Gaming in Education

    Hi, everyone! Today, I want to talk to you guys about gaming ,or gamification, in education. Some of you may think that it's kind of waste of time when you consider games as a learning tool in classes. Yet, some of you may be believing that we should go beyond the ordinary and really make use of games in lessons both to entertain and motivate students to study.

    Using games as a teaching tool in classes is proved to be effective in learning process as learners give their full attention to them eagerly. Games can be used for cognitive and psychological developments of learners. For example, they gain the ability to focus on details and more than one thing at a time, and they approach to the lessons in a much more positive way.

    A popular game called Minecraft has released a version for education purposes only, enabling students to get engaged, invested in building and to expand on their virtual worlds. Link to the web site: https://education.minecraft.net/

    Some other games that can be used for education purposes in classes: My Word Coach, uDraw Studio: Instant Artist, Sesame Street:Once Upon a Monster, Smarty Pants, Reader Rabbit, Escape Adventure Island, Portal 2 and so on.

   

Second Life - Education

    Hi, everyone! Today, I'm going to introduce you Second Life which is an online virtual world.
    In Second Life users, residents, can be whomever they want to be. They can create virtual representations of themselves which are called avatars and interact with other people, places or objects. They can also contribute to the world around them, creating buildings, objects and animations.
    So, you may be wondering why I am introducing you this app. It's because we can use it for educational purposes. How? With Second Life schools can create their own campuses, faculties and buildings. Teachers can sometimes teach a lesson online instead of always doing it in a real life environment. So, the students and teachers can be simultaneously in an virtual class environment and communicate with each other by using voice and text. But, it will be much more interesting, exciting, and effective for decreasing the affective filter.
    Istanbul University also used Second Life for some classes and saw the advantages of using such an app. Here is the video:

                                       
      I also downloaded Second Life, created my avatar and took a selfie!
             

Use Second Life in your classes and make the learning process much more interesting and fun for students. Do this not just to catch their attention but also to lower the affective filter so as to encourage them to join the lessons. I hope you make use of it and see the improvement in your classes!

HP Reveal

 

       

     Hi, everyone! Today, I'm going to introduce you  HP Reveal which is an Augmented Reality app. I met with this app in one of my classes, Instructional Technologies and Material Design, in Istanbul University.
     In education we can create augmented reality lesson plans by using HP Reveal to make classes more interesting and fun, so we can improve learning. Let's say that as a teacher you will teach your students the animals. You'll give them handouts on which there are different animal pictures and names. So, students will try to match the pictures with the names and will memorize them. But, come on! We are living in the 21th century. These kind of activities do not excite the children anymore and they are too boring. So, what can we do to catch their attention? Children love animations, why not to use them? With HP Reveal it is actually possible.
      First you download the app. Open the app and take a picture of the target image. Once you do that you'll pick an overlay that is an augmented reality popping up out of the image. Then, you'll place it on the image, name it and save it. When you scan your image, the augmented reality will pop up. Now, let's take a look at what I did as an example:

                                   

I hope you use this app and make your classes much more fun! 

QR Code Generator

  Hi, everyone! Today, I'll assign you with a 500-word essay and give you three topics to choose one of them. However, I'm not just going to write the topics. I will put here QR codes which are attached to different videos with different topics. So, you'll be choosing your topic without actually knowing it - It'll be a surprise!-.
  The topics are: Why dressing for success works
                           The first image of a black hole
                           Can wildlife adapt to climate change

   Here are the QR Codes :

 

 

You should download a QR Code Reader. And, here is mine: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.scan.android.client&hl=tr

If this is your first time hearing about QR Code, it is a two-dimensional barcode consisting of a black and white pixel pattern which allows to encode up to a few hundred characters. Codes can be attached to websites, videos, images, PDFs, etc. Today, it can be used for many purposes including education.

Jobs on Mindmeister

  Hi, everyone! Today, I created a map on Mindmeister. The map is about jobs. There are ten different jobs and I want you to fill the map with their features. One of them is teacher and I already wrote some of its features for you to see how to do it. It's really easy to do. Also, you can simultaneously work with others on the map. Here is the picture of the map right now.
 

The link to get access to the map: https://www.mindmeister.com/1259344864?t=LPVJQDSvDk

If this is your first time hearing about Mindmeister, it is a website where you can create maps for different purposes including education. It increases creativity, boosts memory and improves understanding on complex topics. It helps to structure information, display hierarchy, show relationships and show the big picture. Students learn faster, take better notes and brainstorm more effectively.

Creating A Story Using Past Tense on Pixton

  Hey, everyone! Today, I created a class on Pixton. Unfortunately, in the new version I cannot assign any activities. However, I created kind of a comic book giving instructions to you about how to do your assignment. I want you to make up a creative story, using mainly past tense. There should be at least ten panels and five different characters. To be a part of my class and do the assignment follow this link: https://join.pixton.com/eabyc . The assignment will be really easy to do, so have fun!
  You can also create your own character like I did. And your character will appear in the classroom picture.

What I Do In A Day On Canva

  Hey, everyone! I made a photo collage expressing my daily routine on Canva. It's really simple and easy to do. I want yo to make a photo collage expressing your daily routine and send it to my email adress so I can take a look at it! My email adress: ahsennurbalkas@ogr.iu.edu.tr

 Canva is a website where you can design presentations, social media graphics and more with thousands of beautiful layouts.