It was very interesting to read about Rosie on page 158; the student who did not enjoy math until she was introduced to 4MALITY. I was curious, so I found the 4MALITY website and created a login. There are different sets of problems that range from place values to understanding decimals. It is very easy to follow and would be a great tool to incorporate into the classroom. Solving word problems can be difficult for some students. Tools like this can help make sure students understand and grasp what the problems are asking them to do. It is important to set a good foundation while the students are young. As they get into middle and high school math, they will be more prepared to tackle those more difficult math courses.
I do not remember teachers teaching me when I was in school how to take research material and rewriting it so it is in my own words. I personally did not do well in this area in school, but it is so important that students learn early on how to acquire this skill. On page 168 of the textbook, I learned about a website called Read/Write/Think that helps students organize and write a persuasive essay. And since this chapter explains how gaming can be used in the classroom, there are plenty of educational games that could be incorporated with a lesson plan. One example is this ABC Match game which is geared for Kindergarten through 2nd grade; it helps students with letter recognition and memory.
On page 169 the textbook explains how gamification is used in education as well as in the business world. I did not realize when I sign up for a store reward card that it was something called gamification. But like the textbook explains too much gaming or gamification can have negative outcomes. For businesses, their rewards are points on future purchases to keep you coming back which causes you to spend more money. For students, the rewards may become more important than actually learning the material. I can see how it can be beneficial but there may also be a down side. There is an interesting article on Edutopia with a link to a TedTalk video which explains how using real world situations in a game setting can motivate students to learn.
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.