Video Games Engage Children with Disabilities

As a teacher, I spent countless hours adjusting lesson plans and activities or modifying the content of my lessons to make literature accessible to every student in my classroom.  As an administrator, I've worked with teachers and students to continue that work.  However, it is not only the educational world who is making changes to reach everyone. 

In the most recent issue of Game Informer Magazine (#254), Kyle Hilliard's story "Creating Controllers For All Disabilities" briefly follows the life of Lee Knight and his experiences with spinal muscular atrophy.  When Knight reached 11 years old, he began to experience the debilitating effects of spinal muscular atrophy and was wheelchair bound by age 12.  What Hilliard highlights in this story, however, is that Knight was an avid video game player and with the help of organizations like Special Effect, a charity organization that makes video games accessible to disabled gamers, Knight is able to continue to enjoy playing video games. 

With a small team, Special Effect modifies controllers according to a person's disability to allow them the ability to play video games.  In Knight's story, Special Effect created a controller the utilized his chin to manipulate the control sticks and placed the buttons of the Xbox 360 game controller underneath his fingers.  Additionally, they included a special device that allows Knight to control buttons on the game pad using voice commands. 

In the educational world, teachers and administrators work very hard to make curriculum accessible to students with disabilities.  While our modifications make look different, they don't differ much from the kinds of changes that Special Effect makes.  In the end, we both take on the task of looking at each individual person to make appropriate modifications and we both have a goal of making life for the person with the disability more enjoyable. 

Knight, in response to Special Effect's help in creating the modified controller said, 'All my life I've played games and [Special Effect] have bridged the gap between what I can and can't do.'  As a school administrator, I certainly hope our students will someday utter those same words as they progress in their own academic careers. 

**To read Kyle Hilliard's article "Creating Controllers For All Disabilities" go to your nearest GameStop retailer and politely ask for issue 254. 

**To learn more about Special Effect visit http://www.specialeffect.org.uk/.

Is Spaceteam Educational?

The Spaceteam Question…

Spaceteam is a cooperative mobile game that allows small groups of players to work together to pilot a space craft.  At first blush, it seems to be just a fun game that brings friends together.  However, are there broader applications for this game in the classroom? 

 

I was introduced to Spacteam by several colleagues and took some time out of my busy schedule to play.  What I noticed first is that cooperation and clear communication are at the core of its gameplay.  While many console and mobile games are heavily single player experiences, Spaceteam insists on cooperation and collaboration. 

Additionally, I couldn’t help but wonder if the functions applied in the game are similar to piloting a space craft.  Imagining what an astronaut actually goes through was intriguing and peaked my interest enough to do some quick Google searches.    

But the big question remains: Could I use Spaceteam in my classroom? 

Go play the game and respond in the comments below and let me know.  Enjoy!

Can Video Games Make Dyslexic Children Read Better?

Much of my writing for this blog discusses the impact that video games and media have on education, so this post is not different!  I recently came across an article from IGN.com that presents an interesting topic: Can Video Games Make Dyslexic Children Read Better?

http://m.ign.com/articles/2013/05/29/can-video-games-make-dyslexic-children-read-better

Take a look!  Feel free to comment below.

Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School - Chapter 1 Review

This time I'm serious!  I've been picking away at this book all year, but now I'm committing to reviewing it on TeachingtoLead.  Stay tuned for more.  (The following is a re-post from May 13, 2014)

To begin my summer book review series, I’ve decided to read an intriguing book called Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School by Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan.  I’ll dedicate a new post to my reactions on each chapter.  Feel free to comment and join in the conversation. 

Chapter 1: A Capital Idea

Hargreaves and Fullan do a great job in chapter 1 to establish the groundwork for their ultimate thesis: to change education through “professional capital” and “articulate an inspiring vision of the future for the teaching profession, along with a coherent set of actions to get there” (9). 

To establish an understanding of professional capital, the authors mention several different types of capital: financial capital, business capital, cultural capital, spiritual capital, and “natural” capital (1).  However, to better understand the types of capital that make up professional capital, the authors’ definitions are as follows:

1.       Human Capital – the “talent” of the individual and his ability to use his talent to be a great classroom teacher (3)

2.       Social Capital – the relationships and interactions among teachers and between teachers and administrators (3)

3.       Decisional Capital – exercising judgments and decisions with collective responsibility, openness to feedback, and willing transparency (5)

These three types of capital, according to the authors, make up professional capital. 

In the long run, the author’s argue, that cultivating human capital (talents) and relying only on human capital to sustain education will ultimately fail.  Programs like Teach for America rely on human capital and take advantage of highly talented individuals to step into schools and teach.  However, these “teachers” cannot sustain a school and leave after several short years because they are overworked, burned out, and underpaid. 

The only real way to sustain a high standard of education is to invest in social capital.  According to the authors, investing in a school’s social capital will also increase the human capital of the school; this idea will not work in reverse order, by the way. 

In the end, the authors state that 40% of teachers in the United States are ‘disheartened’ with their jobs (6) and the only way to create dedicated, creative, and dynamic teachers is to invest in the social capital of the school.  While professional capital is comprised of human, social, and decisional capital, the relationships and interactions among teachers and between teachers and administrators is a key component to creating a healthy school. 

Nintendo Lit: Gatsby and Tom Sawyer

As my students gear up to watch the new adaptation of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, I can't help but think about the many wonderful adaptations that have been created from great works of literature.  In doing some research, I found a New York Times article titled "Nintendo Lit: Gatsby and Tom Sawyer" that highlights some of the fun people have with great literature. 

As a teacher, it's a common exercise in my class to have my students create videos or live action dramatizations of scenes from novels, but I have not attempted a video game adaptation.  Ironically, I still own an original Nintendo and I actually have The Adventures of Tom Sawyer video game.  It's not as good as the book! 

Check out these short game play videos for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Great Gatsby.  Are they faithful adaptations?  What great works of literature do you think could be adapted into great video games? 

 

The Transformation of Jay Gatsby – A Common Core Approach

Over the last several weeks, my students have been working through Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.  With such intimate writing and attention to detail, Fitzgerald is still able to capture the attention of sixteen year old students.  In this lesson, students are using the text to identify the transformation of James Gatz to the wealthy Jay Gatsby.  With help from their classmates, students are analyzing how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or theme (RL.10.3).

Using the attached template, students review chapters 6-7 and identify major events, places, and people that make up the life history of James Gatz.  After identifying those aspects, students use passages from the text that identify how the character has developed over the course of his life.  For example, “Then he drifted back [from St. Olaf College] to Lake Superior…still searching for something to do” (Great Gatsby – 105) depicts James Gatz dropping out of college to return to his previous job as a fisherman and clam digger. 

This is the beginning of the transformation from James Gatz to the wealthy Jay Gatsby.  From this point, students will identify how this complex character changes over the course of his life.

When finished with the individual/small group exercise, students use the template to determine the most important quotes/passages.  As a class, students must work together to create the Transformation Timeline (picture attached).  With only ten passages, students must work together to determine which quotes are most essential and how to organize them on the time line. 

At the end of the lesson, students understand the transformation of Jay Gatsby.  Using the text to drive analysis, students will have analyzed how this complex character developed and learned about the motivation that drives the rest of the story. 

Helpful Text: The Great Gatsby in the Classroom: Searching for the American Dream by David Dowling. 

PARCC Accommodations for SWD and ELL Students

PARCC has recently released its draft of accommodations available for students with disabilities and English language learners.  Understanding that the document is still in DRAFT form, it may still be necessary to examine the language that will set the ground work for the future final draft. 

Below are a few pros and cons that I’ve extracted from this initial draft.  Keep in mind that I am applying this information to my own school and the unique population of students that I see every day. 

Pros

·         Allows for multiply interventions to be used with any student who needs accommodations (i.e. Braille, videos, and audio)

·         Uses buzz words such as Embedded Supports, Accessibility Features,  Response Interventions and “Special Access” Accommodations

·         Accommodations for ELL students are selected by teachers and administrators within the school

·         Paper and pencil test versions are available for students

Con’s

·         This document dictates certain requirements that must be included on a 504 plan or an IEP (i.e. time of day the test must be taken – Fact Sheet SWD3)

·         PARCC Consortium is dictating the definition of English Language Learner and how student are classified as ELL

·         PARCC Consortium is creating common methods for equating English proficiency performance levels

·         Students who get district support as ELL but are not officially classified by PARCC as ELL will not be allowed to use any accommodations

·         Accommodations used by ELL students must be “tried out” in regular classroom instruction and their effectiveness documented before taking the PARCC assessment

·         PARCC does not address difficulties that ELL students and IEP students may have in navigating the technology required to take the assessment

At first glance, it seems ELL students will be affected greatly.  If the test designers get to dictate who is and isn’t proficient and dictate who is and isn’t allowed to use accommodations, students who may need accommodations but do not fit their criteria may not be successful. 

Additionally, this draft of accommodations puts a new, heavier burden on intervention specialists and ELL teachers to document accommodations on IEPs and 504 plans.  It is difficult to understand that test makers are dictating the information that should be required on a student’s IEP or 504 plan when this kind of assessment should come organically from the teacher and classroom assessments. 

While there is still much to be discovered with these new accommodations, I predict that there will much controversy before the final draft is revealed.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my ELL and IEP students will be thoughtfully considered as the PARCC consortium continues their work. 

Let me know your thoughts on this new document! 

To read the draft, go to: http://www.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/PARCCDraftAccommodationsManualforSWDEL.pdf