Simulation Report

SIMULATION REPORT

Brief description
The Simulation I choose, “Fraction Garden”, dealt with fractions. It was geared for students in grades 3-5. This simulation was unique in the fact that it felt like I was playing a game. The user can use both robots “Bud” and “Blossom” to compare fractions. The user can dictate at which fraction in their garden a flower should be planted. By having both Bud and Blossom, comparisons can be made to fractions such as ¼ is half of ½. For visual learners, this would be a great way to display fractions in a non threatening and fun way.

Learning objectives addressed
While there were no stated learning objectives that I saw, I could easily see that such terms and concepts as “numerator, denominator, equivalence, greater than, and less than” could all be used ass objectives. Identifying and classifying these terms as well as gaining knowledge and understanding of these could all be learning objectives.

Interest level for students
My initial opinion of this game was that students would get bored of it rather easily. But after playing around on it, there are many different simulations and experiences that can be completed. This combined with the fact that my sense of entertainment is probably higher that a 3rd-5th grader (I hope), makes me believe that the students would not only want to use it, but use it repeatedly.

Ease of use
This simulation was rather easy to use. The program design is very user friendly. Because of this, there are not that many controls that can go wrong. Any mistake or button that is accidentally pushed can easily be undone. Furthermore, the layout and directions were really easy to understand. Just exploring around on the simulation before reading the directions allowed me to grasp how the simulation was used as well as functioned. I have no doubt that students would also be able to figure out the simulation with little or no practice or exploration.

Usefulness
This simulation allows for me as the teacher to display fractions in a way that is non traditional. By doing so, it might click or become clearer for a learner. I think students would benefit from this simulation. I would maybe use it more as a reinforcement or follow-up activity instead of an activity to introduce fractions. This simulation allows for me to check for understand of the concept with doing a formal assessment.

Experience with Technology

I remember my first experience with technology was in first grade when we would go to the computer lab to play games and paint on the computer. The game that everyone was crazy about was “Dinosaur Park Tycoon.” As I progressed through school, the use of technology also grew. Not only did we use computers for research and word processing, but teachers began to use it with their lessons. In Fourth Grade I remember we used a projector to shine our slideshows that we made up onto a screen. This was the first time that any of us had seen this and we were very impressed. The projector soon became a common tool in the classroom. Because of my school system’s aggressive technology integration program, technology enhanced my learning experience by allowing me to find information faster and with greater ease. One of the greatest consequences of technology use was that we as students were held to a high standard because of the amount of technology we had available to us. Sometimes this standard was a little too high and assignments that should have been given 3 days to complete before technology, we now required to be done in 1 day. While technology allowed us to complete work faster, it was still an unfair expectation. But the best use of technology was by far the semester I spent learning how t0 program in Q-Basic code. Thanks to this new class that was offered in High School, I began to appreciate technology more and the amount of work that goes behind it, instead of taking it for granted.