Efrain's+Journal

1. Describe your background and history with video and computer games.
I started playing video games as soon as I could afford to go out and buy a Nintendo Entertainment System. Mario 3 was included and was my favorite game for many years. Now, at the age of 31, I am still playing video games. Of course, with all the responsibilities of adulthood I am limited to less than two hours per week. Normally I play FIFA 2009, although I own others games. I use FIFA 2009 as my way to relax after a long day. 30 minutes is just enough time to get two games done on manager mode. As for computer games, I loved the Command & Conquer series, especially Red Alert. I still love RTS computer games, but simply do not have the time to play them. I have not played Red Alert for about 10 years, I keep the game as a keepsake.

2. What are some of the real and/or virtual ‘identities’ you take on?
The identity I take on is that of a soccer team manager and player. As team manager, I select the players for each game, salaries, scouting, training schedules, and keep all players as happy as I can. As a player, I play all positions on the field.

3. What impact might James Paul Gee’s definition of ‘literacy’ have on your teaching?
His definition of literacy is that “reading and writing should be viewed not only as mental achievements going on inside people’s heads, but also as social and cultural practices with economic, historical, and political implications (p.9) Gee states this slightly differently at the bottom of page eighteen when he talks about social practices. Like his views on gamers, this seems to mean that literacy is meant to be social and learned through the interactions with others. As educators, we tend to make literacy a non social exercise. Sure, some components of literacy can be done alone, but to truly master reading and writing, one must read other’s works and write for others to read thus making literacy social. As a language teacher, this is definitely true. Language is a social practice and having students do bookwork on their own is not a way to teach a language. Independent exercises may help students develop sentence structures, but students in language classes should be talking to one another.

4. What experiences have you had learning in new ‘semiotic domains’?
I find that for my students, it is difficult to transfer what they are learning to actual spoken language. Perhaps I need to teach new semiotic domains in a more active way. I enjoyed what Gee had to say about how to make learning more meaningful in page twenty-four. The three rules for learning new semiotic domains can be applied to any good teaching practice. I also like Gee’s thoughts on how the learner must understand the relationship between what is being learned and other semiotic domains. In my classroom this means that my students need a clear picture of how what they are learning is connected to past vocabulary and grammar lessons.

5. This week's game review:
To celebrate the last day of spring break, I played my 30 minute dosage of FIFA. I enjoy playing in manager mode which gives me control over many aspects of the game. Today I won both of my games. A cup game, which I played with my A squad and the other was a normal league game played by my B squad. I need to keep two squads because the players get too tired if I play them too ofter. I am very happy with my team right now but I am finding that my B squad may not be ready for the Premier League. I am playing with a team called Lincoln City. This team is from the lowest league in England and it has taken me months to finally get them to the top league. In order to challenge myself, I cannot buy any players. I can only use players from my youth academy or players I have personally scouted.

1. How might virtual and projective identities be important in your teaching?
In my foreign language classroom the virtual identity is the identity of a Spanish speaker. I tell my students that it is important to fake it till you make it. You must act as if you can speak the language before you will actually be able to do so. These same students have to be able to see themselves as Spanish speakers, I guess this is more like projective identities. On a different note, many of my students who are on Individual Education Plans have some issues with learning, but tend to project onto themselves the identity of a kid who is not bright in any field. A label can be a strong influence on oneself.

2. Describe an experience you’ve had in teaching a student with a “damaged” identity.
I liked the three steps offered by Gee on page 58. I will paraphrase.
 * 1) You must have a learner try even if the learner is afraid to try.
 * 2) You must enticed the learner to put in lots of effort even if there is little initial motivation.
 * 3) There must be success in every activity and for every effort.

This happens in my classroom all the time. I have many students who come into my class and state, on the first day of class, that they cannot learn a second language. I am not sure if they were told at some point in their lives or just had a bad experience, but it makes for interesting conversations. Normally I tell the learner that they should give it a try and will see the results soon. Also, I tend to have about 5 different activities every day of varying difficulties so that each student can achieve success in some areas. I find that I can repair most of these damaged identities.

3. Give an example of a situated meaning in your content area, and describe how you might help students gain a more embodied understanding of it.
As Gee stated “meanings in a video games are specific to specific situations” (p. 82). I guess when I think of things having situated meaning I think of grammar charts. I can tell students that O AS A AMOS AN is how you conjugate the present tense // ar // verbs in Spanish. However, the grammar chart means nothing until they see how it can allow them to change the ending of words to match the person doing the action. This is similar to the example Gee used of finding a code in a game which by itself means nothing until you find a specific good use.

4. Describe a recent learning experience that involved using the probe, hypothesize, re-probe, and rethink cycle.
The most recent experience would be finding a good way to allow student to submit participation points using iPads and smart phones. I began by // probing // or looking around to see what applications were available. Based of the // probing // I developed the // hypothesis // that students needed something which required very little input or they might not participate as much as I wanted. Some applications required students to write my entire email address each time, and others were to expensive. I // reprobed // until I found the perfect application, which was free, and only required students to type my email address the first time they used it. Now, my students have been doing a lot of participations using the iPads and smart phones. I have been // rethinking // my original hypothesis and still believe the the easier it is to submit participation, the more frequently students will do it.

5. This weeks game Review.
The Foldit is a game has the user solve puzzles for science. I liked the fact that this game is still being updated to this date. It seems like a long term project rather than a one time thing. Maybe the University of Washington has a class which works on it on an ongoing basis. As I started playing I advance through the first level very quickly not know exactly how I did it. The same thing happened on the second level. I but I learned hot to turn the puzzle around. Apparently my moves are being counted and time is being kept, this might make it more interesting. I found that I had earned a shake tool and when I used it I passed the level, that was fast. So I am looking at protein molecules and I need to do something to a little spiky ball. I am still not sure hot to play, but somehow I am moving along in levels. This starts to get complicated fast. A few levels on and this is a little frustrating. I think I needed a better introduction in the beginning as to what each piece means. It seems to me like this game is meant for people who are studying this field and understand how things are supposed to look.

1. Give an example of 'Just in Time' information presentation in a classroom activity.
I remember this from a class I took this summer titled Information Literacy. According to Gee, in a video game just in time information is information given just at the point when it can be best understood and used (p.142). When it comes to my classroom, I like the way the textbook advices us to teach the professions right after we teach the vocabulary for the family. This information about professions comes just in time for students to use it along with the family terminology.

2. In a content area of your choice, how might you incorporate teaching in a 'subdomain' of the 'real' domain?
According to Gee, a subdomain might be a training module or a place to practice before you get out and play the real game where you can get killed. In my classroom this would be well, my classroom. My classroom is a subdomain to the real world. In my classroom you can make as many mistakes as you want before you go and start talking Spanish to native speakers which might end up being less friendly to your mistakes. Once a year, I take one of my classes to the Mexican restaurant, which is within walking distance of the school. We practice how to order and how to pay in the classroom as a ‘subdomain’. Later in the week, the students are put to the test of ordering and paying for their meals at the restaurant or ‘real domain.’

3. Describe a technique that you might use to help students 'transfer' early learning to more complex problems.
Just like in Gee’s book when Dr. Polito’s early messages give the player situated information on how to play the game in order to solve more complex problems. I give my students a lot of vocabulary in Spanish one and then introduce more grammar and expect them to put things together in Spanish two. It is important that students understand that the knowledge they get in one unit or level, will be beneficial later on when they get to more complex units or levels.

4. Describe a learning experience you've had where one of your 'cultural models' was challenged.
Unlike in the book where a player can learn about what real war is like from a game, I find it difficult to learn from the games I play. Like Gee stated, you have to play the right game to have a cultural model challenged (p.145). Most recently my cultural model of how to best maintain a garden was challenged by a movie called Back To Eden. I use to think that like everyone else, I had to keep my soil clear of anything, open to the wind. Back To Eden completely changed the way I view my garden. This year, my wife and I are embarking on the mission to bring our garden back to life. I have to say that the most important fact that changed the way I view gardening is that soil does not like to be bare. If soil is left bare, it will cover itself in some way such as weeds or grasses. By adding layers of mulch and other things to your lawn, you keep it productive and the soil stays alive. At some point weeding becomes simple because your soils is moist and soft unlike the dry clay soil which was continuously losing its moister.

5. Video Game Review of The CSI Experience:
I wanted to play the Pet Pals Animal Doctor game, but could not get passed the unlock full version screen. The CSI Experience is a cool game. When I saw the characters from the actual show I did not expect it to be so educational. The details about forensic science are simplified for those of us who are not science enthusiast. I am not sure what they look like in the advance version. The graphics for this game are simple yet impressive. Overall, the game does a great job of braking down the process of identifying a criminal. I like how it separates the different labs and it tells you about how each one functions and how each one is an important part of the whole process.

= Extra Credit Reading Journal (Chapters 7-8) =

1. In a content area of your choice, give an example of a way in which the 'affinity group' "enforces certain patterns as ideal norms".
When I think of an ‘affinity group’ I think of the few native Spanish speakers in my classroom. Normally these students are in lower level Spanish classes because we have nowhere else to put them and they cannot test out of the class. This group of students has extensive knowledge and is able to enforce correct pronunciation and use of classroom vocabulary. The most important thing for me as a teacher, is to enforce the fact that it is not ok to make fun of others for the way they pronounce words in lower level Spanish classes. I do not want students to become afraid of speaking. The affinity groups helps set the ideal norms of correct pronunciation by example and not by putting others down for their mistakes.

2. Describe a classroom activity where students are able to 'leverage' the 'distributed' knowledge of their peers.
I like the example Gee used of the student, Adrian, who plays EverQuest and shares his knowledge with others while at the same time Adrian depends on others for their Knowledge (p.187). Gee is right, we need our students do interact in this manner more often. I find my students leverage and distribute knowledge with their peers without much effort on my part. In my classroom, it is common for someone to say out loud what does __ mean? Or how do you say __ __? Students expect others to remember things that they do not.

3. How might you give students more direct control (as an 'insider' or 'producer') over their own learning?
I like the example of Gee in which he talks about how game developers encourage gamers to create their own maps and share them online (p.208). This reminds me of creating Command and Conquer games when I was young. That was a lot of fun. In my early years, I used to take students to the library for the last two days of the trimester and I would have them create an activity using the vocabulary from the previous units. These activities would then be used to teach the students who came after them. I liked the activity because it allowed me to extend my collection and because it allowed my students to become producers or their own knowledge. I don’t do this activity anymore because of schedule changes to finals week. My Web Design, Publishing, and Film Editing students are continuously producing and publishing for the world to see.

4. Which Principle of Learning do you feel is most-applicable to your teaching, and why?
Out of the 36 Principles of Learning, I feel that principal number 13 //, Ongoing Learning Principal, // is the one most applicable to my teaching. I feel that I slowly build my students to proficiency by allowing them to adapt what they are learning to new and more complex conditions. As the only teacher of Spanish at my school, I get to see the growth of my students and can see how they are able to develop more complex sentence structures as time goes by.

5. Game Review of PeaceMaker
You don’t find many games which are based in real life events. I liked how you could actually see the events being talked about from actual video footage. By my allowed 8th option, I was at -47 points for my national approval and even my world approval had gone down to about 10 points. This is a very difficult game and it shows just how difficult it is to have peace in the middle east. Things happened very quickly and I had no idea how to react to anything. I think I only made two positive options out of the eight I was allowed. I found it interesting that in the beginning as my national approval went down, my world approval went up.