Wii Bowling Lesson Plan

1) Begin the lesson with a spreadsheet for each student. Each sheet will have the empty spaces that match up a bowling score sheet. Then I will show the students on the board how to calculate their scores.
     -# of pins.
     -Two balls per turn.
     -Strikes.
     -Spares.
     -10th frame.
After a short lecture, I will ask them a few questions to check for understanding.
     -What do you think is the highest score possible?
     -The lowest?
     -What happens if you get multiple strikes in a row?
     -Multiple spares?
     -How many balls do you get on the 10th frame?

2) Bowl!!!

3) Check the calculations, then post their scores :)

To demo this lesson, I worked with Jacob, Taylor, and Jacquee. We copied our data into excel and then interpreted different graphs from their. I would use excel if in an environment that had computers, and was a high school setting. Otherwise I think this activity would work best with middle school age students and paper score sheets. You could even convert it to a P.E. setting by using real bowling pins in the gym. Collecting their own data will give them a real connection to the numbers instead of just trying to do countless math practice problems with no real world context. This would be a great way to make math fun!

Platformer Games

Platformer games such as Donkey Kong are named for the platforms that the characters have to jump on throughout the game. They require the gamer to use quick thinking and reflexes. Platformer games tend to be quite tough to complete, and you may have to do levels multiple times before you level up. This helps students with repetition and will teach them to learn from their mistakes. If they keep making the same mistake, they will never pass the level. Overall they are a fun way to mentally engage students and teach them life skills (such as learning from your mistakes). Platformer games may be thought of as relics from a long lost childhood, but they still exist in ever growing forms. While searching the App store, I found many free Platformer games. My current favorite is Super Bird, which is in a jungle setting. Technology is ever-changing, and with that the game world grows as well. The arcade is no longer a place, but a device that travels around with you everywhere you go. Touch devices have changed games, though these standard Platformer games have yet to disappear.

Assistive Technology

There are three different kinds of technology used in these videos. One for a girl with Cerebral Palsy, another for a boy who was visually impaired, and the last for a high school boy who did not have good use of his arms and legs.

The girl, Elle, used a Dynavox. This machine uses a censor on her forehead to connect to an electronic screen. It works similarly to a Wii remote and the T.V. sensor. She could then look at pictures and put together sentences by selecting multiple pictures. It does take some time, but it is amazing to have a form of communication for people who have not had that chance before. They can show that they are intelligent, and they can participate in class activities and school. This technology helps show that even severe physical disorders do not imply that the person is also mentally incapable. The Dynavox helps even the playing field of learning.

In the second video, Mason used a braille typewriter. Mason a six year old boy who has blindness in one eye, and severely lowered vision in the other. He can see large print, but braille is something that will serve him better in the future. His typewriter has a button per finger, and different combinations make certain letters. When he types a letter, the typewriter says the letter back to him so he knows what he typed. This allows Mason to take notes and do writing assignments along with the class. He also enjoys using the SmartBoard, which has large enough font that he can participate in interactive lessons through this device. His favorite at home learning tool is the iPad, which also has a large font in a variety of applications that will help teach him how to read and spell.

The last video features a high school student named Lukas. Lukas is in marching band, concert band, and jazz band. Lukas also has a physical disorder that has left him with limbs that do not function properly. He does not have the strength to push in the pegs of a normal instrument, so one has been modified for him with a joystick that attaches to his wheelchair. The joystick controls which notes he plays, while he blows into the instrument. Unfortunately, this instrument was stolen from him. The community then decided to gather together, and they raised another $4,000 dollars to modify a new instrument for Lukas so he could keep doing what he loves. Lukas wants to become a musician. New technology such as this is allowing physically impaired students to reach new heights and chase their dreams.

Bowling with Spreadsheets

Our group tested whether or not Wii Bowling is random, or whether it takes some skill to win. We had four players and split into two groups, the control which bowled normally and the handicap group which bowled backwards. We then played one round of bowling and recorded how many pins we knocked down for the first roll each round.

Hypothesis: The control group will perform better than the group with a self-inflicted handicap.

Our Test:
-Control: normal bowling
-Test Group: backwards bowling

The control group did perform better on average and per person than the test group. The test group frequently "dropped" the ball because it is difficult to swing backwards. Their overall improvement throughout the game was much greater than the control group though, showing that the game is not just random and that it can be learned and therefore improved upon.

Controller Free Gaming

The Xbox Kinect and Nintendo Wii have created new gaming environments that didn't previously exist with controllers. You stand in front of the TV and the game has a sensor that will pick up you and your body movements. As they exist right now, these games are not super precise at picking up your subtle movements. With further development though, they may become attuned to every little movement, and know which ones to pick up. This could be used to teach motor skills that students have not yet acquired, or to promote friendship and teamwork.

The touch screen devices such as the ipad provide a different learning experience as well. You can interact with books, use your finger to solve complex math, practice flash cards, or even take notes while recording a lecture. These devices have combined a number of previous devices such as the calculator and tape recorder, and made them into something that is compact and has more uses than one device has ever had alone.

Socrative

This application allows your students to take quizzes through a mobile device or computer while in a virtual classroom. The quizzes can be taken while in an actual classroom setting, or can be designed to work as an at home quiz. It offers multiple choice or short answer, and you can decide to put in a correct answer and/or explanation.
I have used this before on the student side in my German class. My teacher uses it as a short answer quiz, and displays the answers on the projector as we take the quiz. She has made it into an interactive exercise rather than a personal quiz. I like that it is so adaptable to whatever you want to do in or outside of the classroom. I designed mine with a variety of questions that tested knowledge and opinion, and worked with a sample group of students that ranged from ages 11 to 39. My German instructor uses the teacher based quiz for her classroom activities, but if this was assigned as an at home quiz, I would use the student paced.
My concern would be that they would get off task with an electronic device in front of them while in class. While it works for my German teacher in a college setting, it would be a different world trying to get middle or high school students to stay on task. If the teacher commands enough respect though (not the tyrant type, but the loved and respected type), they may be able to motivate students to do well because this type of quizzing uses cool technology.
Overall I am excited to test this application out in my classroom. It may not be the best for strict mathematical questions, but using it for one question a day they need to complete as an "exit ticket" would be a fun way to engage them in what we were learning that day.

Classroom Visions

Thinking about what your goals are is a great idea that is often overlooked. We usually dive straight in and then find ourselves drowning in a world that we haven't been in for a decade. Middle school is a crazy time for students with all of the hormone filled rooms. It is a teacher's job to direct their attention to the material they need to learn. My goal is to inspire children by teaching them that they can do math. I want to give them the self confidence that tells them they can succeed.
I want my classroom to be a place that children are excited to enter. I prefer chalkboards, although I can deal with a whiteboard if that is whats offered. Chalkboards offer not only the satisfying smell of chalk-dust instead of toxic marker smell, but they also make fun squeaky noises while you write. I plan to have a large stash of chalk in all sorts of colors so I can organize the notes that I write on the board by color coating them. The colors are also so that I can write problems on the board in one color, and students can come up in small groups or individually to solve them in a different color. The small details count to me :)
The desks will be facing forward most days so when I'm chatting students don't have to crane their neck to see what I write up on the board. When we do group work, we may shuffle the desks into groups. It will hopefully be faster to have the students each turn their desks than having me move through the classroom in between classes trying to straighten all the rows. Group work was never my favorite or strong suit as a student, but after participating in it in a math setting I realize that it can be quite beneficial. Students can teach each other, and even the "smartest" student may be taught a thing or two by the "slower" student in their group.
Grades will be posted by the door for all students, with their I.D. numbers instead of their names. This allows them to compete without feeling put down by their peers if they aren't at the top of the class. Also cool math things like a fun clock with equations and pi will be posted around the room, along with student work as each year progresses. Projects will be based on real world ideas and they are going to be student driven. I will approve them, but with the only criteria being that they come up with a tangible finished project that will show a mathematical concept. The students can then keep their projects or choose to display them in the classroom
My classroom will not be just my classroom, it will be a place that caters to all the students who decide to poke their head inside. It will be open before, after, and during school hours. There will be a study corner with couches and coffee for those who choose to spend their free time doing homework, or just taking a lunch break with friends. I hope students will feel free to come to me with their dilemmas so that I can offer some post-hormonal knowledge. Overall, I hope that my students will learn lots about math, but the life skills and friendships they develop while under my care are the most important things that school can teach. Students will create, and not only learn math, but understand and enjoy it.

A Changing Classroom

Every student deserves a fair chance at education. We are not all built the same, so we will not finish school the same. As a student, I have excelled in few classrooms and failed a most others. School has been a struggle, though not because of a lack of interest in what was being taught. A classroom has all sorts of components that work for or against it. The one that has affected me the most is the classroom is the atmosphere. A great teacher will motivate their students not only to learn, but to encourage their peers to want to learn.
One of my favorite teachers was my seventh grade math teacher. We didn't have any one-on-one conversations that I remember, but I excelled in his classroom. He had daily homework that was practice for what we had learned the day prior. It was graded, but only on completion. This made sure he was not punishing students for practicing because they didn't get the correct answer. His classroom was a place that I wanted to go, and I enjoyed listening to his lectures. The other way he pushed his students to excel was by keeping an accurate posting of the class grades. They had our I.D. numbers next to our grade so that we could find it, but others could not see what we had. I believe the benefit of posting grades was to motivate students to have to top grade, or at least be in range with their peers. I loved checking my grade daily, and it was the only class that I remember being on top. He created a competitive atmosphere that was still fun and rewarded students for hard work, whether or not they were correct all of the time.

I believe due dates motivate the children to study, but I don't want to use them in the same way they are traditionally used. For daily work, having the grade be for completion evens out the playing field for those students who work hard, but may not yet fully understand the concepts. It encourages all to practice what we are learning every night. Projects should also have these daily or weekly due dates. It will break them up into bite sized pieces, just as they are intended to be done in. Students will be rewarded for finishing sooner, but not penalized for turning it in on time. I believe grades need to be there for motivation instead of to scare students into doing the work.
I would love to incorporate student choice into my classroom as well. I want them to want to learn, so incorporating games that reinforce concept will be used as rewards. Stations will be set up so that students can work on what they want to at their own pace. We will still do work as a class, just less of it and more individualized work. Students are individuals, and therefore should be treated as such.
These changes are not far away and can be done in my generation of teachers. I hope to inspire my students just as my math teacher inspired me. 

Rhythm Games

There are lots of benefits to rhythm games. It can familiarize students with different genres of music and teach them how they are similar or different. For a lot of people, rhythm is something that has to be learned. That is one reason we are not all fantastic musicians or athletes. Rhythm is easy to pick out in music. There is even a timing key at the beginning of every written song. In athletics it can be harder to find your rhythm. Every movement has its' own specific rhythm. When you jump rope, you have to develop a rhythm before you can do double unders. When you ski race, there is a rhythm that each course demands you follow. If you misstep, then the jump rope will whip you as it catches on a foot and the skier will fall or miss a gate. Rhythm is something that needs to be taught, so why not do it in a way that children will love, with games. This was not my favorite game, I much prefer the real life applications of rhythm, but I still gave it a shot.

http://www.addictinggames.com/action-games/musicstomp.jsp

Then and Now

I am just three short years out of high school, yet even in that small time a lot has changed. For research projects we would go to the library and pick out several books that would be our resources for that project. That was the only time we were allowed to bring outside knowledge into our learning (other than what Mr. Textbook had to say). There were no opinions, just memorization of knowledge.

Now when students are given some piece of knowledge, they must think about it and discuss why that knowledge is or is not true. Students are being taught to think critically, not just to be living hard drives. Another difference is all this technology that is available to use in the classroom. Students no longer have the need to memorize knowledge because it is available at their fingertips. Now it is the job of the teacher to guide their learning of how to effectively look up and interpret knowledge. As teachers we should move away from lecturing and towards class discussions over pertinent topics.

Mrs. Erhart's 7th Grade Netiquette

About Me

Being able to teach is a gift. Teachers have the opportunity to leave a lasting impact on children, whether good or bad. As a teacher, you have the responsibility to give your students every opportunity possible to gain new experiences and to excel in the areas they already know. Each subject has its' own challenges. Math is an especially tough subject to teach children because of the way their brains develop. Abstract thoughts are very hard to form for children until they reach late middle school or early high school. Teachers have a habit of punishing students for not getting the concepts they should because they have not developed that far yet. Great math teachers are needed to bridge this gap formed in middle school by the way math has been set up for years. The basics of algebra need to be taught in a concrete format, and then transferred into abstract thought in a later course.

As a teacher, I want to excite children about math. It was tough for me in middle school, and I don't want that to be the case for my students. I used to ask my teachers why, and they told me because they said so. This is not the answer that should be given to eager minds. If a student is wondering why they are learning a topic or theorem, then explain it to them (in an age and development appropriate way). Students should never be put down for misunderstanding or an eagerness to ask questions not defined in the curriculum. I will inspire students to want to learn.

As a person, I currently hold four different part-time jobs and go to school full-time. I make coffee weekend mornings at Starbucks. It is wonderful to meet so many different people and I love the social aspect of working at a coffee shop. I also teach CrossFit at CrossFit Station every Thursday evening to a group of 10-12 year old softball girls. It is great to work with children and inspire them to be active. On my free evenings I help friends host ThirtyOne parties. I am a consultant for ThirtyOne Gifts, and I absolutely love the organizing totes they have as well as the extra income. In my extra time, I substitute teach at Fresco Arts Academy. It is a private school, 6th-12th grade, in Eagle, ID. It is a great opportunity to already be working with children in the age group that I would like to teach. My degree is in Elementary Education, with an endorsement in Mathematics. I want teach pre-Algebra to children in middle school and hopefully inspire them to want to do math in the future.