508 Mobile Learning and Gaming
Examining the underlying concepts driving the adoption of mobile and gaming technologies in education, this course will investigate potential devices/apps/games, issues (e.g. supporting infrastructure, management, digital divide), resource selection, integration in curriculum, and potential venues for creating mobile and/or gaming content for educational use.
Course Outcomes Spring 2016 Instructor: Greg Lewis
- Be familiar with common terms, definitions and elements related to mobile learning and gaming environments.
- Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of mobile learning and gaming environments.
- Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of a variety of mobile learning and gaming environments.
- Develop and design intentional learning activities suitable for the appropriate mobile learning and gaming
environments and the learner i.e. incorporation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and selection of strategies and resources appropriate for environment, learners and learning outcomes. - Critically assess and evaluate resources for best practice in mobile learning and gaming environments.
- Create assessment and evaluate methods/tools most suitable to the strengths and challenges of the specific environment.
- Integration of current cognitive learning and educational gaming theory and examination of current research around best and emerging practices.
- Develop practical and technical skills in all phases of concept, development, design, implementation, etc. within mobile learning and gaming environments.
- Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization based on characteristics, needs, stages of development, current personalized learning mandates, and misconceptions.
Inquiry Project: Mobile Apps for Mental Health
OLTD Program Learning Outcomes Addressed:
Critically assess and evaluate resources for best practice in mobile learning and gaming environments.
Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization based on characteristics, needs, stages of development, current personalized learning mandates, and misconceptions.
Critically assess and evaluate resources for best practice in mobile learning and gaming environments.
Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization based on characteristics, needs, stages of development, current personalized learning mandates, and misconceptions.
Assignment Summary and Reflection:
This collaborative assignment was centred around finding resources, especially mobile apps, for teachers to use in helping their students with mental health issues. The process was definitely informative and unexpected in terms of the final findings. Although mobile apps are ubiquitous, with many of them proving to provide a fabulous product (whether free or for purchase) the same cannot necessarily be said for the "serious" apps or games, specifically designed to assist the user in areas of mental health. Though we found many apps in the genre of mental health, they all seemed to be similar versions of one another. Furthermore, there seemed to be little if any, formalized studies to verify the effectiveness of these products.
For me, it was in the creation of a more comprehensive toolkit that I found the greatest benefit for my current teaching assignment. Working with "reluctant learners" in an Alternate Program, I am constantly faced with helping students learn to manage their emotions and increase their ability for self-regulation. The research in this area is slim, but was enlightening and served to increase my understanding of, and appetite for, including games and apps while working with atypical students in academic learning environments.
This collaborative assignment was centred around finding resources, especially mobile apps, for teachers to use in helping their students with mental health issues. The process was definitely informative and unexpected in terms of the final findings. Although mobile apps are ubiquitous, with many of them proving to provide a fabulous product (whether free or for purchase) the same cannot necessarily be said for the "serious" apps or games, specifically designed to assist the user in areas of mental health. Though we found many apps in the genre of mental health, they all seemed to be similar versions of one another. Furthermore, there seemed to be little if any, formalized studies to verify the effectiveness of these products.
For me, it was in the creation of a more comprehensive toolkit that I found the greatest benefit for my current teaching assignment. Working with "reluctant learners" in an Alternate Program, I am constantly faced with helping students learn to manage their emotions and increase their ability for self-regulation. The research in this area is slim, but was enlightening and served to increase my understanding of, and appetite for, including games and apps while working with atypical students in academic learning environments.
Serious Games
Link to my review of the serious game called Solve the Outbreak.
OLTD Program Learning Outcomes Addressed:
Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of a variety of mobile learning and gaming environments.
Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of mobile learning and gaming environments.
Be familiar with common terms, definitions and elements related to mobile learning and gaming environments.
Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of a variety of mobile learning and gaming environments.
Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of mobile learning and gaming environments.
Be familiar with common terms, definitions and elements related to mobile learning and gaming environments.
Assignment Summary and Reflection:
Playing games is something that I have always shied away from, and admittedly, something that I abhorred my children spending so much time doing! Having the opportunity to examine games, especially "serious" games (those intended to be more than just pure entertainment), for this course has not only allowed me to become more balanced in my critical analysis about video games, but has opened my eyes to their value in certain contexts.
Although my current teaching assignment revolves around supporting students who struggle academically in a mainstream, brick and mortar classroom setting, my investigations helped me understand about how games can increase motivation to learn. I will now be on the lookout for games, such as "Solve the Outbreak" (which incidentally could be used to enhance many units of "curriculum" from grade 6 to 11) to augment what I do. Furthermore, having experienced the power of game play has moved me to advocate for game play with my colleagues.
Playing games is something that I have always shied away from, and admittedly, something that I abhorred my children spending so much time doing! Having the opportunity to examine games, especially "serious" games (those intended to be more than just pure entertainment), for this course has not only allowed me to become more balanced in my critical analysis about video games, but has opened my eyes to their value in certain contexts.
Although my current teaching assignment revolves around supporting students who struggle academically in a mainstream, brick and mortar classroom setting, my investigations helped me understand about how games can increase motivation to learn. I will now be on the lookout for games, such as "Solve the Outbreak" (which incidentally could be used to enhance many units of "curriculum" from grade 6 to 11) to augment what I do. Furthermore, having experienced the power of game play has moved me to advocate for game play with my colleagues.