Gaming & Learning

Mark Oehlert, who owns and write the e-Clipping Blog, commented on a post today by Paul McNamara which has caused some heated debate “I wonder if maybe we should continue the debate about whether or not games are good for learning or maybe, here is an alternative…just shut up, accept the data and start really figuring out how to do it write and for PETE”S SAKE understand that design principles, ESPECIALLY design principles (except they aren’t really design principles are they Adriana? ;-))…are not crafted in stone and can and should change and that BY ALL THAT’S GOOD AND PURE the classrooms and instructor-led training were probably NEVER studied RE their effectiveness as learning environments but rather as production environments. I’m sure that the Romans thought their empire wold stand for all time as well and look what happened to them.”

The original post can viewed here and be sure to read the comments which currently run onto a second page. There are comments from people of varying ages and opinions and it is all well worth a read!

Dave Warlick provides advice for organising social networking for conferences:

“I would love to see more education technology conferences adopt this sort of out-reach. Conferences have never been an integral part of the job for most classroom teachers — and with budget cuts already starting to snip their way across the fabric of our education institutions, fewer educators will likely be packing up and driving or flying to the city convention hotel for three days of shared learning and energy-generating friction.

It’s all the more reason why education conferences need to shine more, to radiate ideas rather than rattle them in a box.”

Author: Dave Warlick, 2cent Worth Blog, 20th April 2008

Full article available here.

“The term pedagogy has been in use since the early 16^th century to describe ‘the art and science of teaching’ (amongst other definitions) particularly focusing upon the teacher’s role in a young person’s learning. More recently of course, it has formed part of the ongoing cry ‘it’s not the technology, it’s the pedagogy…’ which is raised at every conference, at every turn.

Andragogy, on the other hand, only became well used in 1913 after Malcolm Knowles developed a theory of it to describe adult learning - specifically focusing upon how children and adults learn differently (and as such require different forms of teaching).

One of the key differences is the description of the learner.”

Author: Dan Sutch, Flux Blog, 16th April 2008

Full article available here.

Gaming innovation - doof is an Interesting gaming concept, combining casual online gaming with social networking. Find out more below:

doof.com - Games, Friends & Fun!

doof is exactly what it says, the home of social gaming. A very impressive concept: a social network built around casual gamers all wrapped up in a slick interface.

It’s not the gaming you expect; doof is not centered around PC games, handhelds, or the three major consoles. doof is all about casual gaming and specifically revolves around its own online games and doof has plenty. From brain-caning puzzle games (Cascade, Roobix), to fast and frenzied action games (Columns, Titris) , to plain hilarious time-wasters (Golden Arrow, Tribe), doof.com is pretty much the only place you need to be for your daily fix of brain candy. Riveting and compelling, our online games exists simply to have fun with!

In addition to games, doof mixes up a variety of community features. Most notably each member gets their own profile page which tracks game achievements, play history, and can let you pull in your photos from Facebook. As you play games, you earn credits, which may be used in tournaments with other players, or to purchase “gifts” for your friends. The gifts are basically avatars of items such as frogs, jewelry, crowns and various other items for showing your “like” in a humorous manner.

But doof offers not just games and web pages. You cab also watch online videos, keep track of news, tournaments, and a rating system for players and content and much more. Its also offers Instant messenger and email features, letting you know when your favorite game partners are available and giving you the ability to contact them. Just click on the person’s username and you can chat while playing games.

Free educational tool launched to support debate on any topic

Futurelab has launched Power League, a free online resource for schools which supports pupils of all ages to explore, debate and discuss any topic in a fun and easy way. Power League, available at www.powerleague.org.uk, enables the user to rank and display group opinions on any issue across the entire curriculum.

Author: FutureLab, 9th April 2008

Full article available here.

Dave Warlick has written some interesting posts about his personal learning network and he elaborates also on the technologies and tools he uses along the way. This is an exerpt from one such post:

“Somewhere between 22 and 59 virtual attendees, the chat conversation became more of a focus point for me, as lurkers were commenting less about where they were from (PA, TX, SC, Perth, Shanghai) and more about the topics of Steve’s presentation, each shining a slightly different light on the idea, each giving me a different way of looking at it. A sudden small and fragile network was becoming a temporary branch of my Personal Learning Network.”

Author: Dave Warlick, 2cent Worth Blog, 9th April 2008

Full article available >here.

I believe technologies that engage and motivate students by offering opportunities for self-direction, inquiry, discovery, and creativity are the best way to meet the needs of all students. One of the most significant things I’ve heard said about 1:1 laptop programs is that when you walk into the classroom, you can’t tell who the Special Ed students are or who the GATE students are… because everyone is fully engaged and working at their own level.

Some technologies that might be readily available to most teachers and which might help provide this sort of individualized engagement include commercial off the shelf videogames with educational value (such as the Sims series, the Tycoon series, or the “Age of…” series of games), read/write web tools (such as blogs, wikis, and podcasts), and multimedia creation programs (for editing images, audio, and video). These things are nearly free and ubiquitous and ought to be used creatively in support of the base program.

Author: Mark Wagner, Educational Technology and Life Blog, 7th April 2008

Full article available here.

The notion of techies huddled in isolation in front of monitors has given way to the concept of sharing data and/or ideas across the office or across the ocean. Students, professionals, or like-minded hobbyists can now be linked on line by more than mere discussion boards or chat rooms. Wikis now give a venue for virtually anyone to collaborate on line.

How can I utilize them for students?

The idea of a collaborative creation space for students has limitless possibilities. Students can create a biology on-line textbook. In Literature Circles (Harvey Daniels) students can culminate the process with a set of “Cliff Notes” on the book studied. Students can collaborate with a school across town or across the country to create any kind of a project. For ideas, visit Wikispaces’ “Examples of Educational Wikis”, which is itself a Wiki and as such can be amended by users.

Author: Jon Orech, TechLearning, 1st April 2008

Full article available here.

A 22 year old gives advice to teachers and parents on teens and young adults. Interesting post on how teachers can use onlines resources effectively to engage this generation with learning:

“Can schools keep up with their net-generation, text-savvy students? A lecture and a white board pale in comparison to online videos, cell phone games, interactive virtual worlds and 3-d animation. Already, schools have been incorporating more high-tech technology such as smart boards and projectors in the classroom. My old high school uses ipods to test and record listening comprehension. This is great–and really expensive.

I plan on writing a few blog posts on this topic, but I first wanted to review a few free resources teachers (and parents) can use in the classroom or for homework to keep kids interested in learning. Most of all, by employing new technology you will be speaking in this generation’s language, appeal to what already interests them and therefore make school really relevant to their lives.”

Author: Vanessa Ven Petten, vanessavanpetten.com, 16th March 2008

Full article available here.

Also great interview with Vanessa available from OpenEducation.net here.

Homeschooling Innovations and Networks
The continued growth of the number of home­schooling families has led to a proliferation of resources and networks that facilitate homeschool­ing. Twenty-five years ago, a family that wanted to homeschool would likely have had limited curricu­lum and instructional options. Today, the options are nearly boundless. A Google search on “home schooling” produces more than 13 million hits.[21] This demonstrates the wide range of instruction options and homeschooling networks that parents can access when they choose to homeschool their children.

Parents can find and purchase curriculum mate­rials through online exchanges and other net­works.[22] Hundreds of Web sites, blogs, and books are devoted to supporting parents who home­school. In some cases, parents can access free or low-cost instructional products to teach their chil­dren. Other options include online learning services such as K12.com, which offers professionally devel­oped courses online for relatively low monthly fees.[23] Across the United States, a growing number of for-profit tutoring providers are in operation, such as Kumon and Sylvan Learning Centers, which offer parents opportunities to provide supplemen­tary instruction to their children.

Author: Dan Lips and Evan Feinberg, The Heritage Foundation, 3rd April 2008

Full article available here.