First of all, Osmo is a piece of software and an app for students. In order to play the games you must use a base for the ipad to sit in and then a mirror covers the camera to mirror and send to the iPad what is being done on the table. This is shown in the image below. Once you have a base, there are multiple educational games that can be purchased and used. Some of the games include Letters, Numbers, Tangrams, PizzaCo, Coding, and much more. Numbers is an app that when used with Osmo allows students to add and subtract using numbers. Tangram allows students to use Tangram tiles to create shapes, and Letters is a game where students are shown a picture and the students can either guess the missing letters or the whole word. Each of these games can be played solo or with a partner. Pizza Co. is one of my students favorites. In Pizza Co., the students open a pizza shop. Customers come in and purchase pizza. Students are supposed to create the pizza for the customer, the customer pays for the pizza and students give change. Coding is an app that walks students through using coding to allow Awbie (the mascot for Osmo) to complete quests.
While researching more of the games that I don't know about I discovered games such as Little Genius starter kit which allows students to use sticks and rings to create letters to learn letter formation. Detective Agency allows students to learn about history, geography, cultures, and solving mysteries. Enchanted is a game that allows students to learn the basics of multiplication. Osmo Wizard allows students to learn more about base-10 and place value. Osmo also has some other games as well such as drawing (including Disney) and HotWheels where students get to race each other.
Osmo is a wonderful tool that can be used not just in a Makerspace but in a classroom as well. It helps develop fine motor skills, phonics, letter formation, problem solving, math skills, and much more depending on which game the students choose to use. This can be used during a small group station or even in a small group session. While it isn't the best thing for the whole class to do at one time, partners or solo work is best. Before now, I never thought of all the possibilities it could be used for in the classroom. Osmo would be a great way to supplement the learning done in the classroom and also allow for students to be creative as well as working on building social skills and relationships with others.
Osmo can be purchased through Amazon and also the Osmo site. Once a base is purchased for your Tablet or iPad you can download the apps for free and students can use them. The apps provide tutorials for students as well so they are able to learn how to use it. The only negative I have seen with these games is when a case is used like the ones our district uses on the iPads, the students need help removing the case so the iPad can sit in the base and the mirror fits on the iPad. Teacher can also create an account, add students to the account, and then students can log in with a school account to play and save progress.
ReplyDeleteHi Renee,
Osmo sounds like an amazing resource for the classroom or school library! I think learning through play is especially important today because students don’t have as many opportunities within the school setting as they used to. I think Osmo is a great example of how technology can be interactive and love that it includes a tactile piece. As a classroom teacher I often had a hard time finding different small group activities that were easily targeted to students’ specific needs. Since Osmo has different types of activities and games for varying content areas, I am going to explore integrating Osmo as a small group activity as you mentioned in your post.
Enchanted is a game that keeps my grandchildren interest. I don't know how to play but after reading your post, I am ready to give it a go. Osmo is a great tool for teachers to explore and help our scholars to want more. Thanks for sharing Renee!
ReplyDeleteHey Renee, this is so neat and I really enjoyed reading your post! It’s great that you’re exploring Osmo as more than just a fun activity and I see the value of learning so clearly through your post. I had not heard of some of the games you mentioned like Osmo Wizard or Disney drawing, and now I can't wait to try them out in my classroom. Thank you for sharing this post and your own experience with it. It helped me think of how to use it with my students as well. -Katie Moody
ReplyDeleteHi Renee,
ReplyDeleteI love the Osmo games. They are such a fun way to play on a devide while still having something to manipulate in the real world. My school has a few different versions of it and our special ed class uses it all the time. I like that they have come up with new ones to use since I last saw them. The last one I used was the art one, just ot see how it worked and i had a good time using it. I would love to get a few more of the games and have these as a center of sorts, since my school has a small set of iPads that I can use with them.
I love that you have decided to a second look to see how Osmo can be more than a recess activity. It’s amazing how many great learning apps are in their ecosystem, like the ones for multiplication and place value that you found. Seeing them all listed out was a real eye-opener and a great reminder to dig a little deeper into the tools we already have. Your idea to use it for small group stations feels like the perfect fit for this kind of hands-on learning. It sounds like you've developed a thoughtful plan to more intentionally integrate a powerful resource into your instruction for the upcoming school year.
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