Reflection of Playnormous

1. How are Playnormous games used in your classroom or library?
My high school curriculum in Health Fitness aligns with the Playnormous games and information located on the website. I am passionate about nutrition and exercise and feel that I need to present information to my students in a motivating and creative manner. Playnormous games have been the answer for me this semester!! As I searched for new and creative sites to add to my curriculum, I found Playnormous and saw that this is the piece that I needed to keep students actively engaged and reach them in a creative way that would encourage them to carry the information home. Students began by searching through the information presented on the site and then gave me feedback on the information they learned. Then the students were turned lose to play the games. They were instantly hooked and I had a hard time making them log out at the end of our 90 minute class. The following day, we discussed what they learned from the games and what areas we needed work on to gain a full understanding about the foods they were eating and their daily food intake. We also began to search for food myths as the students were stunned about the “junk food and poor choices” they thought were healthy. Students arrived to class on time as they were allowed to get on the few laptops that I have available to them and begin to play games. We made this part of our daily routine and the end of class when we have free time to play, they opted to play the games. Seeing that this was such a hit with my students, we decided that we had to have a tournament. We booked the computer lab which is very difficult to do and played for days. I knew that the information they were learning was reaching them in a creative way and most likely would remain with them longer than it would through a traditional lecture environment. Students had to be reminded that this was just a game as they became so competitive. Without my direction, students then organized a tournament during lunch time where they gathered with their laptops and challenged each other. I am thrilled that they also decided that on Fabulous Friday’s, we are going to have the few laptops available in the gym so they can continue playing and challenging others. Since playing the games, students are giving me feedback about information they are learning and ask me more questions as they explore the games on higher levels. Hook, line, and sinker!!!! I had no idea this would be such a success. Thank you for providing us an engaging website for teachers to use as a resource and motivator.
2. Which one of our health games is your favorite and why?
I am challenged to name just one game as my favorite. I polled my students to tell me which game was their favorite and I got as many answers are there are games. They all had strong points as to why it is their favorite. I think that as diverse as my students are and the challenge presented to them, an argument is made that they are all good. As a teacher I feel that my students have learned valuable information from each of these games. The Pyramid Pile Up teaches them about food a group which, in my opinion, is the base fundamental lesson for understanding nutrition and daily intake requirements. The Lunch Crunch makes students realize what foods are good choices and which ones are not so good or junk. It was an eye opener for them to realize that just because often food packaging has a picture of a fruit or vegetable, but it is not always a good food choice. I like it also because the game made the students think quickly about their choice for a true fruit and vegetable. Teens make quick decisions in a food line at school and at a fast food chain, so this game will enable them to think twice about what choice they are making. Because they have learned the nutritional information about food in class, this will impact their decision making. The chain link games of Food Fury and Juice Jumble again require students to think about ingredients in food packaging. Here students learned that a drink with a fruit on the label disguises the sugar and fat %. Food Fury teaches students about foods that are Go, good choices, Slow, kind of good, and Whoa, eat only rarely Students had many “Ah-Ha” moments here as they realized some foods are not as healthy as they thought. I asked students to frequent the Brain Gain as they test themselves on their knowledge and give responses back to me about the areas they are not scoring 100%. It allows students to learn about portion sizes, and balancing a meal. From their scores, I learned what I needed to re-teach or emphasize in another lesson. Bubble Robble focuses on exercise and allows students to see what activities are cardio or low activities. Since I am a Health Fitness teacher, I am looking for ways to stress the importance of daily exercise. This has helped my students become conscious of low cardio and high cardio activities.
The game that I would be hard pressed to say is my all time favorite would be Pyramid Pile Up. The information is fundamental for learning about the food pyramid which students created their personal food pyramid for calorie and nutritional daily intake. Those learning the basics start at level one and graduate to higher challenges. As the levels progressed, students had to apply their knowledge of which foods fit into each category without hints. This is an important step in understanding food categories and will help them throughout their life as they continue to monitor their daily food intake. I liked it because I wanted to be the choppers and then have strategies with the move allowed on each level. I was able to beat the students in this game when we began the challenge, but they are much quicker than I am now. I play this game secretly each day to practice my skills and will join in with the tourney challenge when I feel I can beat them once again.
3. Why should you be selected to win a free Monster iMac?
There are many reasons why I should be selected to win a Monster iMac. Perhaps the leading reason is because I am making a the connection of health with technology by researching topics, creating projects, and creating an environment for my savvy high school students to become engaged and excited about learning. Health Fitness does use technology in the gym and I want my students to have an opportunity to use technology as this is where they spend many wasteful hours each day on games that only challenge them with scores. Giving them informative games to play engages them to learn and interests them with the challenges. Another reason to award me this iMac is because I can let students use the iMac to create videos and podcast with nutrition and fitness lessons. We are the low man on the totem pole when it comes to booking the computer lab for use. We got lucky when we used it for several days as scheduled testing that was to occur was cancelled at the last minute. In order to get to the labs, we have to book it at the beginning of the semester and even then, we are often asked to share it with another class. Having this computer will allow students to research and create projects whenever they want. Students want to create a video documentary about teen obesity and their lack of physical activity. The mac is easier to create movies than a PC and students will be able to gather material and work on it over several days. Students want to continue to challenge each other and I can set up an area for the Mac and 2 other laptops in the gym office so students can rotate around from gym activities and computer activities. It will allow me to have a great balance with my students. The Playnormous games have been so successful with my students and it allows me another avenue to reach teens and teach them about the importance of diet and exercise. I write curriculum for the district in Health Fitness and am creating a curriculum that includes technology for students on a weekly basis. The iMac will certainly allow me the advantage to do so.
4. How have Playnormous games impacted you, your classroom, or your library?
Now this is where Playnormous has made a difference for my students. Students are making personal connections with their food choices and Playnormous has contributed to their change in diet habits. I heard over and over again from students “I had no idea that was not good for me to eat. I thought it was a healthy choice” After playing the games and creating projects that tied in to the lessons learned from the games, students are making better food choices. I strive to find creative activities for students when learning about nutrition, and this site has helped me achieve this goal. Students are having conversation with each other about lessons learned and what they are changing in their diets. We prepared foods introduced in the games and will continue to set aside several days in the future to do again. We are all having conversation about trying new fruits and veggies and adding 5 a day to our diets. Students are asking their parents to prepare different veggies at home. Several students earned extra credit by making meal plans for a week and prepared them at home for their family. Students are spending time in the fruit and vegetable section of the grocery store looking for new and different foods to try. I have used to catch phrase “Get Up and Move” for 2 years and when Michelle Obama came out this month with her project called “Let Move”, students began to discuss in class the topic with great knowledge. We are looking at more ways to incorporate this lifestyle in our daily lives. These Playnormous games have reinforced making healthy choices and thus created a real awareness for my high school students. I have heard them at lunch time telling the cafeteria workers how they need to get together and make some changes in the food they are being served. I give students choices and ownership in my classes, within the guidelines of the curriculum, on what activities to play and what lessons they want to learn about in nutrition. You can guess what they are asking for now!!! I have not only created fun in the gym, but more importantly, made an impact in these teens lives with the use of Playnormous games and activities.