Achievment Unlocked: 8 x 7 = 56

It seems simple to me, the idea of creating games for students that are both educational and fun. Take what is already an essentially fun concept and add in educational elements. Maybe it's because I'm so obsessed with video games already, but there are some basic elements missing from the majority of educational games today.

I got to thinking about this as I've gone through the process of creating my own game. It first started off as a simple multiplication game.

• Answer as many multiplication facts as you can in one minute.

Students have done this for a long time now. Everyone remembers when you'd be handed a worksheet containing a hundred math facts. You'd have a minute to solve them and be scored out of 100. Basic, simple idea. Take this idea, and now lets add an element that cannot be done with a worksheet.

• Every five problems correct in a row you will get an extra five seconds.

Now it not only reflects a basic score, but that score can be increased based on your knowledge of the facts. It adds skill. With these two simple concepts I managed to create a game that my students thought was pretty "fun." They competed each other for the high score and I would keep a list on my board in class of the top five. But what if I didn't need to keep score? What if the game could do it for me? So I added this idea to the game.

• The top twelve scores would be recorded and displayed on the front page of the game.

As soon as I did this, I noticed an increase in the motivation to play the game. I had a few students who were constantly battling it out to see who could get the highest score. But there were those students who gave up because "they would never make it to the high score list." Well, now I had to add a personal best score option to the game. To do this, I would need to create a user account for each student to track this progress.

• Students had to log in to the game using an ID and password. They would then be able to see their personal best score for the game.

Now students had a record they could break even if it didn't involve getting on the high score list. This is pretty much as far as I've gotten with this game, but the potential is really there, not just for this game but any other I can think of.


Where are the educational games that have a community high score list? Where are the games that allow you to interact against other students playing the game at the same time? Where are the games that allow you to unlock items, titles, or pets by achieving educational goals? If educational game makers would tap into the potential of persistent and interactive features that normal game makers have, student motivation would be a lot higher to play these games. Soon, I'll be adding in achievements to this multiplication game. Seriously, what educational game do you know of that has achievements?

Mad Minute (currently in closed testing with my class. This is the link to the version without community features.)

"Okay class, let's play some videogames!"

Recently I put into action a plan I had been thinking about for a long time. Something so radical, yet so obvious. Something controversial, yet simple. Something that raises a few eyebrows, yet makes so much sense. I put a Nintendo Wii in my classroom.

The idea came to me as I was desperately trying to think up some creative activities for my students "center time," a 1 hour block of time in which the students are split into skill levels and rotate around to different stations. There's the Listening station, where they listen to a story on a good old fashioned cassette tape (in which I've already had to manually rewind using a pencil because the friggen tape got stuck in the machine) and then talk about it. There's the Dice center, where students will play various math games involving dice. There's the Writing center, Board Game center, and Typing center which are pretty self explanatory as well. I needed to add something more...something to jazz up the experience for the kids.

"I have this idea..." I started out a bit nervous as I sat down with the principal to see what she thought. "I don't know how you are going to react to it..." I looked around nervously. "I want to add in a center where my students get to play the Wii."

"Cool!" Was the response I got. Thank goodness she is so willing to let me do my technology thing! I drove to Gamestop and picked up a few educational games. After play testing a few I found that "Big Brain Academy:Wii Degree" was by far the best one to start off with. I have a small library corner in my classroom where I shoved a tiny TV. The Wii fit snugly beside it. It was the perfect spot!


When the day came to tell the students what the new center was I knew I had to outline a few rules. This is what I told them:


Rule 1: This is my stuff. This is expensive stuff. If you DARE misuse this equipment you will be disrespecting me and will go straight to TIME-OUT.



Rule 2: You will not be playing Mario Kart, creating your own Mii's, or doing anything other than playing the specific activity I have outlined for you. If I catch you doing something you shouldn't on the Wii, you will go straight to TIME-OUT.



Rule 3: Everyone will get a chance to play. If I catch you over in the corner being distracted by those playing, not only will you not get a chance to use the Wii but you will go straight to TIME-OUT.

As you can see they had a pretty good understanding of what was expected from them before we began. It was tough at first, they were so completely excited that their teacher was letting them play the Wii in class that they had a hard time controlling themselves. However, after these first few days I am incredibly pleased with what this system and video game have brought to my classroom. The students are motivated, they are competing against each other, and most important of all they are learning things too. It's all about engaging them in ways they are used to.

Every student plays video games, and the more teachers use these to our advantage, the more these kids will be motivated to learn.

They call me "Scatterbrains!"

Now that my trip to Israel has ended, I can finally take some time to reflect on the experience. What did I learn? How have I changed as a person? Why was I put here? Why does my left shoelace insist upon becoming untied ALL THE FREAKING TIME? These are the important things one has to question after a trip that you take, essentially, alone.


Fast Walkers and Slow Walkers
A big aspect of this trip was that I was not part of any prescribed tour or included in any affiliated group. This was just me. Obviuosly, there are a lot of things to be missed by not going on a tour and with others. I didn't get a detailed run down of the history for each building I saw, I only saw three cities, and I didn't have a mode of transportation that was very reliable.

However, all those things can be equalized by the single fact that I am a "Slow Walker." This is juxtaposed by the opposite personality type of "Fast Walker." These two titles not only describes an individuals physical actions but also their mental behavior. A Slow Walker might take his time walking from place to place, observing each tiny detail, and have thoughts moving from one abstract subject ("Hey this building has really cool archetecture!") to another ("Oh look at that puppy!"). They move with a "go with the flow" type of motion that indicates their sense of discovery.

A Fast Walker moves with a very specific goal in mind. They must get to this location and will get there by going very fast. ZIP ZIP ZIPPPPOOO. A Fast Walker darts through the streets moving at a speed that tells the world "This person knows where they are going!" They observe details, however, they are focused on the big picture. Their thoughts are like a laser beam, one subject, one goal, one solution. If you need to figure out how to get somewhere or solve some sort of problem these Fast Walkers are who you need.

I am a Slow Walker. I took my time on this trip and I would not have it any other way. I did what I wanted to, when I wanted to do it. I wandered the streets of the Old City. I walked aimlessly around the New one. The areas, while most likely well known to tour guides, suddenly became a whole lot more personal. I had discovered these places. I had ownership of this place. I was my own tour guide. I didn't have to keep up with anyone. I had a lot more freedom.

It was frightening. I got lost many times and had to figure things out on my own. I had to take charge of situations, solve them, work around them, figure them out. I had help many times, thanks to my wonderful Israeli friends whom I was able to spend as much time with as I wanted to because I was not on any schedule. But in the end, I feel like I could manage in a place like this on my own.

I encourage everyone to travel alone. You are left with a lot of time to create an internal dialogue with yourself (not in the crazy homeless person sort of way). It's insightful, fulfilling, and creates a wonderful sense of self reliance. It is also scary as hell.





PS. The answers to the opening questions are as follows:

1. The bus station is very confusing. The train station is very confusing. The taxi's are very confusing. Walking by foot I can comprehend. I am secure in my religious-osity. Israel is not only home to Jews but also stray cats (the connection between the two remains inconclusive). Falafel is good, but all the stuff they put on it is better. The beach rocks. I like people watching. Many more...
2. I have not changed at all. Although, I might be a little bit ruder from being in this country for two weeks. I apologize in advance.
3. I was put here to live life to it's fullest.
4. I need new shoes.

Prayer and Cat Pee

When I visited the Old City of Jerusalem, I decided to take my notebook with me to do some drawing and writing in a place that is said to be full of inspiration. I wrote the following as I was sitting in the back of the men's section of the Western Wall:

I don't know how long I've been sitting here for...but it's certainly has been long enough for me to see the following things:

• 30 cardboard kippah's going flying off their respective heads (and the ensuing chase is rather amusing).
• 25 different women peeking over the Mechitza(the dividing wall of men and women) to take pictures.
• 15 people who completely ignored the Chabad dudes request to get them to put on T'fillin.
• 4 different ethnicity's wearing kippot.
• 3 Bar Mitzvah's.
• 1 cat peeing.

My thoughts are usually so scattered that putting them into any coherent form is almost impossible. So let me try to be as sensical (yes, I just made that up) as possible. While I am observing all sorts of things, I feel that the most interesting behavior of all is an individuals reaction when they first step up to The Wall.

The Non-Religious I'm in a Hurry Dude
This guy will walk up to the wall, stop a few paces away and just kind of stare. They might look up, take a few pictures, go in for a closer look of the stone, or just stop and think. After a few short minutes they will walk away.

The I'm Trying to Make This a Thoughtful Experience Dude
This guy will walk up to the wall, close his eyes and lean up against it for a few moments. This tended to be the most popular reaction and most interesting. What are these individuals thinking about? Are they saying a prayer for them and their loved ones? Are they thinking about how they should be more Jewish? Each individuals thoughts are their own and I was constantly making up stories for each of these people. After a few moments they would turn around (or back away, because you aren't supposed to turn your back to The Wall) and leave.

The Rabbinical Rabbi Type Dudes
These are your typical orthodox people. Usually they will pull up a podium for their prayer books, grab a chair, and get right into the whole praying thing. It's an outdoor synagogue after all, but I feel bad for these guys. They have to pray with all these tourists running around taking pictures and talking. Maybe it's just me, but I see prayer as a very personal act, and not one I could do with ease in a place like this.

So I could sit here all day and literally just watch all these different people from all over the world pray, or I could stop and look inward at myself. You tend to do that anyways when you are traveling on your own. What was my own reaction as I stepped up to the holiest place evar!!11! according to us Jews? Here is pretty much a run down of what I was thinking as I approached the wall (take note of the many ellipses to illustrate my stream of consciousnesses):

"Okay, here we go. Wow, this thing is tall. Let's see...I have to find a good place to stand...don't want to stand over there by the rabbi looking types...they look a bit too into their praying and I don't want to disturb them...ah okay over here looks good. Alright here I am...at the Western Wall...these stones must be really old...Oooh they feel cold...Look at all those notes stuck in the cracks! There must be a bajillion of them...I wonder how long these have been there...I wonder what happens to the ones that fall off...I wonder when they will run out of room to place these notes...I wonder where I put mine from 8th grade...oh that's right...in the underground tunnel place...too bad I can't get in there...I wonder why they are so strict on the whole reservations ahead of time thing...I mean I'm only one person..."

At around this point I realized that my line of thinking is probably not what one should be thinking when they step up to a holy place like this. This thought struck a chord with me. What should someone be thinking here? What do I feel like I should be thinking? I realized then that I felt like I had to say at least some official Jewish prayer...which was an odd thing for me to think, for reasons I'm not sure of yet. So thanks to the overly helpful people at the Chabad stand, I suddenly had T'fillin and a mini-prayer brochure which listed a few things You should say. Feeling accomplished, I returned the T'fillin and took a seat on a bench in the back of the men's side.

I leave the Western Wall with a much deeper understanding of how diverse prayer is. To some, it means a time to think and reflect on problems that life will give you. For others, it means reading certain prayers that you have read your whole life. And for others still, it means sitting down with a prayer book and going through the morning/afternoon/evening service. I have met some people along the way who believe that the only prayer worth having is the ones prescribed by the Torah. How can some people criticize the way others pray or practice their religion? It's such a personal time that thinking those thoughts and that way is simply incredulous.

I've been sitting here long enough. That cat is back and she's giving me this look like she might pee again.