The Joy of Learning

Play is an important part of learning and development.  According to Stephen Slota (2014), incorporating play into lesson plans aids children in the development of abstract imaginative thinking and goal-setting skills.  For Technology Applications for Education, my group and I were given the assignment of stepping out of our comfort zones to unanimously choose an online educational game that stood out to us.  My group members and I agreed on the online game of Spherox, which we decided would cater to middle and high school students.  The objective of Spherox is to answer english, math, and science questions while navigating through a maze. After selecting the game, we then formed a set of criteria to evaluate it with.  The biggest challenge in creating a rubric to evaluate the game was finding relevant standards and focusing on such standards through the point of view of our target audience.  For example, a website that may be visually appealing to a college student may not please a middle or high school student in the same way.

Click to view game

My content area is Early Childhood Education, which focuses on pre-kindergarten through the second grade.  I am certain that the animated visuals and fun sound effects of the game, along with its outer space concept, would appeal to my young students.  The game would be ideal for lessons on the solar system.  It could also be useful with any english, math, or science lesson. I would revise the game questions to better suit the level of younger students.  The game would include elementary-level questions such as, “Which planet is closest to the sun?”  One way to work around the lack of a customizable question option would be to write elementary-level questions on colorful paper. I would post the questions up on the board while the game is projected on a screen. Each time students answer a question correctly, I would answer an in-game question myself to help students progress through the game. For hands-on learning, I may allow students to take turns navigating through the maze. To illustrate the importance of cooperation, I would have students work together to answer the game questions. Once students become acquainted with the game, I would have them use decorative materials to create their own questions.

 

Once students reach the game exit, they would be able to see the points that they worked together to accumulate.  They would each be rewarded for not only showcasing their knowledge on the solar system and other concepts, but demonstrating teamwork and social skills.  A reward that would fit the theme would be solar system-themed stickers or school supplies.  According to R.F. Mackay (2013), a writer for the Office of Vice Provost for Online Learning, the system of points and rewards featured in most online games are beneficial to the way by which students learn.  It gives students a sense of motivation, while promoting social interaction and self-expression.

To keep in contact with each other, my group members and I used WhatsApp Messenger, which is a free mobile messaging app.  Not only is it available to iPhone and Android users, but it can also be accessed online using a computer or tablet.  Users are able to communicate with each other through text, audio, photo, and video messages.  Group messaging is also available.  It is great for students, because it facilitates group discussions without the hassle of having to conduct any physical meetings.

Click for more information on WhatsApp Messenger

To introduce the game, my group used Emaze, an online presentation software.  Unlike a regular Power-Point presentation, Emaze has more animated transitions and includes quite the selection of interesting themes.  We chose the Philosophy of Space theme, which perfectly matched the theme of our online game.  We took advantage of the collaboration feature, which enabled each of us to access and edit the presentation.  Although the collaboration feature was helpful, it only enabled one editor at a time.  Another drawback was our inability to access the feature without having one of our group members sign up for the free-trial.

Click to visit Emaze.com

To involve our audience in the presentation, we used Google Docs, a free online program that enables document sharing and real-time collaborative editing.  The online game questions were shown on screen, and our classmates were able to share their answers with us and each other by typing onto the shared document.

Click to learn more about Google Docs

This group assignment encouraged us to take advantage of and creatively use available resources, which is an important practice for aspiring teachers.  It also emphasized the importance of allowing children to have fun while learning.  A goal for teachers should be to lead children in seeing the joy of learning.  With the technology that is currently available to us, that goal continues to become a lot easier to achieve.

References

Mackay, R.F. (2013, March 1). Playing to learn: Panelists at Stanford discussion say using

games as an educational tool provides opportunities for deeper learning. Stanford University. Retrieved from: http://news.stanford.edu/2013/03/01/games-education-tool-030113/

Slota, S. (2014, January 29). Education Through Play: How Games Can Help Children Learn.

Footnote 1. Retrieved from: http://footnote1.com/education-through-play-how-games-can-help-children-learn/