Monday, March 25
8:30 AM-12:00 PM
CDT

Build a Virtual Field Experience with simSchool (BYOD-Bring Your Own Device)

Workshop ID: 38200
  1. David Gibson
    simSchool
  2. Stacy Kruse
    Pragmatic Solutions
  3. aaa
    Gerald Knezek
    Univ. of North Texas
  4. aaa
    Rhonda Christensen
    Univ. of North Texas

Abstract: This workshop will provide participants with unlimited free personal access and expert support to enable creating one or more modules for immediate use in teacher education and development settings. Participants should come with one or two ideas and building materials for a module they would like to create and potentially use as a virtual field experience in a course or training situation. The module idea for a virtual field experience should have the primary purpose of developing a core skill of teaching that utilizes one or more of the following theories: differentiation of instruction, zone of proximal development, language learners in the classroom, recognizing learning differences, adapting classroom tasks to individual or group differences, exploring or experimenting with some teaching methodology and providing a classroom situation or challenge for problem solving as a teacher. Please bring electronic copies of reading and multimedia materials to help your module users to prepare for their virtual field experience.

Objectives

The objectives of the workshop are (1) to engage participants in building a series of virtual field experiences for either preservice teachers OR the professional development of inservice teachers, (2) to share expertise about using simSchool in teacher education, (3) to review learning theories and mechanisms of learning including psychological characteristics, the zone of proximal development, emotional intelligence, differentiation of learning, adapting tasks to different kinds of learners, and special education issues, and (4) to learn from and work with new colleagues. Participants will leave with a certification as a simSchool Module Builder.

Topical Outline

The topics covered will include the process of playing a simSchool teaching simulation and interpreting data results. We will review the theoretical foundations of the simSchool artificial intelligence engine, including the physical, psychological and cognitive model components. Participants will learn how to create the essential components of a classroom simulation: students, tasks and the classroom configuration. Then the majority of the time of the workshop will be “construction time” for building, testing and getting expert input and reviews on your own creative idea for a virtual field experience challenge. We will conclude the workshop with a call for creative ideas for research and publication in areas of interest to you. The workshop schedule follows. Play simSchool and discuss winning strategies 30 min Listen to a short talk and discuss the physical, psychological and cognitive model components 20 min Make a Student, Task, and Sim 30 min Create your own Module and insert it into a Course 75 min Discussion to generate and expand upon research ideas. 15 min

Prerequisites

New simSchool users, people who are looking to explore the teaching simulation platform, and those with moderate simSchool playing or teaching experience will find the workshop valuable. The workshop is not geared for advanced simSchool researchers.

Experience Level

Beginner

Qualifications

David Gibson – Dr. Gibson is the founder of simSchool. His leadership experience includes complex projects such as state level teacher education and licensing policy, creation and support of a national network of virtual professional development schools, design of state-level assessments in science, mathematics and technology, and the development and evaluation of technology solutions. He has recently written extensively on games and simulations in education. Dr. Gibson received his B.Mus in Composition from Immaculate Heart College, M. Ed. in Administration and Supervision from Antioch New England Graduate School and Ed.D. in Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Vermont. Stacy Kruse – Ms. Kruse is Creative Director and Marketing Director for simSchool at Pragmatic Solutions. The Leverage database underlying simSchool research currently serves 10 million users of the massively scaled “America’s Army” online experience-based learning application. Stacy also trains people and brings new institutions on board. She and David have presented simSchool hundreds of times just in the last year, as we’ve grown from a few hundred to several thousand users.

Topic

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