Simulation in Education

My new blod topic for the second half of the semester is going to focus on simulation in education. Some of you may wonder; what is simulation?
Simulation is the imitation of something real. It can imitate a process, event that will take place, or many other state of affairs. Simulation is used for a variety of different reasons and in a number of different professions. Some examples include, technology, training, testing, video games, etc.

Do you have any experience with simulation?

Educational Scams?

I've been sick this week and took time this weekend to catch up on some rest. I wasn't able to sleep last night and all that was on TV were terrible infomercials. I started listening to one and it was called "My Baby Can Read". The entire infomercial was about a program designed for baby's giving them the skills required to read and there were examples of baby's ranging from a few months old to 3 years and so on reading words, books, and answering questions. I immediately was interested and became wondering about what the program is consisted of. Is this program good for children at such a young age? Does it effect their ability to learn phonetics and the way we teach children to read later in life? Are they learning all of these words as sight words? Will they be able to decode and read other words just as easily? These are all questions that came to my head and ultimately; is this a scam? This seemed to be an interesting experience I thought I would share and ask if you have seen this or another educational program or game that may be a scam or not do what it is advertised to do.

Early Childhood Educational Games

I was babysitting my niece last night and was talking to my brother about things they need to start buying her to make sure she is getting as much exposure to educational games and practicing skills needed for her to develop before going to school. My niece is only 2 months old however, this is something that is important to me not only as an aunt but as an educator as well. I began thinking of things I would be doing if it were my child; sign language was something that came to mind. When I taught summer school we used Baby Einstein programs for many different skills and techniques. I also have a nephew who is 5 years old and last year I made sure that he had Leap Frog programs and tools to use in order to get him ready for school and exposed to the skills and information needed. There are a variety of different educational games available for children at very young ages and I fully support implementing them into a child's life.

Promethean Boards

What is a promethean board?
Before coming to the West Genesee School District I was not familiar with promethean boards either. I actually had never even heard of them. They resemble a smart board in many different ways. If you look up information on promethean boards they are often referred to as interactive white boards. These are "touchboards" however; unlike a smart board you cannot use your fingers to move or bring up information, you must use a special pen. A few things that I have found inconvenient include the use of this pen and you frequently have to calibrate the board to make sure the pen is clicking where you intend. I understand this must take place with smart boards too however I do it much more frequently with the promethean boards.

All interactive touchboards are helpful for implementing technology and different educational games into the classroom. They enhance instruction and hold the students interest and attention for longer periods of time. Students are motivated by educational games and the addition of this technology indulges them more.

Resources for Educational Games

Anytime I can incorporate the internet and computer into my instruction the students seem to become more interested and motivated. I am lucky because I do have a promethean board which allows for the students to all take turns participating in the games and or activity. One site that a number of teachers use within my district is "brainpop" I use brainpopjr.com in my classroom and it has many sources on a variety of different subjects/topics. I sometimes use this site to get ideas on how to expand my instruction or create a new unit on a different topic. Are there any resources you have experience with or enjoy using to either expand and add to your lessons or get ideas from for new lessons?