Technology Toolkit: Introducing You To Web 2.0 is a book I and Gary Bass authored. If you're interested, click on the image for further information and an order form.
I have to admit I’m not a gamer and probably never will get into it in any big way. Having said this though I can’t deny that there is a lot to be said for considering how the principles underlying games and gaming can be positively harnessed in education. The Literacy of Gaming: What Kids Learn From Playing, Fun and Games and Using games in the classroom are just three reads that have influenced my thinking. Today via Twitter along came a link to this infographic titled How Video Games Are Changing Education, another reason to think more about using games in education.
Via: Online Colleges Guide
Google, the verb that just keeps on giving, but as it gives it also takes. Every time we use any of the ever expanding Google services we also leave a little something behind. Though relatively benign as single entities, over time these little snippets can aggregate to something more substantial. Though they may not be doing evil this movie leaves you wondering whether perfection can be too perfect.
Will all this stop me using Google services? Probably not, though I will perhaps be a little more judicious in how I put my companion to work in the future.
Every now and then you come across something that exemplifies the opportunities to exploit the creative options that abound these days. This deceptively simple but complex movie sequence is a fabulous entree to the notion of scientific investigation from the team at Sesame Street. Come back and take as many of the options as you can to appreciate the intricacies.
It’s been almost a month since I’ve added content to this blog which is a touch annoying as I’ve been doing lots of thinking during this time and have half composed, (in my head at least), a number of posts. Why haven’t I managed to get the words together, well lots of reasons one of which is Twitter. Too often the reason for the post is subsumed by Twitter, sometimes it’s easier to just tweet a link rather than explore it deeply and develop a theme around it at other times tweets will stimulate thinking around too many topics at once that it is too hard to marshall one’s thoughts in any particular direction, at other times keeping up with the Twitterstream takes up the time that would otherwise be given over to blogging. It’s interesting then to compare the relative dominance of Twitter in my online interactions then with the findings of this clever video infographic from the American CBS program looking at how Gen Z are working online and especially with Twitter.
Update
Having posted this post I then checked through the Twitter stream and lo there amongst the many other distractives was a tweet from the highly connected @timbuckteeth , (aka Prof Steve Wheeler)
Amongst a number of points Steve reminds us of the peril of attaching behaviours and practices to specific age groups along the way linking to some fine examples of where Twitter is being used in schools within the age groups that ostensibly are not attracted to it. As always his posts stimulate thoughtful comments so when you do click the link don’t forget to scroll down.
Explaining the concept and mechanisms of operating with Creative Commons can be problematic for adults and even more so with students. There are a number of webpages and to a lesser extent videos exploring and explaining the topic on the web but this is one of the few cartoons directed at children that I’ve seen. Created by a Brazilian blogger, Karlisson Bezerra who blogs under the name of Nerdson the text has been translated from the original Portugese to English and has been reproduced in a number of spaces including the UNESCO e-learning site. For those interested, the original can be found here.
Criativos comuns by Nerdson at http://nerdson.com/blog/criativos-comuns/
One of the really interesting developments in the use of spaces like YouTube have been in the creation of instructional videos. Nobody has embraced this capability with the enthusiasm of Simon Khan owner and creator of the Khan Academy. This series of videos are simple in structure but powerful in intent, the aim being to provide students with an instructional resource that they can replay over and over again.
This article from GOOD Education explores from more of the Khan Academy story and the challenges and opportunities it offers traditional schooling.
A few years ago, a New York City hedge fund analyst Salman Khan was tutoring his cousins. They lived halfway across the country however, and in order to make it easier to coordinate their schedules, he started making short video versions of his tutorials. And then a funny thing happened. His cousins reported that they liked learning from his videos better than from him.
At first Khan was surprised. Why wouldn’t they want the ability to actually interact with him? But then he thought about it from their standpoint and it began to make more sense. Having a video made it so they could repeat and replay anything that they didn’t understand as many times as necessary. They could refer back to weeks-old lessons without having to feel embarrassed about it. They could learn without another person standing over their shoulder asking, “do you understand yet?”
If like me you have an Evernote account you’re probably already sold on how easy it is to save just about anything digital into the one space that can be accessed from anywhere you can get an internet connection. Hopefully if you have an iPhone or iPad or 3G enabled iPod Touch you also have the Evernote app installed on your device.
If you haven’t yet added the app to your iDevice then as of today there is no excuse not to do so, (if you have the app installed then you should head to your nearest iTunes Store to download the latest Version 4). This Version 4 is a complete rebuild with a whole range of new features added to an already very solid app. The Evernote blog has a listing of all the new features and the following video contains tasters.
Edchat is a great way to use Twitter when every Tuesday 2 Edchat conversations are convened at 12pm EST/ 5pm GMT and 7pm EST/ 12pm GMT. The “chats” are archived and occasionally lead to further exposition such as this set of posts on Imagine Learning. In this article that looks at 10 reasons we need social media has a summary of each point alongside a link to a teacher reflection on the point as well as more links to further articles related to the point.
Yesterday’s #edchat topic on Twitter asked how social media and mobile learning devices could improve productivity in schools. Educators from around the world chimed in to share their own social media success stories and to advocate for its use in today’s education system. Though some may still have concerns over accessibility and feasibility, most can agree: social media is here to stay.
Take a look at 10 reasons why we need social media in schools, along with some great ways to implement it effectively.
Whether we realise it or not gaming is fast becoming a vibrant part of online life. In a survey from Speak Up as reported in the JOURNAL,
About six out of 10 middle school students think the use of games would help them understand difficult concepts.
It’s fascinating then to check out this video from the New Scientist magazine, (there are a couple of other movies on this page), that look at the extent that games are becoming part of everydady life even if we normally wouldn’t recognise it as gaming.
Unfortunately you can’t access the articles associated with these videos unless you are a New Scientist subscriber. Chromorama however is a great example of how gaming is coming to daily life.
Using your Oyster Card and Bike Key, Chromaroma lets you play the city as you travel. It tells you stories, gives you points, and visualises your movements on an interactive map of London.
For another perspective on gaming, Michael Andersen in a Wired mag review writes on Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal. (if you’re interested in hearing more from Jane, check out her TED talk on Gaming can make a better world.)
If all this has got you thinking and you’re looking for some ideas related to gaming in education then have a look at the following;
