President Quiz App Design Journal

This week we learned how to make an app that created and referenced lists to produce an educational quiz. I quickly decided to make my quiz app over forces since that is what I'm currently teaching on in my engineering courses.

This app I created an question list that contained 4 questions that included an image list and an answer list.

 

I enjoyed this app because it is a fun and engaging way to give a quiz or even use it as a review app before a final, mid-term, or End of Course Assessments. I edited the app from presidents to materials that are covered in my course curriculum. I'm hopeful to learn how to make an app that allows teachers to add multiple choice questions to course quiz that are stored in a web database. Then the students can take that quiz in the form of a space game. The question and answers would be displayed at the top in a label. The rest of the screen would be a canvas that contains 4 image sprites that would be the answers A,B,C,D Then an image sprite that the students would control to either move into the correct letter or push a button that would fire another image sprite at the answer sprite that when they collide would produce an incorrect or correct reading that would be kept up with using a score feature as well. 

541: Relative Advantage of Using Games for Content Area Learning

541: Relative Advantage of Using Games for Content Area Learning

Instructional games are software products that give learning activities game-like rules and competition.  According to Roblyer (2016), the common characteristics that set instructional games apart from other types of software are game rules, elements of competition or challenge, and amusing or entertaining formats.  

I teach Robotics at the high school level. The class is excited to build the robots, but very few are interested in learning how to program them. I've found a software game called VEX Robotics RobotC Virtual Worlds. This game allows the students to build their robots in a virtual world and then will help them to program the robot to do what task they have chosen it to do. This greatly helps students to then be able to create the robot with the materials provided and program the robot to do the same task for real. The game has proven to gain and hold the students attention because it's a competition style game pits the students against a clock or another student in the class if they would like. Research has shown that learning to program in the robotics virtual world is more efficient than the use of physical robots.

I also teach a Civil Engineering course that requires students to design and calculate truss features for bridges and buildings. I've found that a good introduction to the unit is the Westpoint Bridge Design game. This game allows students to create a bridge that follows specific criteria that the instructor sets up: loads, cost, materials, etc.  At first students will find that it's impossible to reach the criteria that is set up without knowing how to calculate precise angles for the members. Then you'd cover how to solve for forces, moments, force vectors, using trigonometry to solve for forces in the x and y direction. Then the step by step truss design calculations. 

References:

Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Instructional software for 21st century teaching. In J, Johnston, (Ed.) Integrating educational technology into teaching (pp. 72-105). Boston: Pearson.

http://www.robotvirtualworlds.com/

Android, Where is My Car Design Journal

Android Where's My Car App

This week we delved deeper into the use of data bases and possibly using shared databases. We also started using the location sensor this week. This sensor allows us to find our location using latitude and longitude. This app used the location sensor to determine a current location that you could then record into a database using a tinyDB or tinywebDB. Then moving to a new location you could click show map or a directions button that would activate a webviewer to produce a map from your current location to your recorded location. 

This week I decided to add a modification that allowed the webviewer to be viewed larger so that the map was useful. I did this by making all the labels and other buttons visible setting to false when the show map button is clicked. This will also make a back or reset button visible with the webviewer. When the reset button is pushed the labels and other buttons will become visible as the webviewer and reset button become hidden again. 

Other practical uses of this type of app is to set up an app that gives directions to bible studies, book clubs, study sessions, track your run, keep track of your speed, etc. 

Dangers of Social Media in the Classroom

Social Media in the Classroom Disadvantages

https://voicethread.com/share/7168088/

This is my voicethread for the disadvantages of social media in education.

Tour App Design Journal

This week I learned about two functions in App Inventor that will are useful for future apps. The first tool or feature was the ActivityStarter this tool is used to open up other apps, websites, etc. The downside of this is that the user of your app leaves your app. The second tool is the Webview which is great it can allow you to view webpages in your app without leaving the app. Either of the tools can be useful especially in tour apps.

We also learned about the list tool which allows you to create a list that you can choose from. This is helpful for quiz apps, filling out forms, etc.

Acceptable Use Policies

Acceptable Use Policies in Education

In today's society with technology being everywhere including in the school system it's important to have a policy in place.  Most school districts have in place a Technology Acceptable Use Policy.  This policy normally has a statement about why and how technology is used in the classroom. Then a set of guidelines for students to follow throughout the day.  Some schools with the one-to-one initiative don't allow students to have their cell phones or personal electronic devices on at all. Mainly, because the school has invested funds into providing them with an electronic device that they can monitor and already has all the software or apps required for the day. One guideline that is almost always in place is that students can use their phones at lunch. This gives the students a window of time to call their parents if a schedule change has occurred; for instance, practice is canceled. Other typical terms within an Acceptable Use Policy are listed below:

Use of NetworkInternet Safety (privacy, inappropriate content, unwanted contact)Filtering and MonitoringCopyright and Ownership of WorkNetwork Security and Privacy (student data)Disciplinary ActionDigital CitizenshipSocial Media Usage

Schools want students to use the internet safely. They also communicate to parents that their are filters in place to block unauthorized sites. My school enforces a digital citizenship and internet safety policy that requires every student to go through a lesson on being a digital citizen and the dangers of the internet before they are given access to the network.

Below are links to four high school Technology Acceptable Use Policies, typically found in the Student Handbook.

Anderson Technology Acceptable Use Policy pg. 15

Woodford Acceptable Use Policy pg. 15

Shelby Acceptable Use Policy

Franklin Acceptable Use Policy pg 35

Ladybug Chase

Tom and Jerry are the famous cat and mouse cartoon of all time. This week assignment was to make a ladybug chase game.  I decided to make a few modifications based on watching cartoons with my sons in the morning during Fall Break. They love the classics like Tom and Jerry, Looney Toons, etc. The game wasn't just the lady bug chasing an aphid, but there was also a frog that chases the ladybug. So naturally I had to add Spike the American Bulldog that Jerry used for protection in several episodes. The game takes place in the backyard and the users control Tom (cat) by tilting their mobile device in the direction they want him to go. The object of the game is to capture Jerry to continue playing or Tom will run out of energy.  The game continues to play as long as Tom keeps capturing Jerry and Spike doesn't capture Tom. 

Relative Advantage of Multimedia in the Classroom

This week I'm going to talk to you about ways to incorporate multimedia/technology into the classroom and their advantages. Technology can be used and is most effective when used to engage students in their learning. The following video is my Vlog for this topic.

No Texting While Driving

No Texting While Driving

These apps have been springing up all over. I firmly believe in no texting while driving and having an app that will respond automatically is a great preventative measure to cut down on traffic accidents. This was a straightforward app creation and made it hard for me to be innovative with this one. I finally decided to make the textbox visible after the user decides to change the automatic response by clicking on a button. Then I also added in the longitude and latitude as part of the response text. When driving you may not have a current address and this will give others an idea as to where you are located. 

Mole Mash App Design Journal

This week was fun. I've always wanted to create a mobile app game. I know this is just a started game and many questions arose from the work this week. I wanted to create a variable that functioned as a lives counter that so many misses to hits would subtract and after so many hits compared to misses would add a life. I figured out the variable, but displaying the lives as images is where I struggled.  I will figure this out and complete my Marvel Age of Ultron inspired Whack A Mole game.