It's On! (Gaming in Education)

Gaming in Education? Never heard of it? Don't worry, neither had I... until today.
Here's a little background on video games used in education: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-video-games-are-the-future-of-education/. It goes over the background of video games and some opinions on whether video games are a good tool to use in education and whether it is actually effective.
Some Thoughts On Video Games In Education. Gaming in education is a new term and concept to me. I never thought of actually using gaming in my classroom, but now that I have, it's an amazing concept. Video gaming in the classroom opens up new opportunities to challenge students and really let their imagination come to life in the classroom. It allows them to explore more and become so much more interactive in the classroom. 
Would I Gamify My Classroom? Most definitely! There is no reason a teacher shouldn't at least try to equip video game learning in their classroom. I think that it's just a cool idea to at least try to implement in some form or on some level. I would use games in my classroom at least once for every unit.
What Are Some Good Examples? One example be to use the video game MLB 14: The Show as a tool for review. Students would take turns at bat to use the character to hit the ball. Students will get a question after they hit the ball. A foul ball, strike, out would yield no points or question. A first base will yield 1 point, second base will yield 2 points, third would be 3 points, and a homerun would be 5 points. Students will get a randomly selected question or level based question and will receive the points if they answer correctly.
Gaming in education is really cool idea to implement in your classroom. I would recommend looking at this website to get some more ideas: http://www.edudemic.com/gamify-your-classroom-2/.

A New Reading Rainbow: Digital Storytelling

First things first, here is the video that I created in my ECI201, Instructural Technology for Educators, for Digital Storytelling.

Why use digital storytelling in the Classroom? To answer that you have to ask yourself, "why not?" Digital storytelling allows students to be able to take any content that they learn in class and be able to tell "the story" or the content in a unique way and style. We need that opportunity for students to be creative and participate in the class on a deeper level such as digital storytelling. What I really find interesting about digital storytelling is that you can tell any kind of story; history, a book, a report, or even a marketing presentation. Anything is possible.

How can digital storytelling be used in different content areas? Even though my content is in Business and Marketing Education. Digital Storytelling can be done in subject area. From showing students how to construct a DNA helix in Science, to exampling how to do a complex math problem in your Algebra class, to showing how to dunk a basketball in your P.E. class. The great thing about digital storytelling is that it's almost completely versatile.

What can students learn from creating a digital story? They can learn the simplest skills of video editing and being about to tell stories on their own. Depending on how the digital storytelling is setup, they can also learn team-building/team work skills from working in a team on the project, storyboarding for future teachings or storytelling, and even essential creative skills that they'll use in the future.

What's the advantage of digital storytelling or lecturing/teacher created content? Students love interact and being a part of the class. That's been proven in many classes around the country. Digital storytelling, if done correctly and effectively, allows students to really be a part of the class. 

How will I be use digital storytelling in my classroom? Students will definitely have the chance to use digital storytelling in my classroom. Depending on the lesson, I can see my class having digital storytelling as ongoing assignments to utilize as video components for my class. See one of my last posts on videos in the classrooms for more on video usage in the classroom.

I'm very excited to use digital storytelling in my classroom and I expect to use it when I begin my full-time career and during my student teaching experience.