Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Flip Your Classroom Book Review

Sunday, July 21, 2013

eSportsmanship

After doing readings this week about digital citizenship and the ethics behind all of it, I turned my attention to a current problem in my own school.  That is the lack of digital, formal expectations for my eSports club.  I plan to show this to the club on the first meeting. This is what I came up with:

 
eSportsmanship

Rationale:

In the current digital age communication is essential.  Unfortunately, as communication around the globe and amongst digital landscape expands, humanism and attachment have partially diminished.  It is important for all peoples of the future to become proper digital citizens.  Citizens that not only know but respect the technology used as well as the people connected.

E-sports (or eSports) is a new phenomenon in American culture.  It is the celebration and acknowledgement of the competition of sport within the video gaming realm.  With this new sporting format we cannot forget the essential human aspect of it all.  Sportsmanship must not dwindle in the coming age.

Goals/Expectations:

The goal for these exercises will be to define sportsmanship in sports as well as its new place in eSports.   Through this, students will have an understanding of why it is important to become a proper digital citizen in relation to the school policies and eSports club—emphasis on StarCraft II.

The following steps would be presented to the club at one of the first meetings:

Steps:

Firstly, introduce or reintroduce students to the Options Charter High School student handbook.  Particularly these points from the student expectations:
6. Show respect for the building, grounds and your personal space.

7. Do not engage in verbal disrespect toward teachers, staff, or students;
agree to disagree in an appropriate manner.

8. Do not engage in verbal or physical violence of any kind.

Suggest how that these rules are no different on the digital landscape and need to be followed completely.

Secondly, I will introduce the students to idea of sportsmanship with a Merriam Webster definition:

Sportsmanship: conduct (as fairness, respect for one's opponent, and graciousness in winning or losing) becoming to one participating in a sport.

Pose the questions: Why should someone be a good sport?

Display why we will be good sports:

1.    The human factor – these are people we are playing, emotions can be high.  We do not want to hurt anyone.

2.    Self-representation – you are representing yourself in every game you play. You do not want to showcase your inability to deal with your feelings whether winning or losing.

3.    Team representation – you may be representing a team or clan that you are playing for—in this case Team OCHS (Options Charter High School).  Showing disrespect may cause generalizations of your other teammates.

4.    School representation – you are not only representing yourself and team but the school as well.  Show that we are above the hate.

5.    The game factor – although suggesting this may seem cliché, this still is just a game.  This is not a real battle.  Do not let your emotions get the best of you.


Thirdly, introduce the students to the Liquipedia’s gamer etiquette: 


(Liquipedia is a wiki created by the prestigious, pro-related Team Liquid StarCraft community.)

Fourthly, show a video involving StarCraft professions demonstrating good sportsmanship as well as someone showcasing poor sportsmanship and the consequences in a certain situation:

            Good Sportsmanship (@1:43):


The Rage Quit:


Finally, show the students the phrases that will be expected pre-game and post-game.

            Expected Acronyms and Behavior:

            Starts of Game

            GL HF (Good Luck Have Fun) or GL GG (Good Luck Good Game)

            End of Game

            GG (Good Game) or GG WP (Good Game Well Played)

            During/Throughout Game

No offense gameplay/language as laid out by Team Liquid

Last Rule:

Have Fun!

Conclusion:

With the emphasis on relationships of digital citizenships I think the presentation will demonstrate our schools intent on maintaining a positive environment on the physical and digital campus.  The eSports arena should be no different than a soccer, football, basketball, or baseball field/court when it comes to respect and expectation we have for our students.

Resources:

Gamer Etiquette - Liquipedia - The StarCraft II Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Liquipedia. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Gamer_Etiquette

IdrA Rage Quits a won game Vs MMA @ MLG Columbus - YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-kBxbbtYZc

ShoutCraft America - Finals - ROOTKane vs. State - BO7 - YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVgr9juKtTY

Sportsmanship - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sportsmanship

Thursday, July 4, 2013

21st Century Literacy

Intro:
21st century literacy is the sum of all the current literacies students and youth must own and acquire to have a full understanding of learning in the social and educational world.  The graphic and the writings below should further develop and define 21st century literacy and show how the subcategories work and are closely related.

Graphic 1  Showcases the relationship between key 21st century literacy terminology.  It displays how certain literacies are interconnected while also showing the potential order of operational accomplishment.  Each level displays a more specific category 21st century literacy all the while being interrelated. (created with Popplet)
 Definitions:

Visual Literacy is very simply what a learner sees and how they interpret that sight and or image.  It is one of the most essential parts of 21st century literacy and learning.  Without the ability to recognize visual resources and images many of the other parts of 21st century literacy become more difficult.

Example: An English Language Arts teacher displays a picture to the classroom.  It is a man looking out into the ocean.  The teacher then asks the class to write a short narrative about what the man sees.

Information Literacy – the ability to simply process and understand information.  This is a skill that has been taught for centuries and remains an essential part of all skills for youth.  Without the skill to process, understand, relate, and provide information one would not be able to move onto the more complicated skill sets in 21st century literacy.

Example: Students in an English class are given an article about the recent attempts to clone the woolly mammoth.  They are then asked to relate this information to their current novel assignment:  Jurassic Park.

Media Literacy – after one has mastered or understood visual and information literacy it could be time to move on to the more developed media literacy.  Media literacy is an all-encompassing literacy that showcases an understanding of how to process multiple medias such as television, radio, web, and written text.  Not only this, but one that has a mastery of such literacy would also demonstrate an ability to create in said medias.

Example: Students develop a school news program to show the current events and advancements of school classes and social attractions.

Computer Literacy – a category under the umbrella of media literacy, computer literacy is simply the skillset involved for ascertaining and creating information dealing with computers and their simple components—not necessarily their inner working parts.  It also involves simply being able to use a computer in a functional and efficient way.

Example: A student is asked to use the word processor on the school computer to type their technical paper.  They are also asked to use images they have stored on their USB drive to add to the document.  After they are done they must store the paper on their school work space.

Digital Literacy – another literacy under the umbrella of media literacy, digital literacy is the ability to use, communicate, and create with digital technologies involving such things as networks and unseen digital space.

Example: A student is asked to show understanding of current scientific theory.  The student uses YouTube and Sony Vegas to create an outstanding video.  It is published and shared with the classroom and school via the high school’s personal website.

Social Media Literacy – a category of digital literacy, social media literacy is the ability to use, understand, and decipher importance of social media such as social networks.

Example: A health class is asked to develop a wiki based on common effects of continual drug use and abuse with pictures, drawings, and graphs displaying outcomes.

Further Research/Reading:

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills – a terrific site dedicated for the advancement of the educator for developing 21st century skills in the classroom.  It has many resources and readings for continued study.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Retrieved July 4, 2013, from http://www.p21.org/

DigitalLiteracy.gov – a site associated with Obama administration that deals with educating not only teachers and students but the general public about new digital literacies.  It has links to understand and learn new skills as well as educator tools.

            Digitalliteracy.gov. (n.d.).  Digitalliteracy.gov. Retrieved July 4, 2013, from
                         http://www.digitalliteracy.gov/

Popplet – website used to create idea bubble image at beginning of document.

 Popplet. (n.d.). Popplet. Retrieved July 4, 2013, from http://popplet.com/

 
Robert Stewart


Here is the whole document in PDF form: