There are many great ways to incorporate different types of learning in your classroom. There is also a time and place for fun, but what about at school?
I think that it is very important to keep your students interested and focused on the topics at hand. Hacking, making, and playing are just a few ways that we can do this. Hacking is very similar to problem solving. Students could ‘hack’ many things in the classroom if we let them. They could figure out a new way to do the math problem that they have been struggling with. They could also find a way to hack drawing a better dog. Some students are drawn to hacking and/or problem solving. If you allow students to figure out some things on their own, they will be more likely to remember it.
There are also students in the classroom that would rather make a volcano and learn about it, than look at a picture and learn about it. If you incorporate activities where students can make things, you could have an easier time getting your point across.
Playing is a little different in my eyes. I do think playing should be allowed in the classroom, however, not all the time. I think that you can use playing as a positive reinforcement. For example, a lot of teachers are doing the Teacher vs. Students T-chart on the board. The teacher gets a point when the students are bad and the students get a point when they are good. If you have extra time in the day, and the students get more points, they should be able to have some ‘play’ time. Play time could include something that is still supplemental in the classroom.
When it comes to TED talks, you can use these in the classroom. In my case, I will probably not use them. I want to teach the younger elementary grades. They will not be able to understand/sit still long enough to listen to them. However, I think as a teacher you can use them to learn many things. I like to listen to TED talks and I think you can learn many valuable lessons from them. I will be able to pick up new insight and ideas for my classroom by listening to them.
I do think that they can be effective for middle school and high school students. It is very important to make sure that they are videos that the students can relate to. If they are able to relate to the talk, then they will listen and pay attention better. There are TED talks that young adults and kids make. They might be able to relate to a video by a younger speaker because the speech might be more relevant to them.
This is a video I would show to my middle school or high school students.
Digital Literacy with Shayla D. 
Shayla, you did a great job on this. I think play can be incorporated in learning throughout not only elementary school. but really in all of life. Making learning fun is one way to play at learning. My children learned math by playing at the store. I don’t mean running wild and crazy. I would give them the list and the money. It was up to them to “play” adult and get the items on the list and paying for them. Often the clerks would make them either count back the change or tell them how much change they were getting. It was a great way to get everyone involved. My children still talk about that.
Now, of course, in a classroom with 20 children that can’t be done. But brainstorm a few ideas of how to teach playfully.
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Virginia,
I appreciate your insight. In fact, I would like to back track from what I have said about play a bit. After reading several of my classmates insight on play in the classroom, I do see that there are many ways to incorporate this while still learning. I like the idea of play in the classroom, but I would like it to be mostly educational.
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Shayla,
I love your take-aways from TedTalks and play in schools. With your goal of becoming a primary grade teacher, I agree that TedTalks probably aren’t in your future lesson plans. However, I do think that they could become a great tool for your parents. Sometimes the parents need just as much education as the student and TedTalks could be a powerful way for your parents to incorporate learning the students have in school at their home.
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Shelly,
I had never thought about it like this but that is a great idea! I think that parents might actually enjoy watching them because I know that I do. This would be a great way to communicate the different things that are going on in our class. Thanks for the input and ideas!
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