Social Justice Games

24. March 2010 by MrBall.

I have talked with several teachers about games that promote social justice. Within the ECSD community we have outlined our fourth goal as “Be a Highly Responsive and Responsible Catholic District”. The phrase we often banter around is “Think Globally, Act Locally”. This is a very nice thought but I always struggle with how I can demonstrate the”Think Globally” part to my students. Here are three games that allow students to catch a small glimpse of what Think Globally means.

 

Ayiti The Cost of Life is a web based game where students need to keep the quality of life up so that their family can do well.

http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/rights/explore_3142.html

 

Food Force shows students how aid is delivered in war torn or crisis areas. How the food is used to pay people to help rebuild thier own community and many of the issues around the transport and delivery of the food aid. This game has to be downloaded.

http://www.food-force.com/

 

Third World Farmer allows students to make the tough decisions of a farmer in a 3rd world country. 

http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/

 

 

There are other games related to poverty  listed here at the http://www.gamesforchange.org/channels/poverty website.

 

If you and your students are so moved to donate money to a good cause after playing these games I would like to recommend micro loan websites like Kiva.org. It is a great place to make responsible loans that continue to come back to you so you aren’t just thinking about how you can help once.

 

Access the PowerPoint here.

Posted in Social Justice, Games, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Transcend Appearance

22. March 2010 by MrBall.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Plupon

17. March 2010 by MrBall.

Here is a simple addition game you can use with your students. It is quite open ended in that they need to add up to 10 using the random numbers that drop from the top. There are a certain number of times the player has to add up to that safe number of ten before they can move on to the next level.

I’ve had grade 3 students play this game with success.Have a play through it and see if it would fit your students’ addition abilities.

Don’t forget to debrief them on the game and why they are playing it. The point is to get them using multiples of ten as a safe place to add up to. Giving themselves a mental break for when they add larger numbers.

Sorry about the background sound. They were laying carpet down the hall and I couldn’t block out the noise.

Posted in Curriculum, Games | No Comments »

4 Freedoms of Play

16. March 2010 by MrBall.

4 Freedoms of Play

What are the barriers that are preventing these from entering the school system? Is it a deeper part of our social structure that dictates that school has to be serious? From the idea that hard work is more important than perhaps joyful work. When we get over the fact that work can and should be enjoyable then I think we will see a shift in education that will dictate that learning should be fun. It can’t always be fun but it should be enjoyable and purposeful.

Posted in Engagement, Games, Presentation | No Comments »

Bridge Building Game

15. March 2010 by MrBall.

Here is my review of a bridge building game.

Links

www.crypticsea.com

www.bridgebuilder-game.com

http://www.chroniclogic.com/

Posted in Curriculum, Simulations, Games | No Comments »

How to get ahead in Empire Avenue without really trying.

15. March 2010 by admin.

How to get ahead in Empire Avenue without really trying. 

 

1. Get set up. Add your Twitter feed, Blog RSS, and connect up your Facebook account (I know you have one). Add some categories, interests, and throw in a simple Bio. You get money for doing all these simple things and it will attract investors. If you are on Empire Avenue and you haven’t done these things then go quick and delete your account.  This goes double if you are a business. It is like having a website with an “Under Construction” page.

 

2. Make posts: Post to your Twitter Account, Blog, and (even thought I don’t value it) post to Facebook. Content creation is how you generate interest in you. If you generate nothing then your stock price will drop because no one will care what you are doing and they will dump you. Post cool, weird, interesting, thought provoking, and creative stuff (sure maybe even offensive) that you care about. 

 

I shave as a hobby so I’ve started posting about that. Do you care about the? No. Then don’t buy me or follow me. Easy Peasy!

 

Please do not post for the sole purpose of gaining approval on EA. People will see through that type of behaviour. If you are already a content generator you have a great edge. Don’t change what you do for the EA community; just wait for your followers to get in on the peoples market.

 

3. Find others and rate them: Look at the people who share interests or categories with you. See what they are doing. If you like it then buy their stocks and keep checking on them. While you check in on them rate what they are doing. This gives them feedback and probably $$ for both you and them. If you contribute to their success their price goes up and your portfolio goes up in value as well. Win Win!

 

4. Watch those dividends: If you have your money parked in a stock that isn’t getting good dividends then move it. The daily dividends you receive allow you to invest more money and spread your influence around. If you have a small piece of a big pie make sure you care about what they are doing on the interweb.

 

Finally, make sure you are having fun and finding new people to connect with. This is the peoples market and it relies on us making personal connections with like minded people and businesses we value. Leave the adsense bots behind and let word of mouth drive you to find the things you value.

Posted in Fun, Games | No Comments »

ISTE NETS and Alberta’s ICT outcomes

10. March 2010 by MrBall.

I really enjoyed the simple way that this video and the others like it are shot.  I found this video sitting on http://scottmeunier.com/ .   He is an Edmonton educator who I was able to hook up with via EmpireAvenue.com.  While watching the video I was reminded of the International Society for Technology in Education’s - National Educational Technology Standards (ISTE NETS) Here are the sites for more information- Implementation Wiki and Main ISTE NET.

 

I quite like that the ISTE NETS refocus the teaching with technology back towards the curricular outcomes and students. I’ve heard talk that the Alberta ICT outcomes are being refashioned around the ISTE NETS. With that change and the push towards the TPACK model I am hopeful that the sometimes over-hyped classroom technology tools will fit more comfortably into the classroom of today. Don’t get me wrong I love the tools but I don’t like that teachers being forced to adopt technologies that create the classroom of the future. They can have the classroom of the future tomorrow. Lets just teach the kids today.

Posted in Reflections, Presentation | No Comments »

New Hobby

8. March 2010 by admin.

 

Over the past several weeks I’ve been experimenting with a safety razor. You know the kind with one double sided blade. I bought a 1932 Gillette safety razor over eBay for thirty dollars. Then I went and bought ten Wilkinson Sword blades from London Drugs for about 9 dollars. So far that is 39 dollars for a shaver that will last forever and blades that are lasting twice as long as my old Gillette and Shick disposable cartriges.

 

After these two purchases I went and bought a sample pack from westcoastshaving.com . 

Here is the package that arrived February 3rd. All of these razors only cost me 32 US. I think there were a total of 104 blades. This isn’t counting the 10 Wilkinson Sword blades I had already bought.

 

I’ve gotten some different types of shaving cream  I’ve experimented with. To be fair in the experiement I’ve only used the Wilkinson Sword blades. The first shaving ‘cream’ I used was hair conditioner which used to work so well when I used the conventional multibladed razor. I used to love Aveda conditioner for shaving but was quite expensive. I also have shaving paste called The Real Shaving Co. from England. This is a paste you work up into a lather on your face. There is an Olive oil shaving soap from a company in Australia called Sugar Shack that works alright. My favourite right now is the Proraso shaving soap. I have experienced very little razor burn when using it right after a shower.

 

The inspiration for all of this shaving craziness is taken from @Mantic59 or http://mantic59.blogspot.com/ or http://mantic59.blogspot.com/ and his great shaving tutorials. Have a listen to his videos. He does a convincing sell on the ability of safety razors to shave close and comfortably.

Posted in hobbys, shaving | No Comments »

Exploring Empire Ave (Beta)

5. March 2010 by MrBall.

I was at the opening of Empire Avenue last week at Transcend and I had a chance to meet the Empire Ave team. They were all very friendly and approachable group. They, like I, believe in word-of-mouth marketing. Empire Avenue hasn’t evolved into the marketing tool that they talk about here but I think it is on its way.

I was lucky to be invited in on day one and I have been having a hoot. Buying stocks in the people I feel are influential and trustworthy in what they create online.

Most of the community so far seems to be of the early adoptor tech crowd. I am eagerly awaiting the Ed. Tech community to join in, especially the educational video game crowd, to see what their thoughts are. I think that there is a high level of engagement that goes along with this site that is further reaching than a video game. It is a peer and computer coded feedback system that as @MrTedMartin says- “#empireavenue Has me, for the first time, really thinking about my online presence… and what I can do with it.”

The current creators like #yeg ’s Mack D. Male  @mastermaq have been doing their work pretty much for free.  I am curious if EmpireAvenue is changing the way they measure their success or how and what they post about.

 

At this point I am reluctant to admit complexity in the market because I think there are more variables than I could dream up. The basics are like this: 

1. You buy stock in someone you feel is a creator on the interweb.

2. If that person creates content they are rewarded by the market and you are rewarded through dividends at the beginning of the next trading day.

Yeah yeah! I know it is more complex than that. That is why I called it the basics. The market has it s ‘ups’ and I’m sure it will eventually have its downs. It seems to be a bit like a popularity contest right now but I think that will be solved with larger numbers of investors. The market setting right now is one of high volatility. Not a big deal. The beta is small, currently 280 (March 5th 10am), and with those lower numbers there is going to be high volatility in the peoples market. There were some players who are taking advantage of this. These people are just players not content creators so as the market moves forward they will lose value and probably be sold quickly. I hate to burst their bubble (that’s my joke).

If you are lucky enough to get in on the beta of EmpireAvenue.com get me on your ticker by buying ABALL.

Posted in Reflections, Fun, Engagement, Games | No Comments »

Skype in the Classroom

2. March 2010 by MrBall.

I’m not sure if I am being lazy or efficient with the presentation I am planning for Thursday. I’ve never done Skype in the classroom before so I am feeling a bit under prepared experience-wise. I am going to rely primarily on Langwitches.org and Silvia Tolisano’s experience with Skype.To start with I will simply show the staff the mechanics of Skype and their webcam/mics. I want them to be able to do simple trouble shooting for the hardware and software. I also want to make sure that their security features are turned on so they don’t get spammed. I use Skype at home to connect my daughters with my parents and I’ve had a few issues with unsavory people trying to connect with (no horror stories). I will definitely get them set up with the proper permissions. Check the names I’ve had to block from contacting me below.    Next Langwitches’ video on Skype in the classroom (~20 min) with highlights on preparing and managing a class during a classroom Skype call. The Langwitches.org website has loads of resources that I will show the teachers. It will be up to them to review the ones they value. There is also 50 Awesome Ways to use Skype in the ClassroomI will then finish up with a couple of ways that teachers can use their webcams other than Skype. The first is through VoiceThread.com they have a few examples posted here of how educators are using it. Some lower elementary examples are listed here…Grade 6 Math Grade 1 ScienceKindergarten Language Arts If I have time left over I am going to show the teachers how they can use youtube.com to have their students quickly and easily record and save their ideas. I like this kind of recording especially for recording fluency.If I have missed anything you feel is important please leave me a comment below.

Posted in Skype/VC, Presentation | No Comments »