- December 8th, 2009
Living on an Island.
- bmclaren
- Comments: 3 Comments »Tags: Burravoe, Consolarium, games based learning, Glow, Shetland, Wii, Wild Earth African Safari
“No man is an island”
John Donne espoused that we are all connected and I think that we are all the better for it. Having connections whether familial, social or professional enriches all that we do and extends, supports and challenges us.
I have been thinking recently about the way my learning has changed now that I am no longer in a school setting and how much I relied on the people in my school staff to bounce ideas off, to rant to, to use the experience of and to laugh with. Now that I no longer have a physical staffroom to use I have found myself using the skills and knowledge of a different set of people in a very different way. I have a virtual staffroom, open 24hrs a day containing a set of people from all over the world, with a huge array of skills and experience which I can tap into, and who generously share their learning. I use Twitter. There, I’ve said it and it doesn’t make me a bad person!
One of the first people I was in contact with in my very early days of twitter was Caroline Breyley, the headteacher of Burravoe Primary School on the Island of Yell, the second largest of the Shetland Isles.
She and her class were considering the use of Wild Earth: African Safari for the Wii and wondered if it would be a worthwhile context for learning. Through the work they have shared with me it is clear that they have been involved in a very engaging, motivating and successful piece of learning. I had the great privilege of meeting the children online at the tail end of last week. We set up a Glowmeet and through the use of this technology children over 400 miles away, including at least one flight and a ferry, could share the fantastic work they had done with me in real time and get immediate feedback. Go and visit the Burravoe Primary School blog, read about life in their school and read the “Brilliant Story” by Charlotte in p3.
Through the use of technology available to those in Scottish Education our children have access to an immediate national audience for their work, Glow groups, glow meet, CANVAS and a host of blogs allow our children the opportunity to share their work and receive feedback . We should all be sharing our practice and seeking feedback on the work we do and providing constructive feedback on the work of others. We cannot afford to be islands.
Categories Added Value, Consolarium visits, Games we have, Glow, Literacy, Nintendo, game based learning, writing
Thanks to Brian for Glow meeting with us; all the children really enjoyed getting such great feed back from so many miles away. We all love living on an island but also enjoy the feeling of being connected. We like the pictures you included but can only look at home as they are blocked by the LA!
My name is Jim Pedrech. I teach English and History in a small town in Ontario, Canada. I discovered this amazing initiative through Twitter. Though it will take me quite some time to sift through this blog, I am thrilled by the possibilities it offers.
I have been interested in games and learning for quite some time. I’ve been use Flash and some inexpensive 3D programs to create online experiences for students. My students and I recently completed a game called the Paulsford Mysteries, in which the user plays the role of a Victorian constable trying to solve a crime in a small town. Students did the voice acting and wrote many of the parts: http://fc.ldcsb.on.ca/~j.pedrech/victoriantest/
Our next project will be about Ancient Egypt. For this game, I am trying to maximize the collaboration between students.
I’d love to share these experiences with this community of learners; I’d also like to see how teachers and students are learning from this intiative.
Glad you have found this of use Jim. WE used Hotel Dusk Room 215 for the DS to investigate the Noir genre. Will post something about that over next week or so.