Twitter chat Reflection 1

This was my first experience with a twitter chat. I don't use twitter usually, other than to see Neil Gaiman's or Amanda Palmer's infrequent tweets, sometimes DeGrasse too. It was an interesting experience for someone that does not text very fast. I was not able to tweet via computer so I had to use my phone. After the first question, I began to experience anxiety. How do I tweet my answers quickly? How do I think that fast? (The questions were far more thought provoking than I anticipated.) How do I synthesize other people's answers and comment on that? It took several minutes for me to reconcile these feelings before I could begin to catch up and actually participate.

The tweet chat I joined was for edtechbridge and on April 12th they were discussing Digital Divide and Edequity. I didn't really have much to say on Question 1 as I was just joining and was trying to figure how to tweet from my phone (I'm only a Luddite when it comes to twitter, really...) , Q1: What are the big questions in equity in edtech right now?
I started to think about it and then answers started to scroll madly along my screen. I saw people designated their answers by A1, so, I chimed in with: A1. How do we sustain or support access to tech outside school hours? I eventually got a reply: Great question. Once kids go home teachers aren't in charge.
Then question 2 fired off:
Q2. Why can't tech alone create the essential forms of change needed to prepare kids for the rapidly changing future?

I answered with: A2. Tech does not replace relationships or address the lack of tech savvy for teachers.
Other answers:
A2: Although tech is incredibly valuable, we must never downplay the importance of 1:1 real-time, face-to-face communication

A2: Teachers are critical to the process.

EdTechBridge added,

Replying to @EdTechBridge

A2: There's no use to #edtech without a T. The point is to teach Ss how to utilize it to succeed. #EdtechBridge

It became almost like a dialogue...in a crowded bar...with twenty people all talking at once...but all were able to mostly hear you. It was a very strange experience...


Q3. What professional development and tech do teachers need to level the playing field for their students?

This prompted a short firing of answers ranging from Game based learning, hands on PD, exploratory PD... with the words "meaningful, equity in access, engaging, fun" mentioned by several participants.

Then a question from earlier crept up again by question 5, asking how school boards could ensure that every student has equitable access to the highest quality tech experiences. I had asked earlier  A1. How do we sustain or support access to tech outside school hours? Someone retweeted my question, then I answered "Wouldn't it be helpful if tech co's could workout ways for Ss w/o tech access to be able to access tech out of school?" Then I answered both with "Tech centers like neighborhood rec centers?" To which the EdTechBridge responded: This is an excellent idea! Hacking the lack of tech access.


We got through question 8 with no answers for question 8. Afterwards, I was pumped and exhausted. My phone died five minutes later. What a ride.

Play Journal 1

Play Journal 1:

Initial observations for Dragonsoul:

Dragon Soul: Android driven rpg game. Fantasy based rpg game with quite a bit of built-in geek Easter egg like humor. (Captain's Tight Pants is a hero worn item - Reference to Joss Whedon's sci-fi show Firefly) 

The game is played by selecting a group of heroes to "liberate" other heroes' souls via soulstones from the big bad evil clutches of the the nasty dragon. Guild participation encouraged. Perform tasks, achieve goals, build a team or several teams of heroes to fight your way along the path.

Learning curve: very small. It was pretty easy to pick up, and I was able to answer questions in the forum and in game chat within a couple of days of game play. It is easy to play without viewing rules,  has a very short in game tutorial and really intuitive game play.

Social aspects: Guild membership - easy to join, one click and you are done. Had to wait for being level 20. List of guilds was daunting but overall, guilds are upfront about their purpose, their guild personality, and their overall memberships. I chose one from GB that has a motto of "everyone can join" which made it very open for my husband to join later. They did raise the membership basic level about a day after I joined to 25 due to the leader's level finally being able to do guild wars.

Guild: Interesting mix of people, mostly quiet on the guild boards. Out of the 50 people in the guild, 20 or so are regular helpers. The leader answers questions, but for the most part, this guild doesn't communicate very much.

Regular/global chat: very active, people mostly ignore the trolls and they don't get air time. Very friendly and helpful about setting up teams and answering questions.

Overall, this game is far more engaging than playing Civ6, especially the acceptance of many of the players I’ve interacted. As it is not real-time and you really do need to rely on cooperative play, it is far preferable than Civ6 for online play.

I am one of the few gamers that doesn't get a bit thrill from "winning" a game. For me it is the play, the story-building, the interactions with either online people or with the world I'm playing in. As shown by the games that tend to be my favs: Dragonage Inquisition, Fallout 4, The Sims...I don't play to win, I play to escape or to delve into a story. Not to disparage what I call "twitch" games, I like to occasionally play League of Legends, Starcraft, and Call of Duty, I just prefer the story aspect or the cooperative play aspects of certain styles of games. Dragonsoul really gives me that sense of co-op, the story is ok, could be more involved, but it is entertaining and I am able to really flow with the amount of competitiveness I want.