How and Why Animation Could Be Used in the Classroom

As I was recently reading an article on animation in the classroom, it quickly came to my mind that I would use it for TESOL in China for an assortment of reasons. Those range from Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) to character education since students relate to animated characters. Another big point by the author included how using animation helped make behavior corrections less personal and more about deeper growth needed. This reminded me of some watching and research I have done in the past year or so as a father of three boys as part of the preparation of media they would be guided in digesting in the future.

My oldest son and I enjoy watching Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood together. It’s his favorite show, and I’m not ashamed to say it’s mine too. There was an evening when he was two-years-old that we sat down to watch it. As the show’s intro was happening and the characters came on to the screen, my son revealed something. When Daniel Tiger showed up, he said, “Hey Daddy, that’s me.” Soon after came Mr. Tiger, or Daddy Tiger. “And that’s you, Dad.”

Whoa.

http://www.pbs.org/parents/daniel

My son had just begun to make media-to-self and media-to-world connections. He was Daniel Tiger, and I was Daniel Tiger’s dad. It was an amazing moment where I was so proud of my son and how he was growing. I also knew that I as his father could use the connections my son had with Daniel Tiger for everyday events when necessary. (Side note: It helped that studies have already started to show that watching the show improves children’s social and emotional skills.)

Now my son and I could discuss and connect to our lives how we were feeling (similar to Daniel Tiger and his dad or mom). On top of that, around the same time as that event, my son started to do something else remarkable. Before we would watch an episode together, I’d ask him which one he wanted to view. He started to request particular episodes that 1) focused on how to manage a feeling he had felt recently, or 2) guided him in how to express himself when a certain kind of situation arose.

Mind blown…heart chuckling since I started to do the same things more often too just months after him. I began to more often imagine being Mr. Tiger, take episodes to be quite meaningful, and want to see again how he or Mrs. Tiger dealt with the experience at hand.

http://www.celebquote.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/cs-lewis-quotes-inspirational-12.png

When it comes to Chinese culture, stories are influential. These personalities in movies or shows favored by the students can be quite relatable. (I deeply wish there was a Chinese version of PBS!) What can teachers in China, locals and foreigners, do with animation then? Zhong (2012) stated that within Confucian tradition teachers are to assume two major charges. The first and foremost one was to teach knowledge and supply answers through the deep knowledge they have acquired. The second charge was to “cultivate people” (Jin & Cortazzi, as cited in Zhong, 2012). Teachers were to help students develop morals and to be available for pastoral care or advice on various issues. These are two of many ways to use animation while I lead toward the latter one.

A show could be viewed by a class of students once a week or every two weeks. Then the content could be actively reflected upon and applied by the teacher and students through relevant, direct practice as well as everyday situations. Of course, any music included could be really catchy while music for children has already time and time again proven to have quite the impact on children.

Who knows…maybe a teacher would start to imagine him/herself as a character in the show.

What if the students would create a show of their own and chronicle events throughout the year?

What do you think? How could animation fit into your teaching or education in general?

Improving the Flipped Classroom in China

One of the teaching methods I have applied, analyzed, and been reflecting on this school year is that of the flipped classroom. It started out as an Action Research project that I simply placed hope in since I wasn’t sure how students in a bilingual school in China would respond. What happened beforehand, during the implementation, and afterward transpired in ways that inspired me to move forward. Part of progress is moving into the unknown, and before continuing to do so I checked out some blogs and well-known sites for any tips or suggestions when employing the flipped classroom.

One idea I received was from a first-grade teacher. Her students were too young to obtain internet access in the evenings. Therefore, she thought outside the box, and she did what she referred to as the “in-class flip.” She recorded and prepared the directions and examples for a project, and then made the video (and more thereafter) available to her students in order that they could independently look back to those instead of her. This provided her as the teacher to “work with individuals and small groups to address a range of learning styles and abilities.” For more details and steps on that, check out Creative Educator, where some teachers are Flipping the Elementary Classroom.

One of several suggestions from Teach Starter was to start with one lesson to flip in an area you as the teacher feel comfortable with. I’m wondering now if that’s the best piece of advice for everyone when mulling over the start of flipping one’s classroom. When I initially tried out the method, I actually had a class do it for a complete chapter that ended up lasting about three straight weeks with at least 2-3 videos a week. The kinks for the video-watching were mostly taken care of before the chapter began, as the rest were resolved after the first class period. From there on out to the end, the students knew the expectations with the short and succinct videos within our imperfect system, and they gave it all they had. It was a few fun weeks, but I’m not sure we (the students and I) would’ve revealed all that we did with one single time of flipping. The students and I discovered quite a bit through the experience, and it wasn’t just about our content. Thus, in my opinion, I’d say “yes” to the educator who asks, “Does Flipped Learning in a Primary Classroom Really Work?” Though there are more variables and other options a teacher should consider in accordance with one’s context before taking the leap since I wonder if there could be situations where it wouldn’t be suitable.

My students shared a healthy outlook on learning in that they control their learning, and the teacher is there to guide, correct, or challenge thinking within the subject and its interconnectedness to other subjects and, ultimately, life. The flipped videos were a nice substitute for the traditional homework that the students receive daily, and they expressed their desire for the videos since the beginning for they provided foundations for the classes we met face to face. The content in the videos was starting points for learning as well, and sometimes the students even did a little independent research of their own beforehand. Ultimately, flipping the classroom has felt like a success in professional and personal ways through the year, but that doesn’t mean I should stop growing and obtaining wisdom from experts on the issue. (Hence, the two hyperlinks in this paragraph stem from Jon Bergmann.)

Jon Bergmann on "What is Flipped Learning?" on Common Sense Media

Here are some more analyses on the flipped classroom.

A Student's Turn to Flip

Mr. B's Take on the Flipped Classroom

What do you think?

Would you incorporate or have you implemented the flipped classroom? If yes, what recommendations do you have? If no, why not?

Gamification in the K-6 Classroom?

When it comes to gamification, I’m not going to act like I’m an expert. In fact, I’d identify myself as somewhat of a newb, or a rookie, and I'm definitely open to questions and others' thoughts. It’s certainly nice to have a topic of study such as this in EdTech Trends and Issues since I don’t recall having done extreme research on it before. Gamification will now be a focus on my mind after checking out various modes of resources that discuss it in detail. Initially, the thought of its place in the K-6 classroom was mixed. I could see the pros, but I could simultaneously see the cons.

Thankfully, there is not one right way to educate a child. Some of the joys of being a teacher include discovering more about and knowing your context (Cameron-Rogers & Carr, as cited in Barkastas & Bertram, 2016)*, content, and most importantly, your students.

While processing some information from those who seem to be experts (as well as some amateurs) on the issue, I have gathered that there are various ways a teacher could organize one’s classroom or teaching in a gamified fashion. It’s not about playing games all day or centering your class entirely on being run like a game. There are differing definitions of gamification. Karl Kapp (2014) provides a simple one in that it “uses the elements of games to motivate and engage the learner” (see below for more).

Upon listening to Kapp had me wonder, how much related to gaming would a student or class need in order to improve or reignite their motivation or engagement? Would it be more for the teacher’s sake to simply help manage a class? Every teacher’s situation is different. That much is true. Therefore, it’s better to first know the whole situation. In a recent blog, Kapp mentioned the resurgence of board and card games. Needless to say, video games are not to be the sole definition or method of gaming in education. Yet again, another assumption I had made that was broken by the act of becoming more informed.

What I personally am still having a hard time separating (if indeed they are to be separated) are games, competition, and extrinsic rewards. If the learners and their culture have a foundation as well as a continual reiteration of the competition aspect, I would not see gamification as a positive in the learning process. In my opinion as an amateur gamer and professional educator, this is a bigger deal than the possibility of a student formulating an addiction, or over-engagement, though knowing the warning signs or symptoms would be vital to any person (Young, 2009)**. Part of that slight concern would be of students also creating this expectation of extrinsic rewards. At the same time, I know students will inevitably experience rewards in life, but I wouldn’t want extrinsic ones to be their prime motivation or engagement for going into a career or helping others.

All that to say, I wouldn’t say that gamification is wrong or right. That’d be too black and white without considering a teacher’s particular scenario or possible setup. It certainly could have a place in learning if it were to be implemented correctly and in a way that does not compromise with negative effects on students, learning, and their overall health in the long-term.

Even if gamification wouldn’t be utilized in the classroom, I’d highly recommend somehow incorporating games for social interaction and collaborative reasons as well as guiding students in how they could self-identify stages of flow theory when it happens in their lives. In fact, gaming would be one of at least a few ways I’d recommend when directing students in their metacognition.

What do you think? Why or why not? What are some resources you'd recommend?

Some resources I've found so far include Gamification in Learning and Education (Burton, Kim, Lockee, & Song, 2018) and Gamify (Burke, 2014). There's more out there by Kapp too.

*Barkastas, T. & Bertram, A.R. (2016). Global learning in the 21st century (Global education in the 21st century series: Volume 1). Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
**Young, K. (2009). Understanding online gaming addiction and treatment issues for adolescents. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 37(5), 355–372. doi: 10.1080/01926180902942191