CS0  (If you are social studies use the Next Generation CSO’s)and explain how the SCRATCH project might be evidence of student engagement with understanding of the content presented in the CSO.

Here is an excerpt of the Conceptual Chemistry CSO:
 Students will engage in active inquiries, investigations and hands-on activities for a minimum of 50% of the instructional time to develop conceptual understanding and research laboratory skills as they evaluate the academic requirements and prepare for occupational opportunities in biology, chemistry, engineering, and technology. Safety instruction is integrated into all activities. 

Lost in Chemistry could be used as evidence of student engagement with understanding under the conceptual chemistry CSO in that the goal of the game is to get through 'Chemistry land' without touching anything relating to chemistry thus it reinforces chemistry concepts, chemical formulas and molecules to be memorized, to name a few goals. There are also special chemical weapons that can be used to neutralize certain threats, which strengthens student knowledge of acid/base reactions.

Learning to create with Scratch

Scratch is an interactive program developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten research group at the MIT media lab. It provides an easy to use programming format to create your own stories, games and animations - and share/collaborate with others!

It looks like it would be fun to use in the classroom because it provides an easy way to build and make use of our creativity in a digital environment.

My first masterpiece: I call it,  "The Tutorial"

Video Conferencing

Video conferencing is an example of iste.nets.t standard 3c: Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats.

It is also relevant to standard 3d: Model and facilitate effective use of current and
emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research
and learning.

Video conferencing provides a much more flexible way to communicate with my students, their parents or my peers in that we need not be physically present to discuss topics. This is an excellent example of using 21st century media to overcome potential obstacles such as travelling distances, coordinating varied work schedules and bad weather.

An example of this would be my vacation to Hawaii. I'm a volunteer tutor and would still like to keep in touch with one of my learners, should she need any assistance. We set up a Google account, including the hangout option, on the facility computer so that I am available if needed.


Here is a brief youtube example of video conferencing at a school in Texas. I particularly liked the ending in which they talk about connecting to students in other countries as well as other facilities like the Smithsonian Institute. This is a powerful learning tool that will help enrich the learning experiences of our students, and ourselves.

My reflection: video games and learning

Assignment: How do these videos change or influence your thinking about games and learning in school? Include an online source that supports the use of video games in school

I provided 2 online sources supporting video games in schools: jointhecteam.com & edutopia.org.

Jointhecteam is a site that primarily focuses on creativity and understanding copyright rules. Although its emphasis is on understanding/teaching the fundamentals of intellectual property, it does include links to other technology centered websites such as Edutopia and sample lesson plans on integrating technologies in the classroom.

Edutopia is a site we commonly see in our instructional technology class. It's primary focus is to provide educators with opportunities and suggestions to integrate digital media and technologies in the classroom.


These videos helped to reinforce the changes I have already been making in my thinking toward the inclusion of video games in the 21st century classroom. Each video provided fresh insight into their potential learning power which is such a terrific concept, rather than following conventional wisdom to dismiss video games as strictly a leisure activity. A claim from each video that resonates with this position include:

• Video 1 - experiment: after approximately 10 hours of staggered gaming, a subject was able to perform better at spatial manipulation tasks...even up to 5 months later!  That's the kind of improvement and retention rate I would love to see in my students!

• Video 2 - The world is moving faster and becoming more interconnected as technology plays a larger role in our lives. An instructor, Ananth Pai, found that including video games in a curriculum he designed increased his students math and reading levels significantly in 18 months. The students thought learning was fun. Compelling results!

• Video 3 - a great possibility: no more formal assessments! Tests are awful, nobody likes them. What an intriguing idea to incorporate gaming concepts, such as immediate feedback thus the student takes on a more active and responsible role for their learning in a fun environment that will build the very skills we want to instill!    

Again, one of the statements in video 2 that really resonated with me was that we as teachers (and parents) need to enter the game, become one with it, understand it...because it is the future and it is how we can best connect with our kids and prepare them for tomorrow's world!

Earlier this semester, I became interested in the gaming/learning connection and actually purchased a game, Skyrim. I am not a gamer, but I wanted to experience it for that very reason I mention above. It was put aside due to my other tasks but I am motivated to try again...at least an hour a day.

Action Video Games: to play or not to play

The Assignment: Watch 3 video clips on gaming and do a short writeup

Video 1: Your Brain On Video Games

Major argument presented: Contrary to conventional wisdom, action video games are not necessarily bad for brain health. They can be a powerful tool for maintaining/increasing brain plasticity, learning, attention and vision.

Claims based on research data show that gamers are actually better than non-gamers in the following areas:

• better vision in 2 ways: resolving small details and distinguishing various shades of gray
• focusing their attention.  2 examples: can resolve cognitive conflicts faster and they are able to track a higher number of objects thus they could be more aware of their surroundings than non-gamers.
• multi-tasking - gamers are able to swiftly switch between tasks. Non-gamers that multi-task between different forms of multimedia did not perform as well as they expected they would.

Video 2: Gabe Zicherman - Gamification

Major argument presented: Gamification is here and it is the future of our world. Fundamentally, it is a continuous learning process that is being applied in a variety of ways, and its a good thing.

Gamification - The process of using game thinking and game mechanics to engage audiences to solve problems.

The claims:

• The Flynn Effect - IQs have been increasing since the 1990's, about the time video gaming started becoming popular. Coincidence?
• 5 things to do to make you smarter: seek novelty, challenge yourself, think creatively, do things the hard way and network. This is the basic pattern in today's video games.
• gamification is already being incorporated into our world and it will continue to become more and more enmeshed. ex. gaming concepts are being incorporated into today's hybrid cars to help drivers become eco-conscious.

I like the speakers prescription for helping to make our kids awesome: get into the game with them. Become one with the game, understand it because it is the future.

Video 3: Big Thinkers: Katie Salen on Learning with Games

How does playing or designing video games support the development of 21st century skills?

• develop skills in collaboration, team building, problem solving, explore new ways of doing/being in a forgiving environment to fail in - taking risks in games is ok.
• provides reachable challenges
• helps kids think about who is on the other end of the game. Thinking outside of themselves and how they're interacting with others
• kids know the game environment is designed for them to be successful
• provides community support (peers)
• provides assessment through constant feedback so the player will know how to improve 

On Learning Styles

This blog posting is fairly detailed and encompasses a variety of projects, assignments and reflections on Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences.  Included:

• Picasso Head drawing using Multiple Intelligence assessment and a brief description
• A teaching example using Nature Intelligence
• Claims identified in the Learning Styles Don't Exist and MI Theory videos
• My reflection on learning styles 

Nature Intelligence

I tested highest for Nature Intelligence, which is the major theme in my picasso drawing. The two other intelligences were Self and Logic. Self is shown in closed eyes, symbolizing reflection. The geometric body is a representation of logic. 

Unfortunately, I did not notice that Body Movement and Social were also ranked at the same level as logic so I'm either very balanced or very confused!

According to the assessment, a couple of ways to use my nature intelligence include:

• gardening 
• hiking

Both of these are already on my list of most favorite things to do!!

Here is an example of a teacher incorporating geocaching (Nature Intelligence) into science labs.
This teacher's original intent was to use GPS (and mobile GIS) technology in her geology lessons however, due to the versatility of these units, she also began to develop biology and chemistry lab applications, such as tree identification and stream health testing. I believe this is an excellent way to improve student learning because it incorporates new technologies that can be taken into the field to collect data. Students will have the opportunity to report and interpret their findings, which will keep them engaged in the scientific process and encourage life-long learning.



Videos and Their Claims

Identify a claim that makes the most sense to me re. why learning styles don't exist

Claim: Although it is true that different people have different preferences for receiving and retaining information, it is not true that optimal learning requires adherence to learning style theory. The nature of the content is what determines how it is to be presented to students. Incorporating a variety of instruction methods is good to peak interest and solidify concepts, but there is no evidence to support differentiating instruction to accommodate different learning styles.


Identify a claim that makes the most sense to me re. MI theory 

Claim: The 'One size fits all' conventional style of teaching does not work for true learning (retention of knowledge outside of school). Individuals have multiple intelligence styles therefore a variety of methods should be used in the classroom to engage all students. A paradigm shift is needed in how we approach the education process to make learning more productive.

Reflection on Learning Styles

As a teacher, I think it is important to know the preferred learning styles of my students because it will help me to engage them individually as well as present concepts is a richer, more balanced format. I do not believe students should be segregated or taught exclusively according to their learning style preferences, as some researchers suggest. Students should not be pigeonholed as we are all capable of learning under almost any style, no matter what our preference is (Clark, 2000).

Knowledge of my students' learning styles complements the approach of a content driven lesson presentation. I would use this approach to teach lessons in multiple ways when possible, for example, including videos, lab work, field work, lectures/readings, and group activities. Teaching a concept using multiple modalities reaches all students and helps to reinforce the ideas being presented. University Professor Howard E. Pashler states, "Some concepts are best taught through hands on work, some are best taught through lectures and some are best taught through group discussions." (as cited in Glenn, 2009)


References:
Clark, D. (2000, May 9). Big dog and little dog's performance juxtaposition. Retrieved from http://nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles.html

Glenn, D. (2009, December 15). Chronicle of higher eduacation. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Matching-Teaching-Style-to-/49497/

video notes and claims

Identify a claim that makes the most sense to me re why learning styles don't exist

Video notes
different people, different ways of learning
recall visual memories when thinking of pictures
recall sounds of people's voices
movement - remember an experience

visual learner, auditory learner. scientifically true people have difference preferences of receiving information
theory - explain or predict phenomena. experiment performed: visual learners - learn better from pictures
auditory learning - learn better from hearing
results don't prove above. hearing things or seeing things (experiment) taught descriptions, not meanings. in reality when asking someone to remember words, asking them to remember meaning. teachers want students to learn meaning, not descriptions.

Claim: Although it is true that different people have different preferences for receiving and retaining information, it is not true that optimal learning requires adherence to learning style theory. The nature of the content is what determines how it is to be presented to students. Incorporating a variety of instruction methods is good to peak interest and solidify concepts, but there is no evidence to support differentiating instruction to accommodate different learning styles.


Identify a claim that makes the most sense to me re MI theory 

sudents don't retain what they learn. needs to recreate data in own mind, interpretation to remember it
theory developed - human beings have different kinds of intellectual strengths: think logical, spatially, actively. our education system not fair to different ways of thinking.
everything can be taught, understood more than one way: variety of resources to learn/teach productively
science ex.: school priorities should be learn to think scientifically, not detail subject matter because it takes time to develop. instead of content based, choose something they're interested in and set about solving the problem: set up experiments, hypotheses, develop scientific method.
students not getting knowledge can actually use

assessments wrong. make expectations explicit then provide feedback. students internalize and learn from it, less and less feedback will be needed. student based vs. current teacher based system.  instead of traditional testing,  need variety of ways to demonstrate knowledge, not strictly traditional testing...addresses multiple forms of learning

Claim: The 'One size fits all' conventional style of teaching does not work for true learning (retention of knowledge outside of school). Individuals have multiple intelligence styles therefore a variety of methods should be used in the classroom to engage all students. A paradigm shift is needed in how we approach the education process to make learning more productive.