Video Games in the Classroom

“What if, instead of seeing school the way we’ve known it, we saw it for what our children dreamed it might be: a big, delicious video game?” – Sara Corbett, The New York Times

The next issue of The New York Times Magazine features a story on video games in the classroom and the role that games are playing or can play in the learning experience.

It seems like the discussion of games, their educational potential, and their role in how students can learn and how educators can educate keeps swinging back and forth.  This new article touches upon many of the same points of concern and questions that have frequently been considered when the idea of introducing games into curriculum come about.

Certainly, elements of gameplay can present numerous learning opportunities – perhaps the very notion of interactivity and engagement suggest an investment by the individual, which invariably will lend itself to some sort of learning or enhancement of a skill or understanding.  However, it seems that when you’re trying to ‘justify’ the educational value of games (and then there’s the whole argument of the kinds of games you’re talking about, how many people are involved, etc.), you can almost always come up with something.  You’re learning time management skills, developing negotiation tactics, offering opportunities to practice and build on knowledge of a content area (think: war games, serious games, simulations, so forth).

I’m not sure there is a right or wrong answer to whether or not video games should (and I use ‘should’ loosely) brought into the classroom.  However, many of today’s students engage, interact, and participate in such dynamic, interactive experiences through game-playing environments, it might make sense to bring some elements of games (or in this article’s focus, video games) to the overall learning process and see how it fits into institutions’ and society’s learning goals for today’s students.

Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/magazine/19video-t.html?pagewanted=2&hp

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Published:
September 15, 2010 – 1:30 pm
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The Future of Healthcare

Interesting article about how data and technology can impact and influence healthcare: How Data Will Impact the Future of Healthcare (Infographic)

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August 6, 2010 – 6:09 pm
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New Project: Tiffany Lee Photography

I recently designed and developed a portfolio website for a friend of mine who also happens to be a very talented, up-and-coming special events photographer.   The final design of this site is very clean and modern-looking, drawing focus on the photography rather than the site design itself.  It’s a departure from earlier design concepts and the previous site layout.

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July 20, 2010 – 8:33 am
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DIY Mobile App Development

More news in the mobile tech world – Google is now opening up the Android app development platform: App Inventor.

Some info: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/technology/12google.html?ref=technology

Besides the obvious – competition with the world of iPhone apps – it’s definitely an interesting thing to note about opening up app development to the masses, promoting active engagement and involvement from end users, and indicating just how ingrained mobile tech, namely our phones, have become in our every day lives.

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July 12, 2010 – 8:18 am
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Current Trends for the Internet

What’s the latest trends in the Internet?

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/5_key_trends_of_2010_half-year_report_for_the_web.php

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July 6, 2010 – 8:55 am
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A More Open LMS

In the world of learning management systems, it seems that Google is joining the bandwagon with cloudcourse.

The LMS space is filled with so many proprietary systems that cost and the risk of over-specializing may be impede and/or limit many organizations from really engaging and participating in an organized approach for their learning goals.  I’ve worked a little bit with other learning management systems, namely, Moodle, and it’ll be interesting to see how the space of more open-source systems may impact on how we manage and approach educational needs from a system’s perspective.

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June 27, 2010 – 11:11 am
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Digital Media Solutions for the Non-profit Sector – A Prologue

Not too long ago, I transitioned into the world of non-profits.  Recently joining an organization to help support and manage the transition towards upgrading its online presence, updating its digital media solutions to showcase and highlight its projects and research, and providing a more integrated network to meet its many operational, communication, and strategic needs, has introduced me to an area of technology that is focused on the non-profit world.

How one approaches not only their web design, but also how they reach out to their target audience (or constituents) is very different.  A non-profit’s brand is closely intertwined with its identity, and in turn, its identity – what it does, what it stands for and represents, what it creates and produces, what it defends – speak directly to a certain group of individuals.  And it is these individuals who will provide the kinds of brand-building, presence-developing, and ultimately, fund-raising, that most, if not all non-profits depend on.

The ownership of ones’ brand is extremely important, but in some respects, I find that the need to truly own one’s identity, to truly identify what one actually does and specifically, provides and offers, is of particular significant to a non-profit organization.

Certainly, it is increasingly easier and cheaper to spread the world about non-profits.  The lack of resources (both personnel and monetary) are no longer barriers that are insurmountable.  Twitter and its kind (twitpic)

An example of using YouTube to support non-profits (it’s a dated video, but I think still relevant):


I’ll elaborate more about how digital media (and all its fun, related aspects such as online marketing and campaigns, community building, etc.) come into play as non-profits seek to expand their networks, fundraising capabilities, and brand presence.  For the time being, I’ve listed some information here that could be a helpful start.

Useful links:

NTEN: Nonprofit Technology Network

Wild Apricot: a non-profit technology blog

Big Duck: communications for non-profits blog

Mobile Active: global network of non-profits applying mobile tech to serve their needs (this is definitely something I’m very interested in exploring)

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Published:
June 10, 2010 – 9:32 pm
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IBM’s CityOne Game

An example of a serious game that IBM is developing: CityOne.

It’s supposed to be similar a game similar to Sim City, wherein players will need to confront the various energy, infrastructure, economy, and social issues that cities encounter every day.

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Published:
May 3, 2010 – 8:29 pm
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Online Learning in Higher Ed

It doesn’t surprise me that universities and other institutions of higher education are pursuing strategies and projects to bring the courses, curriculum, and programs from their on-campus settings to the Internet.  As someone who has engaged in on-line learning – taking credited courses in topics such as cognition and ethics in educational technology – I’m not surprised by this topic, but it is certainly interested to see not only how and where online learning stand in higher ed, but that may mean for other areas of learning (e.g. corporate training).

Perhaps, though, it challenges some current perceptions of higher education (and education, in general) and the sorts of practices that both learners and instructors/teachers/other educational professionals engage and participate.  I remember the perplexity and confusion that rose from M.I.T.’s announcement of their Open CourseWare project.  The thought of posting curriculum and courses for free, enabling individuals from all over the world to access content and information from such a prestigious and arguably, exclusive, institution – what does that mean?  Would people even bother to pay and physically attend a college anymore?  Obviously, this project has not made M.I.T. seem any less desirable for thousands of prospective students each year, but it does bring up some interesting considerations.

Still, how does the Internet and open learning impact, influence, and inform the kinds of ideas we have on learning, information and knowledge acquisition, and content creation?  In a broader, perhaps more far-reaching scale, how does this entire process impact the lives and livelihoods from social and economic perspective?  I’m only in the beginning of this conversation, but I welcome the opportunity to probe further at how the changes in the educational arena will, can, and are currently impacting our world.

Additional info: here

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Published:
April 18, 2010 – 10:37 am
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Today’s children and technology

A recent article describing how today’s children, having been immersed so deeply with an environment filled with incredible advancements in technology, brings to mind memories of my own childhood experiences of play.  Surrounded by influences of environment, education, and parental guidance, paired with a child’s individual personality and interests, I am reminded of the sort of spirited pursuits of adventure of yesteryear.  There was this inventive curiosity and carefree exploration that seemed to percolate through childhood.  Think about how almost anything could be turned into a toy.  Think about the look of complete wonder on a child’s face when they see a colorful object, a stuffed animal, heck, even a pencil.

Learning the English alphabet with today's technologies

There’s been research probing the role of technology among today’s children and young adults.  What does it mean to have grown up during a time where there was always a cell phone and the Internet?  Moreover, how has the inclusion and use these technologies and games, as well, inform the practices, actions, thought processes, and assumptions that both children and adults make?

At some point, it stopped.  Suddenly, there was all this so-called grown-up concern of things called feasibility, practicality, marketability, and profitability.  How do we address all those things, but still come up with innovative products, tools, and services that achieve these market and profit-driven goals while simultaneously embracing a sense of marvel and open possibility.

I’m reminded of lab experiments conducted during physics classes that involved working with slinkies and using plastic toys and coins (purchased at one of those 99 cent stores) as props for constructing projects.  In graduate school, non-digital game prototypes developed in game design classes stretched my imagination how to use seemingly rudimentary and ordinary items to create and simulate a play experience.  Perhaps as our society continues its rapid and constant transformation and evolution, making use of these sorts of imaginative and creative processes that we seem to situate only in childhood, could play a larger role in how we think about technology – its function and role – in our lives.

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Published:
April 8, 2010 – 10:29 am
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