Our History

We have been slowly moving forward, creating Flash files following the tutorials and adding extras to our scene files as well. Good job learning from each other, from the tutorials, as well as asking me for help when needed! Your projects pages show your progress, so the more you upload, the more work you will show off for other students and teachers in WV and NY.

Please, keep up with the commenting assignments for each other's blogs as well as the blogs for EGMS. Some of you have started on commenting EGMS blogs, and some are still behind :) Remember, though, start with POSITIVE comments. Everybody wants to hear something good about what they are doing. If you have any suggestions, then you can add those suggestions! Reread your comment to see if you would have liked what is written if it was addressed to you. Our goal is to help, not make somebody angry and give up!

Your prompt for today is about American history. Think back to the events in our history and write a blog about what even in the history was the most influential. Why was it important? What were the details of the event? How did it affect the way we do things today? Don't forget to add research to back up your points and supply some videos or pictures!

Good blogging!
Mrs. B.

Constitutional Amendments

My dear 7th grade bloggers,

Before you go on to enjoy your Thanksgiving break, I want you to ponder about the upcoming prompt. Take your time discussing, researching, and talking to your peers to write a good blog!

Here is your prompt:

You are a West Virginia senator. Your goal is to propose a new amendment concerning the problems, freedoms or rights of your choice through a persuasive blog to convince the Senate at the nation’s capitol to accept your new idea. The writing of this new amendment must be in clear and concise language and have relevant media to accompany the blog to help you render the message. This information must be backed by at least three reasons that are not your opinions but stem out of the facts you have gathered through your research. Don't forget to cite the sources you have used to gather information.

Good blogging!

Mrs. B.

Adding Navigation

We have been working very hard on adding navigation to the scenes for your game. This week has been very difficult for some, but you still have made it! Chuckie certainly added tons of work to his projects page and showed his progress through the week. Check out Clyde's, Josh's, and Angel's pages where they are showing their work following the tutorials, experimenting on their own, and working with me. Garrett can be proud of his drawing and tracing abilities. Check out his page as well!
You all have done a great job, and today is your time to reflect about this week's unit.

• What have you learned about Flash?
• What was easy for you and what was challenging? How did you manage to overcome your challenges?
• What have you learned about the content of your game (what research have you done about civics topic you are covering?)
• What questions do you still have about the unit?
• Do you need more time to work on adding navigation or are you ready to move on?

Good writing!

Mrs. B.

What does being a productive citizen mean?

Being a citizen of a county is a right that is not enjoyed by everybody. However, it is a tremendous responsibility, as a citizen who exercises his/her rights can influence legislation and change many things around. Power of one in the United States cannot be underestimated, as many great changes in this country were started by small groups of forward thinking individuals. When I think about the individual citizens affecting the change by their actions, I think of the story of Rosa Parks, but there are many more other examples of individuals can affect events taking place in our country.



Think for a moment about an issue you feel needs to be addressed in your county, state, or a country (it can be a pressing current issue, such as swine flu, health care reform, tragedy in Ford Hood, or the veterans' life and care after they get back from war; or a pressing global issue, such as finding renewable energy sources, dealing with increasing gas prices, or helping citizens of the countries around the world fight for their rights). Why is this issue of a concern to you? Write a letter to your senator trying to convince him to support your views in legislative vote or new legislation. Remember that your letter shoud be compelling for the senator to read and take action. So, do your research for the facts to back your opinion, or your letter might not be as persuasive as you might think. Use multimedia to enhance your writing!
Watch this video that tells about universal human rights- you might get some ideas about the issue you would want to share in the letter.
This CNN Video tells about H1N1 flu (aka Swine Flu).
Good Blogging!
Mrs. B.

What about Your Game?

My dear students! You have worked really hard on imagining your game and creating a paper prototype. I know that you still have a lot of ideas to put on the paper, but while I am away, and you cannot get to your paper prototyping, I would like for you to write a blog post answering the following questions:

1. What is your game topic and how does it relate to civics?
2. How will a player learn more about civics while they play your game?
3. Where does your game topic fit into the Civics Knowledge Framework? Does it teach about an ideal of government, a function of government or about citizenship? Please explain.

Below, I have outlined the Civics Knowledge Framework. Please, take a look at it and try to match your game to one of the components and talk about it when answering question 3.

1. Ideals: key principles and values underlying US government
· Origins/history of key ideas and values
· Government systems (democracy, dictatorship, communism, monarchy)
· Majority rule
· Minority rights
· Separation of Powers
· Individual Rights and Freedoms

2. Function: How does the US government work?
· Local, state and national/federal levels of government systems
· Local, state and national/federal court systems
· The three branches of government (executive, legislative, judiciary)
· Role of citizens and outside groups (unions, lobbyists, media)

3. Citizenship: How to be an active and effective citizen at any age?
· Stay informed (locally, nationally, globally)
· Explore a variety of sources and perspectives
· Develop a position on local, national and global issues
· Volunteer and participate in community service
· Take action!
· Develop a strategy for achieving results on the ground
· Learn to use action tools: protest, petition, letter writing, town meeting
· Lead and/or support at different capacities and levels (student government, community, local, national, etc.)
· Vote
Good Blogging!
Mrs. B.

My dear students! As always, your blogs are a great read that gives me tons of information about you and your work in Globaloria. You are all ready to start on paper prototypes and get to seriously thinking about your games. Your game ideas are great and overflow with creativity. The Spikers are rocking for the Constitution; Tigers are playing hoops to learn more about the branches of the government; Smarties are exploring the White House; The Dancing Goombas of Zoom!!! are embarking on the historial journey following the footsteps of Lewis and Clark; and Halo Machines are trying the cases in the court house. The Fox Racers are racing to answer educational civics questions, as the Blond Chicks are exploring student rights and responsibilities. Make sure you go to check out each other's team pages and blogs to find out what students are doing in your class.
Now, let's go to our weekly prompt. Last night I played Supreme Decision game and spent a lot of time thinking through the judges' decisions concerning the student freedom of expression at school. Go to play this game and blog about your impressions. What does freedom of speech mean to you? Are there any restrictions to your expression of views, likes, and dislikes? If Mr. Campbell forbid you to wear your favorite shirt to school, would he be right in doing so? If your locker was searched, would you have a right to refuse a search? Why?
Take your time thinking about the answers and base your responses on what you have learned throughout playing the games, reading different blogs, and doing research for your topic.
Good blogging!
Mrs. B.

So far, so good...

Thinking about my blogging habits, I can surely say that they could be better. I do blog weekly, but it's mostly done for my students as I am trying to introduce the complex topic of civics through this great tool for reflection and getting to know the topic. Today, however, I am taking time to reflect on our progress and experiences in the class this year.

Honestly, starting the new year scared me, as I had an amazing group of kids last year who went above and beyong of what the class offered. However, I did not do my current students and Globaloria itself enough justice. Every child is amazing, and our building on the students' interests and their preferred way of learning will bring their uniqueness and brilliance out thus helping them unleash the creativity so needed to be productive on the global scale, which is so vital in the contemporary world and in the world of future.

As of these first days of October, we are progressing wonderfully. Students are taking giant steps into their learning and are not afraid to tinker and be challenged. I will not bore you with the minute description of their progress but rather post this Wordle of my students blogs on their progress thus far from the last week:

The image has been taken from http://www.wordle.net

What can you do?

Time flies when you are having fun! The first month of Globaloria has gone by very fast, and I hope you all have been having fun and learned a lot! Working on the wikis and blogs as well as thinking about the possible game topics were hard but truly rewarding. I hope that all of you are as excited as I am about our great start in Globaloria!

Yesterday you have finally formed teams and really got to talking about the topics for your civics games. As you think about your games, keep in mind your possible audience. Who is going to play your games? Think about yourselves last year- what would have helped you learn more about civics? For your blog assignment today, I would like for you to think about your specific topic (whether it be the branches of the government, the history of our country, individual rights and freedoms, Bill og Rights, etc.) and try to find any blogs to add to your blog roll that would help you learn more about your topic throughout building of the game. Post your reasons for choosing the specific blogs and introduce your classmates to your choices.

As you are thinking about your game topics and searching for blogs, check out this activity and reflect on the role government plays in our lives. While researching, I have found this video on three branches of government that makes a connection with sports. So, for some of you, sports fans, and others who are looking for the ways to teach about civics, here it is:

Good Blogging!
Mrs. B

First Experiences in Globalora

My dear bloggers,
It has been wonderful to see you work through units, blog about the pertinent issues in class, and get to finally play with Flash! You have played tons of games and evaluated them from different perspectives, which was hard but prepared you so well to start thinking about your game. You have also discussed various topics on civics and math to prepare for the challenging task of teaching a certain topic to your peers or younger students. Your blogs really helped me see what was important to you.

Our blogosphere has been working amazingly well. I am impressed with your comments to each other. It's great that you are following the rubric and encouraging each other to work harder and to keep on doing a good job.

So, how has it been so far for you? What about Globaloria do you find fascinating? What have you learned in this class that nobody else in school does? What have you done as a result of Playing to Learn and Choosing a Topic units? What games have you played, and which ones became your favorite? I really liked Learnt the Bones, Super Toaster (of course!), and Katrina, Tempest in Crescent City. They helped me realize how much I can learn while playing these games and actually having fun!




Have you found any cool resources to learn more about the chosen topic? What are your thoughts about Flash? What do you hope to accomplish in Flash this year? Based on your experience with Flash, what role (sound expert, coder, artist, game assembler) would you expect to partake within your group? What makes you think so? Blog about your Globaloria experiences so far, and don't forget to make your posts rich and keep on having fun while learning so much in Globaloria!

Good blogging!

Mrs.B

What about Internet?

My dear wonderful Globaloria students!
Reading your blogs was a great way to see what you thought about your rights and responsibilities. Your posts were as different as you all are, which provided me with tons of engaging reading. Chuckie shared his knowledge of the amendments, so if you are not sure what each one means, go check out his blog and don't forget to leave a comment! Billy and Roger talked about our rights to freedom of religion, and Amber and Kaitlyn concentrated on the dress code prompt I included in my previous post. These are just some highlights for this week, so be sure to blog on, as you all are doing an excellent job!

Now, let's move on to this week's discussion. Since Globaloria's curriculum is delivered online with many Web 2.0 tools used by you on a daily basis, it is time for us to think seriously about our rights and responsibilities on the Internet. You have a right to education, and Internet can serve as a great tool to learn tons of new stuff.

• What is important for us to know?
• How safe are we making ourselves online?
• Is the Internet safe or dangerous? Or is it as safe or dangerous as you make it to be? Watch these videos to start thinking about Internet and your rights and responsibilities that come with it:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Think about the code of conduct on the Internet
  , reflect upon your rights, and responsibilities when it comes to your education, safety, and responsibility when working and communicating online.

  Good blogging!

  Mrs. B.

  
  

Do rights come with responsibilities?

As citizens of the United States of America, we have the privilege of enjoying many freedoms people in other countries cannot even imagine having. We have the rights that have a long history and are given to us at a price: they come with responsibilities towards our country, our fellow citizens, and ourselves. We know that the Bill of Rights protects us from unfair treatment by our national, state, and local governments, but as good citizens we have the responsibility of elect great leaders who would make and enforce the laws that protect our rights. But, is it enough? We do enjoy such basic rights as freedom to speak freely, believe in what we desire to believe, and feel free to express our individuality without being afraid for our lives or the well being of our loved ones. What do we do to handle these rights responsibly? Do our rights come with responsibilities?

"Suppose you have formed a committee to decide about the rules of the dress code at school in collaboration with your principal. You have the right to speak and add your suggestions. What responsibilities come with your speech and the speech of other members of the committee? What happens to your right to free speech if these responsibilities are not followed? How would you form the rules about the dress code? How can your freedom of expression be restricted by your rights and responsibilities within the school? What if your right to freedom of expression offensive to others? "

Before you write your blog, check out these cool resources and express your opinion!
Do I Have A Right?
Seattle Times Article on Student Rights to Expression

Student Rights and Responsibilities:



Good Blogging to you all!
Mrs. B.

New year

Well, the new year has officially started. It was nice to see familiar faces and get acquainted with the new sixth grade students. Of course, I greatly miss my last year's 8th grade students who were a great group and for whose support I might be reaching this year. We have a lot more students this year in Globaloria and are reaching out to 7th and 8th graders. I am curious to see the differences/similarities in learning these groups will display.

My plans for this year are very ambitious- we are taking on civics games and are to establish communication and collaboration with other schools in WV as well as TX. I am excited and maybe a little scared not to meet the expectations, but these feelings usually drive me to achieve more and help my students meet the goals of my class.

Globaloria is such an exciting class that, despite its complexity and new ways to deliver curriculum, it interests kids tremendously, challenging the high achievers and helping the struggling students take interest in school in general and see purpose in their education. I often compare the essence of this program to any other educational innovations, challenges, or problems schools deal with today.

I was recently reading Ian Jukes's blog When Flogging a Dead Horse It's Probably Good to Dismount and could not help but think that so many programs we run at school feel like a dead horse that we fail to dismount and keep on trying to find the ways to revive it. Ian Jukes notes that, unfortunately, it is common practice in education. I got a good laugh out of reading his blog, but in retrospect, the issue does not feel funny. Change is hard but it is now or never that we need to embrace it in education. Ian Jukes connects his ideas on educational practices of "riding a dead horse" to the issue of the biggest annual drop in reading scores in 31 years on SAT. In this case, the dead horse is our TTWWADI (that's the way we've always done it) and the demands of NCLB "running headlong into Digital Natives who are tuning us out and shutting us down."

"We try to engage kids who are neurologically different (Prensky, Small,
Tapscott, Pink, Dryden, Medina...) by using a PhD (piled higher and deeper)
approach. This much medicine didn't work so we'll just give them more of the
stuff. Based on the assumption that what doesn't kill them will make them
stronger." (Ian Jukes)

That's where Globaloria comes into play. This program does try to address the needs of these neurologically different kids by engaging them in the activities they feel are important to them, thus making their learning more meaningful.This program helps students use the skills they so artfully develop outside the classroom walls for academic purposes. Additionally, Globaloria lets teachers dismount their dead horses and try new strategies and approaches.

Wow! How did it change my life?

Looking back at certain moments in my life filled with angst, frustration, working under pressure, I surprisingly came to a conclusion that these were the most powerful learning events of my life. They made me - ME, shaped my teaching style, formed my outlook on various things in life, and opened my mind to tolerance, understanding, and compassion. Mainly, travels to different parts of the States and Europe contributed to my most powerful learning experiences.

I remember one of my travels specifically. It was my first visit to the United States, the country with culture so different from mine that at first it left me confused, searching for connections to my understanding of life, and scrambling to better my English :) Luckily, I ended up in New Hampshire, where the language was easy enough to understand for a newcomer. Beign a part of Easter Seals camp staff was an eye-opening experience as well as it was the first time I worked with children with disabilities, an entirely rewarding and humbling experience by itself. Even though I was questioning my sanity at the time, wondering about how in the world I was stupid enough to sign up for this crazy deal, but eventually I came to understand the importance of my undertaking as it helped me realize how big this world was, and how different, but not unequal, cultures were, which made me a better teacher and still helps me try to inspire my students in the secluded county of McDowell to look beyond the county line, open their minds to a multitude of possibilities ready for them to undertake, and view the world as a place for collaboration, not division. And, Globaloria enhances my beliefs even more!

Homework assignment

Just as doing my homework assignments for the admin class I took this semester from Concord Univeristy during the four weeks of Twilight obsession, I am unveiling my blogs to follow early in the morning, while it' not too late!
Lately, I have been following Ian Jukes's blog after listening to his presentations last summer. His insights into the 21st century learning gave me tons of food for thought and provided good support for opening my mind to the teaching and learning opportunities initiated by Globaloria. The work my students have accomplished this year proves that 21st century learning is taking place in WV schools . In the end of the year, my studetns have produced a video that shows their accomplishments in this class and is a great evidence of their engagement and hard work.
I have also decided to follow up the edu blogs website suggested by Rachael yesterday during the session. I am extremely interested in the issues of 21st century literacy and digital divide as these are the roadblocks we frequently hit as teachers working in high poverty areas. Despite the location and peculiarities of school locations, teachers still need to leave no child behind and find ways to help all the kids to be successful within the 21st century workspace.

Tying up loose ends...

Last week was a bit hectic as the much-anticipated and feared date of the game presentations neared. We also had visitors from Globalora staff and Texas who came to see how Globaloria works within the middle school setting. Students willingly shared their insights into Globaloria, what they learned, how it helped them work better in groups and become more familiar with Web 2.0 tools.

Wednesday, the day of our presentations, was both nerve-wrecking and rewarding. The students have put in a lot of work during class hours, after their lunch, and after school. Even though their games were not completed, the game presentations were engaging and well prepared for. Every group member, even the shyest one, contributed to the presentation. To share the student success and the results of their hard work, Sara and I invited our county assistant superintendent and technology integration specialist to be on the panel of judges. We also had a teacher from another middle school from the county come and videotape the presentation. Of course, our administration was present, supporting the students.

Even though the presentations are over, we still have a lot of work to do. The students have to assemble their games, and with Jeff's help, they are slowly moving to their goal. Even though student motivation is there, we still promised to bring cookies and milk (their choice!) for the groups who upload their finished games to the game gallery by next Friday! Middle school bribing sometimes works magic :) Blogging, organizing pages, and finalizing games is all that's needed to successfully finish up the year.

The time we spent in our first year of Globaloria was challenging, highly educational, and very rewarding for the students who embraced the 21st century learning skills and tools and have come out being ready for challenges future might bring them!

Presentation time nears...

Well, the students are almost finished with their individual units and are starting on their game scenes, which brings a lot of creativity, frustration, and seeking for answers into play. The presentation at the board is in three weeks, so I encouraged the students to produce a game demo and talk about their learning process within the course. They are worried about talking in front of the board, but that will help them in the long run.

Our assistant principal and I are trying something this semester. Her acquaintance is an owner of a graphic design company in Florida. We got in touch with him about possibly talking to the kids about this industry and his experiences with it. The guy is very willing to talk to the kids, so we might be setting up Skype session with him some time in future. I am very excited because this session would let our students see the significance and reak world application of what they are doing in this class. Of course, none of my students need to be really nudged to attend Globaloria. They perceive it as "fun learning", with some spending more time on playing rather than working for a specific goal- their game. However, work or play, they are still learning, so I am not complaining much.

Our progress...

My students are increasingly surprising me with the complexity and creativity of their work. Collaboration between these kids is amazing as they find resources and share them with each other constantly! However, they "play" with Flash a lot and sometimes forget about adding the newly learned stuff to their game! Thus, they need constant reminders to stay on task in addition to having "boss-ladies": Phyllis, Karri, and Chelsey!

Recently, we have organized a parent night at school, with one of the topics for sharing being Globaloria. Josh and Tyler decided to represent the group and talk about their learning in this class. Parents were impressed, which means that we might get a number of willing participants next year. Interestingly, many parents wanted to see this program continue in high school because it was evidently something the students would enjoy tremendously! This night was a good rehearsal for the boys as they have a presentation with the board coming up in April, with the final presentation of the games taking place in May. Knowing about these presentations and working in groups keeps these students accountable towards each other and towards this class, which eliminates my need for grading as a sole means to evaluate the learning process and actually see it take place.

I am excited about the things that the students are learning. They definitely know more than me even though I have progressed a lot further since last June myself!!!

Are we ever going to get back to work???

Well, snow days have provided a nice relief here and there, but I am sooo ready to do away with them and have a decent work week. I guess, we haven't had many cancellations as other schools have, but they still messed with the schedule. Through the chaos of snow days and semester changes, the groups switched schedules, and now the second group is coming in for eighty minutes. The kids are absolutely loving it! The first group, however, are not happy with the change, but so far it hasn't affected them that greatly.



We are starting to reap the effects of Globaloria by... letting our students help teachers who want to find out more about new Web 2.0 tools. Yesterday Sara and I were asked by a teacher who is happy to have evolved from a digital dinosaur into "just a big lizard" (her own words :) to help her learn more about wikis, blogs, and podcasts. Instead of jumping in right away, we offered... Josh to help her out. So, as soon as our snow days are over, they are going to meet every morning to learn more about these tools. The growing confidence and belief I have in these kids are another proof that this class helps not only students but also teachers to embrace the 21st century teaching and learning. Of course, I still have long ways to go in the means of acquiring knowledge and prefer conventional ways rather than skyping Jeff far away in NY to help me out with the glitch in the game (Josh :), but I am definitely moving along. What's the next stage of evolution from a digital lizard, I wonder???

Reflections on Globaloria coming into 2009...

Yesterday, while celebrating the coming of year 2009, I started evaluating our work in Globaloria in 2008. What have we accomplished? What have we learned, on our own and from each other? What have we struggled through? Where have we succeeded? The term "we" for me includes the students and the teachers, because in this class we are all learners, which, as hard and impossible as it seemed to me in the beginning, has proven to be the most rewarding aspect of the class. The end of the physical year is sort of a mid check point for the class, which is getting more challenging but more rewarding at the same time. So, if going back to August...

We have originally started with a diverse group of 15 students, 15 different personalities, ambitions, working habits, etc. that totally "made" the group. The beginning of the semester was chaotic because the structure of the class, the independence in learning, as well as the need for collaboration and dealing with new software to all of us required constant attention, reinforcement of rules, and reevaluation of practices in close collaboration with Denise. Of course, we could not have done anything without the support from our school and district administration as well as the Globaloria team, which ensured quick install of Flash...

From there on, the life in class has taken a form of its own. Up to date, we have lost two students and have accepted a new one, these being the changes that made us reevaluate our grouping practices for the next year because of the huge role collaboration plays throughout the course. The class has also opened various talents in our students and heightened their interest in school (the testimony of one of the parents!). Their game ideas are very relevant to the social issues of today and are overflowing with creativity.

The students constantly surprise me with their catching on to the new things with Flash. Whatever I could not figure out in a million of years, they get it in a snap! However, not everybody is this way, so these students and I slowly go through the tutorials and learn something new ourselves! Of course, if the overachievers don't jump in and explain everything in an instant! I cannot wait to see what this class will bring during the second semester, especially teh final product, which is not only the games, but also my students' social learning, collaboration, and work skills honed throughout the course.