A journal of my discoveries in the world of technological innovation in education, through the 12:21 course and forays into the wonderful world of blogs, wiki's, websites, and who knows what else!?

Friday, September 3, 2010

PortaPortal

Isn't synchronicity wonderful?  I hadn't even heard of PortaPortal until this week, and today one of my tutoring students proudly showed me her new teacher's PortaPortal page, which led to a math game that you will ALL enjoy.  Well... if you were alive in the 80's, you will for sure!  Check it out here.

Meet "MathMan"!
 I mention this for two reasons. First, because watching my student navigate to the teacher's PortaPortal page and then to the game was enlightening (she's only been in school a few days, and very proudly and independently found her way there without a hitch).  Then, watching her play the game, explain her winning strategy, and do fairly complex math problems mentally, all while laughing and smiling, was a HUGE thrill.  This is a student who often stresses about new things, challenging tasks, etc, yet she was happily taking risks and pushing herself, under a time constraint.

Wow.

Make learning fun... and just see what happens!

Enjoy the game!
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3 comments:

  1. Cathy September 5, 2010 at 9:17 AM

    Maggie, thanks for that link! I found some science games there about the food chain that I will add to my classroom websites, along with a fraction tutorial and more games.

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  2. skoelkerSeptember 6, 2010 at 2:40 PM

    As a former nearly world champion Pac-Man player (wasted a few hours in the 70s on the big machines learning the patterns), I'm certain that game is going to have a major impact on the math skills of some of our kids. Truly!! The more we wed foundational skills with entertaining technology, the better the odds that some will experience breakthroughs. Here's a short discussion: http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/GamesandLearning/157406

    Any use for Portaportal for your work, Maggie?

    spk
    ><>

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maggie McNeiceSeptember 6, 2010 at 9:53 PM

    So glad you guys like the links. I definitely would like a portaportal, but I wonder whether I should have two, one for school and one for calligraphy? I will come chat with you about it tomorrow, Steve. I certainly have a lot of links I would like to share, I'm just not sure of the best way to do that.

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