Digital Blog Post #C

A concept that really caught my attention was "WebQuests, Virtual Field Trips, and Videoconferencing" in chapter 6. I had always thought that field trips were a great way of learning for students. I had no idea about virtual field trips and videoconferencing. I was surprised with how many different places were available for virtual field trips including the Great Wall of China. I think this is really great because a lot of schools and students can not afford educational trips. I will definitely incorporate these into my curriculum as a future teacher. 

I am a strong believer in "Digital Games for Learning" so this concept in chapter 7 was one I could not wait to learn more about. The chapter mentions simulation games and virtual worlds. I am not a huge fan of virtual world games because I do not find them as educational as simulation games. There are a couple virtual world games such as Webkinz that I have personally tried. Webkinz has some good games but virtual worlds is not something I will use in my classroom. The textbook mentions that effective simulation games features stealth learning, which is when students learn without realizing they are learning. Stealth learning is one of my biggest goals in my classroom. Learning should be fun and I feel simulation games are a great way to accomplish that. 

Since I plan to incorporate digital games for learning in my classroom, the concept "Strategies for Using Games with Students" in chapter 7 was very important for me. The strategies mentioned in this concept were: minimize the use of games that teach isolated skills, scrutinize games that function solely on points won or lost, discuss games and their content, and play games together. For maximum learning it is important I provide games for my students that target basic skills and problem solving skills versus isolating just one skill. Most games that function on points won or lost are web based games that are usually virtual worlds which I will not have my students participate in. As a teacher I will always review the content of a game before allowing my students to play. Something I did not think was important was talking about it with my students. The book says psychologists recommend it and I will implement this strategy in my future classroom. 

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Mcclain, C (2016, February 21). Untitled. Created with Bitstrips http://www.bitstrips.com/r/WDP0Z