Children are promises of a brighter future.

♥ Date: Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Super Hyper Spider Typer

This activity could be used for a language art lesson. There are three areas in this activity: easy, medium and hard. In these three areas, there are multiple levels that a child would have to accomplish before succeeding the entire game.

-Easy: A child would have to type out the alphabet on the lizard's body.
-Medium and Hard: A child have to type out words. As the child get to a higher level, the lizard would change from blue to pink, if the lizard is pink, it means that after the child type the word on it, it would change back to blue and the child would have to type the word on the lizard again before it runs away.

The main purpose of the game is for the child to type out the word on the lizard's body so that the lizard would turn small and run away and not reach the spider before the spider reaches the top. Throughout the activity, children would be able to revise their alphabets and words that they have learn or could be learning through the process of the game. (depending on the age group)

Click HERE to try the game.

Organization and Design

Layout and Design.Navigation.
Even though there isn't multiple graphic elements in the layout, it is simple and easy for children to use. The design is not all over the place and its pleasing to the eyes while playing the game as it also consist of green and blue colors and would not strain the eyes as much as other games which have a million colors everywhere. The design elements were able to assist the children in understanding concepts and ideas. The navigation is well-organized and easy to navigate. All children have to do is to type out the words they see, it is not complicating nor hard for children to understand what they need to do.

Instructional design and Delivery

Objectives
The objective of the game would probably help the children to familiarize themselves with the keyboard and would be able to type faster as they practice the game. However, through the game, children are able to learn alphabets and words that they have learn or have not learnt, it would increase the child's interest as to what a word could means as they type it out, and would remember it so that they could most likely use in their everyday language.

Different Learning Styles.Higher Level Learning Skills.
The game does not really provide auditory elements in the activity. However, it definitely provides visual and kinesthetic element for the child to have to look at the words and having to type it out using their fingers. The game also allow children to increase in their vocabulary and to revise or recap the words that they already have learnt. This would help in the child's language skills.

Game-Based Learning

Goals.Feedback.Interaction.Subject
The goal is clearly stated and the children would be able to understand what is expected and thus be able to accomplish the game. There is also little or limited opportunities for the child to receive timely feedback on their performance in the game. Also, there is a no need for the children to have audio interaction nor physical movements that would be needed for the game to continue, therefore there is not much of interaction. However, the subject of the game is clearly stated.

In conclusion, this game is an effective activity for children to be introduced to. It also scored a total of 36 points out of 50 points in the rubric evaluation, therefore I would also definitely use this game for my children as it is an effective game that would help my children learn int he aspect that is being aimed for.

All in all, my opinion of this game is that it is really effective for children to learn their alphabets and short words that would be used in their everyday life.
- I would use it in a language arts lesson when appropriate.
- parents can use the game to help revise with their children what they learnt too.
- children could play the game as and when they want to learn more words.

Time: 1:32 AM

♥ Date:

Catapult Game

The main objective of the activity is for children to know what are the healthy and unhealthy food that they have been eating. The activity touches on sorting food into different kind of category. All kinds of food would be on the conveyor belt for children to click on it to put it into the catapult and aim to throw the selected food into the appropriate barrel. If a child manage to get the food into the correct barrel, a green banner would show up and explain why it is correct, whereas if the child makes a mistake, the banner would appear at the correct barrel in red, allowing the child to see and understand why he was wrong.

Click HERE to try the game. (:

Organization and Design

Layout and Design. Navigation.
They layout and design of the activity is filled with bright colors and food that are familiar to the children. There are multiple graphic elements and variation in layout that would keep the children's interest during the game. The design elements also assist the children in understanding concepts and ideas that the game wants to portray to them. However, the navigation of the game could be of higher difficulty because the children might not have the hang of controlling the mouse properly and would pull back too much and the food could fall out of the barrel. A little practice would be needed to be able to aim perfectly into the barrels.

Instructional design and Delivery

Objectives. Different Learning Styles. Higher Level Learning Skills.
The learning objective of the activity is clearly identified as the entire activity focus solely on food. Even the mascot for the game is a pineapple, and with the words on the barrel and words on the banners in the game as shown, it is an obvious factor of allowing children to learn about healthy and unhealthy food and for them to gain more knowledge on the food that they eat. The game also provide multiple auditory, kinesthetic and visual components to enhance the children to learn better. There are different sounds when the child is playing the game to distinguish different actions and the mascot also have different reaction when the child have succeeded or not. Also, through the activity, it would also help the children to increase their cognitive skills, such as analysis and evaluation.

Game-Based Learning

Goals. Feedback. Interaction. Subject
The instructions/goal that was given in the game was not very clearly stated and children might not be able to understand what the game's aim was. It might take a few times before the child would understand what he or she was suppose to accomplish in the game. As said above, there are frequent feedback opportunities for the children to know about their performance in the game such as the mascot jumping in joy when the child shoot the correct food into the appropriate barrel. The subject of the game is clearly stated too such that the children would need to shoot the correct food into the barrel that is appropriate.

In conclusion, my rating of this activity after evaluation would be that its an excellent activity to be shared with the children to use. It also scored a total of 46 points out of 50 after the rubric evaluation. Therefore, I would definitely introduce it to the children if given an opportunity.

-It is effective for the children to have a deeper understanding of the food instead of simply its appearance.
- The game would have information about the food on the banner shown above the barrel, therefore the children would be able to learn the pointers while playing the game.
-I could make use of the game when introducing the different kind of food to children.
-I would be able to teach them what are the healthy and unhealthy food. I could then expand my lesson from the game itself.

Time: 12:58 AM

♥ Date: Monday, May 10, 2010

VAK Learning Style Model

The VAK learning style uses the three main sensory receivers: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic (movement) to determine the dominant learning style. It is based on modalities -- a channel by which human expression can take place and is composed of a combination of perception and memory. However, its main weakness is that the research does not support it. This is probably because it is more of a preference, rather than a style. Learners use all three modalities to receive and learn new information and experiences.

According to the VAK, there usually is a dominant style. The dominant style allows a person to absorb new information in the best way. However, the dominant style may not always be the same for all tasks, it differs accordingly to what the different tasks are given. It is a learning style which enable people to know what would be the best most appropriate way to learn according to oneself's own receiver of sensory.

5 examples of assessing each learning style

Auditory learners :

-Often talk to themselves.

-They also may move their lips and read out loud.

-They may have difficulty with reading and writing tasks.

-They often do better talking to a colleague or a tape recorder and hearing what was said.

-Listen carefully to what the teacher says.

Visual learners :

-Like to learn through written language, such as reading and writing tasks.

-They remember what has been written down, even if they do not read it more than once.

-They like to write down directions and pay better attention to lectures if they watch them.

-Do better with charts, demonstrations, videos, and other visual materials.

-Easily visualize faces and places by using their imagination and seldom get lost in new surroundings.

Kinesthetic learners :

-Do best while touching and moving.

-Tend to lose concentration if there is little or no external stimulation or movement.

-When listening to lectures they may want to take notes for the sake of moving their hands.

-When reading, they like to scan the material first, and then focus in on the details

-They typically use color highlighters and take notes by drawing pictures, diagrams, or doodling.

Time: 2:06 AM