Autonomous Learning Through Games!

A game that I think is extremely interactive and engaging for English language learners is Trace Effects. I played Chapters 1 and 2 of the game the first time I encountered it. Then a day later I played Chapters 1-3. I had a lot of fun playing the game but it did take playing the first chapter to get used to it. I had to learn how to navigate a choice of actions and spoken options. Also, I spent a lot of time learning how to navigate the character and interact with others. The game poses enough of a challenge for it not to be overly easy; however, it is very clear on what you need to do and how you should do it. There are a lot of options for English use between the actions which emphasize different verbs and the spoken options which emphasize pragmatic competence.

 

One specific language learning objective for students playing this game (specifically Chapter 1) would be to be able to identify vocabulary concerned with American universities. For Chapter 2 the objective for the students would change to identifying vocabulary used at farmers markets. This could include various listening and reading comprehension skills because the game forces students to read the information on the screen and also to listen to what the characters say in order to gather all the information necessary to complete each step. This is a great learning tool for English language learners because it shows some of the everyday elements and environments in the daily lives of many Americans. It also provides the students with a chance to have certain sections of the video or character speech repeated back to them. Additionally, there is  appropriate feedback when a student chooses the wrong option. The other characters in the game react differently to various answer choices and it reflects real life situations and pragmatics very well. I could assess whether learning objectives have been met by monitoring student progress as they complete the game and receive feedback at the end of each chapter. I could also have them show me what they have learned by having students role play the situations they encountered in the game. I could assess their navigation of both vocabulary and pragmatic competence by observing role play interactions.

Overall, I think this is a really fun and engaging game with a lot of relevance to everyday life and situations in America. I hope my future students will also find it a fun way to learn and practice their language skills!

Escape the Room Games- Phantasy Quest!

Over the past week, I have been exploring the concept of gamification. I have seen and experienced the use of games in the classroom but had not come across the term, gamification, until recently. According to the article, 7 Things You Should Know About Gamification, the term gamification can be defined as, "the application of game elements in non-gaming situations, often to motivate or influence behavior." In general, there are many reasons for the support of gamification for language learning. Specifically, gamification provides ways for students to build connections with one another and also to provide an engaging and interactive way for students to participate in their own education. It is both rewarding and pleasing at the same time which allows for students to enjoy learning. With language students, it can provide concentrated practice on specific areas or a whole language approach depending on the game. Additionally, gamification allows language learners to use graphics and visual aids to assist their learning along with the chance to interact with others.

Over the past few days I have tried several different games, specifically "escape the room" games. One game that I especially liked is Phantasy Quest. I have played it twice, once without the walkthrough and once with it. After playing the game both ways, I would have to say that the walkthrough is definitely necessary in order to prevent frustration. Playing around without the walkthrough could be a fun initial activity for students to get used to how the game works, however, it is definitely necessary for completing the game without getting frustrated to the point of quitting.

The language learning objectives for students playing this game would be to be able to recognize beach/nature vocabulary along with being able to give and understand directions. The role of the teacher during this activity would include verbally giving directions to the students using an appropriately modified version of the walkthrough. The point of verbal directions for the walkthrough would be to increase listening comprehension for both giving and receiving directions. The teacher can provide the directions using North, East, South, and West vocabulary or simply Up, Down, Right, and Left depending on the teacher's preference. The students would be actively involved because the game provides many different ways for the students to interact with the environment on the screen. After the initial walkthrough by the teacher, the students can even use the game to create their own set of directions for what they want the character to do. Then the students can practice giving and receiving various directions with a partner. Images from the game could be used by the teacher to reference vocabulary and possibly draw out a map for students to reference directions in the classroom. One specific way for the teacher to assess learning objectives is by looking at the progress of the students while the walkthrough is presented. If the students understand the directions then they will be able to follow the directions on the screen for the teacher to see. However, if the students do not have listening comprehension for directions and the vocabulary then they will not be able to complete the steps as said by the teacher. The teacher should walk around the classroom to assess the progress of the students in relation to each direction of the walkthrough that is presented.

Overall, I thought this was a really fun game and it provides the students with a lot of different options for interacting within the game. I think it would be a great way to work on both vocabulary and directions with students!

Classroom Tweets!

This past week I have learned a lot about Twitter in relation to teaching. I gained a lot of important information from two articles titled, A Must Have Guide on Using Twitter in your Classroom and Primary Perspective. These articles each provided tips and examples of how to use twitter in the classroom.

In A Must Have Guide on Using Twitter in your Classroom, there are a lot of great ideas for ways to use Twitter with your students. The site notes different areas where Twitter can be useful, including communication, organization, resources, and writing skills. The site then demonstrates different ways in which a teacher can promote these elements of education using Twitter. There are a couple great suggestions for using Twitter as communication that I really liked. For example, using Twitter as a way to have open office hours at all times of the day. Also, it can be used to silence students who often blurt out comments because now they can tweet them instead. A unique idea provided on this site is to use Twitter as a way to keep parents notified and up to date on what their children are learning. I think this is a great idea because it allows parents to feel involved and it provides them a chance to be a part of their child's learning and also connect easily with the teacher.

In Primary Perspective, the author discusses how she used Twitter with her 1st grade class. She uses a lot of graphics with her writing in order to show exactly how she did different things with Twitter for her class. It was very helpful to see the exact ways in which she Tweeted with her students. It provided a lot of insight into making the classroom a global experience. I like that she used Twitter to contact both parents of her students and professionals in different fields that her class was studying. She specifically states that she uses Twitter to show her students that they have a voice and that the world is listening to it. I liked this idea a lot and I liked that her students were able to learn about various perspectives and cultures. I think this would be a great tool for the ESL classroom because it allows for a global perspective and can help facilitate intercultural competence through Twitter.

Overall, I would love to use Twitter with my future ESL students. I think it could make the classroom a really interactive place and allow students to form global perspectives. This would be a great idea especially in the middle or high schools when students most likely will already have Twitter accounts of their own. It is a great way to keep in contact with students and learn from professionals all around the world!

Twitterchat Chaos!

A few days ago I joined Twitter. After joining, I tried a Twitterchat for the first time ever. I chose to attend the Educational Technology Chat, #edtechchat, from 7-8pm EST on Mondays. I arrived on the chat page a few minutes early to prepare myself. I was not sure at all what was going to happen. At 7 the chat began and I started to realize why Twitterchats are such useful resources for professional development. The moderator began the chat by signaling a question with the symbol Q1. This helped me to establish what the conversation was going to be about and allowed me to think of something to say. I did not know a lot about the subject which was STEM schools and students. After watching the chat for a little while I finally figured more out about the subject and asked a few questions that pertained to ESL. It was a great experience to learn more about a subject that I did not know well. This is just one great way that Twitterchats provide professional development. I found it very challenging to keep up with the chat while also trying to write my own posts or respond to others posts. I hesitated to send my first Tweet but it was really exhilarating when someone responded to it. I felt like my voice was heard and that I was an important part of the chat because people cared about my contribution. Part way through I was given the chance to identify myself as a first time user of Twitterchat. At this point a lot of the users made Tweets welcoming me to the chat. The moderator himself even wrote a Tweet that welcomed me and encouraged others to follow me. I gained about 14 followers from the chat and felt appreciated. It was a really inspiring and interesting experience. Feeling so welcome definitely made a difference. It allowed me to open up, be comfortable, and enjoy an experience that I was hesitant about at first. The fact that I felt very comfortable sharing my thoughts and asking questions is another reason why I would definitely use this as a source of professional development. Overall, I would definitely use Twitterchat again for professional development because it was a really fun experience and I did learn a lot about a topic of which I knew very little.