You know, when life seems overwhelming, it is nice to take pleasure in the little things that you don't always think about.
Over the past weekend, and into Monday, I was traveling with the GEHS Marching Band to the Atlantic Coast Championships in Hershey, PA. While I was gone Monday, I had a substitute who was VERY IMPRESSED with my Globaloria students. He made a point to comment to me that they came right in, got logged on to their computers, looked up the wiki assignment, and stayed busy and quiet for the entirety of the class.
This is the second time in the past two years that I have had substitute teachers be amazed by the focus and self-direction of the students in the Globaloria class. I guess, when it comes down to it, maybe this is the true value of the skills being taught here.
Thank you Globaloria!!!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Time Marches On....
This fall, actually going back to this past summer, I have found myself to be more busy with less down time than almost anytime I can remember. I have allowed myself to have multiple layers of responsibility including my primary job as Director of Instrumental Music at GEHS(Marching Band instruction, design, implementation), responsibilities with Globaloria (Mentor, Lead Educator), responsibilities with my personal marching band show design company (Lead Designer), and of course responsibilities with my home and family.
Due to these many overlapping responsibilities, I often find myself at a deficit when it comes to time to complete everything - thus my relatively vacant blog as of recent. However, I am reminded that no matter what, no matter how much any one of us has going on, time marches on.
Time does not care how busy we are. Time ruthlessly moves forward with or without us.
It is up to us as individuals to make the choices of what is most important. What will be our priority as we swim through the ever flowing river that is time. Again, time does not care what we choose to make important to us. But those around us do. Those who are most affected by the choices we make will remember the impact we had as time forgets.
Ultimately, what we leave behind is that impact, that inspiration on those around us. No matter what responsibility(ies) I may be concerned with at a certain time, I will try to do my best to make a positive impact on my students, my friends, and most importantly my family. I will not fight time for the right to make that impact. I will let it flow (because it is going to anyway), and I will do what I can in the time available to achieve my goals and outcomes.
How does time impact your decisions? How do you prioritize your responsibilities? Comment and let me know!
Due to these many overlapping responsibilities, I often find myself at a deficit when it comes to time to complete everything - thus my relatively vacant blog as of recent. However, I am reminded that no matter what, no matter how much any one of us has going on, time marches on.
Time does not care how busy we are. Time ruthlessly moves forward with or without us.
It is up to us as individuals to make the choices of what is most important. What will be our priority as we swim through the ever flowing river that is time. Again, time does not care what we choose to make important to us. But those around us do. Those who are most affected by the choices we make will remember the impact we had as time forgets.
Ultimately, what we leave behind is that impact, that inspiration on those around us. No matter what responsibility(ies) I may be concerned with at a certain time, I will try to do my best to make a positive impact on my students, my friends, and most importantly my family. I will not fight time for the right to make that impact. I will let it flow (because it is going to anyway), and I will do what I can in the time available to achieve my goals and outcomes.
How does time impact your decisions? How do you prioritize your responsibilities? Comment and let me know!
Friday, September 2, 2011
First Blog Post of the New School Year
Hello readers -
I am totally psyched and pumped about the new school year for Globaloria. I have very high expectations for our class and I hope that all of my students have an enjoyable and enriching experience!
I am totally psyched and pumped about the new school year for Globaloria. I have very high expectations for our class and I hope that all of my students have an enjoyable and enriching experience!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Why do we blog?
In Globaloria, our students, and ourselves as educators are asked to do quite a bit. Sometimes, we may find ourselves asking "Why do we have to do this?" in regards to various parts of the program.
When it comes to blogging, I like to take the approach that blogs allow us a reflective medium to communicate our thoughts, express our concerns, celebrate our victories, and share our discoveries with others.
In short, blogs help us develop a sense of community in our classrooms and beyond into the greater Globaloria community.
We will cover these topics today to help make your blogging experience the most effective and enjoyable it can be.
When it comes to blogging, I like to take the approach that blogs allow us a reflective medium to communicate our thoughts, express our concerns, celebrate our victories, and share our discoveries with others.
In short, blogs help us develop a sense of community in our classrooms and beyond into the greater Globaloria community.
We will cover these topics today to help make your blogging experience the most effective and enjoyable it can be.
- Always do blog prompts at the end of each topic
- “Following” and using RSS reader to keep track of posts
- Privacy settings, Editing Blog Titles and URLs
- Tips for scheduling blogging time
Friday, July 8, 2011
Rate The "Newbs"
In gaming the term "noob", sometimes written "n00b" is defined as an inexperienced and/or ignorant or unskilled person. This is generally a derogatory name and gives the impression of someone who is a "wannabe", but lacks the skills, motivation, or overall ability to really step up.
In contrast, the nomenclature "newb" is a term used to describe a inexperienced gamer/person/etc. who actually wants to get better and shows the desire and skill to do so.
From what I have seen of our New Educators at this Academy, I am very impressed. They have made so many strides in such a short amount of time.
I rate them 9/10 (I try to never give a perfect score because there is always room for improvement, but I am pretty darn impressed!)
I have a message and a challenge for all new educators: Be the best! There is nothing other than your own motivation, will power, and dedication that will be a deciding factor in your success in this program. Times will be challenging with technological issues, administrative hoops to jump through, etc. But there will also be great rewards, both tangible and intangible, that you will reap by putting your heart into this program.
Best of luck with your first year!
In contrast, the nomenclature "newb" is a term used to describe a inexperienced gamer/person/etc. who actually wants to get better and shows the desire and skill to do so.
From what I have seen of our New Educators at this Academy, I am very impressed. They have made so many strides in such a short amount of time.
I rate them 9/10 (I try to never give a perfect score because there is always room for improvement, but I am pretty darn impressed!)
I have a message and a challenge for all new educators: Be the best! There is nothing other than your own motivation, will power, and dedication that will be a deciding factor in your success in this program. Times will be challenging with technological issues, administrative hoops to jump through, etc. But there will also be great rewards, both tangible and intangible, that you will reap by putting your heart into this program.
Best of luck with your first year!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
New Globaloria Educators - Mmmm....Fresh Blood!
The title is a joke. Just wanted to clear that up right off the bat. I want to welcome the new educators to our Globaloria community. You are in for a truly inspiring and invigorating educational experience!
There will be times when you are excited. You will also feel overwhelmed, energized, exhausted, stressed, confused, motivated, and sometimes, all of the above. However, when it comes down to it, I believe you will find that Globaloria is unlike anything else you have experienced in your career. In addition, you will undoubtedly find new techniques, methods, and tools that will broaden your abilities in the other classes that you teach.
As a 4th year Globaloria educator, I am proud to be a part of this program and glad to welcome you aboard. When things seem overwhelming, remember that you have an entire community of mentors, educators, and World Wide Workshop Foundation staff available to help you find success. Ultimately, it will be a very rewarding experience!
Best of luck throughout the year!
Jim Allder
Friday, April 29, 2011
The home stretch????
So, here we are with the last few weeks of the semester staring us in the face. Now more than ever, we need to have a clear strategy for accomplishing our goals. What is your plan to finish your game and prepare for your final game presentation? How will you use time in and out of class to work to your advantage as we make our final push?
Consider these questions and post about your plan! Best of luck to everyone in the Globaloria community!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
GAME DEVELOMENT - Where our paths diverge
Students -
Throughout our Globaloria studies so far, we have all been on the same journey. We have made mini-games together, we have prepared demos together, and virtually all class topics have related to everyone in the same way.
Now things are different. In the Game Development phase it is up to each individual team to find the script, tutorial, or examples you need in order to complete your game.
Take a few moments and write a blog post about the types of coding that you will need for your game. Will you need code to jump? Maybe to use mouse controls? Discuss how you plan to bring your game from a demo into a fully functional playable game.
Good Luck!!!
Throughout our Globaloria studies so far, we have all been on the same journey. We have made mini-games together, we have prepared demos together, and virtually all class topics have related to everyone in the same way.
Now things are different. In the Game Development phase it is up to each individual team to find the script, tutorial, or examples you need in order to complete your game.
Take a few moments and write a blog post about the types of coding that you will need for your game. Will you need code to jump? Maybe to use mouse controls? Discuss how you plan to bring your game from a demo into a fully functional playable game.
Good Luck!!!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Globaloria Community - What is your role?
In any community, each citizen has some sort of role, and hopefully some sense of responsibility. This is in fact one of the basic ideas behind the focus on Civics as pertains to Globaloria. As our classes and our students work to create civics based games, we have the larger goal that they (as well as the end users of the games) will learn to think about their role in the community, the state, the country, and the world.
However, we can also scale back and consider the Globaloria community a place where roles are important. We are all working independently in our individual schools and teams trying to create our games. In some cases, we are even in competition with one another as we enter the contests for Civics and STEM games. But when it comes down to it, the community as a whole only truly thrives when we (Students, Teachers, Mentors, Interns, World Wide Workshop Staff, Administrators, Researchers, etc.) step into our role and not only do our best to complete our piece of the pie, but also share our successes with those who can benefit from them.
Students - Have you found a skill that you are comfortable with (i.e. Art or Coding in Flash)? If so, how are you using that skill to help those in your Globaloria Community?
Teachers - What are we doing to not only help our students, but to make sure that as we gain knowledge, it is shared with those around us?
The tools for these interactions are readily available to us with our blogs and the wikis.
In order for our community as a whole to grow and move to "the next level", we must be willing to learn from each other and stand on the shoulders of the giants who have had success in various areas. Borrow good code, and try to understand it. Then share it with others. Ask for help in areas where you need it, then don't be shy about sharing your strengths with those who may benefit from your assistance.
It is our civic responsibility to the Globaloria community to find our roles and maximize our strengths within those roles. What can you do to achieve this?
Within the next week, try to reflect on your role and examples of sharing strengths in the community. Write a blog post of your own in which you discuss your reflections.
Till next time.....
However, we can also scale back and consider the Globaloria community a place where roles are important. We are all working independently in our individual schools and teams trying to create our games. In some cases, we are even in competition with one another as we enter the contests for Civics and STEM games. But when it comes down to it, the community as a whole only truly thrives when we (Students, Teachers, Mentors, Interns, World Wide Workshop Staff, Administrators, Researchers, etc.) step into our role and not only do our best to complete our piece of the pie, but also share our successes with those who can benefit from them.
Students - Have you found a skill that you are comfortable with (i.e. Art or Coding in Flash)? If so, how are you using that skill to help those in your Globaloria Community?
Teachers - What are we doing to not only help our students, but to make sure that as we gain knowledge, it is shared with those around us?
The tools for these interactions are readily available to us with our blogs and the wikis.
In order for our community as a whole to grow and move to "the next level", we must be willing to learn from each other and stand on the shoulders of the giants who have had success in various areas. Borrow good code, and try to understand it. Then share it with others. Ask for help in areas where you need it, then don't be shy about sharing your strengths with those who may benefit from your assistance.
It is our civic responsibility to the Globaloria community to find our roles and maximize our strengths within those roles. What can you do to achieve this?
Within the next week, try to reflect on your role and examples of sharing strengths in the community. Write a blog post of your own in which you discuss your reflections.
Till next time.....
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Incorporating Research to Enrich the Content of Your Game
Hello Globaloria community!
As we are all finding out, designing and developing a video game can be a very challenging experience. And, when we are successful, it will be a very rewarding experience as well. In order for our Globaloria games to truly be a success, they must be challenging and rewarding for the players as well. A key element to a successful Globaloria game is that it is also an educationally rich experience for the player.
Therefore, it is very important that the content of the game presents factually accurate information as part of the challenge and learning process of the game.
Ask yourself the following questions:
*What is my game topic, and what do I want the player to learn as they play the game?
*Who is my main character? What is he/she trying to accomplish?
*How can I incorporate the learning content (what I want the player to learn) into the challenges of the game play? How can I make this interesting for the player?
Research your proposed learning content for your game on the web. Try to find a variety of sites that give accurate information about your topic. Then write your blogpost discussing the questions above. Tell how you plan to use your research to enrich your game experience.
For example, If you were making a game based around Dante's "Inferno", you might link to the Wikipedia page and other sources to show where you would find information.
Then write about how you will use the information in your game. For example: The Inferno uses the idea of 9 circles of suffering to depict Hell. Our hero could have to travel through these 9 circles and learn how to pass obstacles used in the actual story in order to beat the game. In the process, they would be introduced to, and learn about a famous literary work.
Good Luck! I look forward to reading your research.
When you are finished, make sure you read someone else's post and comment on it!
As we are all finding out, designing and developing a video game can be a very challenging experience. And, when we are successful, it will be a very rewarding experience as well. In order for our Globaloria games to truly be a success, they must be challenging and rewarding for the players as well. A key element to a successful Globaloria game is that it is also an educationally rich experience for the player.
Therefore, it is very important that the content of the game presents factually accurate information as part of the challenge and learning process of the game.
Ask yourself the following questions:
*What is my game topic, and what do I want the player to learn as they play the game?
*Who is my main character? What is he/she trying to accomplish?
*How can I incorporate the learning content (what I want the player to learn) into the challenges of the game play? How can I make this interesting for the player?
Research your proposed learning content for your game on the web. Try to find a variety of sites that give accurate information about your topic. Then write your blogpost discussing the questions above. Tell how you plan to use your research to enrich your game experience.
For example, If you were making a game based around Dante's "Inferno", you might link to the Wikipedia page and other sources to show where you would find information.
Then write about how you will use the information in your game. For example: The Inferno uses the idea of 9 circles of suffering to depict Hell. Our hero could have to travel through these 9 circles and learn how to pass obstacles used in the actual story in order to beat the game. In the process, they would be introduced to, and learn about a famous literary work.
Good Luck! I look forward to reading your research.
When you are finished, make sure you read someone else's post and comment on it!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
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