Making Progress

Sometimes it seems as if we aren't making any headway but I've been checking out each teams' progress and I am seeing nice examples of artwork and programming.  Some of my groups are correcting their own programming errors and moving right along.  I am really getting excited to see the final product. 

I would like to welcome our principal to Globaloria.  She is attending a workshop this week and my students are looking forward to seeing what she does with her wiki page.  I know that some of the students have already added her as a friend.

Before you know it, it will be May and time for presentations.  We still have a lot of work to do!

Five Days in a Row

Believe it or not--we just completed a five day week!  I don't think that has happened since before Christmas.  I'm really hoping that the groundhog was right this year.  An early spring would be great! 

We made more progress this week.  I am hoping we can start getting more accomplished.

SNOW DAZE!

Well here we are again! It is beginning to look a lot like last year.  We had school 2 1/2 days this week.  Just when it seems like we are making progress, another storm comes along.  We managed to make it through semester tests and missed the first day of the new semester. 

It looks like we will just have to make the most of every class that we are able to get in.  Hopefully the students will be able to get a completed game done by May.

New Year's Resolution

In my last post, I came to the realization that it was time to refocus.  Now that I have filed my second quarter progress report, I am making a New Year's Resolution.  With that said, I am setting a goal to blog at least 1-2 times a week and to challenge my students to blog even when they don't have a specific prompt. 

I also plan to increase the amount of time devoted to checking my students' wikis, blogs and learning logs.  When the students come back from Christmas break, time seems to begin moving even faster than previously.  Then before you know it--it's the end of the year! 

Time to Reflect

It seems like time is starting to speed up.  I did pretty good until the end of October and then it seems like everything started happening at once.  First my hard drive died in my desktop computer and I lost all my files. Then I hit a deer on the interstate and totaled my car.  Throw in a couple of fundraisers for the junior class and the end of the six weeks and I realize that I haven't written a blog entry for about a month.

So it is time to refocus and get back on track.  

Nice to have visitors!

Last week Denise came to visit and brought a guest from the Entertainment Software Association.  We had a nice visit and it helped jump start the students' game ideas. The students were more enthusiastic after sharing their ideas.  Thanks Denise!

Playing Games

I don't play a lot of games in my free time.  When I do play games, I like to play Spider Solitaire or Text Twist.  I also like strategy games, but do not have a favorite one.  I am looking forward to seeing the games that you make this year.  Because you do play a lot of games, I think it will help you come up with a fun and interesting game.

Mini Game Project

We have been working on the mini game project the last couple of days. There were a few difficulties to be overcome. The machines seemed to take a while to open Flash.  After the file was downloaded, we found a few that were corrupted and had to be downloaded again. Needless to say, we did not get much accomplished in a 45 minute class period.  Hopefully we can get done tomorrow!

Check out what we did in our mini workshop yesterday!  Scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the Mini Workshop October 7th heading.

Choosing a Topic

I know that you are finishing up your "big questions" for choosing a topic.  Remember to answer the questions on your own "My Projects" page.  To see what some of the other schools are doing and to read student blogs, visit the Weir High School site.  The instructor has placed links on her page to several of the other schools.  Find at least three students in your area and make positive comments on their blog and add them to your blog roll.

If you haven't customized your wiki and blog, you need to ASAP.  Monday is the end of the 6 weeks.

Choosing a Game Genre

Now that you have had some time to play the games, it is time to start thinking about the type of game that you would like to create.  Remember, we will be creating games in the S.T.E.M. area--Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.  So put on your thinking caps and try to come up with a topic that will be interesting and fun to learn about.