As per assignment requirements, we are supposed to write about ourselves. So, here goes...
I am from Martinsburg, WV, but I currently live on campus, where I have lived for the last 4 years (10 months out of each year, anyway), I currently work in Hagerstown, MD at Citi Family Center, which is run by Bright Horizons Family Solutions. I'm an Infant/Toddler Resource Teacher, meaning we don't have a set classroom, and visit all classrooms throughout the day when/if we're needed. I love my job, my babies, and I can't wait to return to work after I graduate in May!
From this class, I want to be able to have a creative way to instruct students without having to utilize the boring pen & paper method that we all know, but may not all love. I love learning about different ways to use technology, both inside and outside of the classroom. Since technology is becoming part of the way students learn, I want to be able to present the same material but have a creative way to do so, in hopes that the students will be able to comprehend and retain the information better than they might be able to when using a book, pen, and paper.
The only game that I play currently is Words With Friends, and I'm really not even sure if that can be classified as a game. I started playing about 2 years ago, and have become addicted, and am constantly finding myself in very competitive games with my friends. I like to play WWFs because it's not only a way to enhance my vocabulary, but also allows for some excitement that doesn't involve work or school, which is what my life currently seems to be consumed with.
As for my position on children playing video games, I think at times it can be beneficial, SOLELY depending on what game the child is playing. If the child is playing a video game that is made by vTech or something educational such as that, I'm all for it. But, when it comes down to a child sitting in front of the TV for hours upon hours playing games that include violence such as Modern Warfare, Call of Duty, etc., I'm not as inclined to let children play them. I understand that adults play these games, and I would hope that as an adult you would be able to understand that this is JUST a game, and the acts brought about in the video games DO NOT need to be brought into the real world. Please, keep them in your gaming world. As long as there is an educational aspect to video games, or is for some type of enjoyment/exercise, such as playing sports using the Wii, or using the Kinect for xBox, or playing a game that might go along with a movie, such as Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, or Ratatouille, then I'm all for it.
I actually had to do a Media Review for one of my undergraduate Family & Consumer Science classes, and I chose the do my research on video games and their link to violence in children. I have included links to the two websites I used for this paper, which I think were very helpful and informative when it came to having to write this paper for my class.
Links:
Now, for the final part of this assignment. I was born in 1990. And, before you start to do your math and ask questions, I will step in and answer the question I know you're about to ask. Yes, I am ONLY 21, and yes, I am graduating with my M.Ed. in May. I have been called an overachiever for the entire duration of my short 21 years here on Earth, and this only goes to prove it farther. Now, for a short background. I graduated high school in 2008, but took classes such as English and basic Human Dev. classes while I was still a senior, and came in as a second-semester freshman in the Fall of 2008. Since I have been a student here at FSU, I have taken the max, and sometimes over the max amount of hours each semester, and I have taken a full load each summer. I graduated in May 2011 with my B.S. after being in school for three full years, and started working on my M.A.T through concurrent enrollment. Last semester, I changed my major to the M.Ed. program because I felt it better met my post-graduation needs. This pushed my projected graduation date up from December 2012 to May 2012, but to do this, I am currently taking 18 hours this semester, as a full-time grad student. ... This isn't the first time I've taken the max number of credit hours, and then some. This past summer was my first summer as a full-time grad student, and I also took 15 hours then, but was ALSO taking 4 undergrad classes at WVU for their Director's Credentials Program... and, I was also working full-time, 40+ hours a week at Citi Family Center. ... I hope this further proves that I am an overachiever, but, I'm not crazy. Okay... maybe I am when it boils down to taking NINE classes in one semester.
Now, onto the actual last part of this assignment. I was born in 1990, and three major events that occurred during this year include, "South Africa frees Nelson Mandela, imprisoned 27 1/2 years," "Iraqi troops invade Kuwait, setting off the Persian Gulf War," and "East and West Germany reunited." These events were taken from this website: http://www.infoplease.com/year/1990.html
I'm looking forward to an excellent last semester here at Fairmont State, and hopefully forever. :)
- Katie
I couldn't agree more with your stance on children and video games. I am also all for playing educational gaming systems such as Leapster or vTech, but I am entirely against young children playing video games that are violent in nature or negatively themed. I see nothing wrong with individuals of the appropriate age playing games that have violent images. I am not against them being in existence; I am only against them being played by children who are not yet mentally developed enough to understand and separate from reality the concepts within them. As for your three major world events I was only nine years old so I do not have detailed memories of any of these, but I do recall the media frenzy over the Persian Gulf War, and the invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi troops.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100 %. If the video game is educational and allows children to be active, then I'm all for it. Children playing war games for hours on end doesn't seem to have any value or purpose what so ever. I am three years older than you but I only remember hearing about the separation of east and west Germany.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the benefits of games can be diminished based on the content of the game.
ReplyDeleteI remember the start of Persian Gulf war well! It was my first day waiting tables at a Pizza Parlor called Ramona's in Palo Alto California! There were massive protest against the war outside in the streets! It was exciting and scary. Felt like scenes I'd seen on T.V from the 60's.
My son loves history; dates, facts, wars, etc... He does play some war games, and I've watched him play and we have conversations about the content, etc... I think it's important to be involved in the games that your children are playing as a parent, and it also helps me have conversations with my students.
ReplyDeleteI remember the release of Nelson Mandela and the beginning of the Persian Gulf war.
I laughed when I saw your comment on adults playing games and keeping it seperate from real life. Not because I don't agree, I am an avid gamer but keep my real life before my gaming life, only playing when time permits. The reason I laughed was it made me think of the recent "Jeep" commercial for the Call of Duty edition Jeep. The whole reason this vehilce was made was to market it to people who play that game, so I find it funny that not only are video games sometimes hard to keep seperate from real life, but other products are now latching onto the gaming world's popularity to try and sell their own products, often times with little or no connection to the games themselves!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I just started playing Words with Friends and am very addicted. I do get frustrated because some of my "words" aren't really words. Ha ha. I guess I have my own vocabulary and wish that my words would work.
ReplyDeleteIf any of you Words With Friends people would like to play me in a game, my usename is crazykt10... and No, I'm not really crazy. Promise. :) My roommate and I came up with that a few years ago when I first started playing it.
ReplyDelete