We're Getting There!

We have finished the second six-week grading period, and I am really impressed with the progress my students have made thus far. It is an interesting process to go from hearing game ideas to seeing those ideas materialize into paper prototypes, then to Flash drawings, then to animated Flash drawings with sound. I can't wait to see the finished products.

My class is relatively small and we have four teams. I encourage you to visit our wiki page and look at the team pages. Pretty impressive for a group of first-time flashers. Here's the link to our wiki http://www.myglife.org/usa/wv/lhswiki/index.php/Special:GlobaloriaUsersGallery.

Until next time..........

Life Is Not Always Fun and Games

As I began to look at student blogs today, I realized that I haven't been blogging much myself this month. Needless to say, October has been a long, hard, month for me. Two weeks ago, a very dear friend lost his life in an automobile accident when he was struck head on by a young lady under the influence of a controlled substance. I also have a family member in the midst of a very serious health scare, and this week marks the second anniversary of the death of my father-in-law with whom I was very close.

It is hard not to fall into a doom and gloom mentality; always waiting for the next bad thing to happen. I am reminded of a saying one of my students from several years ago used on a regular basis, "Life is not always fun and games." It is a very true statement. But life does go on and we need to live every day as if it could be our last. My new take on life is that it should be fun and games.

With that said, I am excited to see the progress being made in my classroom. Each group has a very different game idea and some of the art work being done is fantastic. It will be awesome to see their games come to fruition. Until next time......

On Rolls the Blog

Reading through fifteen blogs on the same subject can be a little tedious. Especially with very little or in some cases no multimedia content. My goal for the week is to go back and review adding links, photos and videos to give your blog a little oomph! I am challenging my students to make their blogs so stimulating that people can't wait until their next post.

On an unrelated note, I found an interesting website that I would like to share with all of you blogger.com users. If you are interested in having your blog printed in a professional published blog book, you should check this out.

Until next time..............

And Let the Games Begin......

Today in class we chose teams worked on game ideas. Everyone seems really excited about their game concepts and I am looking forward to seeing the process come together.

We have four teams with very different game concepts. Team Klangfarbenmelodie is focused on the importance of music in education, The Epic Failz wishes to bring awareness to animal cruelty, Elite Shuffle plans on educating its audience on the addiction of gambling, and last but certainly not least, The Masters of Disaster aim to do their part to help eliminate pollution.

I hope that you will visit their pages for a more in depth look at their games. Paper prototyping will be underway soon and each team with have a video on their page.

Moving Right Along

Today we began the Mini Game Project and worked with movie clips. The students are excited to begin working with the Flash. I am really impressed with their skills thus far.

I am not thrilled to admit that they have already had to help the teacher. But, I am trying to remove myself from the mentality that I should have all answers. After all, this class is designed to promote critical thinking skills in our students and it is evident that this is happening in my class.

Hello High Speed!

What a great day for Liberty High School Globaloria students! Not only did the county unveil our new Wide Area Network; we also had the privilege of meeting First Lady Gayle Manchin when she visited our school today.

Mrs. Manchin was very warm and complimentary to the students. I think they were a little surprised when she told them she had been on their wiki and blog pages. I have stressed to the students the importance of remembering who their target audience is when posting to their sites and I think this was a clarification to them that important people are viewing their work

I'll post a video of the First Lady's visit later. For now enjoy the pics.

And We're Off!

The first few weeks of school, as most teachers will attest, are a little crazy. I'm glad we are now settling into the new year. No more schedule changes, lost students wandering into your classroom, etc.

With that said, my Globaloria class is off to a great start. I have a really creative and talented group of students who are excited by the opportunity to learn technology skills that will better prepare them for competion in a global economy.

We have been moving at a slow and steady pace; creating our gmail accounts, (this feat alone is enough for a blog unto itself), wiki profiles and blogs. It is evident by the quality and ownership of the students work. Check out their profiles and I am sure you will agree.

Several teachers have told me that students are saying that this class is their favorite. I wish I could say it is because of me, but I know that although this may slightly be the case, the main reason is the content. Students respond to technology! I am hoping this will encourage other teachers in my school to embrace the Globaloria program.

My students cannot wait to get started on their games. I can really see the wheels turning! How great is it to see students not only interested, but actively involved in the learning process. Globaloria is inspiring students to become critical thinkers and team players. What more can you ask for?