Games in the classroom

Recently, i played games on the Wii where one needs to use their body to play. Among them, there was  Fifa soccer which makes you use the remote and shake it instead of the traditional buttons used on a controller or a computer. It keeps the player more in tune to the game and actually makes them pay attention more. It provides for more difficult gameplay, but the user can get a more in game feel. This technology can be used for my degree in Earth Sciences, if there were a game that required one to build a landscape such as Minecraft.
In my game however, the person could use the Wii remotes and actually physically do all of the digging and building with their body. This would provide a more real life approach to the game, show the player what it takes to build and dig, thus proving a more physical approach to the game as well. Through this, they could learn how the earth affects us, and how we affect it. The simulation of night and day is a great idea because it makes the player feel like they are in the game. With the Wii remotes, and use of their body, they could get a hang of how the game would really be in real life, showing a more realistic gameplay.

Reflections of Assistive Technologies

In The Case of Josh from the video, the machine that he uses says what is happening in the books and shows him that it is not only okay to speak and say what is going on, but it also explains exactly what is happening without him having to speak. Through this, it gets him to understand what is going on, and involves him by having him participate in what he is saying. For a student with autism, this is crucial for their development. Students with autism are often unwilling to participate and have certain limitations that don't allow them to, or make it hard for them to communicate with others, even teachers.

The teacher from the video was very clever to use this assistive technology to get him more out of his "shell." Once using the machine for a few weeks, everyone began to see progress with him in terms of communication. Most autistic students in his situation would have just been put in a special classroom where the teachers just baby sat them, rather than actually helping with his disability. By getting him involved in the program, it helped all aspects of his life with communication. He began to look his teacher in the eye, and even communicate somewhat with other classmates.

Assistive technologies can help students with disabilities who wouldn't normally be able to communicate or participate in regular classroom settings, and really do bridge the gaps from having potential to actually releasing that potential for the world to see. Once he started building skills, just by simply pointing at the pictures that he heard the voice say, he began to build confidence and be more open to seeing and participating in the books. After he got past pointing, he began to even speak with the voice until he no longer needed it. That is an extreme amount of progress for a kid who wouldn't even look at his teacher. Not only does the assistive technology build skills for him, but it also builds confidence and shows him that he can do it, and feel more comfortable in a classroom setting. Thus, allowing him to be more open to learning and being an active participant in class.

Blow up the grade book

School bells and changing from room to room was originally invented to simulate the industrial work place. If they can make these changes for preparing students for their future work, then they can surely change the system again to prepare students for their future. Technology has changed quite a bit over the last few years, and the old way is not necessarily the correct way anymore. We as teachers and society need to rebuild the system so that it helps the students not only to better their education, but also as a more realistic way of learning and dealing with our always changing technological world. 

Homework is always necessary because it gets the kids to think outside of school when they are not forced to learn by the confines of the school. However, there are many innovative ways to get the kids to want to learn the material better, and make it more interesting for them. For Example, the 3D Game Lab is perfect for this. It takes something boring like making a blog or a profile, and guides you through it while still being somewhat enjoyable. At least, more enjoyable than when being forced to sit down and create one for homework due the next day. Due dates are not necessary as long as the student is old enough to make the choice of when they want to do it, as long as they do it. However, one flaw in this is for the procrastinators like myself, who will wait to the last second to do all this work. The choice can be overwhelming, but in the end, life is all about personal choice. So what better way is there to prepare a student for their adult life? '

School structures should be changed, and with the technological age expanding everyday, computers, and different types of technology should be implemented in all classes. The tools available over the internet are certainly more accurate and useful than most tools we use in the classroom today. Everything we need is at the tip of our fingers, it'd be stupid not to utilize what we need in a fast, efficient way.