My final feelings about Nanny Mania!

I didn't find this game difficult or frustrating.. I actually got pretty bored with it... I wanted to be challenged more... I lost interest in playing the game... In relation to learning, I thought about those kids who get bored really easily in class... They are the kids who are typically forgotten... They don't cause problems... They do all their work... but they are not being challenged; hence, they are NOT LEARNING... I figured out the game and knew easily how to advance to the next level... In schools, kids have figured out how to pass a class or how to take the test but that's all they've done is figured it out... I don't feel that I learned anything with this game.. While, I was thoroughly entertained at first... my interest decreased as the game became easier... I already knew what I had to do to complete the task and the challenges were not difficult... I did find myself being a "part" of the game... I felt as if I were truly the Nanny and got angry with the husband and the kids... My personal involvement in the game was high but my learning was low.. Overall, it was a good game to play when you're bored...

Computer Crash!!!

I have been without a computer for TWO WEEKS....I bought a new Compaq around four months ago... One day, it just refused to turn on... I called Coompaq and waited for them to send a Fedex box for me to send the computer to them which meant I spent three days just waiting for the box and another three days waiting for them to get the computer back... Then wait for them to find out what's wrong, fix it and send it back to me... I knew I should've purchased the tech component from Staples... They would've come to the house and fixed it... It's better to be safe then sorry... Now, I'm even more behind than I was before!!!

Teachers Don't Read Directions...

As I was browsing through the blogs, I thought to myself, "Why are these blogs so dag-gone long??? Who wants to read these LONG blogs??? And then as I was looking for the next blog to view, my eyes caught the paragraph above the links to our blogs that states that our blogs should be at least three paragraphs long... Duh!!!??? I failed to READ that part... Well, none of my blogs are close to that... Sorry, Dr. D... Teacher's don't read directions!!! *smile*

Gee's Thoughts on Learning...

Gee talks about achieving success in video games by practicing and getting better. "Video games create a learning space in which the learner can take risks where real-world consequences are lowered." I thought to myself, "Why can't kids practice reading to get better the same way they practice video games?" Can kids be "sucked" into learning in the same way they are sucked in to video games? Do we reward our students, as video games do, for their successes as they progress (no matter how small)? Or.. do we only reward those who pass the benchmark tests and/or the NJASK???? The one quote that really resonated with me at the end of this chapter was that the learner must feel things are "challenging but not undoable" Students must be motivated and not bored or they will resist... I have had my share of "resistors"

Identity Play

Identity play, as Gee described it in Chapter 3 can be a good thing... Unfortunately, I don't feel that most of the games our children play are as harmless as "Arcanum"... I think the understanding that the identity of the virtual character meshes with the player's real-life identity and the player decides, within limitations, what the character can do, by bringing their own values into the game, is a wonderful concept; however, I don't see much of that occurring in the violent games "our" children play... Deciding whether you will shoot a cop or steal a car and run over a rival gang member doesn't seem to be "identity play with values"... For most of our children, without a core value system, THEY become the character in the game... They have no sense of reality vs make-believe....

NannyMania Update...

Tonight, I found myself becoming so "engrossed" in this game tonight that I was "cussing out the family" I (the Nanny) work for... The kids were getting on my nerves because every time I cleaned up something, their bad ***es would make a mess... and the father seemed to just be a "jerk" and make a mess everywhere he went in the house... I made it to Level 7... I'm curious to see what will happen at Level 8... The rooms have changed somewhat.. but the tasks remain the same... do the laundry, cook a meal, clean up behind those bad kids and the "no good" husband... I think I'm just hooked because I can't wait to see the next challenge...

New Literacies...

Since this is my second time taking one of Dr. D's classes, I should be able to define "new literacies" with ease; however, I don't have a textbook definition... What I can say I understand about "new literacies" is that literacy goes beyond reading and writing in the traditional sense. Today's literate people are people who can communicate effectively in today's world... That means people who can surf the internet, use text-messaging, send email, download music/files, and of course, create and post to blogs... There are other numerous forms of "new literacy"... Today is a technological age and in order to be literate, we must be "technologically-advanced." I don't bother to call my friends; I just text them... I choose to communicate through emails and text messages.. My mother, on the other hand, doesn't know how to turn on the computer... In schools, our students are so "literate" that we don't even know how to teach them.. The problem is that many of us are stuck in "traditional literacy methods" and our students are far more advanced...