New Tools for All Teachers(Game Theory)--Partially Online Fall 2006
 Rockland Teachers' Center
Mike Frerichs
Bardonia Elementary School Library Media Center
Course Description

Class Wiki Page for Presentations

Class Agendas with links and resources

November 8 & 15, 2006

  1. Class Review:
    Lesson Plans using  learning games.

    Research into the value of video games.

  2. A checklist from the Simpson article for evaluating learning games.

  3. Blue Web'n and Filamentality

    http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/

  4. 2006 Geography Cup

    http://www.geographycup.com/ 

    "Geography competition puts US in its place"  Sydney Morning Herald  December 1, 2004. http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Geography-competition-puts-US-in-its-place/2004/11/30/1101577487028.html# 
    Accessed November 13, 2006.

  5. Additional Sites to Review

    • http://www.constitutioncenter.org/kidinteractive/final.html 

    • Power to Learn   http://powertolearn.com/games/index.shtml Cablevision's Power to Learn contains a variety of learning games that use Macromedia Flash.

    • PBS Kids Web License    Learn Internet safety skills and facts about the Internet.

    • Quiz Tree http://www.quiz-tree.com Quiz Tree contains dozens of interactive quizzes on topics such as Elementary Math, Fractions, Spanish, Geography, SAT Verbal and Spelling. Some of the quizzes include audio clips and graphics. All quizzes feature animated interface, feedback sounds and other enhancements that make learning more enjoyable. New content is added periodically and educators are encouraged to contact Quiz Tree with requests for new quizzes on topics useful to their students.

    • The Brain Explorer  http://www.exploratorium.edu/brain_explorer/   If you're looking for meaningful enrichment activities in the form of challenging, yet entertaining games and puzzles, this may be just what you need. The riddles, illusions, and other mental adventures are taken from the Brain Explorer, a book written for children from age 9 to 12. Brain-bending games include Memory Solitaire, Welcome to the Third Dimension, and Jumping to Conclusions. Some are entirely "on-line interactive," while others require some effort with paper and pencil. Created by the Exploratorium.

    • iKnowthat.com This site has a lot of ads, but the learning games are very good.

    • DiscoveryKids http://kids.discovery.com/  Interactive fun tied to the channel's programs, plus games, fan sites, and cool learning sites by topic.

    • Games from NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration offers an excellent variety of learning sites.

    • Around the World with Jeff Animal Planet: Students must answer wildlife trivia questions to help Corwin get from Indonesia, where he is shooting photos, back to his home in Boston, Mass.

    • Kid’s Clubhouse Brain Teasers Houghton Mifflin’s Education Place poses new brain teasers each week.  They include:  riddles, logic problems, and story problems that deal with mathematics. 

    • Fake Out Houghton Mifflin’s Education Place presents definitions for vocabulary words.  Students try to avoid being “faked out” by choosing the correct definitions.

    • Science Activities http://www.smm.org/explore/  An excellecn collection of science activities from the Science Museum of Minnesota.

  6. Student Presentations

     

 

November 1, 2006

  1. Class Review:
    QUIA

    MarcoPolo.

    cMaps.
    UNC-Greensboro ECON 201 Course taught entirely as a game.
    Evaluating a site for child safety.

    Arcademic Skill Builders http://arcademic.altec.org/ .

    Student and teacher generated web pages and tools.

  2. Lesson Plans using  learning games.

  3. Research into the value of video games.

  4. Blue Web'n and Filamentality

    http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/

 

October 25, 2006

  1. Class Review:
    QUIA

    MarcoPolo

    cMaps

  2. University of North Carolina-Greensboro ECON 201 Course taught entirely as a game.
    See Campus Technology article http://campustechnology.com/article.asp?id=18941 
    See also SimCity http://simcity.ea.com/ 

  3. Evaluating a site for child safety.

  4. Arcademic Skill Builders http://arcademic.altec.org/ 

  5. Student and teacher generated web pages and tools:

October 18, 2006

  1. Class Review:

    QUIA

    MarcoPolo

     

     

  2. Concept Maps as a Tool For Teaching

     

    Burke Video

    • James Burke and the "Trigger Effect."

    KnowledgeWeb Project

    Smithsonian Site on James Burke

    Implications for Education of Burke's "Web" Theory of Innovation

     

    Concept Maps Go to School

     

    IHMC CMap Tools Home

 

October 11, 2006

  1. Class Review:

    What do Google and slime mould have in common?

     

  2. Useful Article: 
    Simpson, Elizabeth S.      "What Teachers Need to Know about the Video Game Generation."  TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning;     Sep/Oct2005, Vol. 49 Issue 5, p17-22, 6p  Ebsco: Professional Development Collection.  October 11, 2006 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&AN=19511589& site=ehost-live

     

  3. Marco Polo: As a resource for ideas.

    1. Introduction

    2. Sign in

      Online Roster

    3. Links to Marco Polo

      MarcoPolo New York

      MarcoGrams

    4. Sample Lessons:  Worksheet 

      MarcoPolo Hot Links 

    5. MarcoPolo Search Engine

    6. MarcoPolo Partner Web Site Explorations

    7. Wrap Up/Reflection

    8. At completion

      Survey

  4. Preview of next class:

    Concept Maps as a Tool For Teaching

    Concept Maps Go to School

    IHMC CMap Tools Home

 

October 4, 2006:

Rule #1  Never duplicate your efforts.  If somebody else has done it, link to their work.

QUIA

Recommended Reading

Emergence by Steven Johnson

Article: http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s189608.htm