Baamboozle Tutorial

 Baamboozle is a website that allows you to create interactive games with students. You can even find a bunch of premade games on many different subjects, it's kind of like Kahoot! The set up is a little bit different, you can still present it whole class and have students working in different teams to figure out the answer. Something I found really cool about Baamboozle is that it also gives the option to study the questions and see it as a slideshow. It also has an option where you can use answer the questions as a quiz so it can be a fun way to do checks for understandings/quick assessments when you want to gauge student understanding. You can insert your own pictures and GIF's, it's a cute website!

Step 1: Search up Baamboozle on your preferred search engine, it looks like this 

Step 2: Click on the button that says join for free, then make your free account. There is also a paid version that gives you more options when using Baamboozle, the plan is $4.99 if you subscribe for a year and $7.99 if you do a monthly plan 

Step 3: It will send you a link to verify your email. After that, you are in and able to see all the games. There are also games in different languages that could be helpful for MLL's! 

Step 4: You can either play a game, study it (answers and questions are given as flash cards), or use it as a slideshow as seen below. When you click on the game there is also a preview, I clicked on a Halloween themed game that was to help MLL's with certain terms. It's nice to see a preview because you can always click out if it's not for you.

When you click play, there is only one game option for the free version, it is fun, just not themed

After you select the game/theme, you can choose the amount of teams, grid size, power ups/themes. AND you can choose if you want students to take it as a quiz, a game with questions and power ups, or a simpler version of the questions with power ups.

Step 5: After you select your preferences, choose questions at random or based off of what the teams would like. And put a ✅or a ☒ based off of their answer! The website will count the points. 

Step 6 (kinda): If you would rather make your own game, go to where it says My Library and press games. The website will guide you if it is your first time creating a game. You can also find anything you previously made or find specific collections you made. 

These are two tutorials I liked that were on YouTube, the second one is more in depth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-A_7kIRVZI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n_UNedTaj4

Brainstorming Part 2

 I may be overthinking, but I have two options now for my final project...

1. My original plan of creating something that can help me be more organized with scaffolding for MLL's who I typically translate for. 

2. My project in the action research course I took before this one was to begin weekly communication with my homeroom families. This would be so families have more detailed information on their student not just academically, but also socially and any growths in general. Communication would be concise so it doesn't feel like it is just redundant information. This is something I did towards the end of the year, but I would like to see how it can play out for the full year and how it can impact the students' motivation. (leaning more towards this)

So for my project: 

Step 1: Pick a topic

Step 2: Write down what my beliefs are and how this aligns to my belief, especially with my beliefs on how students learn

Step 3: Find out the media I will be using

Step 4: Design the project

Step 5: Write the narrative and make edits as needed for time

Step 6: Make the presentation

Me this weekend

Final Project Brainstorming

 During my time as an educator I have worked with both 1st grade and 3rd grade students. Many of the students I teach are level 1-3 MLL's who speak Spanish as their first language. I mostly pull small groups of students who have lower grades when we are teaching math, and many of the students that I pull are MLL's. During my time with the students, I learned that they all understand different academic terms in Spanish and it can make it easier for them when I repeat or restate directions in Spanish after they have been said in English and vice verse. Spanish is my first language so it has never been a too much of a struggle for me to translate on the spot, but I want to find a more efficient way of doing this. I teach CGI solo for my homeroom class as well as math for the entire 3rd grade with my co-teacher. I have never directly planned or implemented my translations when I am solo planning or planning with my co-teacher. But I think that it could be helpful if I try to be more organized with this. It is also important to note that I do not work at a dual language school. So my intention is also not to have students rely on translations, especially since they may not be receiving them when they move on to the next grade. Unfortunately, state testing and other assessments are also not given to them in their preferred language, so my goal is to use translations as more of a scaffold for students. 

There are many English/Spanish cognates that can also be helpful with creating something digitally. As someone who tries not to use AI and does not really want her students to use it. I came up with two ways that I can better translate during math while also using a digital tool to help. I am thinking I can create a bilingual glossary for students. This can have frequently used terms, specific math terms/attributes, and also sentence starter examples to increase MLL participation in class. I can also create anchor charts digitally that have different symbols in both English and Spanish for students. I am honestly still thinking about different ways I can implement this in class. But this is what is in my mind so far. I'm hoping that this weekend will give me more time to think up new ideas as well. 

AI and I

 I have a complicated view of AI. It is not something that I will typically use in my day to day life, but it is something that I have previously used in school and at a former job (that required we use it). However I do feel very guilty whenever I use it since I think about all the negative impacts that AI has. I found some parts of Gallant and Rettinger's reading had topics that I could relate to. I have used AI in the academic setting to help me understand class concepts more. I felt like I could not approach professor's about questions I had because I was going to seem dumb or like I just wasn't paying attention. I was scared of failure and I preferred to ask AI instead of reaching out to a professor or even the tutoring center. My non-work related use of AI stems from me trying to present myself as a "smart" student who immediately grasps concepts because I was so scared of seeming like someone who was going to fail the class. I have grown a lot since then and I am more opening to asking professors and peers questions. But AI remains a part of my life because it has become so unavoidable. 

The reading by Ferlazzo was something that brought up many thoughts (mostly negative) for me. My first thought was; why are we telling teachers to use this tool because they are overworked instead of addressing the actual issue? Teaching is a rewarding yet EXHAUSTING job. It takes so much out of you , it is difficult to create/mold lesson plans to fit a class of 30+ students who have such different learning styles. We have classes of MLL's who are on different levels and students with IEP's/504's, it is tricky to create a lesson that will serve all your students. I also thought it was silly of Ferlazzo to suggest using AI to create welcome letters for students or their families. I could see how someone would want to use it for translation purposes, but it seems a bit disconnected to have AI write a letter from you to the students/families. That is something that can be so personal and I personally would not appreciate having an AI letter sent to me from an educator who wants me to grow and use my own brain. 

I understand that it is important for educators to evolve with technology and make sure we are fluent with tools our students will be using. But it is also important for us to make sure that we are not becoming reliant on AI. 

Prensky and Spiegel Response

After reading the article, I agree with Spiegel's point of view. It seems like Prensky views younger generations, or "digital natives" to be much more tech savvy individuals who are able to multitask and need the educational system to cater to their technological skills in order to serve them best. Prensky believes that newer generations are more knowledgeable of the way technology functions. I do think that it is important to evolve with newer generations in education, but not all of our students will be harnessing the skills that we expect "digital natives" to have. 

It is true that more kids today are growing up with access to technology, but it is not fully developing their skills as a digital citizen. Most kids are playing games, watching videos, or on different social media platforms when they are using their devices. Most of them are not on their devices typing essays, finding peer reviewed work, or using it to organize different kinds of information and data. I appreciated how Spiegel placed an emphasis on children having varying levels of skill when using technology depending on their own exposure. 

I think that Prensky's perspective makes sense as his essay came out when technology was still fairly new and becoming something common in a majority of households. But it does not fully take into account how much guidance students still need when using technology. Students can navigate certain apps, but they still need explicit directions when learning to use certain tools or apps that are used in education and most likely in their future jobs. 

A student's savviness with tech is also highly dependent on the devices they are exposed to, a student who has only been using a phone or a tablet will not have the same skills as a student who also has a computer or printer at home. All of this has to be learned. Someone who passively scrolls and consumes media will not have the same technological knowledge as someone who uses their devices to create. I think that the term "digital native" is too broad to define generations that have grown up surrounded by tech. Every student has such varying skills and they need to be taught how to use technology in the academic setting. 

We live in a world where tech is constantly evolving and ways in which we can use it are always changing. It is important that we are making sure that all of our students are able to use technology in ways that can help them with their own learning, but we need to also teach them how to be responsible digital citizens. 

This is an article from Edutopia (Poth, 2023) on Digital Citizenship skills that brings up important points!

https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-digital-citizenship-skills/ 

Intro

 Hiii! I'm Karen (she/her) I work at Achievement First Providence Elementary as a 3rd grade math teacher. I love being with friends and family and I love to be out in nature. I also have a bunch of hobbies and interests so hmu ~( ˘▾˘~).