Dave McDivitt

I have been on summer break for two weeks now.  That is one of the nice things about working at Oak Hill….we always end the school year before Memorial Day.  Some teachers don’t like ending so early but I do.  Anyway, next year I will be teaching AP World Hisotry for the first time.  I worked up my syllabus and submitted it to AP College Board and was approved.  I am looking forward to this.  I plan on using Making History, The InQuizitor, and Blogging.  Blogging will be a very frequent tool in my AP course.  I will use it for my essays as well.  I haven’t decided if I will make the student blogs public or not but I will certainly update this site with how things are going.

Another thing that I have kicked around for a year or so.  I have been approached many times about doing some speaking for professional development for teachers.  For those of you who know me you understand that public speaking is certainly right up my alley…..but doing professional development for teachers is a very dangerous area in my opinion.  Too many times in my 14 years of public education we have brought in outside speakers for professional development.  Some have “earned” a hefty speaking fee and their value has been…..well……hard to find even by the most dedicated teacher.  I certainly don’t want to be a speaker that has very little value to the classroom.  Is gaming in the classroom, using 21st century technology in the classroom, and an old, bald, father of three, football coach in demand for professional development?  I don’t really know the answer to this question.  I am considering this and welcome all comments or advice about possibly starting this venture.

Other activities of my last few weeks include a trip to the Indy 500 with my father.  This year was my dad’s 49th Indy 500.  Next year we will have to do something special to celebrate his 50th.  The first pic is of my dad, brother in law, sister and me on pit road prior to the running of the race.  It is an incredible experience to be on pit road on race day.  The second pic is of Scott Dixon’s car.  A few hours later Dixon and his car were in victory circle.  I have grown up being and open wheel racing fan and was certainly glad to see Dixon win the race.  He is a good guy and easy to root for.  Probably the most memorable moment of the race was when Danica Patrick marched down pit road to go and get Ryan Briscoe who had knocked her out of the race.  She was ticked off and wanted a piece of him.  She took some crap for acting like a bi***…..but that was crap!  Tony Stewart acts like that in BORECAR all the time and everyone thinks he is a competitor……so Danica….kept getting after it! 

Well our game play sessions are now complete and I am in the process of debriefing my students and doing some assessments with them.  I certainly think that the excitement level of this years crop of students was possible an all time high.  I don’t know if they are hearing about the game now from other students in the building or not, some heard about the CBS story that aired a  year ago…..but whatever the reason I will take it. 

One of the things that has been going on in my classroom during this year is Professor Bill Watson from Purdue University has spent several days in my classroom observing, video taping, and interviewing kids that have played the game.  He also spent some time with me today asking me some questions.  I always love sessions like this because if makes me reflect a bit deeper than I think I normally would.  He asked me a lot of good questions but maybe the one that struck me the most was something to do with would kids learn from the game without the teacher.  Well the simple answer is yes.  They would certainly pick up some things with or without me in the room.  However, the better answer is they learn more with me in the room….or at least I like to think so.  I think the use of games in the classroom is only a portion of the puzzle that teachers need to assemble in order to attain best practices during the school year.  I like to think that me, the game, the student, and the material all play a vital role in the educational process.  The game does not, should not, or will ever replace the teacher in the room.  The art of teaching is not digital….it is human. 

I will share as much of the results as Professor Watson will allow on this blog.  Stay tuned through the summer for details on that.

It is hard to believe but this is my 4th year of using Making History from Muzzy Lane Software in my classroom.  We started playing the game yesterday and the excitement level of kids is the same as every other year…..very high.  More chatter about history class happens because of this game than anything else I do during the year.  Heck….our computer lab has windows that look out to the rest of the media center….and I had kids watching from the other side of the windows….salivating…..wanting to come in and play. 

Was the day smooth?  No, we had some tech issues early in the day to deal with.  I found a suitable solution so the second half of the day worked much better.  But that is the art of teaching….your plans are only as good as all the factors included in them….when one part breaks, is absent, or gets moved for a school convo…then the teacher has to mod his or her plans.  Is what I am doing this year ideal or best practices….no….but it is working so we are running with it.

I have blogged many times about the use of this game and said many good things about it and other games in the classroom.  However, what is discouraging about computer games in the classroom is how they have only increased slightly in the last four years.  I talk to people every month who have heard about what I do.  They like it.  They are interested.  And some even start using a game or two.  But why are teachers not using games and technology to teach?  Every teacher desk has a computer on it……most schools have a computer lab…some have multiple labs.  Kids homes have multiple computers in them.  We take attendance with the computer, lunch counts with the computer, make bus schedules and master class schedules with computers, we make airline reservations with computers, print off boarding passes with computers, make car rentals with the computer, shop on the internet, turn our lights on and off with a computer, run our HVAC with a computer……but we teach with a white board and a marker……..does that seem right???????????  Sorry about the rant but it just doesn’t seem right.  We live in a tech world….we produce factory model kids……I think we need to change…..quicker.

After taking some time off from Blogging I feel somewhat refreshed and ready to get back at this a little.  I have a couple of things working right now.  Oak Hill United School Corporation will be getting The InQuizitor.  This game is relatively simple but it’s use has incredible potential.  Unlike games like Making History, the InQuizitor can be used with every unit I teach.  It also can be used in multiple grade levels.  The game is probably best for grades 3 and up.

Also, I am going to do some formal testing with the School of Education from Purdue University on the use of Making History.  If you are a reguar reader of this blog you will probably understand what is going on with this.  I informally did this two years ago and found that game players learned more and with greater depth of understanding than the traditional student.  So now I will have the opportunity to do this formally.  More details will come on this as we get closer to the time of testing.

Finally, below is a list of links that are print articles and video about my use of games in the classroom.  All of these links have appeared in this blog but I have had some requests for them so here they are.  I tried to eliminate the links that had become link rot but I could have missed a couple.  Sorry about that if I did.

http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0710/trythis.html

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070426&content_id=1931524&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

http://www.purdue.edu/uns/x/2007b/070710VanFossenAckerman.html

http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1165&pf=1

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2618924n

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/02/27/eveningnews/techtalk/entry2521409.shtml

http://www.miamicountylife.com/articles/2007/01/18/local_news/local40.txt

http://www.thejournal.com/articles/19790

http://www.thejournal.com/articles/19776

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2006-11-29-ed-games_x.htm

http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/101365

http://www.odemagazine.com/article.php?aID=4345

http://seriousgamessource.com/features/feature_051606.php

 http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=36557&CFID=4534727&CFTOKEN=91865173

Over the past few weeks I have left my blogging energies somewhere……Actually the end of football season always let me focus more time and energy here.  Since the beginning of the school year I have not had much opportunity to use technology in my classroom.  My building is still under renovation and just recently did they get our main computer lab up and running.  I have yet to utilize it.  But that will all change in the near future.  I have a couple of new opportunites with new games in the classroom coming up in the near future.  I will keep you all posted as to what new things I am up to.   One interesting thing that has been going on is that since my story with Making History appeared on CBS News is that the community that I work in is much more aware of how I use games in education.  I posted the CBS video on youtube and many of my current students have mentioned to me that they  have watched it.  So the excitement for the game already exists and I haven’t said a word about it.  Another thing that I have been up to is I have started posting a audio chapter review as a podcast for kids to go listen to before a chapter test.  This idea although not really that exciting has started to take root with my kids.  I take them through a blog site(not this one) that I set up so I can track traffic to the podcast easier.  Also, I had parent teacher conferences this past week and I shared with every parent the ability for their kid to get the podcast.  Most parents thought that was a great idea and were going to make sure their kids took advantage of it.  So time will tell on how much kids use it but it certainly is not difficult for me to do and even if only a few kids utilize it I will continue to do it. 

As for my use of The Sims…..I had to suspend that for this semester.  I only own one copy of the game that we used to play as an entrie class.  But during the renovation I lost the ability to project the game on to a screen.  I still have the game in my room and a few kids play it from time to time on a laptop and when ever that is going on, there is a general interest in the game.  Just unfortunate circumstances for this semester.  Next time I teach Sociology we will get back into playing The Sims.

Here is a link to an article that appears in the NEA Today magazine.  Bill MacKenty was kind enough to pass my name along to the reporter.  Bill has a fantastic blog check out the link in my blog roll.

 http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0710/trythis.html

I was surfing today in a little down time. While reading some blogs about games in education and relevant material I came across a major league baseball pitcher named Jason Hirsh who must be into games.  The article that appears on the MLB website actually makes reference to some of the testing I did using Making History.  I was amazed to see it.  Here is the link if you would like to read what he has to say.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070426&content_id=1931524&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

It is two weeks in to the new school year and I am now adjusting to the new activites.  I became department chair this year.  My long time mentor taught his last class in May.  He is now filling his time with important things like travel and football games.  I certainly would not be the teacher I am today without the help of Steve Tuttle.   He is a good friend and a great teacher.  Another point about Steve is, as department chair, he was very supportive of the idea of games in the classroom.  When I first met the people from Muzzy Lane, Steve was with me and encouraged me to work with them.  His support was instramental to my success.

The Sims, Sociology, and blogs.  My building is under construction.  The computer labs are well……bomb shelters at this point.  My access to computers is very limited.  So at this point I am not starting blogs with my Sociology students.  Which is a little frustrating because this group of kids I do think would respond very well to it.  Also, playing The Sims has been put on hold for now.  I have 24 students…..at least 10 more than I did last year and only one copy of The Sims.  But even more important……my classroom will be getting a networked LCD projector at some point this semester but as for now I just have wires hanging from the ceiling.  So 24 kids huddled around a laptop just doesn’t work out to well. 

By the time WWII rolls around in World History all the construction should be done so I will have all the technology needed for that unit.  But a new variable that I will have is that for the last 13 years I have been the only world history teacher in the building.  So playing Making History has been simple…..no one to share the lab with or no students getting left out of the Making History experience.  But this year is different.  There are now 2 classes around 56 students that have another teacher for world history.  Will they miss the experience?  I don’t know if the new teacher will want to use the game or not with his kids.  It could set up some interesting social dynamics.  We will have to wait and see.

And finally for 4AM this morning, why am I up so early??????  Well, could be because it is game day.  We play the Elwood Panthers at 7PM tonight.  We have started the year with 2 wins and we look to continue that success tonight.  Elwood probably has the best running back we will face all year so that brings challenges for us to overcome…..which is what football is all about.  Stay tuned for the results.

It is very difficult for me to believe that I am entering my fourth year of teaching with Making History as a part of my curriculum.  Games have an ever increasing interest in our society.  I think the entertainment value of games has no end in site.  However, what is the limit of educational gaming?  Why haven’t games for education taken off like games for entertainment?  This question has caused me some dismay this summer.  When I first started using Making History I knew it was a good thing.  I was certain that the game would explode into education and others like it would soon fill the classroom.  That has not happened.  My answer to why is probably not any better than any other but here goes.  I think our problem is systemic.  I find it ironic that education as an institution pushes the use of technology but then struggles to use technology itself.  I will begin my school year tomorrow.  We will have an entire corporation staff meeting.  That meeting will be run just like the 59 meetings before it.  I will then have students for school on Tuesday……and unfortunately that day will run much the same as it did 59 years ago as well.  What technology is a school good at using and teaching kids to use?  The answer is the ones we  are forced to use.  Email…..yep we can all do it.  We are required to.  The spread of communication and the speed in which we now required to do it has forced us all to be good at email and most teachers encourage interaction with students via email.  Word Processing….yep we can all do it.  We actually called it typing when I learned but the interesting thing about typing is kids are not good at the basic rules of typing.  However, they type with greater speed and efficiency than I.  Of course they may need surgery to fix their tendons, which I hope to avoid.  But what else are we good at as educators using technology?  Some courses it has become inter-twined with the curriculum.  Computer Aided Drafting, digital photography, etc….but what about the Three R’s?  Are we really doing anything different?  I would say not.  What about my classroom.  Sure I use Making History and it works.  But the other 34 weeks of the year my history class looks much the same as every other history class in America.  In Sociology I use the Sims.  I am not sure if I can continue to do that this year.  I only have one copy and when I first started using it my class numbers of students in Sociology were 14 or 15.  This year that number has almost doubled.  So I may have to dump The Sims or buy more copies from my own pocket (which is how I got the one copy).  Mid 20’s number of students trying to be actively involved in playing one Sims game doesn’t seem to work in my mind.  I may give it a shot but we will wait and see. 

So where is education going?  I think that answer is simple.  Education is going no where fast.  Education is like the large machine that moves the Space Shuttle from its bay to the launch pad.  Don’t know how many of you have ever seen that machine but it is ENOURMOUS and moves at a top speed of 1 mile per hour.  Our educational system is HUGE and moves at about the same pace at least in terms of change. 

I am frustrated that I haven’t changed more.  I am even more frustrated that education has changed even less.  I will continue to use games and look for opportunities to use more.  But not many products have come out since Making History that I think I can use effectively in my room.  When they will come I don’t know.  I just hope we jump off the space shuttle transport machine and into the space shuttle.

Here is a link to a short article that appears in the Lafayette newspaper.

 http://jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/NEWS/707260330/1

I spent the last couple of days in West Lafayette, Indiana at Purdue University.  I spoke about my use of games in my classroom at the Ackerman Colloquium and even though the Colloquium is still in progress (until Thursday) I returned home to spend some time with my girls. 

I presented on Tuesday with Sarah Grafman from Muzzy Lane Software.  We spoke about Making History.  Sarah shared from her perspective as a writer and education developer for the company and I shared my experiences as a teacher using the game in my class.  I have done this same type of presentation many times over the last few years and it has always been well recieved by post secondary educators and I believe that is was yesterday as well.    One thought that came up during the question and answer portion of our presentation and was somewhat of a constant theme is what kind of data do you have to support the idea of games are successful in the classroom.

After considerable thought about this topic here are my basic feelings.  First, games are nothing more than a tool for teachers to use.  Much the same as a textbook, a video, an overhead projector, or even the chalk or white board.  The same game or text in the hands of a teacher who is digitally talented will be great but in the hands of a teacher who is less talented will not be great.  The variable of the teacher is huge.  Making History is a game that is well designed, fun to play, and captivating for most students.  However, not every teacher can pick up the game and use it successfully.  I would surmise that some have tried and not had the best of luck with it.  So I would suggest that the success of a game has less to do with its digital content and more to do with the effective presence of a teacher who can use it successfully.  The digital content is an important component of the entire picture.  However, in my opinion the teacher is more vital that the digital content of a game.  Of course I am a teacher so what would you expect

I have more thoughts to share and I will also post my slides here which will also be posted on the Ackerman site.

Here is a link the the press release for the Colloquium that I will be speaking at next week.  I am looking forward to meeting many of the people involved with this project.

http://www.purdue.edu/uns/x/2007b/070710VanFossenAckerman.html

Well it has been sometime since I have posted on this blog.  I have been taking it pretty easy this summer to this point.  With the exception of spending time with my family I have done very little educationally.  But now as mid July is here it is time for me to start focusing on the task at hand. 

In just over a week I will be presenting a paper with Sarah Grafman from Muzzy Lane at the James F. Ackerman Colloquium on Technology and Citizen Education.  The focus of the Colloquium is Civics.  As Sarah and I have prepared for the presentation we have been exploring how games can impact students in the area of civics.  Can games make students better citizens?  Can games encourage students to excel and be productive memebers of society?  Can games encourage students to reach a higher level of success in society?  Those are the types of questions we have been exploring.  Our answers are obviously positive.  As we finish our work I will post updates with a slide deck.

I recently heard a speaker at a conference that talked about the purpose of education.  He made several points but here are a few for framing my thoughts today.

1.  Education needs to leave the “factory” model behind.  The system was set up and work well for our country 65 years ago but today we need something different.

2.  Students use very little of the information that they learn in school.  Who really knows that the 100 years war was 116 years?  And who really cares.  I think about my high school experience.  Physics…not using it.  Pre-Calc…not using it.  Chemistry…not using it. 

3.  Students do not need to be hindered by “grade level.”  We are way to caught up in some kid reading at “grade level.”  And if they are at grade level…..then we basically leave them alone instead of encouraging them to excel.

4.  Consider this from what the business world wants from employees.  Employees must be able to think creatively, to communicate both verbally and in writing, must be able to organize, must be able to allocate time, allocate money, to multi task, work cooperatively and many more.  Where do most kids get these kinds of experience in school?  Anyone…….anyone……Bueller…….Bueller…….Students get most of these experiences in extra curricular activities. 

After digesting the thoughts of this speaker I did realize one thing.  Computer games put students in an environment in which they will think critically, where they will work cooperatively, where they will problem solve and use oral and written communications.  I don’t think I do anything in the classroom that addresses more of what the business world wants in an employee at a single time than playing computer games. 

However, do schools still need to teach physics…..yes.   Not every one needs or will use it but the ones that will use it need to start the learning process as early as possible.  Not everyone uses a foreign language in their life but more and more schools are introducing foreign language early in the educational process instead of waiting until high school.  So I guess all of this is just another plug from gaming in the classroom.  It does change the way we do school.  It encourages kids to use skills that employers want.  And it does not have any consideration for “grade level.”  I will have some more thoughts this summer as I prepare for a speaking engagement that I have in July. 

This link will take you to District Administration which recently had an article about edugames.  A large segment talks about my use of Making History but the article also has other games and teachers in it.

 http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1165&pf=1