Never Give Up! Never Surrender!!! (with apologies to the intrepid crew of the NSEA Protector)

As a Sci-fi nerd, I always chuckle when I think of the 1999 comedy movie Galaxy Quest.  Especially the catch-phrase that the "captain" of the ship says when he and his team are under the most stress and danger...

It's a great message!  A message that I have tried to imbue to all of my students over the last 30 plus years.  When things are not going well, don't give up!... persevere and amazing things can happen.  

What a message!

Sometimes we don't ever know if our heartfelt pleas ever make it through to the students but in this case... Well... Can I "shep some nachas" here? (Yiddish expression that means to derive pride and joy).

You may recall my blog of 11-08-18 where I write about my son, Tuvia, and a classmate of his, creating a multi-user video game that they posted on STEAM.  

Well, after spending all of that time and really putting themselves "out there," his game was trolled, trounced and trashed by the "Blog Vaders" of the game platform. I have to say that some of the comments were just downright nasty. Instead of giving up, Tuvia took the segments that were valid constructive criticism and began creating a brand new game! 

Yep, that's right, he never gave up... he never surrendered!

With the help of his creative buddy next door, they designed a new character (the new game will be Sci-fi based so this player is a cyborg)

and a whole new list of game-play elements. 

Now, to test his new code in a live environment, Tuvia created a very truncated version of the game and turned it into a creative assessment/quiz for his Tanach (Hebrew Bible) class.

As an homage to the "Twilight Zone," he even prepared an intro cutscene that is just awesome! (Some understanding of Kabalah - Jewish mysticism - is helpful but not required)

(click this link to view video)

While his final game will be nothing like this assessment/quiz that he made, it will give him a chance to test his code in a live environment.  

When the actual game is released, I will be sure to post the URL for everyone to try it!

So, how about you?  Do you have a story about a student(s) who didn't give up?  Please share it on the blogsite so that I can pass it on!

Regards!!

Yossie

YossieFrankel

Director of Technology


Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy  
9120 W Olympic Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
310.276.6135
www.hillelhebrew.org
    

Rocket? Man!!! (with apologies to Elton John)

 

Those folks from ROCKETbook have done it again!! 

MAN-o-man, are they amazing!  

(Get it... ROCKETbook, MAN-o-man = ROCKET MAN... OK, so it's a "dad pun," just work with me!!)

My wife (you know, Batsheva... she wrote the book - The Jewish Educators Companion -see my blog post) first introduced me to "The Wave."  This is an amazing tech cross-over that combines "paper," digital tech and amazing engineering...

"The Rocketbook Wave provides the freedom of a traditional pen and paper notebook, while instantly blasting your notes into the cloud using your smartphone.  When you use Pilot FriXion pens with the Wave notebook, you can erase your notes using your microwave oven and reuse your notebook." (from the Rocketbook website)

What I love about The Wave is that I can draw, write and doodle like I always do and then, zap - send it to the cloud.  It just feels so natural!  When the notebook is full, you just pop it in the microwave - in my case, with some coffee to warm up -  and then I pull out a fully erased and ready to use clean notebook.  So Cool!!

But that wasn't enough for the innovators at Rocketbook.  They then released "The Everlast" - check out this super easy to erase version - I think of it like "The Wave" but on steroids!

(Click to watch video)

Well, now the intrepid voyagers from Rocketbook have "one-upped" their game. Introducing "The Rocketboard"

(Click to watch video)

What I love about this product is how it allows the user to transfer the image, from any angle, and then send it right up to the same cloud directory that I have for my notebook!!  It is amazing - and it would make a great gift to that special teacher on your shopping list!!  Personally, I think that every classroom that uses whiteboards should be using this product.  So get over to their Kickstarter page and support this one!

Now, I can hear some of you asking... "Yossie, do they pay you for this?"  And I reply... "Nope!! Nothing! Zippo! Efes! (That's zero in Hebrew!) 

Now, if they want to send me a coffee mug, I wouldn't say no! 

As always, I solicit your comments on the blogsite!

Seasonal Salutations!!

Yossie

YossieFrankel

Director of Technology


Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy  
9120 W Olympic Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
310.276.6135
www.hillelhebrew.org
    

A whole fortnight of fun... (With apologies to Louisa May Alcott)

What is exactly is a "fortnight?"

I asked that question to a group of students at my school and the answer I received the most was that fortnight was a video game.  There was also a couple of students who said that it was a two-week period of time.

So, which one is it?  A game or a measure of time?

Well...

FORTNIGHT, from Old English - fēowertȳne night - means fourteen nights.  

FORTNITE - note the spelling - that's a Massive Multi-player Online (MMO) game that currently has about 125 million players worldwide and chances are, if you are a teacher or parent, that you have an in-depth experience on how this MMO is causing "ripples" in your child's daily routine!

Now, I will be honest.  I like the game Fortnite - It's fun!! - and there are so many different modes that I can play it in.  I can play as a single player against a large group, I can play as a group member against other groups and I can even engage in the "playground" where I get to create fun games with my online buddies.  

One big downside is that it can suck me into what I call "The Cave."  You know, that time-defying parallel universe where one can lose track of time and forget to take out the garbage! (apologies to my wife!!)

So, is this game a "good thing" or a "bad thing?"

Like all else in the world of education (and parenting), I would suggest that it depends on how and what we do with it.  Researchers at Stanford Graduate School of Education say that Fortnite requires "students to practice "teamwork, collaboration, strategic thinking, spatial understanding, and imagination."  They promote bringing in the positive aspects of the game to spice up engagement in the classrooms.  (Example: A quick scan of YouTube brought me to this student's AP Physics project where he used the laws of physics and the scientific method to try to find the value of gravity in the game.)

On the other hand, as many studies have demonstrated, just having a phone or iPad sitting on a desk can be disruptive to the classroom.

So what do you think?  Distraction or teaching opportunity?  I would love to know your opinion - but please don't take a fortnight to get back to me!! 

Regards,

Yossie

YossieFrankel

Director of Technology

Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy  
9120 W Olympic Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
310.276.6135

www.hillelhebrew.org

    

Shall We Play a Game?

The other day, I was watching a nostalgia clip on YouTube from a movie called "War Games."  It came out in 1983 (I was working at a Canadian university at the time) and I recall how realistic the computer graphics were.  In '83, I was even using a computer much like the one shown in the movie!

This got me thinking about what I posted in my last blog where I gave a shout-out about a day-long conference on the gamification of the classroom (Games Students Play).  One takeaway I got from the conference was that the THEORY of game-play really hasn't changed much but the delivery of the games has.  

Yes, we still have board games, card games and so on, but computer games - well, have you ever played a VR (Virtual Reality) game? It is literally a different world!!

Let me give you an example of what I mean.

Recently, my son and a friend of his created a computer game that they call "Backyard Brawl."  The premise is that you, and a group of friends, are playing a neighborhood-wide game of laser tag.  It uses quality 3D graphics and real-world physics. It is quite exceptional when you think that he and his friend are only 13 year old!!

In order to pull this project off, they had to go through all of the planning stages of game creation.  You know, stuff like: select the genre, create a story-line, how to engage players, layout the game, ...and so on.

Then they had to code it!  My son did most of the coding over a 3 month period.  What really got me as a parent was that he did it in his spare time, keeping up with his homework and other obligations!

The finished project?  Well, that's the great part... it's not finished yet!!

They just released the first "early release" version to get feedback from other game players.  There is a lot that needs polish and upgrade, but when you stop and think that this was created by two middle-school students, it is pretty awe-inspiring.

Here is an early release video of the game in demo mode:

(Click this link to view video)

The game uses real-world physics (at least for the most part!!) and has some great animation.

If you would like to download the program and give it a try (remember that this is a multi-player game, so you have to have a few computers on the same LAN to play) here is a link to the STEAM Store to download it.

What do you think?  Does this kind of computer game play improve on the old days of - "Want to play Global Thermonuclear War?" - or perhaps you would just like to play a nice game of Chess?

(the classic clip from War Games - a fun 2-minute watch!!)

As always, I solicit your comments on the blog site.  (If you received this post through email, please click on the title at the top to get to the blog page to post your comments. - THANKS!!)

Yossie

YossieFrankel

Director of Technology


Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy  
9120 W Olympic Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
310.276.6135
www.hillelhebrew.org
    

Games Student's Play... (with apologies to The Spinners)

I admit it - I like playing games!  

Well, maybe not board games, but certainly computer games!  

Yes, I even like Fortnite!!

More on that for another blog though...

The thing is, back when I was full time in the classroom (when dinosaurs - I mean original iPads and iPods - roamed the earth...), I could just never figure out how to incorporate games into my curriculum.  Sure, I would have the class "play a game" to help break up a lesson so that I could engage my students in different ways, but to "gamify" a whole lesson or curriculum?? - I just couldn't figure it out.

You see, I didn't have the "tools" or the knowledge on how to do this.  

I tried reading books and papers on the concept, but I needed practical examples to fully understand things.  I just couldn't find the right help that would allow me to succeed.

Well, I am soooo glad that times have changed!!

My wife Batsheva (as my regular blog readers might recall, she wrote the acclaimed book: "The Jewish Educators Companion" - available on Amazon) - is the co-director of the Arete Institute here in Los Angeles.  One of the Institute's missions is to help educators acquire skills that will help them change the way we educate our kids.  One of their projects, in conjunction with Jon Cassie of "Game Level Learn," is a day-long conference on HOW to gamify curriculum and USE games to promote critical thinking skills in the classroom.  The really cool thing about this event is that it is HANDS-ON!!  With REAL LIFE EXAMPLES.  And what is even better is that it IS BEING HELD ON A SUNDAY - so there is no problem taking time off to attend!!!!

The event involves presenters from all over the US who have successfully integrated gaming into their classrooms and schools.  This is one of those "golden opportunities" where an educator can speak directly with other educators who are on the leading edge of this fascinating modality of learning - so don't miss it!!!

When: November 4, 2018, 8 am – 6 pm

Where: The Areté Institute, 

             11500 Olympic Blvd.    Suite 318

              Los Angeles, CA 90064

The registration fee is only $50 and you can register by clicking here.  Hurry up though, space is limited!

(For readers of my blog, enter the secret code LEVELUP to get 10% off)

I would love to hear about you and your attempts and successes at gamifying your classroom.  Please drop me a line about it on the blog page so that I can post your comments.

Regards,

Yossie

(DISCLAIMER... Nope, I am not getting paid by Arete Institute for posting about this event on my blog.  I just want want you, my readers, to be aware of a really great professional development opportunity. Though, there is a remote possibility that my wife might bake my favorite lasgna when it's her turn to cook dinner... just suggesting dear!!  :-)

YossieFrankel

Director of Technology


Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy  
9120 W Olympic Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
310.276.6135
www.hillelhebrew.org
    

Hello Folks... I'm Baaaaak

Hello Folks... I'm Baaaaak!!

And it feels good to be blogging again!!!

So, what is it that I am going to write about as the first entry of my triumphant return?  

...A lamenting of the ingenuity of students in the Jewish Day School System today.

Ok, ok, I hear some of you saying; "Well Yossie, that it is because we have driven the creativity out of our kids."  - and I would agree with you - but that begs the question: what are we going to do about it??

Now, what was the "straw that broke the camel's back" and prompted me to write about this?

It's actually quite simple.  You see, my glasses broke...

Yep, they snapped right in half while I was cleaning them.

So, I asked a group of students, what I should do to fix them?  They responded with; "use tape!"  (My own son said this, but at least he added that I should use the super strong "Flex Tape" of Internet fame.)  

The only problem with this solution is that the tape won't hold on the metal and the glasses would flex way too much.  At this point most of the students just threw up their hands in defeat.

So I gave them the following challenge:

Using a bit of copper wire (14 gauge and some jewelry wire) with a bit of soldier, could they fix my glasses.

Not a single one could figure out a way to do it.  

So sad...

This made me think that perhaps we educators have spent too much time giving our students "an education" without really giving them an education.  We have taught them WHAT to think without showing them HOW to think!

So what can we do about it?

Well, let me suggest the following...

We must become familiar with the different ways that can "teach" our kids to live in the world that they are inheriting.  We can expose them to different forms and methods of approaching a situation/learning opportunity/problem to be solved.  We can help them develop (note: not GIVE them) the tools that they will need to survive in the 21st Century and beyond.  And it all starts with a simple problem - a pair of broken glasses.

Over the next few months, I will making suggestions on how we, as parents and educators, can begin to, perhaps, achieve this lofty goal.  I invite you to join me on this journey.

As for my glasses...  

I fixed them myself and showed my students.  Now they want to learn how to solder and "tinker."  So, you can see that there IS HOPE!!! 

(Yossie's fixed glasses!  As an anecdote, when I went to the eyeglass store to get

new ones, the optometrist thought that they were just a new style.  They had no idea

that they were broken and repaired!!)

As always, I solicit your comments on the blog site.

Regards to all - Yossie.

YossieFrankel

Director of Technology

Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy  
9120 W Olympic Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
310.276.6135

www.hillelhebrew.org