MEASURING ON MY I POD: A GAME PROPOSAL FOR THE I POD TOUCH

1. MEASURING ON MY IPOD:A GAME PROPOSAL FOR THE IPOD TOUCH Michael Russell, Whitney Mullins, Rachel Harmon

2. Overview • Introduction • Review of Literature • Methodology • Results • Future Research • Conclusion

3. Introduction A Virginia 4th Grade Math SOL 4.11: The student will: b) identify equivalent measurements between units within the U.S. Customary system (inches and feet; feet and yards; inches and yards) and between units within the metric system (millimeters and centimeters; centimeters and meters; and millimeters and meters). Create an iPod application that… ALIGNS WITH Create an iPod application that… COMBINES Innovative Technology with Educational Theory

4. Review of Literature • The Power of Pow! Wam!: Children, Digital Media and Our Nation’s Future (Shore, 2007) • “Electronically-enabled experiences fill daily life at home, at work, and in our communities.  This trend is likely to accelerate…” (p. 4). • Getting Over the Slump: Innovation strategies to promote children’s learning (Gee, 2008) • Says media use by kids ages 8-10 is already a part of their daily activities: “On average per day, children spend 37 minutes using computers, 65 minutes playing video games, 59 minutes listening to music, and 197 minutes watching TV” (p. 14). • With technology already so prevalent in the daily lives of children, Gee (2008) outlines the importance of gaining 21st century skills during the elementary years. • “These 21st century skills require students to become tech-savvy, in the sense of being undeterred by technical processes or information and able to use new technologies not just for consuming knowledge, but for producing it as well” (p. 9).

5. Review of Literature • Let’s face it, schools are supposed to be preparing students in a manner that more easily allows students to transition into the workforce. • “In the United States, economic growth in the 21st century will be driven by the ability to generate ideas and translate them into innovative products and services… when today’s U.S. students enter tomorrow’s workforce they will face intense international competition for jobs at every skill level” (Gee, 2008, p. 8).

6. Review of Literature • According to a New York Times article, The Future of Reading: Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers (Rich, 2008) • “A recent poll by the Pew Internet & American Life project found that 97 percent of children 12 to 17 play games on computers, consoles and handheld devices” (p. 2). • According to iPod in education: The potential for teaching and learning (Pasnik, 2007) • “In addition to providing students with opportunities to personalize their use of media, teachers can use iPods to get students interacting, which requires them to confront one another’s strengths, ideas, opinions, and content understanding” (p. 7). • According to Gee (2008) technology can be used to problem solve, simulate real experiences, collaborate with peers, and to gain knowledge and produce projects.

7. Methodology • Consists of 2 parts: • Video Tutorial • Game Play and Feedback

8. Methodology Video Tutorial Example • Video Tutorial • Reviews strategies for converting measurements between units within the U.S. Customary system (inches and feet; feet and yards; inches and yards) and between units within the metric system (millimeters and centimeters; centimeters and meters; and millimeters and meters) • Video Tutorial Material: • Most lessons for this content deal with measuring and comparing using familiar object sizes: • Reviews proper units of measuring for popular environments, i.e. a classroom, length of a football field, etc. • Reviews inches, feet, yards, millimeters, centimeters, and meters by identifying and illustrating how these measurements fit into one another Teachers can use this as a primary tool for a lesson on customary and metric system conversions OR As a supplement for a traditional lesson BACK

9. Methodology • Game Play Overview • Object of the Game: To demonstrate understanding of the SOL by answering all 10 math questions correctly. • Proper Process: Student watches the video tutorial before game play and then tries to answer a set of 10 questions correctly. Next the student reviews the questions they missed and returns to the game after reflecting and reviewing conversion strategies. • Goal: The goal of this game is to answer 10 out of 10 questions correctly.

10. Methodology – Screen Shots • Instructional Theory: • Students observe illustrations that align with the content they are studying: • Increases recall • Steiner (1999) says, “The selection of compound themes… is a very useful teaching aid, as it marks out a curricular and conceptual framework around which a network of meanings can be built up” (p. 213). • Innovative Technology: • This portion of the activity allows students to tap the correct answer on the iPod with the pad of their finger. • Accelerometer Feature • Should a question appear that the student does not know how to answer or is simply not sure of the answer; the student should lightly shake the iPod to mix up the remaining questions and receive a new scenario.

11. Methodology – Screen Shots • Displays the word Touchdown! to provide some formative feedback in a sports themed category for the student • Also incorporates auditory feedback and reinforcement • The student wears headphones and can hear a crowd cheering for them since they selected the correct answer to the question FEEDBACK

12. Methodology – Screen Shots

13. Methodology – Screen Shot Sequence

14. Results • Work in progress • Part of the Learning without Boundaries initiative by the Virginia Department of Education • iPod instruction and gaming is currently being developed • No hard evidence of how the students are developing skills or how teachers incorporating the iPod instruction into their curriculums • Hypothesize that students will become more actively engaged in the instruction • More likely want to play the games • Students that may be behind the rest of the class will be more motivated to try to keep up because of the perceived self-efficacy (Bandura, 1993). • Students set higher goals for themselves • Through the technology, teachers will be able to give more timely, detailed, and personalized feedback to the students, cutting down on time spent grading. • FINAL result • Hope that the teachers can find more ways to incorporate this type of instruction to enhance their students’ education

15. Future Research • iPod touch = the first mobile device incorporating an accelerometer as an input device • Children at the 4th grade level are fascinated with this type of functionality, making learning fun and wanting to engage in the activity longer • Technology is continually changing • Allows for individualized electronic instruction • Allows for cooperative learning • Students can engage in challenging games with each other rather than playing alone

16. Conclusion Bringing It All Together

17. References Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (2000). How people learn. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Dick, Carey, and Carey. (2005). The systematic design of instruction. (6th ed.) Gee, J.P. (2008). Getting over the slump: Innovation strategies to promote children’s learning. New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Gee, J.P. (2007). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy: Revised and updated edition. Palgrave Macmillan. Pasnik, S. (2007, Winter). iPod in education: The potential for teaching and learning. Apple Inc. Cupertino, CA. . Peterson, T. O. & Arnn, R. B. (2005). Self-efficacy: The foundation of human performance. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 18(2), 5-19. Rich, M. (2008, October 6). Using video games as bait to hook readers. New York Times, P. A1. Shore, R. (2008). The power of pow! wham!: Children, digital media & our nation’s future. Three challenges for the coming decade. New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Steiner, G. (1999). Learning: Nineteen scenarios from everyday life. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6LlA2SztY8&feature=related http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=157