Dawn Hallybone

Our Oakdale Experience 345 children 34 Nintendo Ds consoles 1 experience

Borough ICT Co-ordinator heard Derek speak at BETT
Class set of DS consoles were bought for the Borough, using the Dr Kawashima brain training game.
All schools were invited to bid.
Bids had to be children led and outcome focused.

Where it started

Our Bid
Inclusive - all children using the game
Testing - paper and pencil, brain ages
Speaking - children talking about their experiences
Writing - Using the blog to share their ideas
Gaming - Children writing their own games

In School
INSET for staff - out of 15 only 3 had consoles already - Prensky digital immigrant/native theory - turned on its head.
Program - play and testing
Low tech threshold consoles
Supportive, engaged, excited

Data files - generic for each year group
Pencil and paper to support
Named each console Oakdale - limit pictochat

In class
Each child completed a pencil and paper mental maths test
Each child, teacher and Ta completed first Brain age 'check' - we used the brain age check selection menu and the same 3 games.
Year groups were timetabled to have the consoles for one day - to organize, each child was given a numbered console
- to explore the training programs - Year groups were given specific training programs to use, that I felt would best suit ages.
- to look at any difficulties that we may encounter.

Weekly
Each year group was timetabled to have the consoles for a 'session' a day.
Asked to use them to 'train' their brains at least 3 times a week and do a brain age check once a week.
After two weeks - children were using them for only 20 minutes a day.
Found that already children were learning tables at home
Children in lower age groups were benefitting from syllable count, and enjoying the reading aloud program.
Quotes:
We done brain age check and I was 80, then I got to 70 but now I am 37
I think Nintendo is very good because now I am getting a smaller brain age
The brain age thing is helping me learn

Visits - Outcome focused
Borough visit - to see what was happening in practice
Buzz

Visitors - children talking!
Local press, parents, Governors - anyone!
Borough conference
Miss, its really interesting, coz some of the adults are asking if its just a way of playing and if we are really learning, but when we show them and let them have a go, they don’t want to give the consoles back!’

Writing and Gaming

Results

Results
Increase in times tables knowledge - particularly in year group 5
Syllable count and reading aloud - encouraging lower age groups to read
Those children that felt they were under achieving in maths - felt they could achieve using the consoles
Children were engaged and excited
Speaking, presenting and writing skills in the children increased
No gender difference, SEN and EAL children were engaged
SATs results in mental maths were the highest we had had in 4 years
Mental maths skills across all year groups had improved

Problems
Data files - would be great if they could be extended - to use the graphing options with a large range of children
'Witterings' of Dr K sometimes put the children off - they just wanted to 'game'
Organization - key to success
Where now?
Borough set has moved to another school - involved in INSET there
Looking at funding our own set - sponsorship, borough and PTA
Using make 10 and using games for MFL - like the Mind your language learn Spanish due for release in December.

Final thoughts
It has been an amazing experience to have the consoles in school and to see the real and huge benefit that they can ‘play’ in the class room.
I believe that even those who have doubts when they see them in use then they too will see their benefit.
I do not believe that in any way should they replace teaching methods but rather be used in conjunction with. They also do not need to be used for extensive periods of time, we have found that 20 minutes is enough to both train and check brain ages.
The children are natural users of hand held devices and this natural ability and their innate sense of wanting to learn makes the console, I feel a valuable learning tool.
www.oakdalejuniorschool.blogspot.com

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Dawn Hallybone

by HandheldLearning on Oct 21, 2008

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Dawn Hallybone — Presentation Transcript