I understand the importance of tapping into the interests of kids, I am just very leery about always catering to their interests. I also have trouble with the idea of fitting teaching in with a 'hot' topic. I think there are some things you can leverage to better connect and engage your students, this I am concerned about. I like the idea of game based learning, but I am hesitant.
I like how the author of this article challenges the negative views that others hold about Pokemon Go. I beleive like most things in life (and education), the anwer if balance. We don't need our children to be playing the game ALL the time, but we can teach them how to do it responsibly and to self-regulate their behaviours while doing so. If we take the time to learn the game ourselves, we can also help to ensure that this is a positive learning experience.
I was just discussing with my husband this morning that, as much as I said I would not use pokemon, it is something that I should learn how to play so that I can have more common ground with students. I did not realize how many subjects the game touches. This will be my project this weekend!
I think I would need to become an active participant in this activity so that I could create effective lessons and understand the application of the game.
This article about Pokemon Go in Education is from the Toronto Star last month.
I understand the importance of tapping into the interests of kids, I am just very leery about always catering to their interests. I also have trouble with the idea of fitting teaching in with a 'hot' topic. I think there are some things you can leverage to better connect and engage your students, this I am concerned about. I like the idea of game based learning, but I am hesitant.
ReplyDeleteI like how the author of this article challenges the negative views that others hold about Pokemon Go. I beleive like most things in life (and education), the anwer if balance. We don't need our children to be playing the game ALL the time, but we can teach them how to do it responsibly and to self-regulate their behaviours while doing so. If we take the time to learn the game ourselves, we can also help to ensure that this is a positive learning experience.
ReplyDeleteI think we could have a similar conversation about Minecraft.
ReplyDeleteI was just discussing with my husband this morning that, as much as I said I would not use pokemon, it is something that I should learn how to play so that I can have more common ground with students. I did not realize how many subjects the game touches. This will be my project this weekend!
ReplyDeleteIt is great to engage the students in learning. Pokemon Go is an excellent tool to use for mapping, math, writing, reading, oral communication, etc.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using Pokemon Go from the angle of being digitally responsible.
ReplyDeleteI think I would need to become an active participant in this activity so that I could create effective lessons and understand the application of the game.
ReplyDelete