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