It's April already...

With only eight weeks left of school, it has become vital for me to reflect upon the strategies leading to successful completion of the games as well as student satisfaction with the work they were able to accomplish and the content they have mastered throughout the game design, as every day brings something new in excitement and frustration thus pushing us all to achieve beyond what was imaginable in the beginning of the year. This is a very stressful time, and even though I often get down in the dumps about the goals to be achieved with minimized student frustration, I use my frustration to come up with new strategies to help students see how much they have learned and what skills they have acquired during this year. I think, bringing people from outside who work with the tools on a daily basis also helps my students develop a better understanding of the importance of the skills they are using in Globaloria class. Last year, I was able to have a Skype session with Billy Harper, an owner of a graphic design company, originally from the area and now living in Florida. This session has truly opened my students' eyes to the wealth of opportunities for the use of their skills acquired as a result of participation in Globaloria. This year, this opportunity presented itself with the visit of Dr. Alex Games who shared his work with the students as well as identified various uses of the acquired skills in real life. When he was talking, I could see the eyes of my students light up and pens start scribbling the URLs he was supplying for them to sign up to create games. Even the girls who are not gamers were excited to talk to Dr. Games, and I am hoping that they might consider participating in Globaloria class next year.
I guess, through the hardships and "dumps", it all becomes worth it when I see that spark in my students' eyes as they realize how connected to the real life their work is and how successful they can be if they just put forth the effort. That's what teaching is all about- seeing that you make a positive difference in a person's life and help him or her establish a base for successful future.

Game demo presentations

A couple of weeks ago, you have shared your game demos with your fellow students, teachers, as well as Globaloria staff. The weeks preceding the presentations were hectic, stressful, and also productive even though snow sure tried to temper with the progress. I hope that the process as well as the presentations themselves have taught you a lot about your game topic and got you thinking about the ways of coming up with fully functional games. Don't forget to check out the Game Presentations page on the wiki to listen to the WebEx recordings as well as watch the videos I am uploading to the page as you go through the game creation process.
In your blogs today, I would like for you to reflect on

• Your game presentations. How did you feel they went? What did you learn? Are you changing anything about your game as a result of the presentations? How did these game demo presentations help you identify what you need to get done before the big event in May?
• Your topic. How did you decide to narrow your topic? What specific amendment/freedom are you focusing on? What research are you planning on embarking as a result of your decision? If you have decided to change the name of your game to reflect your topic better, what is it going to be? What other details have you identified that you will be working on?

Please, remember to add other Civic Strand students' blogs to your blog roll, comment on their blogs, as well as submit the blog prompt to the website.

Good blogging!

Hmm... to steal or not to steal???

My dear bloggers,

Your blog posts this year have been amazing as they showed your reflective side and let me understand your excitement, concerns, frustrations, and successes as you learned more about Flash and collaborated in groups. However, while doing a great deal of research lately, it has become easier for some of you to copy and paste the information you have been reading up rather thatn putting it in your own words (a.k.a. paraphrasing) and giving credit to the source.

Today, I would like for us to discuss the issues of plagiarism and the consequences for using somebody else's work without their permission. For this purpose, I would like for you to explore the following websites and discuss
1. What copyright law is and what the importance of Fair Use section is for you as a student.
2. The works that are and are not protected by copyright.
3. What public domain is and how it can affect your work.
4. How much text, video, or music you can use in your work (in your games as well!).
Copyright Kids and Cyberbee websites will be a great tool for you in your exploration. When you finish this part of the assignment, go to the following TUTORIAL, choose Emma's character and answer a series of questions about her actions regarding work at school. List THREE things that you have learned after playing that tutorial.

Good Blogging!
Mrs. Barker

Leading the horse to the water...

Student motivation has become a more prevalent issue throughout the years of my teaching. Working in a high poverty area, I frequently deal with the issues of students not seeing sense in getting education due to the cultural perceptions at home or community. Additionally, many students become easily bored in their classes as they are subjected to the same teaching strategies educators used with their parents without regards to the changes that have occurred in many spheres of adolescent life.



Web 2.0 technologies the students use outside the classroom let them create content, socialize, learn, and manage the wealth of information pertinent to their lives. When dealing with reluctant learners in my middle school classroom, I try to explore the ways to make their learning relevant and fun to them and help them see how they can apply the skills acquired to the real life situations.

"'It's a game, isn't it, Mary Poppins?'
Well, it depends on your point of view. You see, in every job that must be
done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and - snap!- the job's a
game. And every task you undertake becomes a piece of cake..."

Disney motion picture: "Mary Poppins"

Fortunately, in my Globaloria classes, I don't have many motivation issues as the students regard this class as relevant to their lives and are happy that they are doing something cool. However, motivation issues arise with older students who lag behind in curriculum, feel overwhelmed, and, therefore, want to quit. Spending extra time and giving students opportunities for catching up, agreeing on mutually set goals, and showing them that you care about them and their work helps raise motivation. I also feel that constant communication and provision of constructive feedback are extremely important, as they help educators establish relationships with students, and within our cultural environment where many students do not have caring adults in their lives, this aspect significantly contributes to the student motivation.

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.