Thing 13 – Online Conference
I get emails all the time about conferences you can attend online. I have never done one before, until now.
“Using computer games as a context for learning and social interaction,” December 19, 2009, by Ollie Bray http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=531
When I clicked on the conference I thought it would be about computer games found on the internet. This online conference should have been titled “Using Guitar Hero in 21st Century Learning and Social Interaction.” The presenter spoke of engaging students in their learning using tools such as Guitar Hero for morning warm-ups. It was mostly targeted to students who were leaving their last year of elementary school and going on to secondary school in Scotland. In this school “district,” the students were in 8 different elementary schools and then students were merged into one school. The students were not as prepared for secondary school as the educators would have liked — especially socially.
One of the first aspects he brought up was getting parents’ permission. Maybe they are a little more relaxed in Scotland, but I cannot see our 4th and 5th grade parents giving permission for their children to play Guitar Hero (Rated Teen) at school. I understand what the educators were trying to accomplish, but the idea is a bit much for me. Maybe I’m showing my age. I think students should play board games or computer games to learn or highten skills, but using Guitar Hero would not be my first choice. I try to do a 5-min. game in my math class, at least 3 times a week, as a warm-up. It helps get the students’ attention, and they don’t even realize they are learning skills that will help them in class.
Online conferences are like online classes you take in college. I took several online classes in college, and I did not like them. I need human interaction. I certainly like being able to sit in front of the computer with no makeup and wearing my pj’s, but I do not get as much out of the presentation as I would have being there in person.
