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Stephanie Fitzgerald

My Life as a Night Elf Priest: An Anthropological Account of World of Warcraft | digita... - 1 views

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    Here is an ethnographer's in-depth look into World of Warcraft. From this site you can read the full book online, read an interview with the author, or listen to a podcast. The author "introduces us to her research strategy and the history, structure, and culture of Warcraft; argues for applying activity theory and theories of aesthetic experience to the study of gaming and play; and educates us on issues of gender, culture, and addiction as part of the play experience."
Jerald Cole

Engagement Theory: "Greg Kearsley & Ben Shneiderman" - 1 views

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    This is an interesting piece by Ben Shneiderman, the reigning authority on graphical user-interface design, and Greg Kearsley, an authority on distance education.
Xavier Rozas

Man uses Facebook for suicide note - 0 views

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    This SOB used Facebook to explain his reasons for taking his son's and his own life. Make no mistake this guy has some serious issues. Still, it is noteworthy that Facebook and other social media outlets (youtube, flickr) have been used by the public and authorities to intervene and prosecute people that broadcast their criminal actions and intent. Think about it, George Orwell's vision of the future had the authorities constantly policing and monitoring citezens, but this has not been the case. Instead, we the people, ourselves are the ones monitoring each other via ubiquitous content creation and social media sharing.
Brandon Pousley

The IRL Fetish - 0 views

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    An intriguing essay calling for an end to the demarcation between online (digital) and offline (face-to-face). This author argues that the two do not exist in a vacuum, but rather are enmeshed completely in our lives, such that online activity, used appropriately, should not detract from offline use, but rather give it meaning.
Jing Jing Tan

iPhones, Games and the Addictive Experience | Psychology Today - 0 views

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    The author talks about society's addiction to "stupid" mini-games (e.g. Angry Birds), which have minimal learning objectives but help us compartmentalize our lives.
Leslie Lieman

For Women to Think Mathematically, Colleges Should Think Creatively - Commentary - The ... - 2 views

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    Also as a follow-up to our conversation on Monday. Although more women are in STEM careers, there is still a lag in those considered "hard sciences." Most people look at mathematics as the core difference, these authors look at creativity. "For instance, three factors that are widely accepted as being positively correlated with creativity are playfulness, curiosity, and willingness to take risks. Studies have found that boys and men are generally more playful than girls and women, and are more curious and more willing to take risks, which could help explain why men are more creatively productive than women in general, and in particular, in the hard sciences."
Ryan Brown

Why You Should Not Buy Your Child an iPad | PCWorld - 0 views

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    This author makes arguments against buying iPads for children. At one point he states, "iPad isolation can lead to poor social skills at a time when kids are just learning how to interact with each other."
Leslie Lieman

Did Anyone Ask the Students?, Part 2 - Next - The Chronicle of Higher Education - 0 views

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    Following increasing amount of disruptive technologies in Higher Ed, and announcement of MIT/Harvard EdX platform, author claims to check in with students. Does not really live up to the title (as he does not write enough about conversations with students), but it is a question that does need to be asked. Here is part one of "Did Anyone Ask the Students?" http://chronicle.com/blogs/next/2012/05/01/did-anyone-ask-the-students-part-i/
Jerald Cole

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi & the Pursuit of Happiness - 3 views

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    Nice summary of Csikszentmihalyi on flow with parallels in Asian philosophy. Contains video link to his TED conference presentation. This site is maintained by M. K. Setton, an authority on eastern philosophy and religion.
Ryan Brown

Building An App Is The New 'Starting A Band' - 0 views

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    Rather interesting (and humorous) blog post on the "rockstar" motivation to create Apps. According to the author, "Back then peoples heroes were the likes of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant or Bob Dylan. Today it's Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, or Reid Hoffman. An entirely different breed." Maybe he's right?
Jing Jing Tan

Welcome to Flow in Games - 0 views

  • In order to design a game for broader audiences, the in-game experience can’t be linear and static. Instead, it needs to offer a wide coverage of potential experiences to fit in different players’ Flow Zones
  • To expand a game's Flow Zone coverage, the design needs to offer a wide variety of gameplay experiences. From extremely simple tasks to complex problem solving, different players should always be able to find the right amount of challenges to engage during the Flow experience.
  • Once a network of choices is applied, the Flow experience is very much customizable by the players. If they start feeling bored, they can choose to play harder, vice versa.
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  • Expand your game’s Flow coverage by including a wide spectrum of gameplay with different difficulties and flavors Create an Player-oriented Active DDA system to allow different players to play in their own paces Embed DDA choices into the core gameplay mechanics and let player make their choices through play
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    This article examines how to best create flow experiences in video games. The author argues for 1) including a variety of gameplay activities, 2) allowing players to play at their own paces, and 3) letting players make choices.
Jerald Cole

Marc Prensky - 1 views

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    Marc Prensky, gaming guru. Author of a popular set of books on the subject.
Jing Jing Tan

Motivating Students by Using Small Incentives | Psychology Today - 1 views

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    This author advocates for using pop quizzes to motivate studying. I disagree with his method, but it's still good to see his side of the argument.
Leslie Lieman

The trouble with Khan Academy - The Chronicle of Higher Education - 1 views

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    What Khan Academy is... and what it is not. The author reminds us that Khan Academy is a resource, not a teacher.
Chris McEnroe

Study touts benefits of a 'wired' classroom - 1 views

  •  Concordia University researchers set out to answer a "big picture" question: Does computer technology have a positive overall effect on learning in the classroom? File photo.Photograph by: CHARLES PLATIAU , ReutersMONTREAL — Concordia University researchers set out to answer a "big picture" question: Does computer technology have a positive overall effect on learning in the classroom?"There have been lots of arguments, both pro and con, regarding this issue, (such as) is it worth the investment?" said professor Richard Schmid, chairman of the education department at the Montreal-based Concordia.Their literature review involved looking at thousands of studies and comparing achievement in classrooms that used computer technology with those that used little or none.The 40-year retrospective study, published in the Review of Educational Research journal, concluded that classrooms where computer technology was used to support teaching had a "small to moderate positive" effect on learning and attitude.If an administrator must make a decision "should we invest in this? The answer is yes," said Schmid, the study's co-author.The literature shows that more recent, sophisticated applications of the technology produce greater positive gains than older
  • f an administrator must make a decision "should we invest in this? The answer is yes," said Schmid, the study's co-author.The literature shows that more recent, sophisticated applications of the technology produce greater positive gains than older applications, he sai
  • under what circumstances positive effects are observed
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  • he technology is used solely as a content provider — for example, if iPads are used as alternatives to books — then there won't be any positive change,
  • Where technology does have a positive impact is when it actively engages students, when it's used as a communication tool, when it's used for things like simulations or games that enable students to actively manipulate the environment
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    Report on a study whose findings support not just technology in the classroom as a wise investment, but support it only if used in particular ways.
Meghan Young

Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World - 1 views

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    Author Jane McGonigal will be speaking this Tuesday at 7:00pm at the Harvard Book Store (1256 Mass Ave.) If you can't make the program the store manager said that they would post a video of her talk on their website shortly after the talk.
Kim Frumin

Hardware makes a comeback - 0 views

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    This article provides a great overview of the new technologies profiled at SXSW and makes the case that it's now cheaper than ever before to bring prototypes to market. The author notes, "The dropping costs of designing and building inventive new hardware products has prompted a wave of creativity and innovation that echoes the software boom a decade or two ago in Silicon Valley." Makes me wonder... what's next?
Matthew Ong

Online Gaming - Motivational in many ways - 0 views

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    This author believes that games can be the basis of learning and explores various ways that games promote thinking and motivation.
Maurice Joyce

The Plusses and Pitfalls of Teaching Online - 2 views

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    Interesting look at MOOCs
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    I like how the author provides honest feedback about how difficult it is for the teacher to deliver courses online. It democratizes education and allows for huge scaling, but it requires Intense preparation, lack of immediate feedback from students, lack of immersive environment for students.
Matthew Ong

How can games contain and convey values? - 0 views

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    Interesting article about games and values. In the middle, the author suggests that for game designers, it is important to get people who aren't like them to play the game. This would make for a more inclusive game.
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