Learning Innovation Labs Capstone Previews

Ellison
GAME ON: Level Up Learning
The story of her journey to “classroom 1.0” was interesting and inspiring to me as I head into a second grade classroom next year.  It was encouraging to follow her path towards finding what works for her, standards to work from, and the general development of her ideas.  Jen breaks down all the needed components of a game based class and explains how to modify what you’re already doing to turn your class into an awesome game.  Her content makes me feel like gamification is very “doable” and she showed how assignments would look before gamification, and how to modify them to include gaming elements.  Jen also presented some creative videos that show how she collaborated with school staff to gamify social emotional learning! Although a few components of her site are geared towards tech teachers, most of her project felt like it was targeted directly at me.  I think Jen did a great job of providing ideas, resources, and “think alouds” through her journey in a way that is inspiring and encouraging--not overwhelming or distant.

Saelee
Personalized Learning
The intended audience for this project is math teachers considering personalized learning as a way to meet the needs of students in the 21st century.  On her Home Page and Learn More Page, Saelee offers some great videos and tools that explain to the audience some of the whys and hows of personalized learning.  While the majority of the lessons on Saelee’s Lesson Page are specifically suited for middle school math teachers, she includes many resources that anyone could find helpful:  engaging videos, infographics, and additional resources that provide background, summary of benefits, and instruction around the topics of:

• teaching metacognitive skills
• personalized learning
• competency based learning

The variety of topics explored on her Capstone increased my interest, even though I am not a middle school math teacher.  These competencies could reach across grade levels and topics to benefit a wider range of teachers.

​In the process of viewing these sites and considering the intended audience, I’ve discovered more about how I’d like to open up my idea to as many different types of educators as possible.  Though Saelee’s research is directed toward middle school math teachers, her topic could be of interest, and her site a benefit, to nearly any teacher. I will try to keep this in mind as I design my Capstone and be as inclusive as possible.