Teacher Jam Chicago/Results

Discussion of existing activities

Produce Puzzle

overview

• could be more interactive
• more facility for helping student solve subproblems

problems

• no user feedback besides music
• should always have both visual and audio cues
• usability
• very clear to user that you can enter in text/numbers; use arrows on keyboard

things to look for

• progress tracking
• more incremental learning
• feeling of forward movement

takeaway points

• fruits and veggies = cool
• translatable, graphical
• subtly teach health, nutrition
• (integration = win!)

Things we'd like to do

• small encapsulated activities
• achievable tangible learning goal
• visual translation of concepts

Math

• sets
• dividing objects
• virtual manipulatives
• graphing
  • plot "favorite color", for example
  • histograms
  • introduce polling concepts
  • something going out schoolwide, XO can compile results. (better to analyze data all at once, rather than add votes one by one -- bias from previous voters)
• estimation

Language Arts

• feedback for a spelling program
• database of words
  • animation, feedback, pronunciation
  • visualize horse vs hoarse, for example
• make use of most common "x" words in the language

Idea 1

• interface (teacher/design and a run interface)
  • run: list of correct spelling, mixed up spelling
  • unscramble
• sentence constructor
  • subject-verb object
  • database knows what is categorized as what, figure out construction rules

magnetic poetry

• collaborative
• computer = magnetic haiku (force syllable count)
• iambic pentameter
• different poetical forms (A Kick In The Head - book)
• take snapshots
• User:Rmyers/Magnetic_Poetry - Bob Myers take

Tell Me A Story

• create e-books (mix of Speak and Write)
• Space to type and draw
• multi-page
• end result -- stored book, view page to page, then read out loud
• exchange own written books
• can be structured, maybe, as a webpage or wiki
• (work an interface over a web browser engine)
• record self telling story, too
• free write - doesn't really need computer to dictate rules
• learn to identify sentence structure by ear

Looking at Story Builder

• story builder -- can't seem to build more than one page
• have to chose from preselected images

Other comments

• replicate style teachers are accustomed to
• XOs, computer can change/break down existing education models
• use to make school more interesting for students

• SUPPLE software - accessibility
• understand why kids are having trouble