In the article, "Pupils to study Twitter and blogs in primary schools shake-up", the possible changes in the British primary school system are explained. In addition to altering the format of the current curriculum, new skills like using Twitter and Wikipedia, blogging, and web-based instruction will be included. There is much debate surrounding this change, and many believe that it is unnecessary. Others support the inclusion of new technologies and believe that students need to be taught these skills.
Mary Bousted, said, “Children need to be enthused by learning, so they want to learn and gain the skills which will enable them to learn in later in later life." This is an excellent point. If students are taught to use programs and applications that they use outside of school, and these programs and applications are then used to enhance the school curriculum, maybe students will become more excited about the content material. On the other hand, I do not think that schools should eliminate important content in order to find the time to teach new technologies.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Linking obesity and video game use
Linking obesity and activity level with children’s television
and video game use
Elizabeth A. Vandewater, Mi-suk Shim, Allison G. Caplovitz
Is a child’s weight status related to the types of activities that he/she participates in? I would say absolutely, however this study proves that that is not always the case. It would be very easy to conclude that overweight children are those who spend their time playing video games and watching TV, but that has not been prove to be true in all cases.
I found some of the results of this study to be very interesting, especially the fact that television viewing is not proven to have a direct correlation to children’s weight, and even though there was more evidence of a connection between weight and video game use, there was no absolute connection. One of the reasons stated was that overweight girls may turn to activities such as video games because they are socially isolated from their peers. That makes perfect sense. Boys are less likely to ostracize each other from their social groups, but girls will definitely make each other feel uncomfortable and unwelcome, especially if their appearance is not considered desirable by the group.
The study concluded that in order for television watching and video game playing to have an impact on a child’s weight, the child would have to replace a physical activity with the more sedentary activity. For example, many children who play video games are athletes, and they play games related to the sports that they like to participate in. If they spend a few hours participating in their sport after school then come home and play a related video game for an hour, they are still physically active children. It is only when playing the real game is replaced by only playing the video game that weight issues may occur.
Children love playing video games, but like everything in life, moderation is extremely important. If parents do not allow their children to become couch potatoes and encourage them to live active lives, there is nothing wrong with them playing video games. However, if a child will not do anything but play their video games, there is a problem, but not one that a parent can’t solve.
and video game use
Elizabeth A. Vandewater, Mi-suk Shim, Allison G. Caplovitz
Is a child’s weight status related to the types of activities that he/she participates in? I would say absolutely, however this study proves that that is not always the case. It would be very easy to conclude that overweight children are those who spend their time playing video games and watching TV, but that has not been prove to be true in all cases.
I found some of the results of this study to be very interesting, especially the fact that television viewing is not proven to have a direct correlation to children’s weight, and even though there was more evidence of a connection between weight and video game use, there was no absolute connection. One of the reasons stated was that overweight girls may turn to activities such as video games because they are socially isolated from their peers. That makes perfect sense. Boys are less likely to ostracize each other from their social groups, but girls will definitely make each other feel uncomfortable and unwelcome, especially if their appearance is not considered desirable by the group.
The study concluded that in order for television watching and video game playing to have an impact on a child’s weight, the child would have to replace a physical activity with the more sedentary activity. For example, many children who play video games are athletes, and they play games related to the sports that they like to participate in. If they spend a few hours participating in their sport after school then come home and play a related video game for an hour, they are still physically active children. It is only when playing the real game is replaced by only playing the video game that weight issues may occur.
Children love playing video games, but like everything in life, moderation is extremely important. If parents do not allow their children to become couch potatoes and encourage them to live active lives, there is nothing wrong with them playing video games. However, if a child will not do anything but play their video games, there is a problem, but not one that a parent can’t solve.
Video games and violent behavior
Violence exposure in real-life, video games, television, movies, and the internet: is there desensitization?
Jeanne B. Funk, Heidi Bechtoldt Baldacci, Tracie Pasold, Jennifer Baumgardner
Video games can be directly linked to violent activities because of the intense engagement in video games and because of the fantasy play allowed for in video games. If you are exposed to violence and aggression in the game that you are playing, your ability to differentiate between what is allowed in the world of the game and what is allowed in the real world may be off. If an individual is constantly dealing with violent situations while playing video games, it is not rare that he/she may become desensitized to the magnitude of similar violent activities in real life. As stated by Farrell and Bruce, the more desensitized one becomes to violence, it is likely that increased aggressive behaviors may occur.
Also, Molitor and Hirsch confirmed that the more you view violence, the greater your tolerance is for violent behaviors. If young people spend much of their time playing violent games, their perception of what is good and bad may be affected. Also, in video games there are few realistic consequences for violent behaviors. For example, instead of being punished for attacking someone, you are usually rewarded for doing so. What does that teach our children?
Jeanne B. Funk, Heidi Bechtoldt Baldacci, Tracie Pasold, Jennifer Baumgardner
Video games can be directly linked to violent activities because of the intense engagement in video games and because of the fantasy play allowed for in video games. If you are exposed to violence and aggression in the game that you are playing, your ability to differentiate between what is allowed in the world of the game and what is allowed in the real world may be off. If an individual is constantly dealing with violent situations while playing video games, it is not rare that he/she may become desensitized to the magnitude of similar violent activities in real life. As stated by Farrell and Bruce, the more desensitized one becomes to violence, it is likely that increased aggressive behaviors may occur.
Also, Molitor and Hirsch confirmed that the more you view violence, the greater your tolerance is for violent behaviors. If young people spend much of their time playing violent games, their perception of what is good and bad may be affected. Also, in video games there are few realistic consequences for violent behaviors. For example, instead of being punished for attacking someone, you are usually rewarded for doing so. What does that teach our children?
An update on the effects of playing violent video games
An update on the effects of playing violent video games
Craig A.Anderson
I thought that the comparison in the study of the correlation between violent video games and aggressive behavior to condom use and HIV risk, passive smoke and lung cancer, and calcium intake on bone mass made a very strong statement. It is common knowledge of the dangers of the later correlations, but society as a whole has not yet accepted that violent video games have a strong impact on the likelihood of aggressive behavior in an individual. Violent video games are not considered to be a health risk, but that does not mean that they can not help create an unhealthy individual.
The reality is that many children, adolescents, and adults are playing video game for many hours a week. If their games of choice include those that include and promote large amounts of violence, then their leisure time activities consist primarily of exposure to violence and violent activities. If parents monitor what their children are playing and limit their ability to play violent games, maybe the effects of the games would not be so great. Right now, there is enough evidence to conclude that violent and aggressive behavior can be linked to playing violent video games, and parents need to accept that fact and do something about it.
Craig A.Anderson
I thought that the comparison in the study of the correlation between violent video games and aggressive behavior to condom use and HIV risk, passive smoke and lung cancer, and calcium intake on bone mass made a very strong statement. It is common knowledge of the dangers of the later correlations, but society as a whole has not yet accepted that violent video games have a strong impact on the likelihood of aggressive behavior in an individual. Violent video games are not considered to be a health risk, but that does not mean that they can not help create an unhealthy individual.
The reality is that many children, adolescents, and adults are playing video game for many hours a week. If their games of choice include those that include and promote large amounts of violence, then their leisure time activities consist primarily of exposure to violence and violent activities. If parents monitor what their children are playing and limit their ability to play violent games, maybe the effects of the games would not be so great. Right now, there is enough evidence to conclude that violent and aggressive behavior can be linked to playing violent video games, and parents need to accept that fact and do something about it.
Determination pays off
I finally advanced on Shaun White! I guess I was more determined than frustrated. Instead of giving up and skipping the downhill race that I was not capable of doing in less than two minutes, I spent about an hour or so trying different strategies to complete the task. The end result was that I accomplished my goal and I got a decent leg workout.
The benefit of playing Wii is that it is physical. When you are snowboarding you stand on the Wii Balance Board with your left leg in front. In order to go faster you need to apply pressure to your front leg. When I woke up the next day (after my success at the downhill) I felt like I had done a complete lower body workout. My left leg felt abused; I know I overdid it, but it was completely worth it.
Now that I have qualified to move on to the next country, I need to learn what is necessary to be successful at the tasks on this level. I'm still on the first challenge in Chile, and I’m not scoring enough points to complete the course and move on. I might be in Chile for a while.
What I've learned this week is that sometimes you need to use what you know to manipulate the game. For example, in order to meet the time challenge of the level I had to skip doing any tricks, so my score was very low. I can accept a low score, but maybe some players can't. I have also learned that personality and (in the case of Wii) physical ability have a lot to do with your aptitude as a gamer. If you don’t enjoy the challenge or have the desire or skill to complete tasks (no matter how much time it takes), you are not going to be the type of person to become obsessed with a game.
In order to do this project I am using my brother's games and game system. When I watch him play, he knows exactly what he is doing, and he is very good at it. I look like a complete mess who makes things up as I go along. My balance is off and I can't make my two different feet apply different kinds of pressures, like right toe and left heel at the same time. I honestly have to concentrate on making my body do what it needs to in order to do the tricks. I know that as I keep playing I will get better, but I don't know if I will ever be good.
The benefit of playing Wii is that it is physical. When you are snowboarding you stand on the Wii Balance Board with your left leg in front. In order to go faster you need to apply pressure to your front leg. When I woke up the next day (after my success at the downhill) I felt like I had done a complete lower body workout. My left leg felt abused; I know I overdid it, but it was completely worth it.
Now that I have qualified to move on to the next country, I need to learn what is necessary to be successful at the tasks on this level. I'm still on the first challenge in Chile, and I’m not scoring enough points to complete the course and move on. I might be in Chile for a while.
What I've learned this week is that sometimes you need to use what you know to manipulate the game. For example, in order to meet the time challenge of the level I had to skip doing any tricks, so my score was very low. I can accept a low score, but maybe some players can't. I have also learned that personality and (in the case of Wii) physical ability have a lot to do with your aptitude as a gamer. If you don’t enjoy the challenge or have the desire or skill to complete tasks (no matter how much time it takes), you are not going to be the type of person to become obsessed with a game.
In order to do this project I am using my brother's games and game system. When I watch him play, he knows exactly what he is doing, and he is very good at it. I look like a complete mess who makes things up as I go along. My balance is off and I can't make my two different feet apply different kinds of pressures, like right toe and left heel at the same time. I honestly have to concentrate on making my body do what it needs to in order to do the tricks. I know that as I keep playing I will get better, but I don't know if I will ever be good.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
My frustration continues
This week I found out that even though I had cleared the first level of Shaun White and got to the next country, I had not completed all of the challenges in the first country. I went back to try and complete the challenge that I hadn't finished, and I wound up spending hours attempting the same snowboarding trail over and over again. The course that I cannot complete is a downhill race and I cannot do it fast enough to earn the respect award. The challenge is to complete the course in less than two minutes, and I've come really close, but I am still not fast enough. I did this course so many times; I should have counted how many times I tried. Eventually I just gave up.
Now that I know that I have to complete this course to truly finish the first country, I cannot move on until I do so (even though the computer will allow me to do so). What I have learned this week is that practice does not always make perfect, and that playing video games can take up way too much of your time. Even though I kept failing at my task, I kept trying.
I will succeed at this task. I just don't know how long it is going to take me to do so.
Now that I know that I have to complete this course to truly finish the first country, I cannot move on until I do so (even though the computer will allow me to do so). What I have learned this week is that practice does not always make perfect, and that playing video games can take up way too much of your time. Even though I kept failing at my task, I kept trying.
I will succeed at this task. I just don't know how long it is going to take me to do so.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Learning Spaces
Robert Godwin-Jones, in “Emerging Technologies”, wrote of the digital “third space", as a learning environment different from that of home, work, and school; but not one that is inferior. As “digital natives” use devices like iPods for more than just listening to music, the capabilities of these devices keep expanding, and our ability to use them as tools for teaching expand as well.
After reading about how iPods can be used to assist learning a foreign language, I thought about how the textbook that I use for my American History classes offers students the ability to download audio summaries of the chapters in an MP3 format. I told my students about this feature, and encouraged them to download the files and listen to them on the way to and from school. This was only a few weeks ago, and I haven’t had anyone tell me that they actually did this, but I believe that textbook companies are finding ways to mix traditional styles of instruction with new methods that meet the needs of our digital learners.
After reading about how iPods can be used to assist learning a foreign language, I thought about how the textbook that I use for my American History classes offers students the ability to download audio summaries of the chapters in an MP3 format. I told my students about this feature, and encouraged them to download the files and listen to them on the way to and from school. This was only a few weeks ago, and I haven’t had anyone tell me that they actually did this, but I believe that textbook companies are finding ways to mix traditional styles of instruction with new methods that meet the needs of our digital learners.
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