Educational RPG

Last night, I participated in the weekly #GBLchat on Twitter. The instructions were simple: choose a character, race, and a special power.

We were then told to add verbal irony to our story, and favorite any tweets which showed verbal irony.

 

And then... we were off! 

We bantered back and forth for around 40 minutes, inserting as much verbal irony as possible. It was hilarious, and didn't feel like work at all. When there was around 10 minutes of the chat left, we stepped back from the story to reflect on the learning.

This was such an excellent way to assess students on verbal irony. I'm full of ideas!

I plan to replicate this with my British Literature students next month when we study different literary elements in poetry. I think instead of Twitter, I will conduct the RPG on a Google Doc, assigning each student a different color (I only have 13 students in that class). Then, I will have students underline examples of the literary elements as they appear in the Doc, and have discussions in the comment section off to the side. Should be fun!

Full transcript of the chat:

Google Search App... and So Much More

Have you tried the Google Search app on the iPad? I ignored it for a year because I had no problems using the browser based google search. I did not know what I was missing out!

On a whim, I checked it out recently in my desperate hunt for the Google Docs integration on the iPad.

Do not be deceived - this in not just a Google search platform. It's so much more (hence my title). Here's what you see when you open the app:

I immediately tried out Goggles. I think I heard about this a while ago, but I never gave it a whirl. Handy! It scanned the book I had sitting next to me, and provided relevant search results. On the iPad, this makes a lot of sense - less typing.

The little boxes on the left scrolled across the screen while Google analyzed the image. You can see the results on the right. It found accurate links for the book. Fabulous. With this one tool alone, this app is worth taking up real estate on the home screen of your iPad.

The next tool I tried out was Google Voice. I've used Google Voice on my phone before - and it worked as expected on the iPad. It had no trouble understanding me. 

I really liked the visual search results option (top right box).

Next, I tried the normal search. Works just like you would expect it to, with an option to open webpages in Safari (wish they could open in Chrome).

But wait... there's more! If you click on the Applications button, a list of common Google apps appears.

This is quite useful to have in one place. On my iPhone, I have links on my Home Screen for Reader, Docs, and Earth. 

Remember me complaining the other day about how Blogger didn't have a mobile app for the iPad? The blogger mini-app here handles most of my needs with finesse. Can you use web-based photos in your blog? Not without some coding, but you can import pictures from the camera file.

Google Docs mobile version works here, although in a limited capacity.

BUT, I did find that I could write a Doc in the mobile version, then switch to the desktop version for sharing options. That is a nice work around. You still can't collaborate on a document in real time, unfortunately.

There are many other mini-apps in this one app to explore. I highly recommend doing so.

I'm not sure why Google has branded this app "Google Search", granted the Search feature is front and center (and simple at all times to swipe back to). Instead, it should be named "Google Apps" - that seems more fitting given its functionality.

Using Google Docs to Teach Tweeting

Before my 10th grade World Lit students started reading The Scarlet Pimpernel this past year, I came up with a project to help them see the story from multiple perspectives. My students sit at tables - an arrangement I pushed for because it gives them space to work on projects and encourages collaboration. I assigned one character to each table group.

• Table 1: Marguerite
• Table 2: Suzanne
• Table 3: Armand
• Table 4: Chauvelin
• Table 5: Andrew
• Table 6: Percy
• Table 7: the Comtesse

The instructions were simple:

Work with your table group to create 30 tweets that accurately represent your character's thoughts throughout the book. Each tweet should be in this format:

FishyFisherman - Mr. Jellyband
@scarletp sent over a fresh new batch of frogs today. No wonder the inn stinks. #britishforever

Remember!! Each tweet must be 140 characters or less (including spaces). Each tweet must include at least one hashtag #

** You may include up to 15 tweets from other characters written to your character. For example:

AngryBantam - The Vicomte
@Jellyband I request full refund for last night's meal. #disgrace #duelingfordummies

Your tweets must be chronological.

As many of my 10th graders had no experience using twitter, this was a good introduction to the format. 

Google Docs worked well for this format. The student groups shared a document where they created the tweets together in real time. The students could see who was typing what, and leave comments off to the side as they worked. The collaboration was interesting to watch as there was a blend of face-to-face communication happening around the table at the same time as online conversations.

Student Work - Table 3: Armand

While the students were working on these projects, I regularly checked in to their document (it was also shared with me). The student could see when I was perusing their document and used the chat feature to say hi. The check-ins allowed me to see how the groups were doing, and gently encourage them in the right direction. Some groups struggled with spreading out their tweets, especially when their character was only a major part of the beginning of the book. This project forced them to think outside the box, imagining what their character would be doing and feeling during the latter part of the book.

Student Work - Table 4: Chauvelin

When it came time to assess, I made ample use of the revision history in Google Docs. This allowed me to see who typed what and when, which is the age-old question when it comes to assessing group projects.