Post #7 from Amanda Rhine

Check out the Hybrid Pedagogy site. Find something that looks interesting to you and read it. Provide the link and share with us. Summarize briefly and then consider: How do the ideas connect to other things we’ve read in this class?

I found this website to not only educational but very interesting. I clicked on most of the links I saw and at least skimmed each article. I especially enjoyed the one titled, “It’s Time to Play: Games, Gamification, and Active Learning” because it focuses on the idea that children do learn simply by playing. They engage in games that require rules and structure, even though there are often times were the rules are broken for the sake of exploration. Children also “hack” traditional games and combine them to make a new hybrid game, which says volumes for how creativity plays a role in critical thinking. Not to mention that trial and error are pivotal in such tasks and problem solving skills are developed in the process.

The fact that technology is rapidly progressing was also brought up. Children, and adults, these days often play and find entertainment through technology, i.e. video games. This fact forces teachers to constantly reevaluate how and what they teach in order to prepare their students properly in a way that relates to their abilities acquired from using technology. Plus, more often than not, teachers do not have access to the technology needed to do this. So how do teachers encourage innovation in the classroom without said technology? Hmm, that’s a good question…

The article goes on to talk about how students can be put in the teachers chair and develop creative but fun ways to teach/quiz their classmates, etc. There’s so much more detail I could go into but I believe I’ve touched on the important parts. Another reason I liked this article so much is because there were aspects that reminded me of things I’ve heard during recent article group presentations. For example, when the author mentioned her children creating hybrid games I was reminded of the Digital Storytelling group and how these days “mash-ups” are often creating from two or more existing works (often videos) to create a new piece or work. This activity is highly popular in our world today and the final products can be very entertaining.