Gaming and Motivation Lesson Plan

Games played a major role in my action research project. I wanted to see how increased use of technology and games would engage my students in learning the concept of music note reading, and increase retention of this skill. While in GSM in June 2010, I pitched the idea of a game called Silly Staff, then created a version of it in Udutu during LMO the next month. This past April I used the Udutu with my 2nd grade students on our class SMART Board and made it accessible to students on my website as well. In addition, I created a practice game using the SMART Notebook 10 software. I still dream of seeing this concept become in reality an interactive game...


Pacing: The pace of my game would need to be fast, as elementary students have a limited attention span. In a classroom setting, rotating turns using their carpet seating rows works best.

Instructions: Instructions will be given from the Pedagogical Coach.

Controls: The learners will click or drag on the SMART Board or their own computer.

Knowledge: I expect my learners to have knowledge of the music alphabet and treble clef lines and spaces when they begin the game. After playing the game I hope the learners will feel confident in their skill with this concept.

Achievements: The short term victories for the learner are advancement in levels and rewards of stars and points. Successful completion of levels will receive positive feedback from the pedagogical coach. The long term victories include confidence in note reading that will make further musical instruction a more rewarding experience.

Story: Silly Staff loves words, but he is lonely! He asks his friends Treble Clef and the Note Family to help fill his life with the words that he loves. With their help, he won't be lonely anymore. (Remember this is for 2nd grade music students)

Endgame: Nasty Note throws in letters that are not part of the music alphabet. The Note Family has to clear those away and correctly spell the words on Silly Staff in the time limit for each level. When the final word is achieved, Silly Staff is happy, filled with the company of his friends, and the game is over.

Assessment: The built in assessments in this game are correct note spelling within the time limits set.

Timing: This game should last about 20 minutes of the 35 minute class period. Adding more word levels could increase the playing time.

Fun and Motivation: My learners enjoy games and especially anything that we can do on the SMART Board. I hope the novelty will not be lost. (This is why I continually strive to create engaging lessons and games.) This game involves intrinsic motivation. 2nd grade students can relate to loneliness and wanting their friends to share things they enjoy.

RILS Reflection

When we use Web 2.0 tools to create "Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenarios", engagement of our students is a given!!
I have seen such a positive change with my students since September of 2009 when I began the EMDT program. Meeting my students where they are as digital natives, changing my teaching style to include presenting content using Web 2.0 tools, and continually evaluating and tweaking have certainly revved up the excitement in my music classroom! (My own, as well as my students')
What I'm striving to do: Keep on making ripples, and present content in a way that is relevant and engaging to my students!

BP8_RILS Links to Comments

Follow this link to read my comment on Jennifer Williams' RILS .


Follow this link to read my comments on Rosetta Cash's RILS.

ETC_Final Project

Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario- Kathy Kellen

Target Audience:
Colleagues in my district in a staff development setting

Materials needed:
• computer
• internet
• course materials
• created assets

Objectives:
• The educator colleague will analyze their course content.
• The educator colleague will design a course in Udutu that will engage students in learning.
• The educator colleague will create media assets to include in their Udutu course.
• The educator colleague will reflect on the process.

Procedure:
• Present Udutu as a course design option to colleagues in Staff Development session
• Have colleagues view my tutorial video
• Break colleagues into small discussion groups to brainstorm ideas for the course each will create
• Allow ample work time and be available for questions
• Provide resources
• Colleagues share their Udutu courses with members of the small discussion group
• Colleagues reflect on the process, provide comments to the members of their group and take feedback from others and make changes to the Udutu course

Web 2.0 Tool:
Udutu
Udutu is an LMS that is user friendly and easily accessible through the Facebook applications of udututeach and udutulearn, as well as a URL that can be posted on websites.

Social Participation: The colleagues will be divided into small discussion groups by drawing a random number at the beginning of the session. In the discussion group they will brainstorm ideas for interactive units that would engage students with their course content. They will share ideas of media assets that could be created, and look at provided examples.

Connections: The colleagues will connect their individual course content with the new assets they are creating to include in their Udutu course. They will see the relevance of connecting with their 21st Century students through the engagement of the Udutu course and accessibility on their Google.edu website.
Create/Produce:
The end product that will be created is a Udutu course that focuses on each colleague’s individual subject matter. It will be posted to their google site and made accessible to their students.

Assessment:
Each colleague will email me the (working) URL of their Udutu course. I will also ask them to share feedback on a discussion board on my google site.

Reflection:
In a later session meeting of the small discussion groups the colleagues will reflect on Udutu and the creation of their course.

I will reflect on the process, take feedback from colleagues, and incorporate changes as needed.

More Udutu

My udutu course Reading...NOTES is completed and here is my tutorial on distributing it. There are some steps that are a bit complicated, so I feel that this tutorial can help my colleagues have less frustration and more success!

PE5_Udutu

This video is the rough draft of the first section of my tutorial for my RILS to be used in Staff Development in my district. I've learned more about the little tricks in Udutu and the biggest tip is "SAVE often!!"
To get support from Udutu (if needed) way at the bottom of the page is a link that sends a facebook message to the creator, Kris Udutu. I was very pleased with the help and support he gave me when I found that one of my courses had been corrupted. Pleased to report that it is up and running again! The personal touch care is to be noted!
An observation of self critique: I use the word "easily" WAY TOO MUCH!! I'll be changing that in my final tutorial edition!!
I'm really enjoying working with Udutu, and feel that the staff in my district will benefit from learning about what Udutu can do for them.

PE4_Udutu

For my RILS I have chosen to learn more about and develop my skills in Udutu. Udutu is a LMS that is free and easily accessible in the Facebook applications udututeach and udutulearn. To design courses you first create an account on My Udutu. http://www.myudutu.com
Udutu is easier than Adobe Flash, but still has some tricky aspects. My greatest advice is "save" after each thing you do! You have different theme choices, the ability to upload a logo, add a copyright for your work, choose fonts and sizes...and all this before you even add content!
Content may be audio, video, images and text. It helps to save your content in the library in case you need to change a screen or use something in a future course creation.
My RILS will involve a tutorial for staff development on creating a course in Udutu. More to come!

BP7_OMM PodOmatic

I hope you enjoy my "one minute message" about the web 2.0 tool PodOmatic!

BP6_Link to Lara Large's post

Please click on this link to read my comment on Lara's post.

BP5_Link to Marc Hunt's post

Please click on this link to read my comment on Marc's post.

BP4_PodOmatic

For my Web 2.0 Tool Review this week I chose PodOmatic http://www.podomatic.com
PodOmatic is a site where you can search for podcasts in many categories to use in your environment, as well as easily create and publish podcasts of your own. I signed up for the Basic account, which is free!
My intial thought is that this would be a great addition to the “Exploring Web 2.0 “ Summer Enrichment Course I am currently designing in Schoology, as I am sure students could have fun creating their own podcast episodes.
In my teaching environment, I have toyed with the idea of creating podcasts to attach to my school website as an innovative way to communicate with my students and their families.
This assignment gives me the push I needed to go through the steps! First I titled my podcast “Take Note” and wrote the description about why I’ve created it and who the target audience is. I uploaded an audio file of my original composition “Learning to Read Music” and a photo of my classroom. I tagged the podcast with “General Music” and “Kathy Kellen”. It is appropriate for all audiences, so no filter is necessary. I scripted and recorded a short message detailing what is happening in my classes. Then I published my podcast! Podcasts from PodOmatic can be posted on Facebook, Blogger and a wide variety of other social networks. The embed code may also be copied and used on your personal website.
I am including a Screenflow of my newly created podcast episode. Give PodOmatic a try!

PE3_iMovie

My Essential Training for iMovie is complete!
Here is a shot of my experiment with the movie trailer.....oops I need to shoot more video footage before I can complete it!


Finally, I learned something new in the audio section! I had never played with the Snap to Beat option, and I really like it!



This training in iMovie has been very beneficial to me, and I know that I will be using the things I've learned in projects to come!

PE2_iMovie

In Chapter 6 of the Essential Training videos I learned about working with effects like "cut-away", and "picture in picture". These were effects that I had recently been wondering about, but didn't know how to incorporate. Here is my first attempt at "picture in picture"...



Here is my first attempt at "cut-away"...



This was a lot of fun!!

PE1_iMovie

I recently upgraded to iMovie 11, so am happy to have the opportunity for training essentials through Lynda.com! I am also intrigued with the "certificates" and how they can be added to my resume`.
Even though I became fairly proficient with iMovie 09 during my EMDT courses, I find that I am learning a LOT going through this training!
I've learned about rating clips, removing unwanted clips and some of the advanced editing tools. I must admit I got a little carried away with sending clips to the trash, so now need to create some new ones to experiment with!
I'm excited to continue with the training videos this evening and do some hands on experiencing! Stay tuned!

BP3_iGoogleScreenShots

iGoogle is an awesome Personal Learning Environment! I have been using mine ever since I created it in ETC in January 2010.
I love having everything I want to be connected to all in one place, and the ease of access. I also enjoy choosing the backgrounds and making iGoogle a personal reflection of me! :)
Here are my screen shots:
Home:

FSO:

AR:

ETC:

BP2_VoiceThread

The Web 2.0 tool I chose is VoiceThread https://voicethread.com/
Voice Thread involves selecting and uploading images, Docs or videos, recording comments, and sharing with others. Comments can be added in five ways: by voice with a mic or phone, with an audio file, text, or a webcam. Sharing makes it a collaborative experience!
I watched the tutorial video, uploaded a photo and created my first “voice thread”.




How will I use VoiceThread in my professional setting?
I am creating a course in Schoology called “Exploring Web 2.0” for a small group of students to use as summer enrichment. After experimenting with Voice Thread, I feel it would be a beneficial tool to include as an introductory activity in my Digital Storytelling unit. Students will have the experience of choosing a photo that is meaningful to them, recording their voice and thoughts about the photo, and then responding to the photos of others in the course.

I can see this tool being used in classrooms to give students practice in “reading” images or film, to build collaboration and higher thinking skills. I feel that it will engage students and be a meaningful educational experience.

On a more personal level, think about posting photos and sharing the voice thread with family members to add their own “voices”, thoughts and memories. My father died recently, and I would have loved to have his voice commenting on photos from my growing up years. Technology and Web 2.0 tools can be used to enhance not only education, but relationships and personal life as well!

BP1_Welcome to my Blog

Welcome to my new blog for my audit of ETC!
After playing around for a bit with another blogging platform, I've decided I really LIKE Blogger!
Auditing is a wonderful "perk" of the EMDT program, and I'm excited to embark on my second audit adventure!
ETC was one of my favorite courses as I went through the EMDT journey, and the blog I created in January 2010 has continued to be a cherished part of my life. Here is the link if any of you are interested: on the journey and beyond...
Looking forward to adding new Web 2.0 tools to my repertoire, and making new connections!