#WeirdEd Chris from Brooklyn and I was more PC game than video game, but I can still do reasonably well in certain Mario Karts against a certain 5 year old
And I LOVE browser-based escape-the-room games from Japan where you, like, click around to find a stick and a string and a magnet or something to get the key out of the air vent. #weirdED
Paul from Colorado. Absolute favorite: Donkey Kong Country 2 Modern Favorite: Fallout: New Vegas Latest Obsession: GTA5 (I’m always a couple years behind. Cheaper that way) #WeirdEd
#WeirdEd Thomas Mision, Just graduated (probably still a few hoops to jump b4 I get license), MN. Um, lotsa video games, but right now, I love God of War/Dad of Boy/Dad of War
#WeirdEd Hello! rebecca, dominican republic, meanest hardest teacher ever, and my shift key is broken. I am one of the world's top MYST nerds and have the constructed language fan calligraphy to prove it.
I’m torn between wanting to play God of War this summer, and my need to go back and play all the other entry’s in the series first, since I feel like I’m missing out. #WeirdEd
#WeirdEd Let's get into it!
Q1 How do you feel about incorporating video games into your classroom? Feel free to define video game as widely or narrowly as you like
before we get started, I have to drop a book recommendation about storytelling and gaming: Extra lives by tom bissell. read it. I command you. #weirdEd
#WeirdEd Finished it yet? I'm kinda lost on what to play after finishing story mode. Taking on the last bonus boss, Queen of the Valkyries. She lives up to her title. XD
#WeirdEd
a1) LOVE integrating video games. Problem solving, critical thinking, abstract and linear logic, engaging. And now, it’s totally practical to integrate gaming for students both as consumers and video game creators (even as young as K with @codesparkapp )
A1: meh. I love the idea of writing about them. I've wanted to bring in a game they don't know, have them play it, and them write about the experience, preferably poetry #WeirdEd
A1 I got a grant for MinecraftEDU two years ago and LOVED it. The kids were so engaged - digital citizenship opps everywhere! They had to play nice/collaborate. Also did pixel art & built landforms. #weirded
A1. If we are playing in class? Sure, as long as it applies. Outside of class...ehhhh...we don’t all have the same platforms at home (and some don’t have *any*)... #weirded
What about choose your own adventure video games? Focus on students making choices and how they build on each other. Probably shouldn't use Leisure Suit Larry as our example though #weirdED
A1: Last couple of years, we’ve created and coded our own video games. I introduce the project by letting the kids play Mega Man 2 on my old NES. So. Much. Dying. #WeirdEd
A1: I've done minecraft and portal but they become a tool with very specific academic goals and criteria to meet. When the game becomes the focus rather than a tool, the point is lost #WeirdEd
A1 mixed, in some cases like with Bloxels, I see a way to build from student interest and create motivating opportunities but it can’t be forced, besides some things should just remain untampered with, its the Ss space and they don’t always need me to try to shove 1/2 #WeirdEd
Sprites! Making those little images with blocks. Loved that. Now it so much simpler to create graphics. Miss those days of hours of coding (again not what I called it then) #WeirdEd
#WeirdEd A1 Hmm... Depends on what you need it for. As a gamer, It'd be difficult to separate my gamer from teacher. At the same time, the immersive experience can be a model/mentor text of sorts, esp for creative writing, character development
A1 I played the 1997 classic RIVEN with my classes as a way to get them thinking through writing and it was one of my favorite units of all time. OF ALL TIME. #weirded
A1 Video game references? All the time. Bring them in to play on lunch or where appropriate? Absolutely. Base pedagogy around it? Ehhhh...that’s where I get off the train. #weirdED
#WeirdEd Remember, this is a chat, not a quiz. So you're not really answering me, you're putting things into the chat and responding and building threads
I sit in the back of the room and laugh/video them on the struggle bus with my phone while they die numerous times before getting past their first enemy. #WeirdEd
Students have a visceral experience when they play video games. Seymour Papert pushes the notion of constructivism and (in the 70’s) saw gaming as the obvious on ramp for students. I couldn’t agree more in the modern era. #WeirdEd
#WeirdEd A1 I can use them as Instructional Materials, as mediums through which I can model certain concepts (for example, the growth of Kratos & Atreus throughout GoW 2018 for char dev/cause-effect...), but a whole curriculum? Naw.
This would've been much later. It was a windows game. Launchers missiles at aliens ships. You were given the angle in degrees and a protractor with no numbers. #WeirdEd
but it was a really specific need. I needed them to experience something they didn't have vocabulary for in a place they could explore and document freely. Y'all probably have vr for that or something, but I have 12 PCs #weirdED
I want to be in your class. If I had an “Eternal Sunshine” machine, I would elect to erase all my memories of the first 3 MYST games so I could re-enjoy discovering those worlds and puzzles. There are imitators, but nothing has recaptured the magic. #WeirdEd
I'm curious about the Minecraft EDU "revolution" because I feel like as soon as the "EDU" part picked up speed, the kids moved on. Kinda sad. But maybe that's just at our school. #WeirdEd
#WeirdEd That's my argument when my admin says "No learning target posted" during evals. "Then they get to discover the target!" She's cool and gets it, but still gotta point it out
I used Halo and Call of Duty in Algebra to develop student self efficacy. They can navigate a map and quickly learn new games not because they read a manual or memorize ascript, but because they have enough experience that they think “like the game.” Alg works the same #WeirdEd
My son used to sit on my lap and play RR pre-school and 1st grade. He was sad we couldn't play 2nd grade b/c he couldn't read yet as he was only 3 or 4 at the time. #WeirdEd
A1: I feel like video games are okay for discussions, but I don’t want to take something that is fun or cool for kids and over use it and turn it into something too ed focused. Like Wonder, great book, good opportunities for teaching, way overused for ed in my mind #WeirdEd
#WeirdEd A1 Also, using video games in schools may be a bit difficult, bc some games go on for hours b4 things like char. development occurs, it's a diff exp playing it vs. watching youtube videos of it, esp. w/something like Last of Us. Char interactions = development
back in the day there was this microsoft commercial of a standup comedian that said: "social networks are like a party: they're over when the parents show up" and YUP. #weirded
#WeirdEd I do confuse the students sometimes. I'll come out with some interesting game trivia and then mention I don't know much about this whole Fork-Knife thing everyone's playing
#WeirdEd A1 And conversely, quicker, shorter games like Multiplayer games (like COD, Fortnite) can be devoid of substantial learning material. HOWEVER, games like Civ, Age of Empires, can be quick but can also be useful.
#weirdED scary number. I have nine but we are EBD and I have one awesome para
Today I was hit
Kid went through window
Another walked away from a fight
Another picked up binder after he threw it across the room without being told to
In reply to
@janamaiuri, @TheWeirdTeacher, @CoachStone12, @codesparkapp
They didn't move on w/me. Once they understood that this wasn't survival mode, that we were creating, they were fine. Any S who destroyed and didn't play nice immediately got frozen by me. Instant repercussion in MC to an expert player is tough #weirded
I'm curious about the Minecraft EDU "revolution" because I feel like as soon as the "EDU" part picked up speed, the kids moved on. Kinda sad. But maybe that's just at our school. #WeirdEd
But honestly, 1/2 of me literally thinks video games are more addictive than heroin and we should WATCH OUT and the other half knows that when you're happily absorbed in a challenge you learn a shit-ton. So the jury's out for me. #weirdED
As a singular example yes. Obviously games like Minecraft and others can be leveraged as well, though it’s a bit of stretch to convince admin to buy a class set of Xboxes #WeirdEd
I meannnnn, it was amazing and definitely holds educational value, but the moment it went from something cool for kids to read to something super ed focused, it took the magic of kid discovery from it. Now the book has a big teacher focus and pushed at school #weirded
But honestly, 1/2 of me literally thinks video games are more addictive than heroin and we should WATCH OUT and the other half knows that when you're happily absorbed in a challenge you learn a shit-ton. So the jury's out for me. #weirdED
#WeirdEd Ok, I was gonna move into a second question but this is REALLY interesting because it's taking my thing about PokemonGo/Fortnite and making it about Wonder, the book. Which is a great angle. Can the same argument be made for books?
I meannnnn, it was amazing and definitely holds educational value, but the moment it went from something cool for kids to read to something super ed focused, it took the magic of kid discovery from it. Now the book has a big teacher focus and pushed at school #weirded
Tomorrow I usually have T(ec)hursday but with many in my class off to a cross country run I’m bringing in the Nintendo for duck hunt and calling the afternoon TECHAOS!!! We will be working on evil laughs as we rotate through some tech centres #weirdED
Also, the disability community has some O PIN YONS about the way Auggie is used as inspo porn for everyone else's personal growth, so, you know, read #ownvoices lit. #WeirdEd
This gets into some fine lines, given that ELA curricula rely on books and reading. So I’m wondering: is this specific to Wonder, or really about books in general being turned into teaching tools and losing their innate magic? #weirdED
#WeirdEd You know what Multiplayer online games CAN be used for? Possible use for Socio-Emotional Learning. Especially towards cyberbullying. Also, so we don't have those screechy 7-13 year olds screaming "YOUR MOM!" when they lose
Perhaps it’s more about teachers taking one thing that lots of kids like and making it A School Thing which *can* sometimes suck the fun out of it. Allowing choice could help with both games and books #weirded
My favorite thing about Wonder is the "nice kid" who's secretly a jerk. Not a goody-two-shoes; adults think this kid is awesome. Weirdly underused in children's fiction despite the fact that everyone knows one of these. But yeah, #ownvoices. #WeirdED
In reply to
@edutinker, @veronica3of5, @TheWeirdTeacher
#WeirdEd When I was a kid I HAAAATED when my teachers would make me dissect books. But now I do it all the time for fun and love it. So it's good (?) they had me do it...I think. You'll thanks me later?
Glad we moved towards Fortnite. This is one game I haven't played, even though I always try to play what the Ss are playing. I've never been into shoot em up. What's the pull on this one for the kids? #weirded
To quote one of my 7th grade kids talking to his English teacher, “You read at home too?”
If a book really was a sweeping phenomenon maybe, but few are 😢 (cough cough, Will McGill) #weirded
#WeirdEd Yeah, this was discussed during a brief Genius Hour workshop. Including categories for their passion project, but not specifically saying "Use this trendy thing." If Ss link the category w/ "trendy thing," then that just increases their own engagement independently.
#weirded As a teacher- I get the draw of video games in the classroom. But honestly as a parent- my kids spend enough time on video games at home. Same with showing movies, etc.
Yes! There is always a line with pop culture. Unfortunately, as a profession, we are focused on engagement so we regularly cross that line in the pursuit of a fleeting moment. #WeirdEd
Do you think part of the hating it comes from having to dissect what you're told? Or from everyone having to dissect the same thing but not having the tools to discuss? Or all the things? #WeirdEd
In reply to
@TheWeirdTeacher, @brianwyzlic, @veronica3of5
I try to take whatever my kids are into at the moment (games, cars, building things, etc.) and make something educational out of it. That’s kinda the job. Not trying to suck the fun out of it as much as generate engagement. #WeirdEd
I think I hated it because it rarely helped me see what was actually going on. I always believed the teacher was just kind of full of it with the symbolism crap. no way the author actually did that on purpose. #weirded
In reply to
@TheWeirdTeacher, @brianwyzlic, @veronica3of5
#weirded As a teacher- I get the draw of video games in the classroom. But honestly as a parent- my kids spend enough time on video games at home. Same with showing movies, etc.
I think books hold so much magic &overdoing&pushing anything can hurt the magic of that discovery, but I’m not sure what the right answer is. I think Wonder was an extreme example. It’s cool that it got so much attention, & the message is great! But how far is too far? #WeirdEd
I just discovered this (old) thread a week ago or so but I've come back to it several times. And it's really relevant here w/ games and the things kids invest time into: #weirdED
#WeirdEd Shoot, yay! I'm the best out of like, 100 people! But also they can team up with their friends. I legit think the social aspect is actually stronger.
#WeirdEd When I was in high school? I sound like a jerk, but part of it was because everyone was sooo slow about seeing what was going on a lot of the time.
In reply to
@slwindisch, @brianwyzlic, @veronica3of5
I just discovered this (old) thread a week ago but I've already come back to it a bunch of times. It's really relevant here, talking about gaming and the things kids invest time into: https://t.co/427dTRCzFv#weirdED
It’s goes to the “Fellow Kids” argument you make in your blog. Anything that kids feel is being co-opted, or worse, pushed on them, will lose value to them. Just like Roman Reigns. #WeirdEd
#weirdED we read wonder this year Because
It's above most of my kids reading level (I have 5th and 6th graders)
I have a boy with multiple facial surgeries
Led to conversations generated by kids. We go down rabbit trails. Same with waiting for normal and fish in a tree
I think there’s a huge risk of turning humans off of reading if it’s too much of a focus, though. It’s skill that can uncover magic, but also can destroy magic if used as a hammer instead of a flashlight. #weirdED
As a woman with two degrees in English, I really don't think books should be dissected. Books should be explored and enjoyed. Analyze, sure but not to the point ot removing all joy from it. #weirded
#WeirdEd When I was a kid I HAAAATED when my teachers would make me dissect books. But now I do it all the time for fun and love it. So it's good (?) they had me do it...I think. You'll thanks me later?
#WeirdEd I still get this, w/my Ss. My small group was reading One Crazy Summer a few days b4 I got my hands on a copy. Turns out, Delphine's name was introduced early, but none of my Ss caught it.
In reply to
@TheWeirdTeacher, @slwindisch, @brianwyzlic, @veronica3of5
Yes, to a point. I have these cute little toys that I award as prizes. Mostly take a screenshot, then do the math analysis by after x/y displacement #WeirdEd
I loved reading growing up, but the moment I was MADE to read and dissect a book, I HATED it. Why take that magic away?? But then again, what a great resource, how can we harness all the cool things in books without over doing it or dissecting it? #WeirdEd
I encourage my daughters to game, but also get to approve/disapprove games. Gaming is creative. It fosters problem solving, and gives an avenue to discuss strategic thinking, logic, plot lines, empathy, etc.
IMO, games are just more engaging “Choose Your Own Adventure” #WeirdEd
But you know that when you had that one teacher who was just so tickled by Henry James or so enthused about Gatsby that it made it fun- that's what made me want to read and pick apart books. #weirdED
All of this. This whole thread. There’s a very large movement in ELA emphasizing choice, which helps. Literary analysis skills should be applicable to just about any book. Or they’re not a very useful skill. #weirdED
In reply to
@slwindisch, @annemdelgado, @TheWeirdTeacher, @veronica3of5
A1 #weirded My kids loooooooove Prodigy. I try to hold it for something special, a reward, etc. so they continue to love it. Has helped with math quite a lot and they are obsessed! https://t.co/BP5yzjLx9G
I think it’s a flashlight when it’s one tool among many to look into what’s going on in a book. It’s a hammer when it’s the only tool provided, and...I dunno. Maybe I lost myself here. What’s my “it”? #weirdED
In reply to
@shadow_uzumaki, @TheWeirdTeacher, @veronica3of5
See, now, the fact that the term dissecting is used is in itself problematic. Critical thinking is vital to every day life, but this shouldn't be pushed. A student should be gently moved in this direction. #weirded
A2. If you’re going to use it in class you have to use *it* in class. Not everyone has access at home. And even when you bring it in, not everyone will enjoy it. Which is okay, but they need to know their turn will come. #weirded
By using lots of it. Especially references to uber-popular stuff. Even when I’m not entirely sure what it is. I go for like a shotgun blast of idiocy as opposed to a snipe of silliness. #WeirdEd
#WeirdEd This is literally my feedback on a lot of their TEDtalks. "You picked soccer. You love soccer. If we were just chatting you'd talk for twenty minutes about soccer. Why did standing in front of us change that and you felt like you needed notes? Embrace what you know."
#WeirdEd A2 Show genuine excitement for it. But not like those haters Gatekeepers style. Like, I used SW so many times, not all of my Ss watch it, but my examples are genuine connections to material. BUT also contain more than 1 example that's also general.
More on so called dissecting a book... I was once told an anecdote about a writer who sat in on a class analyzing his story. He had written about geese hanging up in the butcher shop's window. #weirded
A2 ditto. They love being the "expert" and teaching others. Esp when it's the fringe kids and they become important and needed. I would even go ask them Qs I knew the answer to. #weirded
#weirdED A1 probably way behind, but @icivics has some amazing games to illustrate how out government works that are engaging and fun.
They also have a great curriculum that I have used the past couple years to great success.
#WeirdEd As a side note, almost every card I received on my last day of student teaching had Star Wars stuff drawn in it. Apparently, they got the point. LOLOL
#WeirdEd A2 Show genuine excitement for it. But not like those haters Gatekeepers style. Like, I used SW so many times, not all of my Ss watch it, but my examples are genuine connections to material. BUT also contain more than 1 example that's also general.
And in teaching thematically, we focus on the themes we're studying in whatever text we're studying, including pop culture. It's about the themes not the thing. #weirdED
I mean, if you're actually into it I think it's fine for casual references. I tell my 1st grs to scoot yer booties on the bench to make room a la Teen Titans Go #weirdED
The students were all trying to attribute what the goose in the window meant. Finally the teacher asked the writer what he meant by that. He replied, nothing, it's just a goose. #weirded
I think it goes back to knowing your audience as well as knowing what “most” people have background knowledge of. There’s a reason so many classics make Biblical allusions - it was a shared foundation for many #weirdED
This is always my advice to new teachers- you've got to have a thing- a way for the kids to identify you, see you as a person. Sounds like you nailed it. Did they bring you ponies, too? ;) #weirdED
In other words, sometimes a goose in a window is just a goose. Or, to quote Freud, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. There's such a thing as overanalyzing. #weirded
#weirdED A1 I also incorporate a good amount of Board Games into the classroom to build relationships and teamwork between my students. As we move on to mock trials in civics, every Thursday we play Board Games for Team Building Thursday.
#WeirdEd Lol, nah, didn't talk about it much since I haven't watched in awhile. That's another thing. I use the things I like because of my own depth of knowledge. I can clearly link the idea that Protagonists aren't limited to "good" by bringing in a Darth Vader novel
A2: don't make the pop culture the focus. Let kids bring their interests & passions into their work and projects in their own way. What outcome does [pop culture] meet? None? Right! Once it is removed the academic aspect should still exist. That needs to be the focus! #weirded
#WeirdEd And I was never too obnoxious abt SWs too. Kids didn't like it? I'd tease 'em about it, but I know to back off and use another example that we all have shared experience in, like our lit circle books!
Yup, also when dissecting (I think this is an odd term) deconstructing a book & language, the reader and author create the meaning together. Once it is out in the world, intended purpose doesn’t matter as much as how it changes you #weirded
#WeirdEd NEXT QUESTION!
I admit, I'm pretty proud of Reason 4 on the latest blog (https://t.co/A4EEl3w336). With that in mind...
Q3 Should we be playing to what the already like?
They have been strangely obsessed with the Cold War (I blame a tangent I went on while we were reading Wrinkle in Time) so I'm thinking about bringing in Iron Curtain. #weirdED
A2 Maybe you need to move away from pop culture. I like participating in #weirded but often feel out of my league. Perhaps it's the fact that I'm 60 and my parents were The Greatest Generation. Perhaps it's because I'm a medievalist. Hard to know.
#WeirdEd A3. Ehhh....no. BUT then again, I'm a seasoned gamer w/clearly defined tastes. When I played Fortnite, it was only Save the World, Cooperative play, initially on Beta. I don't really do well against other players. So, I don't play Battle Royale mode
A3) I think both. It also helps intro new things if you know what they already like...and they know you know...so you can show them new things that they can trust your judgment on #weirded
I've been really interested in this idea of "canon"/ cultural literacy lately. I mean, "CL" always refers to white European culture. I DO think you can get more out of The Lion King if you've read and understood Hamlet, but... #weirded
In reply to
@TheWeirdTeacher, @edutinker, @DrKMattson
#WeirdEd I loved your Fortnight post ; I can’t remember who but someone else was begging educators not to take this “thing” from kids. Look - engagement isn’t about the “thing” it’s about what’s inherent to it - collaboration, creativity, teamwork — put THAT in your lessons!
A3: No. But, yes. We should be playing to the intersection of the S/T pop culture Venn Diagram. Those connections are powerful, but only when they’re genuine, and they won’t be genuine if you don’t actually care and are just doing what you hear “the kids” are doing #WeirdEd
A3 There are two philosophies of engagement. One is to use what they are interest them to get them into your subject. The other is to show them why your subject is interesting... #weirdEd
A3: Play to what YOU like. Be a nerd interested in stuff. Where there’s overlap, hooray! But nothing is worse than an adult pretending to like what kids like just to make something fit. #weirdED
#weirded My son pointed out the lion bit to me when he was in first grade. And I’m a Catholic school teacher...and an English teacher. Went right over my head. But it really does depend on what lens you are viewing it. I was just enjoying the fantasy.
I don’t think it needs to be “a lesson” I played fortnite to understand my kids better, it’s why I have fidget spinners, and other random experiences. I’m the one who learns and it helps me connect with and understand them better #WeirdEd
A4 Great blog post! I think we can get them to like “new things” (our things) if we do it right ;) My kids love math puzzles thanks to @gregtangmath’s Tangy Tuesdays. They cheer for these hard puzzles! #WeirdEd
...you can also get more out of TLK if you know something about Swahili language, early African art, and the territorial rivalry between lions/hyenas (both how these were presented and what was left out). So who's to say, really, whose culture= cultural literacy? #weirdED
In reply to
@TheWeirdTeacher, @edutinker, @DrKMattson
A3: A teacher pal and I discuss this frequently. The PBL push was all about making the kid's interests what drove their learning. Logic bore out, kid likes X, so they'll engage in the work! #WeirdEd
However, if you make the fun thing they love the focus of their work, uounrun the risk of taking the fun out of it for them. And they disengage again, moreso, cuz you made X less fun. #WeirdEd
Exactly, so spending hours deconstructing the language of a book to determine if a goose is just a goose? Why? Why not identify how the language was used to create an effect. #weirdED
However, if you make the fun thing they love the focus of their work, uounrun the risk of taking the fun out of it for them. And they disengage again, moreso, cuz you made X less fun. #WeirdEd
Many of my kids and parents think Harry Potter is dangerous witchcraft. They're shocked when I tell them that Rowling is a Christian who thought the sacrificial substitutionary death to defeat evil theme would be so obvious Christians would guess the ending right away #weirded
In reply to
@Sam_Parker202, @TheWeirdTeacher, @DrKMattson
It's just a good coop game- one person looks at a bomb on a screen, with puzzles and stuff, and the others have a paper manual and can't see the screen. Ss have to collab to explain/figure out the puzzles: "So I see wires here..." "How many? Are any blue?" etc. #weirdED
I remember once my HS kids asked for music while they worked and I put on Animal Collective. :silence, silence, silence: “...who is this, Ms. L? It’s really weird but I like it.” #weirded
A3: my job isn't to entertain them. I am here to facilitate experiences and provide opportunities that lead to learning skills and developing knowledge. Sometimes this can be exciting, fun and engaging to a specific kid and next time another kid might love it or no one #WeirdEd
However, if you make the fun thing they love the focus of their work, uounrun the risk of taking the fun out of it for them. And they disengage again, moreso, cuz you made X less fun. #WeirdEd
A3 I play to what they know mostly b/c they have limited background knowledge. (low socio-econom/title I) I want them to feel a connection. They don't go on vacays, Disney, hiking, zoo, etc. #weirded
A3.2: It’s also important to model making meaningful connections, and most of us (I can tell from the gifs) make substantial and real connections to pop culture from actual meaningful and academic subjects. #WeirdEd
Exactly. If something is well written, then you end up transformed to that scene. You enter that universe. That is why writers like Shakespeare and Dickens etc are still being read and studied. Still relevant. #weirded
#weirded I was seriously avoiding this chat tonight because I am reading a really good book right now. Soon it’s bedtime if I want to be a nice person tomorrow! Always worth the time. Thanks!
A3 it’s about balance, connecting with them over the things in which they are interested goes a long way into relationship building but there’s a limit. Kids are entitled to their “stuff” without the “not as cool as she thinks” T turning it into a math lesson #weirded
I think it is OK to sometimes just read a story as a story.
Analysis may bring deeper meaning and allegory, but can destroy the enjoyment of simple fantasy.
(Especially children's literature) #weirded
In reply to
@Sam_Parker202, @TheWeirdTeacher, @DrKMattson
#WeirdEd And the thing is, this connection-making, it transfer as well. I can connect real life situations to academics. My mentor praised me for figuring out how to integrate subjects together, & she's a pretty dang good integrator.
