"I Know What I'm doing; I Don't Need Your Help"

If I could get a dollar for every time I hear one of my students saying, "I know what I'm doing, I don't need your help" I would be rich. However, these same students will be frustrated and shutting down two minutes later when they don't get the same results as their peers.  Consequently, digital literacy is very important.  As an educator, I haven't figure out when to teach digital literacy or allow the students to figure how to use the technological tool and/or the game. I understand the importance of teaching digital literacy, but it is a challenge for me to find time to teach it explicitly to the students. As a group, we experience 50/50 successful rate in terms of engagement and completion of the task.  From the fail experiences, my choice of the media or game did not support the math concepts or it was repetitive.

I like online games for students, and I am looking forward to making it more meaningful for my students (Laureate Education, 2012). Many of the online games I used, in the past, targeted rote memorization of math facts and some logic games, but currently, I am looking for games that foster higher order thinking skills. Personally, I have never participated in virtual anything, and my son just recently started playing ‘woozworld’ with a bunch of his friends. I was surprised to see how well he was able to maneuver the site because he was not formally trained on the site. Watching my son maneuver that pleasurable site, I will look into Abar and Madsen Barbosa (2011) suggestion of using GeoGebra and Moddle in my classroom. I like the notation of using gaming to foster analytical skills, problem-solving skills, and be a change agent in their environment (Barab, Gresalfi, & Arici, 2009; Cobb, 2008; Westera, 2011).

Abar, C. P., & Madsen Barbosa, L. (2011). Computer, algebra, virtual learning environment and learning: Is it possible?  Acta Didactica Napocensia, 4(1), 31-38.

Barab, S. A., Gresalfi, M., & Arici, A. (2009). Why educators should care about games. Educational Leadership, 67(1), 76–80. 

Cobb, J. (2008). 26 learning games to change the world. Retrieved fromhttp://www.missiontolearn.com/2008/04/learning-games-for-change/  

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Technology, learning, and teaching. Baltimore, MD: Author. 

Westera, W. (2011). On the changing nature of learning context: Anticipating the virtual extensions of the world. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 14(2), 201–212.