RSS Feed - CBC top stories

I chose to use Google Reader for my RSS feed subscription, primarily because I already had a google account. I found google reader to be very easy to use and set up. I subscribed to two different news feeds which provide me with top and world news stories each day.

I subscribed to cbc top news stories (www.cbc.ca) and CNN.com. I read an article from cbc.ca which was posted on February 2, 2009. "The article was Education may not slow memory loss: study". The article discussed the relationship between education and memory loss. Studies suggest that education is associated with the level of cognitive function, but not with the rate of cognitive decline. They found that although there is a link between higher education and the memory's ability to function at a higher level, there was no link found between higher education and how fast the memory loses the ability to funtion at this level. In other words, after studying a group of 6500 people with an average age of 72, for an average of 6.5 years, it was discovered that education level had no bearing on how fast a person loses their memory once memory loss starts.

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/02/02/alzheimer-education.html?ref=rss

Educational Software Review

The two educational software programs I chose to review were Math Trek 1, 2, 3 and Bailey's Book House. I decided to choose one software program that was mathematical related, and one that was literacy based. Both programs, however, focused on the primary grades, and are developed specifically for these intended age groups. Both of these software programs would be beneficial for use within a primary classroom environment, however I feel that Math Trek 1, 2, 3 is far superior to Bailey's Book House.

Results:

MathTrek 1,2, 3

Math Trek 1, 2, 3 is a highly interactive multi-media mathematical program, which would be a useful learning tool in any kindergarten to grade three classroom. The variety of sound, video, animation and graphics appeals to many different learning styles. It is an engaging program with colourful animations, and a fun bear for children to follow through the activities. As soon as the students log onto the game the bear introduces them to the primary concept of the software, and gives clear direction of how to navigate through the different options.

The game is organized by mathematical strand and grade level, providing the user with a good amount of choice. Although there are no levels within each individual game, the user can choose between grade levels on the toy shelf, for age appropriate level instruction and game challenge. The five math strands offered directly correspond to the strands as presented in the Ministry of Ontario Curriculum.'There are a variety of games available at every grade level in data management and probability, geometry, measurement, number sense and numeration, and patterning and algebra.

Once the game is complete, the bear lets the student know whether they got the answer correct or not, and keeps track of correct attempts with paw prints, so the success is visible to the student for each game. All of the games have a progress tracking system showing the number of attempts and the number of completions, which would allow both the students and the teacher to be aware of progress and which games have been played. The games are geared toward grade expectations, but offer enough of a challenge to keep the students entertained and engaged in the task, at the same time making learning fun.

Bailey's Book House

Bailey' Book House, in contrast to Math Trek 1, 2, 3 is not motivating or engaging, by any means. It provides students with basic literacy practice, but does not provide any stimulation to its user or motivational tactics. In fact, after exploring Bailey's Book House I found this software to be somewhat boring, and I am actually quite surprised at its presence in so many classrooms, in so many schools. So what is so wonderful about Bailey's Book House??? I wanted to discover for myself why this program was incorporated into so many different learning environments.

After playing the games, I can understand to some degree why this software is appealing to some students. However, I believe the appeal would only be applicable to those students in kindergarten as the learning activities are extremely basic. There are no wrong answers in the games, which is both positive and negative. It allows the student to make choices without being told they are "wrong", and at the same time learn basic skill, for example, in rhyming. However, by providing answers that are only correct, the student is not learning how to make the best choice, and it lacks any form of intrinsic, motivational challenge.

When the student first begins the game they are faced with Bailey, whom I'm assuming is a cat, sitting in a chair. Unfortunately, for the student, Bailey does not begin to talk, so a new user, especially at the intended age level of 3 to 6 would not be aware of what to do next. When the student does finally realize that they need to click on him the only thing he says is, "...come and play in my book house". He gives no further instruction or prompts about what to do next, or how to navigate through the different games. It is rather intimidating for a young student who has never played, and definitely not engaging.

Discussion:

When reviewing the software I began by familiarizing myself with both pieces of educational software. Before I began playing the games I read some on-line information about both pieces of software to understand their purpose. Once I gained a better understanding of the premise of each, I played both games for approximately one hour. I did spend more time on Math Trek as it has a substantial amount of curriculum based games in comparison to Bailey's Book House, which offers only a few simple games. After playing the games, and familiarizing myself with at least one math game from each grade level strand, I was able to formulate a more informed opinion.

The tests were conclusive with what I said above. I found that Math Trek 1, 2, 3 was highly engaging in comparison to Bailey's Book House, and was actually quite entertaining. The progress tracking systems encourages its user to keep trying until they discover, often through trial and error, the correct or best answer. Bailey's Book House, on the other hand, was not motivating or interactive, and offered no type of tracking system. Although it is likely useful as a starting point with computers and technology, its basic educational value is rather low, and I believe that many students in kindergarten would easily bore with this software.

If I was placed in primary classrooms I believe that both software programs could successfully be incorporated into the classroom environment. The students would definitely be more engaged by Math Trek 1,2,3, than they would with Bailey's Book House, primarily due to choice and the opportunity for more interaction. The technology would be useful for students who do not yet know how to read, or those who have trouble with writing down their thoughts, as this technology only requires the click of a button, or movement of a mouse.

Bailey's Book House would work well in a kindergarten classroom, where there is a diverse group of learners who are coming to school for first time with a huge disparity in learning from one student to another. It would provide students with an introduction to literacy based activities, who may not be writers or readers. However, kindergarten students may find this program difficult to navigate independently, as there are no clear audio or visual instructions to guide the student through the programs.

Math Treks 1, 2, 3 would work well in a primary classroom environment. The well organized, highly engaging activities would motivate students to use this software. Because it relates so directly to curriculum expectations in mathematics this program could be used as a learning or reinforcement tool for most students. The fantastic audio instructions make it user friendly and extremely easy to navigate independently through all of the different math activities. Unfortunately because most classrooms have only one computer, the time to engage in these activities would be limited and shared. Overall, I think the most motivating element of this software is the student progress tracking systems, and the great amount of choice in activities and grade level.

Recommendations:

The class generated evaluation tool, in comparison to the Kathleen Schrock software evaluation was just as useful. I think that as a class we were able to establish a variety of useful evaluation points. Although a basic review, it is comparable to the online version that was used. Both are quite simplistic, however provide enough information for a consumer searching for basic product purchase information. Although both of the tools were very general, they did provide an excellent starting point, and do not influence the reader too significantly one way or the other. I believe this is important, because it encourages the potential user to experiment with the software and formulate their own opinions.

The class generated wiki sheet was quite thorough, but left room for individual interpretation. There are enough points to guide the user through a decent evaluation of educational software, and enable them to form a valid, fair evaluation using a designated, unbiased format. It covers the five primary area that would be of concern to the potential user, particularly in an educational environment.

Millie's Math House: Educational Software Review

Student's Perspective: From a child's perspective (age range 4-5), I believe I would find Millie's Math House to be quite engaging and entertaining. There are a range of activities that are fun, and filled with neat characters to guide me through the different activities. I would enjoy the voices and sound effects, but I think I may also be a little confused or lost if I did not have an adult to guide me, particulary in the early learning stages. I would need someone to help me get from activity to activity, because this transition is somewhat unclear. It would be fun to play with the different characters at each activity, but I may get bored quickly, and move on to another activity. It would be fun to make cookies with jelly beans, and create my own creatures, and learn some fun math concepts at the same time.

Teachers's Perspective: I would likely incorporate this game into a junior/senior kindergarten classroom. Although it could be used at a grade one level, I believe that most students would be beyond these basic math concepts by that point, and may find the game somewhat unengaging. I think this is a good game for building basic math concepts at a kindergarten level, and to promote the use of thinking skills. Millie's Math House will introduce students to basic math concepts, such as counting to 30, recognizing and reading number sentences (such as simple addition an subtraction), recognizing shapes, and differentiating between sizes, quantities. It also provides basic patterning and sequencing practice at level appropriate for this age group.

Millies Math House would be a good addition to any classroom environment in kindergarten. However, this game would require teacher assistance until the child learns the game, to ensure the student can operate the game and benefit from the instuctional value. It would also be appropriate for ESL students, or other special needs students, as no reading is required, although the students would need to be able to recognize numbers. I do believer, however, that many students would become quickly bored with these activities once the basic concepts are mastered. There could, perhaps, be more current, engaging and interactive games available in today's educational technology market.

Here is a link to a review of Millie's Math House....take it for what it's worth!!!! http://mathequity.terc.edu/gw/html/MillieReview.html

Tech Article in Professionally Speaking

Hi everyone,

There is a really good article in the Professionally Speaking magazine, a publication put out by the Ontario College of Teachers. The article, "Building Success: Fresh ideas and new initiatives in Ontario's technical education", found in the December 2008 issue, highlights the current status of technological education in Ontario, and what needs to be done to meet the demands for skilled workers in our province. The article focuses on lack of funding and leaders, the stigma associated with this type of education, and what needs to be done to address the needs of all of our students, not just the 30% who will go on to a university education. There are still copies in the student lounge if you are interested.

Blog Blog Blog: My feelings on blogging

Well, what can I say????? Wow.....I have my very own blog!!!! Who would've known! Anyhow, setting up the blog was surprisingly relatively simple!!! It was much easier than I originally would have thought. This is likely because I am intimidated by a lot of technological "stuff", only because I am unsure of it. Activities, such as setting up a blog, show me that once I do something once, and it's relatively successful, I feel much more confident about it! Keeping this blog is a neat way to stay connected to the course, and my classmates, and will help me to stay in-tune with blogging.....should I ever need to blog again! Who knows???

The current class that I am in is actually a Learning Disability class of grade seven and eight's, with only 11 students. It's actually pretty amazing! These kids are unique and incredible to me! I enjoy these kinds of challenges - I suppose that's also why I chose to take this course. There is actually a significant amount of technology within this particular classroom, versus other classrooms within the school. There is a computer for every student which has some sort of assistive technology associated with its use, for example writing programs such as Kurzwell, and Dragon, a voice recognition system. It is so amazing to watch the students use these tools to show what they really know, and to be given the opportunity to express themselves in a way that they would otherwise not be able to do.

I found Stephen Downes' blog article, "Things You Really Need to Learn" somewhat enlightening, but I think many of his ideas were obvious. When he talks about the things we really need to learn, there was not one that I already hadn't thought of myself. I too place great importance on all of these ideas as they relate to learning, or what is important to learn in life. I especially agree with the comment that we must not only learn, but learn how to learn. This is where I think the role of the teacher or educator is absolutely crucial. We as educators have the more demanding task of taking children under our wings, and teaching them how to learn as best they can, and at the same time always thinking in a critical manner, constantly questioning and when need be, challenging an idea or information.

Here is the link:
http://www.downes.ca/post/38502