Engaging Students in Writing via iOS Devices and Gaming Part #3

Since my last post, the students have collected information for their writing by playing the 'Bike Baron' game, written rough drafts of their entry, and have completed a good copy of their journal entry. Here are some samples of their work:

The students have worked hard on their writing. The use of the iOS devices (iPads/iPod Touches) in combination with the game provided them with enough excitement and interest to carry them through on many fronts.

The following journal entries were written by two students who have individual education plans (IEP's). Both of these students have difficulty with language literacy and told me that they "hate" to write. At first they were reluctant to write but after a while they felt comfortable enough to take risks and provide me with the 'effort' that I was looking for. I worked with them by meeting them where they were at and accepted and celebrated any of the writing they worked on.

The 'Bike Baron' video game in combination with the iPad/iPod Touch devices has proven to be fun and engaging. As I stated in the part#1 post, the students seemed to be excited in the beginning stages of this writing activity and they hadn't even touched a device yet. They were hooked by the main character (Bike Baron) as they brainstormed about who he was and what he was doing. As they moved through the writing process they had opportunities to play the game and collect information that would eventually lead to their 'journal entry' writing task. We kept our writing time as light as possible with lots of descriptive feedback in order to minimize feelings of failure/disappointment and maximize success and growth. From my perspective this 'project' was fun for me to teach and observe and based on the journal entries I received, was beneficial to the writing development of my students.