#games4ed Archive
#games4ed discussions cover ways in which gaming can be used in education. Games mirror the way the human mind was designed to learn. They motivate players to take risks and actions, persevere through failures, set and achieve increasingly difficult goals, and devote attention, time, and effort to acquiring knowledge and skills. All this while the game is tracking the player’s actions and assessing the player’s achievements and skills. Isn’t this what we want from education?
Thursday October 13, 2016
Hello everyone!! Welcome to chat about in the Second Language Classroom! I'm pumped to be leading this amazing chat!
Melissa from Nebraska 11-12 ELA. Fave vacation: Staycation! Though really want to visit the UK, esp Ireland & Scotland!
Coming to tonight? Keegan here, ed tech at . Ideal place to vacation would be Japan or Ireland.
Lydia Sutton, PST at Grove City College, PA...Disney!
Hi Keegan! Always such a privilege to have you and your great ideas!!
Welcome Lydia!! Yes to Disney!!
Hi everyone. Hi Glen, donde esta el gate?
It is a blast! Excited to see minecraft, language learning, & together tonight!
Hiya Mark! Glad you're here to add your expertise!
I'm super pumped to talk about in
I think you meant dónde esta el gato...or maybe dónde esta la gente?? Great to have you here Mark!
Let's start rolling with Q1 : What are the common challenges to teaching a second language? https://t.co/euXC9HLPtj
A1: Creating engaging, relevant, student-centered lessons that meet or exceed the national standards
Robert Petitto, specialist near Atlanta GA
A1) if you take the full immersion route, you risk semilingualism & severing ties to family https://t.co/Uq9pxJQXZQ
Let's start rolling with Q1 : What are the common challenges to teaching a second language? https://t.co/euXC9HLPtj
I’ll be excited to see peoples ideas tonight. Language learning is not my strong point. O.o
join us for convo about in chat tonight! Would love to hear
A1: My colleague says tough w/ students at so many levels of ability. Or when new Ss come in with different backgnd of lrng
Bienvenido Robert! Super happy to have you here!
A1 Making the language accessible, but immersive and relevant
Glad to have you joining us, Robert!
A1) I think a major challenge can be access to first language speakers to communicate with while a learner of the language.
not a problem! I think most of these ideas are cross curricular for sure!
Love these points about language acquisition. Right on the mark Robert!!
I teach straight ELA, but am sure I'll pick up some ideas, too!
I have now learned a new word tonight. semilingualism… :)
Absolutely! Many of the ideas that I developed came from lessons
I bet the game adds common ground, can be used to help with conversation, vocab…kids understand the game already in native tongue
A2: allows for a student-centered environment where creativity and collaboration are rewarded both in-game and irl
Q2: How can a virtual world positively or negatively impact those challenges?
A2 while you could certainly say you're being immersive, the novelty of the game might cause kids to abandon target language
A2: Provides a setting where Ss can interact without sole focus on the lingual
A2) Give Ss access to peeps outside of country. May require more scaffolding on Ts part if followin school LO to engage learners.
A2 forgive me as I haven't explored Minecraft (no pun intended) as much as I'd like. Is voice chat available?
A2 Virtual worlds give the illusion of anonymity where misttakes aren't such a big deal and can be easily remedied
Excellent. Immediate application of concepts! Helps me solidify content, I know.
No voice chat, but I have my Ss irl communicating in second language while meeting overall goals in game
Such a great point about gaming in general! Mistakes are expected and are a way to learn https://t.co/GXzWKrc0wV
A2 Virtual worlds give the illusion of anonymity where misttakes aren't such a big deal and can be easily remedied
Yes, I feel we must be intentional in how we balance between that novelty/motivation and content we are teaching.
gotcha...I tend to confuse capabilities of Minecraft with Second Life at times.
This is a great aspect. Games can offer safe space to play, experiment, gain feedback and learn!
Really love the innocence that provides. Characters being blocky really plays well with Ss https://t.co/hV3GBzbcJL
gotcha...I tend to confuse capabilities of Minecraft with Second Life at times.
Thats a pretty cool requirement. Easy to do (accessible to Ts)!
I know SL far better than Minecraft, but find many similarities in educational usefulness.
A3:Embracing the playful creativity of Minecraft allows Ss to immerse themselves not only in the game but also in the language
Q3: How does enable students to engage their language skills with both Ts and peers?
A3 I would hope that Ts play along w/Ss :)
A3) When I lived in Mexico, played Halo2 with my host brother in Spanish & learned a lot that way. That was peer-peer! :)
A3: Great opportunity for students to discuss in the language but with it also being visual, Ss can better comprehend
A3 Students can create and then share their creations in the target languages. High interest game+ownership of learning = success
this is so true...they are so much more willing to experiment with the language while playing
This is great for disarming some of those learning barriers! Allow Ts to make content more accessible.
absolutely! The Ss are the ones that teach me the most, while I help them to develop their collab skills in
One aspect of this that I enjoy is the accessibly this gives Ss to forming virtual identity. More of a blank canvas.
Awesome example! Some of my Ss play on speaking servers just to practice lang skills!
I never thought of that. What a great idea!
I was thinking about that after my example. Many games have settings for other languages built in -->Make fun lessons.
We are charging right through! So many great ideas already. Can't wait for these! Q4 is here! https://t.co/EOImNqNcIk
That said, I would want to know what they'd like to see or learn in a game. https://t.co/c7ncPAVzGe
Q6: Teacher - How can we involve Students in the Game-design process? What benefits do you see? MinecraftEDU https://t.co/EU9JQHULsZ
A4: My Ss are creating in the Spanish language organically and authentically
I love this idea. Would it be a multi-player situation like WOW? https://t.co/yqsAVcd8yD
A3 Students can create and then share their creations in the target languages. High interest game+ownership of learning = success
A4) Don’t have Minecraft ex. But this text game from S (a T) was a great way to engage in language learnin https://t.co/3EgsbhT9J6
Do you see that working the same way for ESL/ELL?
A4: Engagement at an all time high with 100% of assignments submitted on time. These include presentations in 2nd lang
A4: I love Ss creating their own avatars. Our Spanish T has Ss choose new names for her class...but allows a new image!
My favorite case is if it’s a known game. Ss have background and can compare words between languages.
I wonder how much is cause of and how much is due to changes we make to our classes when including games?
I play games with my tutoring students, too. https://t.co/U9WfMPpJrF
A4: Engagement at an all time high with 100% of assignments submitted on time. These include presentations in 2nd lang
. has an entire server dedicated to learning lang in a safe environment 1/2
Excellent! https://t.co/cg4IxLDR2l
My favorite case is if it’s a known game. Ss have background and can compare words between languages.
And how much can we learn the foundation of...well, anything...by playing games!! https://t.co/RoBDD18Olq
I definitely know that playing games to learn languages works. I learned the foundation of German by playing games.… https://t.co/Xzx11w9nxh
Ss log onto server and work with him while they speak on GHO or Skype in the language. Lots of success in doing so!
That's exactly right! After all, play is how children learn. I think we forget that sometimes. https://t.co/rFuwEVSFsR
And how much can we learn the foundation of...well, anything...by playing games!! https://t.co/RoBDD18Olq
I definitely know that playing games to learn languages works. I learned the foundation of German by playing games.… https://t.co/Xzx11w9nxh
I def think we don’t always include opportunities to play enough in the classroom. Learning should be fun!
The work you and your cohorts are doing is stunning! https://t.co/rnVrWaL38i
A4: Engagement at an all time high with 100% of assignments submitted on time. These include presentations in 2nd lang
A5: All five FL strands can be facilitated with Minecraft.
Agreed. Play in general is good for you. I have to remind myself of that at times. gives me a perfect exc… https://t.co/Ujl8Dg5BNi
I def think we don’t always include opportunities to play enough in the classroom. Learning should be fun!
Many ask me how I connect standards to and here are some examples https://t.co/d5oLrh5YzC
A5: All five FL strands can be facilitated with Minecraft.
A5) I will defer to those that have knowledge of Language Learning Standards for this one. ^-^
A5 I don't know enough about the standards to even answer ;(
A5: Communication 1.1: Ss engage in conversations, provide & obtain info and exchange opinions https://t.co/GiQaYuzlhy
A5: Communication 1.1: Ss engage in conversations, provide & obtain info and exchange opinions https://t.co/EAxaphrsz5
A5: This is where I struggle a bit more with ELA. I can do some with writing, but harder to meet other upper level ELA standards
not a problem I have plenty of examples Share them with your
so agree. It is way more fun as a T when there are games in the classroom. It’s not just fun for Ss!
What does stand for/mean?
A5: Cultures 2.2: demonstrate an understanding of relationship btwn products & perspectives of culture https://t.co/CvwNF05uEI
A5: Cultures 2.2: demonstrate an understanding of relationship btwn products & perspectives of culture https://t.co/2oYuVd36vR
as an instructional designer, including tranisitioning Ss, I'm sorry to hear that
A5: Connections 3.1 Ss reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through FL https://t.co/xFGgoSq5yw
A5: Connections 3.1 Ss reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through FL https://t.co/77JsONKJ4V
I was expecting a state standard link... Leave it to folks from to link to minecraft videos instead!
yes there is no value to a standard without some examples right??
Exactly is the ultimate game. You can make it be whatever you want it to be!
I’d recommend Twine 4 this if you has computer access. We had lots o fun with it in English & Spanish in
A5. I do not know the actual standards, but to practice a language while playing Minecraft would be valuable in learning language
Exactly William! Welcome!!
I've played some with Twine and Inklewriter, too. I need to see if I can apply it to more expository writing
btw that video playlist is now playing in the background. :P
what are your thoughts of the new Minecraft education edition vs old MinecraftEDU?
A6 games like help Ss create ongoing relationships to use language
Think part of that will be the price comparison?
A6 games reinforce thinking in other languages
Yes...the price point has not been very well received. I've also made that point to reps
The game is too amazing to not figure out a way to get it for our schools
A6 cultural differences can be explored in a unique way through games like
Thanks to all contributors tonight! Loved the convo! And HUGE THANKS to for hosting tonight!!
there are many free virtual platforms available -- perhaps not as accessible as minecraft, but fun and workable
Thanks for sharing all of your resources in . And for hosting!
Agreed! Thanks everyone for the ideas/resources! Keep up the great work !
