Universal Design

I found a teaching website on universal access that gives an example of the same site done twice; once with accessibility features and once as an inaccessible site. Here is the address:

http://www.cew.wisc.edu/accessibility/examples/aquaticArtsBad/index.htm

This site was helpful because it shows things like font sizes, alt tags, css, etc that should be present to help users with inaccessibilty issues.

For my final project what I need to do to make it more accessible is to create a font option and text background option that will allow for sizes and colors that will make for easier reading for the visually impaired. I also need alt tags on my pictures and the text only option for screen readers. When dealing with accessibility issues in the classroom I would be aware of what those were and work with the student individually to help meet his/her needs. When I am confronted with a learning disability in the classroom I learn about that student's particular needs and tailor the assignments accordingly. If I were dealing with an accessibility issue and could not solve that problem via the website then I'd create some sort of learning alternative (game, poster, worksheet, ) that would allow the student to show me what they have learned.

I did not find a court case.

Game Idea

We have an activity in class that I do each year to demonstrate population dynamics. I've thought through how I could turn this into a computer game. Considering that I don't have to actually have the skills to create a computer game, or simulation, I consider the sky to be the limit and anything goes as I imagine this simulation!!
My audience is a 10th grade group of students, age 16, who are being introduced to the concept of logistic and exponential growth in a population in nature. They are learning the cause and effect relationships that drive nature based on the essential needs of an animal, those being food, water, reproduction, and shelter. So, the game is based on a lush mountain. There is a population of deer (10 total deer) that a student is in charge of. This student needs to make sure that the needs of each animal are met in each year. The year is determined by a time frame of 5 minutes. In that five minutes the student has to make sure that each deer is fed a certain amount (imagine a bar that keeps track of the total vegetation eaten by each deer) and the deer must have a certain amount of water (also kept track with a bar).
There will be 12 increments of time to represent the 12 months in a year. At the end of each five minute period a count of the student's total population will be recorded so that by the end of the game there will be 12 pieces of data.
The deer can reproduce during the months of May and April and the student can choose to have those deer reproduce or not. Wolves are introduced into the game during the months of June, July, and August and those will be controlled by the computer. Random attacks will happen that will cut the deer population down.
The deer will need to roam all over the mountain to find the food and water that is needed. As the food and water is taken in an area that area will show up as a barren piece of land and will not replace itself until the next set of 12 increments of time comes along.
Seasons will occur, controlled by the computer. Some deer may succumb to cold temperatures controlled by the computer. (The computer is supposed to represent the unpredictability of nature) The vegetation and water will succumb to weather conditions. It is possible that the mountain may not be able to provide for the population of deer. In that case, some of the deer will have to die off. This will illustrate the concept of a carrying capacity. All areas of nature have a carrying capacity that limits the growth of a population.
The object of the game is to get through the 12 periods of time with the highest population of deer. There is a little strategy involved. It takes time for the animals to reproduce. Having the animals reproduce is a good thing however the females require more food and water during gestation and the young are at a greater risk of predation. So it would be wise to decide how much of the population should reproduce during the reproductive months.
At the end of the hour long game students have 12 sets of data that they need to then represent in the form of a graph. They will see how their population increases and decreases and understand that nature allows for only so much control. Populations are subject to nature and the smartest and strongest will survive.

A List of Serious Games

I found this list of Serious Games from Michigan State University that I though might be of interest to you guys.

http://woz.commtechlab.msu.edu/sgd/games.php

Games and Learning

Pro gaming factors:

1. Ideal for introducing new topics. Games are engaging to a student because they are not static, they demonstrate cause and effect relationships and they nurture imagination.
2. Create better retention because they are more engaging than a traditional classroom or an online classroom.
3. They can be a compelling learning experience because they can provide scenarios that a classroom cannot.
4. Can teach information literacy because students will find the information they need when faced with various challenges in a game because they are interested!

Con gaming factors:

1. Takes a long time to learn a game, for both teacher and student. As we know time is a precious commodity in the school year.
2. Games must be used wisely by a teacher as a learning tool not a babysitter.
3. Games can be expensive and a school must have IT support for using them.

Research facts:

Successful games should have four components:

1. A competitive element to motivate the student
2. Engaging content
3. A reward for participation (recognition generally)
4. Content needs to be relative to the learning objective.

The students need to understand that the game is a teaching tool, not just a form of entertainment while in school. They should be required to reach certain goals so that their time is spent progressing in the game.

Games can bring together people with different skills that complement one another. Players should have a need to get information from other sources, explore, communicate and cooperate with others in order for these groups to come together. This eliminates the concern that gamees take away from the social skills of a student. In fact, the argument could be made that they enhance those skills by putting the student in touch with people around the world.

Games are "worlds in a box". They can allow you to create an identity in a world of your interest. This helps a person to think about and value the decisions that must be made in this world. Say for example, you would like to be a zookeeper. You must make the decisions a zookeeper would make in order for this world to remain successful. Trial and error and study is going to help you know what to do so that your "world" does not find itself in peril.

Do I agree?

I think so. I have never used a game in the classroom. I can see how they would be beneficial but I also think first and foremost about the time that I am going to have put into learning the game so that I can be prepared to mentor my students through the experience. Quite honestly this sounds like a huge headache to me. I shouldn't be so negative however. I need to give it a try at least a few times so that I can learn from my own trial and error of leading a group of 35+ kids through a gaming session. I understand that the game is meant to be an independent activity but I'm concerned about those students who come to a crossroads in the game of some kind and they don't know what they should do next. I'm not real interested in running around to each computer as hands are up only to find that they are not thinking for themselves. I get impatient with that. But if they're going to learn to think for themselves it's going to have to happen somewhere right? So why not in my classroom during game day???

Articles I used from the source recommended were called:

• Game-Based Learning: How to Delight and Instruct in the 21st Century
• Serious Games: Making a Difference
• Use of Video Games in the Classroom

Discuss the new tools you have found...

1. http://www.webquest.org/search/index.php Here is a site that allows you to search by topic and comes up with lesson units on the topic. I searched genetics for example, a huge piece of my curriculum, and found a bunch of interactive sites on genetics and lesson plans that I could use. I also searched history and up came a load of sites on all different types of history.
2. http://www.animationlibrary.com/ The thought occurred to me that perhaps the students could add some animation to a presentation they create to enhance it. Here is a library of free animations that are simple and easy to use. This has the potential to become a distraction really but it's worth a try at least once!
3. http://www.dailyblogtips.com/create-a-widget-for-your-blog/ Here is a site that discusses widgets and how to create them. I think it would be cool for the students to create widgets on the classroom topic and watch that topic being discussed on the net. You can also create widgets on http://www.widgetbox.com If you had a class blog you could put different widgets on the blog as the topics change throughout the year.
4. Another thought I had was to teach a student to use news websites such as newsvine (http://www.newsvine.com) or digg (http://www.digg.com) where they can take a look at a large collection of different news stories and comment on them. This gives them a chance to think and develop an opinion as well as share it. You can customize the accounts on these pages to focus on certain news genres such as history or science, etc. I could have my students follow science news and comment on what interests them. This would be a good way for the students to see how science is being used in everyday life.

Your experiences and ideas for the web 2.0 programs introduced in this lesson:

1. I'm not in the classroom at the moment but if I was I would definitely have my students gather data and input it into gapminder to create a visualization of the data. We always graph our data out but this would be a fun and more engaging way of doing things. I have a unit where we collect data on wildlife and then have to present our findings and explain them. I'd like to have the students use an online presentation program such as sliderocket.com to create a presentation of their data and add their gapminder images into that program.
2. I'd like to try voicethread also. I think it would be challenging for the students to create a tutorial using voicethread. Say for example, how to create a line graph. They could find images and record text to explain this basic task. This would be good exposure to the program.
3. One last idea I have is to take the students into a lab and have them log onto newsvine or digg and check these sites out. I'd like them to become familiar with the sites and learn how to do things like create their own column of news that interests them and make comments. I think making the students aware of a resource like this helps them to start thinking and composing. Anytime you can get a student to write about something that interests them you're making progress right? So why not here??

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I found another poor website today...

Hey girls I found another poor website this morning while at work. I happened to come across it and wanted to share it with you. Here's the address: http://www.cinemajik.com It has major issues with font, coloring, and spacing. It lacks any sort of interactive feature. It's worth taking a look at.

take care,
Michelle