Partner Blog #5

There are several apps on the i-devices that help keep up general knowledge and brain stamina through a variety of ways. I thought it was very interesting that Jim Gee says games work like we know books work. I do not play games, so there is no one that comes to mind that teaches me knowledge. However, I might start after these videos and articles! Some of my friends and both of my siblings play games through applications on their phones that test them and can even challenge them against other people on history facts to everyday life knowledge. My older sister has an app that trains memory and attention. Even in games designed just for fun, there lie better uses that build up knowledge in ways we would never think about. I think games help because they help maintain brain fluidity and speed. People that use their time to play games that trigger thought and memorization of facts as opposed to people that use their free time to watch TV will obviously benefit in the long run.

As Jim Gee says, there is more going on when someone plays a game, such as World of Warcraft. He continues saying there is a collaborative problem-solving idea behind playing games. It has become so popular in the 21^st century because as other technologies increase daily, the game technologies improve, as well as the technologies that advertise these games. As he asserted, it is all about the experience of the game. There is learning involved in every aspect of games—rules, characters, identification, and thought processes to achieve the intended goal. There is a natural inclination to become better and better and then understand the world differently, as stated by Kurt Squire. Other players push your own understandings and strategies. He says that games help people understand the actual current ways of the 21^st century. Teachers can take this into account. In the 21^st century, we continue to see improvements in technology advance. In a classroom setting, I believe teachers can use books, lectures, and possibly games to back up their own lessons and teachings. I believe this improves the learning environment, especially when it comes to issues of keeping the students engaged.

            I can use this idea to help myself so that I can better understand technology integration, follow rules, and build complex methods and ideas that lead to a desired outcome. Games are proven to achieve these things, and I hope that in my future job, I can use games to enforce learning. Especially in the field of Speech Therapy, improvement may be achieved through the use of interactive games, apps, and verbal exercises. Kurt Squire also points out that games lead to a better understanding of civic engagement and its importance—something all people can benefit from. In my future job, I plan to use both verbal means of communication and teaching, as well as games to spark interest in patients or students, keep them engaged, and provide them with ways to use their brain differently.

I have used this image perviously, but it illustrates the use of gaming as a means of learning. She is playing games on this toy computer that trigger learning as well as complex thinking. 

This image of Emma shows her coloring in a picture of a character from a game she plays based off a series called Doc McStuffins. From this game, she has already made associations of how this character is portrayed and illustrates these through remembering how this character is represented and coloring based on this. 

20% Proj. 6 Blog Reflections: Number 4

           Speech Therapy in the hospital setting has always interested me. As I research technology such as the iPad and its use in this setting, I am even more intrigued by the possibilities and success it brings. The iPad already has so many features that people do not realize. As I wanted to learn more about this, I asked two of my mom’s friends, who both practice Speech Pathology, if they integrate any of the i-devices into their work setting. One of them, Mrs. Epstein, works in a school setting. However, she informed me that she uses many methods, including the iPad. She said there are several helpful apps on it. She then proceeded to name some off, which I have taken note on.  She proceeded by telling me that she also uses flashcards, listening and speaking programs on the computer, and verbal interactive activities. The second lady, Mrs. Alexander, is a Speech Therapist at a hospital—my intended goal. She said she emphasizes a wider range of interactive hearing and speaking techniques, but she also uses the iPad because it provides many helpful activities. She said there are even apps that track improvement. I think that these women really helped back up my research about the various effective methods and advantages the iPad brings to the hospital setting, as well as other settings such as the school. Both of them were fascinated about my project and were glad they could contribute to such an interesting topic. They recommended I do more research on the specific apps they told me about. They gave me some useful tips about not only the project, but also about the career. I plan on shadowing both of them over the summer and see for myself exactly how technology, such as the iPad, is integrated into their work. 

20% Proj. 6 Blog Reflections: Number 3

           Along with using sources found on the Internet, I have also used various social media sites to find information on my topic of the use of the iPad in the classroom or Speech Pathology setting. I find that ads come up on my Facebook for certain apps. I have found several apps through following Speech Therapists on Twitter as well as Speech Therapy boards on Pinterest. Some of the links on Twitter lead to blogs of Speech Pathologists and how they work with their patients. The iPad has so many functions that people do not realize. I follow Twitter accounts that give me information on my topic, and some of the account users have followed be back, too. I have been commenting on my partner’s blogs, and she has been commenting on mine, as well. The feedback we give each other has helped me with the 20% Project by providing commentary and feedback on the ideas I have had so far. These have been helpful in keeping my ideas on track. Although we do not have the same topic, our feedback is helpful. Most importantly, my research has led me to find that the iPad has features on it that let therapists better connect and interact with his or her patients. In my previous reflection, I listed some of the specific apps, which have proven to help with collaboration—a key factor in improving.  Whether it is verbal or visual training, the iPad helps with an array of skills.  These skills have proven to be effective in the therapy setting.

Reflection #4

Visual literacy is so important because as technology is improving every day, it is important that we take advantage of every thing we can do with it. Visual literacy has been part of my education for as long as I remember; my teachers used a variety of things such as TV shows, movies, YouTube channels, and interactive computer games. I have even been taught with music before; our project was to analyze different parts of a song and explain and criticize it. This involved listening to certain sounds and phrases. Especially going into the Speech Pathology field, I think George Lucas had a great point in saying if people aren’t taught the language. Graphics have such a strong way of relaying a message in a way that reading and writing cannot. One can experience the emotions and expressions involved. These factors alone can make learning more exciting and engaging. Learning is a very holistic matter—there are so many elements involved that make it effective. The article “Life on the Screen: Visual Literacy in Education,” makes a very good point that the country survives on its educational system, which should include every aspect of learning. To thrive, there should be a sufficient amount of learning through visual methods. In our daily lives, we are used to having iPhones. iPads, and laptops. We use these for games, online TV shows, and communication. We understand technology, and we should all be doing our best to use our resources to their fullest potential—to learn from the things that we have. Sometimes, I watch certain TV shows and actually learn important life lessons from them. They have the potential to be a very good tool in teaching. As the article “The Eyes Have It: Potent Visuals Promote Academic Richness” states, people spent so much time telling kids stories about art that they were training them to be good listeners. Visual learning is key to doing well. The VTS program the Fran Smiths writes about proved to be successful, with students in the program for three years showing significantly higher growth rates in visual literacy, which correlated strongly with reading and math gains. This is just an example of its importance; it can benefit other categories of learning as well. As a 21^st century learner and future educator, I would help myself and others develop visual literacy be using the whole realm of methods to teach and guide my students. I would use sounds, shows, videos, and other interactive, stimulating resources. I have seen first hand how they have helped me, so I plan to help others the same way. I don’t think this blog is too challenging with visual representations because we use these visual aids and resources so much more than we think. We have plenty of options to use and choose from.

This is a video from YouTube of Marilyn Joyce speaking on the importance of teaching Phonics as well as how to efficiently teach it. She uses various notecards and other visual mechanisms to help early children's development of Phonemes. 

This is another YouTube video on a teacher using visual aids to encourage creativity in the classroom, an important concept that the articles touched on.