Eclectic Technology

Do you know that when children engage in play they are also problem solving, testing out ideas, asking questions, building muscle and bone strength and much more? This infographic provides 34 reasons why play is important and includes the resources used.

As many schools continue to decrease play time and focus on teaching core subjects this may remind us that time to play is critical.

Jackie Gerstein discusses how we can bring maker education activities into our schools beginning with a look at three current trends:

* The Play Deficit - for many children time to play is minimal as they lead very scheduled lives

* "Lack of creativity and play in children's lives and toys"

* The Maker Movement as in Maker Education

The first two trends are also apparent in our education system. In many schools playtime has decreased with the rollout of Common Core curriculum. Students in pre-school and Kindergarten have specific benchmarks that they need to hit to move on, and it often comes with a decrease in play time.

And many toys we find on the market today do not promote creativity. We often think of Legos as a toy to promote creativity. Gerstein shares her thoughts on this, noting buckets that contain freeform Legos that promote free play are often in the back of the store while the packages of Legos that come with directions on how to build a Star Wars character or a Harry Potter character are in the front.

At the end of this section Gerstein concludes that the literature shows that (quoting from the post):

• Making, creating, innovating, experimenting is needed now more than ever in this rapidly evolving world and our children are severely lacking in these skills
• If these skills are to be integrated into formal and informal learning settings, some direct instruction and scaffolding will need to occur.

The final section of the piece explores how the Maker Movement may impact the two issues noted above and provides a look at six areas that we as educators need to consider if we are going to become a part of the Maker Education.

There are many ways we may look at 21st century learning and this post suggest that there are six channesl of learning. In fact the post notes that there are more than six channels but that "these six are emerging or have always existed as powerful players in how learners make meaning."

The image above provides a visual view, and the six key areas are listed below.

* Dialogic Response

* Community Interaction

* Abstraction and Creativity

* Media Literacy

* Play

* Self-Directed Learning

Are there other areas you would define as channels of learning?

This post explores a report from the Institute for the Future, 'Transformative Changes for Children at Play' that was sponsored by the LEGO Group. The infographic provides a look at information found in the report, including sections on:

* How play is expanding social reach

* How play is empowering creativity

* How play impacts new visual literacies

* Blended play

* Deep personalization

* Emotional tech

* How tech is going mainstream

Within the post Jackie Gerstein summarizes "the key areas of the change nature of play as identified by Lego" as well as additional information from the report and provides her perspective on "some simple suggestions I have to facilitate play with technology in educational settings." 

Allowing young students free play time is important since it helps set up the prefrontal cortex (where executive functioning is located) to set up neuron pathways that help students to solve problems, make plans and regulate emotions. However, more and more schools are taking time away from recess, to focus on Common Core subjects.

It is critical that this is free play. The post states "No coaches, no umpires, no rule books."

Does your school have a policy about recess? Are students allowed to choose what to do, or are they given choices? This post shares insights that you may want to share with your PTO as well as others whom work in your school.

PIXELearning offers this visual that discusses why games are good for learning. In the visual you will find information on the following areas: Play, Rewards, Mastery, Engagement and Flow Theory as well as Laws of Learning.