I quite like Tagxedo – definitely got more tagging options then wordle. I like how it can pull a twitter stream or a blog post with ease and then create tag clouds in shapes – absolutely wicked and full on win!
So a few days ago I began blogging on Atmosphir – a new browser based games design system. I wrote two lengthyish blog posts about my initial impressions of Atmosphir and how it could be used to teach the ICT systems life cycle, something which I feel is one of the major theoretical underpinnings of ICT. In that I listed the stages of the system life cycle which I teach and which my students in A-level use as part of their major project. The first stage I want to talk about is therefore what is traditionally called the problem definition stage or what some sources call initiation.
I blogged recently about Atmosphir and my first impressions of it as a potential system for use in the ICT classroom. I found a couple of concerns including the slight lack of intuitive features as well as the necessity to download the unity player for the game to work (browser 3d support standards are a ways off).
This blog is a follow up to the original blog – I hope to expand on the educational usage of Atmosphir in a classroom if its issues are sorted out. At a Futurelabs workshop on Digital Literacy I attended on Wednesday someone mentioned how ICT lacks theoretical underpinnings. I didn’t respond immediately as this unfortunately only came to me a bit later but I do disagree. I think one of the major theoretical underpinnings of ICT is the systems life cycle which I have been teaching for years at A level but not as part of the GCSE spec I have been doing (OCR spec B). The systems life cycle is something I have referred to occasionally when teaching GCSE and key stage 3 so therefore it is something which I feel should be made more official at those levels. I think the best way forward is to map out the systems life cycle and attempt to link it to an aspect of development in the Atmosphir world. Hopefully if done correctly this mapping could be used with other programs like gamemaker or Alice. The stages which I generally teach are: 1. Problem definitionI have never really taught game design in class apart from a few attempts at using scratch at developing systems with students. I was therefore quite pleased to find out about Atmosphir.com which is a Microsoft Project designed to allow game players to create their own worlds quickly and easily. As a means of teaching systems design this seemed perfect. So after initially signing up last week I decided to give it a bit more of a bash last night and this morning. This blog is a synopsis of my first impressions. (Note: must be familiar with basic games design terms like sprites and skyboxes)
Is not possible. I have really forgotten how absolutely horrid the early morning commute in London really is. I suppose when I was living here I became immune to the dull drudgery of it all. I suppose I should stop my usual ranting and concentrate on what I hope is the point of this short blog and that is to set out my blogging strategy for my pupils next year. My key aim is to start the year with a push to use blogging not as a one off activity which they learn about in a module (although it will he introduced in one) but as something which will form a part of their learning not just in ICT but in other subject areas as well. To make it easy posterous is definitely my preferred blogging platform for students. I looked at edublogs.org and although it was very powerful it was almost too powerful. Posterous is a lot simpler both for myself and for the students. The only thing which does concern me is the lack of central moderation and control. It will be something I will keep my eye on very carefully. Ultimately what do I wish to achieve from this push towards blogging? I think I want to see students move towards collaboration, reflection and personal and peer reflection on what they are learning. Blogging will almost certainly help achieve this. Sent from my iPhone
I was hoping to pick up the blogging habit after a bit of a break in the leadup to a workshop I am attending tomorrow on digital literacy. Unfortunately daily life got a bit in the way so here at least is a few short reflections on what I hope to gain from the workshop.
I’m always wary of modern educational lingo such as ‘digital citizen’ and ‘digital literacy’ been thrown around with a bit too much ease without any attempt to show deeper understanding of what those terms mean. However these terms have gained a lot of currency in educational management and practice. I have been recently working on my schools log term ict strategy and the terms digital literacy and citizenship have come up quite a bit. I have been using ‘digital citizen’ as a way of framing a target for our ict strategy. In other words it is something which I feel should be at the core of not just our ict strategy but also our general educational strategy. I think therefore in order for me to sell this vision and strategy to my colleagues and SLT going on a workshop such as this one will be an excellent step forward. I annulling therefore that the discussion tomorrow will help me sharpen my arguments for what I need (infrastructure, budget, personnel) in order to support turning our students into digitally literate citizens. Just an aside note – I’m currently typing this on a Victoria line train to stockwell (my balance and co-ordination ain’t so bad) and will be posting once I get out. Into reception again. I think if I had still been living in London I would have been spending a lot of my time on the underground blogging. Perhaps that’s a good way of reflecting on the possibilities of a decently structured digital literacy project. The ability to content create (as well as share and interact) in a seamless manner in almost any environment is a mark of a digital citizen. Perhaps that should be one of my central aims of my digital citizen strategy for school. I hadn’t considered that when starting this blog post which therefore proves again the power of blogging. Till next time
