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Sustainable Innovations: Leveraging Games, Social Media, and Emerging Technologies

Dani HerroStephanie Leonard-Witte

culture of participation

The Changes: cloud computing, high speeds,

virtual spaces, inexpensive technology, social media, and

consumer comfort cloud computing, high speeds,

virtual spaces, inexpensive technology, social media, and

consumer comfort

• Facebook has 800+ million users - 28% are over the age of 34 - fastest growing segment, 48 billion unique images on Facebook

• Google is moving rapidly into business and education

• Twitter’s use grew over 90% last year alone

• Online transactions - 4.9 billion per day

• Over 60% of adults game; mostly male - 40, increasingly on mobiles - kids 90%+

• Virtual school enrollment (K-12) grew 40-45% in the last 2 years

The ResearchAugmented Reality (Squire)

WOW (Steinkuehler)New Media Literacies (Jenkins et al.)

Dissertation (Herro)Games+Learning+Society

Whitepapers, Reports & Trends

Augmented Reality (Squire)WOW (Steinkuehler)

New Media Literacies (Jenkins et al.)Games+Learning+Society

Whitepapers, Reports & Trends Dissertation (Herro)

Text

The Research

Brain Research

• screen time

• statistics on visual learning....auditory....

• multi-modal environments

• collaboration, engagement, production

Tracking Societal, Individual Changes

• Kaiser/Pew reports - research of youth use of media

• Horizon Reports - societal trends

• New Media Literacies (Jenkins et al., 2006) - implications

What do we know?

• Teachers use of computers and Internet tools; at-home and at-school usage by teens(Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Pew Internet Reports, BECTA, Jenkins et al.,

Oblinger, Boyd, Weigel & Heikinnen, NCES)

• Social media’s reported influence on teens(Prensky, Palfrey & Gasser, Weigel & Heikinnen, Anderson, The Horizon Reports, Gee, Jenkins)

• Socio-cultural theorist’s view of learning(Vygotsky, Slavin, Squire, Dahms et al., Cole & Wertsch, Lave & Wenger, McKenzie)

Notion of “text” is changing

• e-Books challenge linear, singular modalities (Leu, 2002)

• Committed to integrating information and communications into current literacy programs (IRA, 2009)

• Traditional reading and writing is insufficient as students interact with digital text (IRA, 2009)

New technologies demand new literacy skills

How is literacy shaped today?• shaped by individuals and society

• the Internet plays a larger role in literacy than every before - and the practices online continue to change

• no longer shaped solely by print/text

• learning/literacy continues to be social; availability of media enhances opportunities to learn in social environments

• first....a look at Internet practice in most classrooms...

our experience with media

This is your (students’) brain on social media....non-linear, light and sound-based culture working attwitch-speed, multitasking, in a random-access, graphics-first, active, connected, fun, fantasy, quick-payoff world

Why does it matter?

• Technology is changing what it means to be literate = success in society

• Literacy has ALWAYS been shaped by technology

•Definition of literacy: What individuals value and what society requires

What’s in it for K-12?learning.....achievement....future preparationlearning.....achievement....future preparation

• flexible (access to learning moves with you)

•personalized (Apps), tools

• interactive - instant feedback

Research suggesting trends -Horizon’s 2011, K-12

• Cloud Computing (1)

• Collaborative Environments (1)

• Digital Texts (1)

• Game-based learning (2-3)

• Mobiles (2-3)

• Augmented Reality (4-5)

• Flexible Displays (4-5)

Leveraging Research

Framing the *technology-push*in K-12in K-12

The (new) Structure

*migration to new content

Organic Growth

CurricularConnections

The (new) Content

*includes new structures

Curricular Growth

Purposeful Connections

Sustainable practices....

OASD Snapshot: Building a Participatory CultureK-4 - Glogster, podcasting, Kerpoof, Literacy and iTouch, Edmodo5/6 - Touring with Technology Curricula, Quest Atlantis, GameStar Mechanic7/8 - podcasting, wikis, blogs, social bookmarks, Gmail/Google Apps 9-12 - wikis, blogs, videos, forums, podcasts, Twitter, iPads, video narratives, social bookmarks, game design curricula 2011-12

~changing structure of school day - Virtual School Initiative~iTouch and iPad pilots~Game Jams/Developing Apps_______________________________________________District: graduate courses, training, increase in SmartBoards, Doc Cams, laptop/minis, CMS with some Web 2.0 features, increasing broadband/Wan, Google Apps

Curricular Connections

reading fluency, skill building, digital storytelling, artifacts for writers workshop, playlists as ‘dated assessments’, digital read-alouds and audio instruction

AP Psychology

AnnouncementsAssignmentsTests

Touring with Technology

Curriculum: Research social studies related locales, co-write a short script, multimodal information dropped in “pins”Tools: Internet, Google Earth, Flip Video, Pixlr, Sony Vegas - video editing

Purposeful - threading gaming in curriculum

Elements of Game Design 15 Learning Principles Associated with Playing Good Games (Gee, 2007)

15 Learning Principles Associated with Playing Good Games (Gee, 2007)

IdentityInteractionProductionRisk TakingCustomizationWell-ordered problemsSystem-thinkingDistributed knowledge

http://mrsprunty.blogspot.com/

Hybrid, Fully Online Courses• Capacity to connect structure and content

• Web page with log in portal - tools

• Blackboard as Learning Management System; Google Apps to augment

• Continual data collection, assessment, feedback

• Courses customized to individual learning and pacing

• LEARNING via PROFILE + PERSONAL + MOBILE

Google Apps (free + archiving)

Game-based learning ($450 for 600+ students)

BYOT - (after infrastructure) more access, lower cost

E-texts, Web 2.0 tools - free, inexpensive subscriptions

Virtual School - initial cost to set-up, then decreasing yearly costs

Professional Development - partnership/host on-site

Virtual Classroom/Meeting Space - Elluminate

Cost Effective

The StructureHow do we make this happen?

(1) Tech Cabinet(2) Policies(3) Professional Development(4) Continual evaluation - revision - research (5) School Board and community support

The Back-Channel....without

WiFi Engaging in multiple, continual conversations:

Everyday practice with teaching staffGrassroots efforts and interest

Roles - Technology Administrator, Technology CoachAdministrative support - Tech CabinetRewriting policy - community support

**embedding technology in everyday work

Tech Cabinet

Director of Curriculum and InstructionDirector of Student ServicesDirector of Research, Technology, and AssessmentInstructional Technology AdministratorLibrary Media CoordinatorNetwork Manager + TechniciansTeaching or Administrative Staff - topic dependent

The Polices(1) Focus on:

responsible useeducational usedifferentiating by level

(2) Push-back on research

(3) Rethink and revise yearly if necessary (BYOT)Include/educate the community

(4) Slowly lift filtering, not an all-or-nothing attitude

(5) Communicate

POLICY CHANGES

Professional Development

Literacy in Schools - Where should we begin?

• Assess your content

• Consider your technology tools

• Build a framework supportive of social/collaborative problem solving (for students)

• Support through professional development

course structure - model teaching practicesconnect to literaturepreview toolsexemplar units/lessons - deconstructproject and inquiry-based learningworkshops (emulation and case study)

OASD - Towards a Sustainable Program

(1) Practitioner Understanding of Research

(2) Focus on the Content - fitting the tools to the learner and desired outcome

(3) Creating a Vision - a sustainable “culture of participation”

(4) Choice = structure with room to differentiate

Challenges and Barriers

A CULTURE OF PARTICIPATIONblocking vs. unmediated access

ignoring vs. rethinkingstandardizing vs. customizing

focusing solely on overuse vs. offering opportunities

judging vs. teaching judgement/ethical use

focusing on the addictive qualities vs. offering opportunities

Direction in OASD• Move towards mobile devices

• iTouch and iPad technology

• Student assessment

• Supervision and evaluation

• Digital texts - eBooks

• Moving from desktops to laptops (or smaller)

• Google Apps - cloud computing

• FLeX Connect

Technology Information Pagehttp://www.oasd.k12.wi.us/page.cfm?p=5295

contact informationdaniherro@gmail.com

stephanie.leonard-witte@oasd.k12.wi.us

http://bit.ly/zltadU

Elements of Game Design Youtube