Games in school : SG 'School of Empathy' : Bullying

screenshot Serious Game School of Empathy

https://itcl.es/

School of Empathy is a game created to encourage positive behavioural change facing bullying situations.

Problems at school with bullying? Time to go to School of Empathy! 

This serious game developed by ITCL-Instituto Tecnológico de Castilla y León gathers different situations recreating moments in which game players/students can experience actions of harassment in the school environment. 

screenshot Serious Game School of Empathy

https://itcl.es/

The game School of Empathy addresses the following aspects:

• Improved adequate assertive and empathic behaviour in potential bullying contexts.
• 
  

• Observed decreasing on hostile or by-standing behaviour.
• 
  
• Increased acceptance of differences and non-hostility towards colleagues

• Increased awareness of the impact of one actions over others and cooperative behaviour.

• Incorporation of reproval of anti-social behaviour at individual and group-level. 

The game presents three modes in which the student can play: 

• victim 

• bully 

• observer 

In the development of the game there are different situations to solve that make it easier for the student to put on the role of all the figures. 

The player/ student, through dialogues and different dynamics in the form of mini games, "interprets" the different characters that can be immersed in a situation of these characteristics. 

screenshot Serious Game School of Empathy

https://itcl.es/

Goal:

The ultimate goal is that young people who try this game really know what happens when situations of Bullying occur, learn to detect them and help solve them.

Levels:

It will address 12-14 years old pupils and analyse the potential risks and challenges of the two themes, and specifically how confidence in behaviour changes through serious games.

• Spanish language here

screenshot Serious Game School of Empathy
https://itcl.es/

Education:

Serious games have become a popular tool for knowledge transfer, behavioural, perceptual or cognitive change.

I included games in school lessons since 2005 in different contexts. Playing video games socially with classmates can boost a child’s soft skills, those 21st-century competencies that students should possess to be able to solve problems, compete and innovate in today’s interconnected world.

Soft skills include collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication.

The results of the Serious Games are aimed at improving the student's behavior in this specific topic : Bullying and safe Internet use in the case of "Go Online") and the user's appreciation of the behavior problematic.

Not only Serious games. Some other video games can be used in the classroom to help children develop an awareness of both their own and their peers’ emotions.

screenshot Serious Game School of Empathy

https://itcl.es/

This Serious Game analyses the potential risks and challenges of the two themes, and specifically how confidence in behaviour changes through serious games. 

The results of the Serious Games are aimed at improving the user's behavior in the specific topic (Bullying in the case of School of Empathy and safe Internet use in the case of Cyber Bullying and the user's appreciation of the behavior problematic.

My usual readers know I write about Bullying and cyber Bullying in education since the beginning of my blog. The risks are enormous at school and on the Internet, often coming from classmates.

Bullying/ Harcèlement

My first project SOS Bullying au Collège (published June 2008) but developed in school in 2004, in French foreign language curriculum, and and published in France on educational website FLNet in 2005 (the site is no longer available). 

Students developed fantastic activities. Read the experience in French

Concours Non au Harcèlement

https://www.tes.com/

The project Concours Non au Harcèment (January 2018) in France had a huge success . Thousands of students and schools sent their videos or posters. Read here (French language).

There is another video game & app Daisy Chain (December 2015). The app is the sequel to the #1 Book App, Dandelion. 

Daisy Chain has been designed to help children guide the hero, Buttercup Bree, through pages of challenges and overcome the angry bullies. 

screenshot Serious Game School of Empathy

https://itcl.es/

The game School of Empathy has been made available for the 10 schools in the eConfidence pilot tests, in the experimental stage for the pupils participating. 

Following the completion of the pilot tests and upcoming project research results, more information on the game will be made available on the eConfidence website.

Note: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 732420. 

G-Souto

28.05.2018
Copyright © 2018-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com® 

Games in school : SG 'School of Empathy' : Bullying by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

Apps at school : Learning Spanish, foreign language

screenshot 4 ipad

Learn Spanish by MindSnacks

http://a4.mzstatic.com/

After PhotoMath app, published on October, or Words app on August, here I am writing about apps in Education and much more along the years. 

Today let's talk about Learn Spanish by MindSnacks, an app to teach and learn a foreign language on phones or tablets. 

screenshot Learn Spanish by MindSnacks

http://a1.mzstatic.com/

Tired of boring Spanish classes and lifeless language apps? You want teach or learn to speak and read Spanish as foreign language at school? You can do it all by playing games forgetting the old-fashioned repetitious lessons. 

Aims:

• Learn Spanish by MindSnacks' app is crammed with nine rich and engaging games designed to build vocabulary, boost conversation skills and prevent students becoming a flashcard flipping zombie.

• Instead, they will transform into a Spanish speaking savant with lessons that go beyond memorization and teach things like word gender, pronoun usage and the conjugation of -AR, -ER and -IR verbs. 

• And since everyone learns at their own pace, the unique algorithm personalizes the experience by selectively repeating content with which students have struggled. 

• What’s more, spoken audio clips will help add that extra bit of panache to their pronunciation.

Education:

The app teaches words, phrases and grammar making lessons fun. Learn Spanish by MindSnacks with 9 addictive games designed for essential vocabulary and conversation skills.

MindSnacks' Spanish app is perfect for young students and kids. Easy building vocabulary and conversation skills: a set of flashcard lessons with about 1000 words and phrases, 9 minigames + extras.

screenshot 4 ipad 

Learn Spanish by MindSnacks

http://a2.mzstatic.com/

MindSnacks’ app has different games meant to help students learn the language. In one game, for example, they click the word on the screen to match the Spanish word they have just heard. Students play against the clock while water is draining out of an on-screen fish tank. Think quickly: Is “ocho” eight or 18? That fish is going to die if you get it wrong! 

screenshot 4 iphone 
Learn Spanish by MindSnacks

http://a4.mzstatic.com/

Features: 

• 9 addictive and unique games;

• 1000+ Spanish words & phrases to study and master;

• Spoken audio clips provided by a native Spanish speaker to help with pronunciation;

• Hand-illustrated image library to help memorize words;

• 50 Spanish lessons designed by Ivy League instructors (upgrade required);

• Personalized learning algorithms to maximize memorization, retention & contextual usage;

• Enhanced review mode lets you replay previously mastered lessons;

• Additional quests & challenges will keep you motivated;

• Not a single tedious, boring, mind-numbing or snooze-inducing quiz, class or lesson allowed.

Education Level:

Primary grades

Language: 

English

Prize:

It's a free app

Devices:

This app is designed for both iPhone and iPad

Video games at school

http://parentables.howstuffworks.com/

Some thoughts:

"MindSnacks believes learning should be delicious. I agree special in early age. When education excites kids, they devour knowledge; but when it doesn’t, that information may as well be cafetaria food. It may be packed full of vitamins and minerals, but it’s gosh-darn hard to swallow."

MindSnacks

Educational games and apps have been offered as one good solution, a solution that applies to both the traditional classroom as well as the informal learning.

Some of us used to think of educational games as either a time-filler or, at best, a supplement to traditional course materials. 

They were rarely seen as integral to the learning process. Attitudes changed, though, as educators discovered an increasing number of empirical studies or teachers' experiments that suggested game-based learning and educational games improve academic performance. 

Perfect for beginning and intermediate learners of Latin American Spanish, MindSnacks is like their own personal Spanish teacher they can take just about anywhere on phone or tablet, in the classroom or at home.

Students will quickly become less reliant on that Spanish dictionary and learn the grammar and vocab needed for talking or travelling to Spain or other Spanish-speaking countries. 

Badges and scores add to the experience, and the app changes the formula enough to keep students interest.

Give your young students/children the chance to learn all the letters a foreign language in an easy and fun way, with Learn Spanish by MindSnacks 

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."

Nelson Mandela

Note:  The educational digital resources and tools published on my blog are my own choices. I don't do advertising.

G-Souto

03.11.2014
Copyright © 2014G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Apps at School : Learning Spanish, foreign language by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

3rd Prize to Innovative Ideas for Apps in Mobile Environments

http://blogs.2elearning.com/

https://www.catedratelefonicauam.es/

The UAM-Telefónica Chair is carrying out its 3d edition of the Prize to Innovation in Mobile Environments. This year, the focus will be on apps.

Language: 

Spanish

Submission:

Submit ideas within 4 pages max, in Spanish and with no need to describe the technical process to develop the app. 

Participants can submit more than a project, but it's important to submit each project separately.

Deadline:

31^st of January 2013

Themes:

Any theme.

Who:

Students, researchers and PYMES as well. The apps described in the proposals should be able to use Telefónica mobile networks.

Level (students):

Vocational Education: Higher Education.

Prizes:

There will be 3 prizes, the first of them of 10.000 euros. 

Note: There is a real chance that the company wants to develop your idea, and you will always preserve your copyright.

Read more here

http://cdn5.inov8-ed.com/

Some personal ideas:

As app creators you should invest in quality ideas of apps of course. But you really know that Mobile learning is on the top in a lot of schools. So, don't forget the educational apps and the peadogogical quality.  Play, formative feedback, identity, narrative, activity, are not only the same things that make for a good app but also a good learning environment.

It's not vital for the prize but as an educator, I would like that you think about.

Those who are innovative and creating new apps that could extend children's learning and development will be important mediators in education.  

Mobiles are not only another platform but also come with a whole cool set of new interfaces and approaches in education.

"We could see little apps allowing students to operate in areas where they don’t have expertise as long as they have the technology literacy, augmenting not only knowledge but ability."

David J. Gagnon, University of Wisconsin, Madison

G-Souto

04.01.2013

Copyright © 2013G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

3rd Prize to Innovative Ideas for Apps in Moblie Environments by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

References:

UNESCO Chair in e-Learning | Academic Blog

http://unescochair-elearning.uoc.edu/blog/2012/12/28/3rd-prize-to-innovative-ideas-for-apps-in-mobile-environments/

Schools : Reading Books for Valentine's Day !

Google Doodle Valentine's Day 2012

https://www.google.com/doodles/

Google Doodle Valentine's Day 2012
https://www.google.com/doodles/

This morning, Google presents this romantic animated Doodle. Valentine's Day! Of course you remembered the day! And your students too! And they love to talk about "Valentine's Day" in the classroom! So you must include into school curricula, preparing some activities. Why not begin with lovely Doodle?

I would like to share some suggestions about three lovely books in three different languages - English, Español, Français - that you can reading and exploring in the classroom. Don't forget to prepare some activities as well.

Plant a Kiss 

December 2011

http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com

• Plant a Kiss:

Amy Krouse Rosenthal wrote and Peter H. Reynoldsillustrated this lovely children's book! "Plant a Kiss", published on December 2011 by HarperCollins. 

Its message about the unending supply of good will toward others, which Little Miss spreads by delivering handfuls of magic, sparkling kisses is touching. 

"A story about love beyond the boundaries of parent and child. And what child doesn’t like a page sprinkled in glitter?"

Plant a Kiss: Hardcover | e-Book

Language: English;

Level: Kindergarten (up 4); Primary Education;

Curriculum: Poetry; reading;

Values: Love, kindness, sharing.

Synopsis:

Little Miss planted a kiss . . .

One small act of love blooms into something bigger and more dazzling than Little Miss could have ever imagined in this epic journey about life, kindness, and giving.

• Desencuentros:

Con su talento para la descripción poética de la realidad, Jimmy Liao crea el relato dulcemente melancólico de una tragedia cotidiana.

Jimmy Liao | April 2008

https://barbara-fiore.com/

With a poetic and talent touch, Jimmy Liao describes a melancholic narrative about people's separation in big cities.

Language: Castellano | Spanish;

Level: Elementary and Secondary Education;

Curriculum: The Narrative text; 

Values: Social problems about living in big cities; loneliness, apartness.

Synopsis:

Ella vive en un viejo bloque de pisos de un barrio de las afueras de la ciudad. Cada vez que sale, no importa adonde vaya, se dirige siempre hacia la izquierda. Él vive en un viejo bloque de pisos de un barrio de las afueras de la ciudad. Cada vez que sale, no importa adonde vaya, se dirige siempre hacia la derecha.

Ésta es la historia de dos vidas paralelas que un buen día convergen y descubren fugazmente el amor, hasta que el azar vuelve a separarlas. La naturaleza y el progreso de la gran ciudad siguen su curso implacable, indiferentes al sufrimiento de los amantes desunidos. (...)

• Oh! Les Coeurs:

Cœur fragile, cœur de pierre ou cœur d’artichaut? Ces expressions du cœur sont partout. Si les mots de cœur vous amusent, vous allez adorer "Ho ! les cœurs", le nouveau livre de l’illustratrice Véronique Saüquère-Hubert.

Ho! les Coeurs 

Octobre 2011

https://www.veronique-sauquere.com

Joyeusement coloré, Ho! les Coeurs vous propose 200 illustrations qui détournent et jouent avec le cœur dans tous ses états : des jeux de mots tels que "bracoeur" à "cœur de rockoeur" en passant par "marteau picoeur".

Véronique Saüquère-Hubert n'oublie les citations et proverbes illustrés d’écrivains célèbres tels que Shakespeare "Cœur insouciant vit longtemps" ou Pascal  "Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point".

Nous ne savons pas si "tout homme a dans son cœur un cochon qui sommeille" mais une chose est sûre, ce livre est un véritable coup de coeur pour tous!

Language: Français | French;

Level: Secondary Education;

Curriculum: Romantic literature;

Vocabulaire: jeux de mots, citations, proverbes;

Writing: love letters; romantic messages.

Some conclusions:

Well, I think you have three lovely suggestions to see your students completely captivated in Languages curriculum. 

You can prepare different kind of lessons that must be continued during the week.

According to the school curriculum level, explore the ideas, by inviting your students to different activities: drawing, writing, discussing, telling stories about love.

For the oldest: invite your students to tell a true story about love, make a choice of a romantic film or a romantic reading, wrote a poem, a narrative text (individual or in group) and illustrate it.

They can use Twitter to write romantic messages in 140 characters. Not easy if they want to be creative! But a good activity of conciseness in writing.

The websites of authors can be used to complete some activities. They are interactive and quite nice!

It's about your own creativity to explore the creativity of your students!

Have a nice Valentine's Day!

"Above all, literature keeps language alive as our collective heritage"

Umberto Eco, on Literature, 2002

G-Souto

14.02.2012

Copyright © 2012G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Books &amp Valentine's Day in school by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

References:

Authors' websites

Amy Krouse Rosenthal

https://www.whoisamy.com/

Peter H. Reynolds

https://www.peterhreynolds.com/

Jimmy Liao
https://www.jimmyspa.com/

Véronique Saüguère-Hubert

https://www.veronique-sauquere.com/