Scratch

Scratch is a multimedia tool that can be used by students, teachers, and parents for a range of educational and entertainment purposes from educational projects such as maths, to fun projects involving art and music etc. Mandy showed us an introduction video to it and then gave us a step by step guide and we had to create our own animation based on set instructions.  After having a go myself I would say that scratch is most suitable for people aged between 8-16 years old and this can again be backed up by the fact it is used in education all over the world. Personally I didn't enjoy using it as I found it quite hard to use and follow the instructions however I can see the reason behind it and how it would be useful in education. 

"Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively; which are essential skills for life in the 21st century"

Games Day

Our last lesson took place in the Mumbles room, where we had the opportunity to try out different types of gaming consoles and technology. There was 5 gaming stations in total set out around the room and in groups we all went around each station spending about 15 minutes playing on the games.  Once we had played each game we were asked to fill in an evaluation form explaining what we liked and disliked about the game and how we think it could help within the educational environment.  As I enjoy playing some game especially on the Nintendo Wii, I found this lesson really enjoyable and fun.

The 5 games we got to try out were:

• Wii sport - including tennis, bowling, golf, boxing and many more
• adventure land (xbox connect)
• doctor who (on a tablet)
• just dance ( Nintendo Wii)
• mystery game (Ipad)
• 
  

After this lesson I have learnt that a lot of these games and consoles could definitely be incorporated in the educational classroom environment, and I think most children would become more engaged in learning if they were to play and experiment with all of these.

Techno Camps

On Tuesday my class visited the Liberty Stadium to take part in a project called Technocapms. Unfortunately I could not attend, howeveri have been able to do some back round research to see what it the trip was all about. Techno camps provide free workshops to students to give them the opportunity to learn about in depth computer science and STEM. The work shops run include game design, programming, robotics, app development and much more. 

"It is about getting young people (11-19 years) in Wales excited about Computer Science and STEM and challenging them to think about the world around them in a different way." 

Gaming Debate

In our last session we had to discuss the pros and cons of gaming in education in the formal structure of a debate, we had to decide if there is in fact a place for gaming in education. We were put into two teams, one for online gaming and the other against, then there was two judges that would listen to each teams options and arguments either for or against the topic and decide on a winner. I was in the team that was against online gaming, and we actually one the debate. Evan though I am for online gaming and using it within the educational setting, the arguments my team came up with for why is it can be bad were really good and some of which I do agree with. It was good to listen to the other teams arguments for the topic and learn about reasons why online gaming within education is a good thing, and how it can be really benefcial including it in education.

My Game... Save Christmas

Bow Street Runner

Today in Mandy's lesson we were all put into groups and each group was given an online 
game to play, evaluate and assess. I thought being able to actually play the games ourselves to evaluate was exciting and was actually looking forward to trying the game out. The game that we were given to play was off the Channel 4 website called 'Blow Street Runner'. Here is a little overview about the background to the game which is:  

Blow Street Runner is set in London's Covent Garden in the 1750's and depicts a time when crime and vice in the city had hit such high levels that the local Magistrates began to introduce the first instances of physical policing of law and order.

The game started off with a little introduction to a story of a man being murdered, however you do not learn how or why this man was murdered. After the story i knew that the aim of the game was going to be trying to solve the murder mystery. I don't really like these kind of games and it showed as it took my nearly the whole lesson to just get past the first level. This is the image that is given and you have to look around it for clues:

I felt like there wasn't enough information given as to how to progress and go onto further stages. However at the end of the lesson Mandy showed us how we could have accessed the cheats, which showed you exactly what to do on each level. So maybe I could have gone further than level 2 in the lesson if id known these!! 

Overall I really didn't enjoy this game even though I didn't really play much of it, I felt I couldn't get into it after the first stage and found myself getting extremely bored of playing it. I wouldn't recommend the game to any of my friends either! However I do think that this game would be more suitable and enjoyed more by boys, maybe of an age range of 10+. 

To conclude I feel that this game could be good in some ways towards education for example it is has an Historical setting and theme so children can learn what it was like in this era. Also as the game evolves solving a mystery so children can gain and improve their problem solving soling skills to some extent. I do feel however that there are better games out there can enable children to progress with these skills and would say that I think this is more of a game to play in your spare time just for fun and not mainly educational. 

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Education Futures Task

After ending my last module that included creating this blog I really didn't think that I’d ever be back on here blogging again. I didn't take this as one of my choices of subjects and was a bit sceptical and worried about doing it. However after my first lecture Mandy was very reassuring in saying that she is there to help whenever, and that others are in the same position, and just to take the everything one step at a time and it’ll all come together. So now after learning what the whole module is about I’m happy I was placed on it, and am quite excited to start it, and to begin blogging again. 

We have been set a task by Mandy to complete, which is:-

 'Over the last decade there have been vast changes in the way we live, learn and work, and with the advancement of technology and new learning tools, these things will continue to evolve. Today’s learners need new skills to survive and thrive in the future. Education should combine practical, intellectual, and social skills as never before'. What do you feel about the statement above? What does this mean for learning environments? How has technology impacted teaching and learning?

I think that learning environments have changed, and as the years go on they will only be greatly evolving vastly within the usage of incredibly more technological things. When I was in primary school I can remember the day when the first ITC room was opened, it was one very small room which wasn’t big enough to hold the entire class so everyone mainly shared the computers when we had activities to complete, or we had to take it in turns to use them individually. Thinking of this now and how we had to share the computers seems so strange, comparing it to how today's ICT rooms are built and equipped with a vast number of computers that enable everyone to have access to one during the lessons.  Within this one room the computers were so bulky with a massive back to the screen, which made it awkward for them to be moved around and tilted to suite your eye level. The screens to these computers were terrible; I remember them being blurry and would always flicker! But even with these annoying things nobody really cared, we just loved the fact that we had computers in our school.

As I went onto comprehensive school the technology became much more advanced, I remember there were still a few old computers in some of the ICT rooms, but were all eventually replaced with new flat screen computers. Everyone was amazed over them! I remember telling my dad he had to buy me one because I could only complete my homework on that type of computer, which he believed and bought me one. This then just became the norm where mostly everyone had flat screen computers in their homes.

Now when I look back and think about the technology that was available for me, it’s crazy that today in most primary and secondary schools they now have Ipads

 and extremely more advanced and high-tech computers for pupils to use. Technology, in my opinion has impacted learning in a good way and has made the whole aspect of learning for many pupils and students more interesting and enjoyable. It has made a great impact on those with learning difficulties, where some find it easier to complete work without the need to hand write things ECT.

Even though technology is an amazing part of pupils and students education, it can be used as an easier alternative. Some children can become addicted to using the computers and will prefer to stay on them than go out into the playground at play times. Which can have a great impact on their social lives, because this addiction and be taken home with them where there chose to stay indoors and just play on games on their computers. In order for technology in my opinion to work well within education, there must be a fine between the use of it helping children to improve their learning, and then the over use of it, which will lead to children missing out on learning by hands on activities such as arts and crafts. Technology should be used overall in moderation within education; children still need to have fun though general interaction instead of being glued to a computer screen.

Online Gaming

Today I have been asked to discuss and think about my feelings and opinions towards online gaming. When I was little me and my brother loved playing on our Sega Mega and I remember us being addicted to this one game, that my mum could never get us off! It was a multi-player game where you competed against each-other to complete levels in the fastest times. This game was in no way educational and think maybe if it was in some ways my mum wouldn't have minded us playing it so much. I think this maybe how a lot of parents may also think. Some of the online games children can play today are so intense, with fighting, drugs and contain bad influential material I can understand how some people can think that online gaming can be bad.

Online gaming can really be an amazing and enjoyable thing but at the same time it can be extremely addictive and dangerous. Some addictive games could include online gambling where some people will play for real money, and get so draw in and addicted to the game can end up loosing at lot if money! However it is so convenient for them to just log on with their laptop or phone even that I can understand how people do it, even if it's just for the mere fact of boredom. Every single day I see more and more people of all ages on their phone's or tablets playing some kind of game like angry birds, fruit ninja or candy crush. All of these games can be enjoyable and innocent if played in moderation. So many people become addicted to these games and will play them for hours on end trying to complete them. Surely this cannot be good for their health, I know kids that will purely just stay at home as soon as they get home from school and play online games for hours! This kind of approach to gaming I think is so unhealthy as the children or even adults in some cases are shutting themselves off from the real world, and are unable to socialise with other people by actually meeting them not talking over the internet. Also some of the intense games that are being played are horrifically violent and may include graphic sexuality and allow you to kill others take drugs and steal. I know it sounds stupid but there is a possibility that playing these games could initially make some people think that it's okay for these types of things to actually happen in real life, or if they are getting away with these crimes on the game may feel like they could in real life as well. I know it seems mad to think it but you don't really know how some people think!! Online gaming is also linked to obesity, increasing depression, poor grades, addictive behavior and increased aggression or violence.

So although as you can probably tell I do have some strong disagreements with these types of games to a certain extent, I also feel that there are games which can be beneficial and make your brain work and think faster. For example there are so many different apps you can download now to help your memory and brain E.g. Brain trainer or sudoku. Brain trainer lets you answer all different questions, complete puzzles and even tell you your brain age after completing a level these types of games all help your cognitive ability.

Using online games within schools that are educational to the subject being taught can be very beneficial.

What is the purpose of games in education?

• Motivating

• Thinking skills

• Challenging

• Problem solving

• Mathematical Skills

• Language Skills

In addition to the above I have also found out that apart from just being fun, playing video games can reduce stress, lighten depression, increase vision, improve the ability to multi-task and improve decision-making skills.

There are so many positives and negatives to online gaming but I believe the negatives may just consist of the older more violent games that children are playing. I believe that in a few years every school will have Ipad’s or some kind of tablet packed with educational online games. If children are able to put as much time, effort and concentration into the games they play surely there’s a way get the same results with educational games :)