Our future of
education lies with online learning. According to Educating exceptional children (2008), integrating technology into
the classroom increases the student’s motivation to learn and it personalizes
their individualized needs. Students who
play educational games online are engaged and help them improve their basic
cognitive functions. In Jordan Shapiro article (2014), he
believes that blending learning will not necessarily take over lecture however
it can be a supplemental time-tested pedagogical practices with new
technological solutions.
My content area is
Special Education and teaching mathematics in the classroom takes creativity
and variety of instructional strategies because these types of students need
frequent repetition and multi-sensory approach to instruction such as visuals,
auditory, tactile and kinesthetic. According to EdTechReview (2014), with technology in the Special Education
classroom it is very useful because the students have different types of
learning needs that need to be met in order to make education successful for
them.
“Math Man” is an online educational version of
the famous arcade game, Pacman. This
game is designated for 3rd grade and up. This game covers the four
basic operations of elementary arithmetic such as addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division. These are
the basic building blocks of mathematics. Without these skills, students will
have a harder time understanding higher-level math in high school and in
college such as algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus.
With this online
educational game, I will incorporate this into my lesson because students who
are in a special education classroom need frequent repetition for the skills
they need in the future. This game has touched on one of the multi-sensory
approach for instruction, which are visuals. Visuals help students with
disabilities tremendously. “Math Man”
has bright colors and pictures that stand out for students with disabilities to
understand and keeps them focused. As a future educator, my students will need
the basic math skills that this game provides. The purpose on why I like to include
this online educational game into my lesson is that this game has no timer so
my students can take their time playing this game and also it gives them
chances if they mess up on one of the questions. With Special Education, we
need to show data and how well the student progressed. With this online
educational game, I can simply print the scores of each child and to see what
areas they are strong in and the areas they need more help in.
Educators are always
looking for new ways to make learning fun for their students. With this online
education game, it can help students in the Special Education classroom
understand the four basic concepts of math, which are addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division. Though this is an online educational game that
deals with these types of skills we should not heavily rely on one game to
teach the class. There are a variety of other educational games out there to
help students.
·
Saxena, S. (2014). Integrating Technology in Special Education Classroom. EdTechReview.
Retrieved from http://edtechreview.in/news/855-integrating-technology-in-a-special-education-classroom
· Kirk, S., Gallagher, J., Coleman, M.R., &
Anastasiow, N., Educating exceptional
children (Florence, KY: Wadsworth, 2008).
· Shapiro, J. (June 2014). Benefits of Gaming: What Research Shows. KQED News. Retrieved from:
http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/06/13/benefits-of-gaming-what-research-shows/
