Julie Williams

I find the notion of creating my own games daunting, at best. However, it's also interesting. I'm reasonably confident I can gather pre-existing resources and adapt them to fit my courses. Especially in a postpandemic world, I expect there to be some great resources available for educators to maintain technology integrations. 

The limits and expense of technology is a paramount concern in my current teaching position. I consider career quest games and wonder about specific options and opportunities. It seems an area of great potential. Of course, the real world work options afforded our students through access to technology are also fantastic. 

I researched gaming integration in the early 2000's and they were pretty primitive at that time. My admin would not have supported them at that point. However, I am excited by the possibilities in science regarding complex, multistep processes as exist in physiology as well as photosynthesis and respiration. It could be amazing.

I appreciate the need to introduce the big picture and the statement that each student brings his or her own learning objectives to the class and that most are tied to career goals. And this is the conversation absent from most public schools I have experienced. I am an avid believer that unless we start talking to students about their hopes, dreams, and plans for a big picture life no later than late elementary school, we're missing the opportunity to get them to understand the connections between schooling and thier own lives. These conversations and plans can also drive our… >>>

I would counter don't avoid technology for the sake of conformity to past practice. Teachers who get too caught up in content falling off the tongue might miss the point of teaching. I still incorporate portions of recall for students in the science classroom as a matter of literacy - understanding the abbreviations for elements of the periodic table, for example. However, that can be accomplished in a lot of ways that don't look like the traditional written test. Many of them incorporate games based in technology. Part of the rationale for understanding them is that scientists were the first… >>>

I go back to my previous post as I still see the evolution as being less a statement of a particular generation and more a reflection of the technology and tools available to people. As Boomers are dropped into the latest iterations of technology, I watch them adapt in ways reflective of Gen Z... that piece of how do I take this information and apply it to my current needs? creates the sense of urgency. My husband, a Boomer, 'hates technology' UNTIL he finds that purpose and then he's hooked... streaming videos all night long. Or he uses the spreadsheets… >>>

This is the first I have chosen to read about specific generalities associated with generations. I have been a career educator and have watched numerous groups come and go. I'm not usually the person who likes to get caught up in reading student records - so I can infrom my strategies according the the descriptions other teachers create regarding my students. I like to get a feel for students as I encounter them and then to see if I need to fill in any gaps if my instruction seems to be falling on deaf ears. I often feel the same… >>>

I believe the rotational systems are among the most exciting parts of the paradigm shifts we are currently experiencing. The ability to rotate through available resources and to schedule students and workers in shifts that correlate to resources is incredible. It does also require rethinking the 'work day,' I believe in ways that make resources available when students need them and have time to access them instead of simply requiring everyone to adjust their days and times to meet the standards of the old system. With this I expect a push toward more of a year round approach to educating… >>>

The new techniques that are required for hybrid and remote learning appear to be extensions of a mindset that all students are capable and their getting engaged in learning is related to their investment in the subject matter. I also appreciate the respectful ways that Flipped classrooms allow students to progress at their own pace. Arguments from those embracing standardized testing and its results will be put forward by many. As I have been engaged in the conversations about shifting student ownership of curriculum and co-creation of materials from the early nineties to the present. We'll see where these newest… >>>

I embrace the notion that students' gaining reinforced connections to life beyond schooling serves as a lifeline for them. When they consistently are left out of the planning and are given low technology solutions that lack in connections to their own experiences, we are likely to lose them. Communication loops for struggling students may start by reaching out to parents; however, I believe that getting the student, parent, and staff all involved in a collaborative plan designed for student success is paramount to long term success and viability of programs.