It strikes me that digit games have become the "ball-park" and "street-games" of yesteryear. I am wondering if there are studies on changes in social skill levels and interactions of these changes. Are they just different venues? Or, are there social skill ramifications that game designers need to take into consideration as they design games. There definitely is a commercial aspect to game designs, is there also a social responsibility that game designers should be held to in design. I'd like to read more conversations about that.

I find this interesting because it is so much like developing curriculum and instruction for a classroom. Anyone who has taught a lesson understands that you can develop and create the most fabulous lesson, but until it interacts and engages with that particular group of students you don't really know how it will engage or "play" with the students.

I'd like to make a connection here to a theme that I've picked up through many of the articles we've read throughout this unit that has been bit generalized and annoying. Many authors have made the conclusion that we as teachers need to stop teaching from books and move to digital techniques because students learn better that way. I'd like to propose that school, like rules, can be made to sound not fun, but good teachers can take a book deemed boring and passé and create a "magic circle" around it as well. So all his/her game playing students who came in talking about their evening Fortnite games are now shouting over each other because they are so passionate about their opinions about the characters decisions. It really comes down to teaching in the "magic circle" with games or without it.

I can connect to this in a positive way. My son is on the spectrum and collaborating with friends on Minecraft and other Steam Games that involve strategy, building and problem solving has greatly improved his verbal skills outside of the game environment. When he loses it or becomes frustrated, the game is enough of a motivation for him, that he'll reset quickly and come back to communicate correctly with his peer.

Comparing the digital age to the media literacy that was definitely part of my instruction during the 80's during High School and Middle School helps me understand more about the need to analyze and instruct to the ideology and hidden agendas in the world of gaming. I've already come across games my son's play that I don't really like attitudes or character development of.

This is the part I love the most about teaching. The planning instruction, instructing and judging outcomes together as a team for effective demonstration of skills is a challenge that keeps me interested and growing in my educational skills.

This format of learning, in Science at least, in practice gets at the outcomes many authentic educators hoped for in allowing students to discover learning. However the majority of students are going to naturally happen upon these processes unless led by a teacher through them.

Having started my teaching in the midst of the "whole language" approach of the early 90's where letting the child's interest lead instruction was the focus of literacy education, I concur that my team teachers and I soon discussed that while we had more motivation from students, it was too random and disorganized. Attempting to get specific skills taught with each individual text the students had chosen was hard. As not all texts would have the traits you needed to have the students find.

I like this concept being attached to the "overt instruction." In the last few years, it feels like a great deal of the curriculum we've adopted to instruct to Common Core Standards, has gone straight to the critical framing and analyzing activities. Which might work in Middle School or above, but in 5th grade I think we really have to do instruction in the language and concepts involved in analyzing. Especially as it pertains to supporting your reasoning with evidence from the text. This is a very abstract skill for 11 year old students and the curriculum's I've experienced don't seem to build in the time and the practice of doing that.

My son, who loves engaging with friends in Minecraft, got a kick out of the fact that I'm taking a class about it. I must admit to some skepticism as actual books and writing by hand are still my preference.