Group items tagged

"When you attempt to distribute mathematics through any of these media, it changes the definition of mathematics... at this moment in history, computers are not a natural working medium for mathematics."

DigiGirlz is an event that promotes STEM careers for middle school girls, in which students experimented with Microsoft Kodu and robotics.

An article discussing various attempts at providing therapy for anxiety through computer programs and phone apps. One of the research projects targeting social anxiety is currently being conducted at the McNally Lab here at Harvard. The findings are still a little murky but I think it's a great start to providing education about and strategies for treating mental health issues to a broader audience- especially to those who otherwise have very limited or no access to help.

Thank you for sharing this, Kate. I'm a little skeptical about 1) the long-term effectiveness of this technology, 2) the transferability of learning/conditioning, and 3) the subtle implications of "therapist-free" therapy. The debate is similar to when educational technology was first heralded to be able to replace teachers and classrooms, when in fact technology is best supplemented by in-person guidance. It is a fascinating area of research and development though, and I look forward to seeing how this type of therapy can transform standard practice.

An article about reasons that we shouldn't limit kids' computer play, or their total daily "screen time".

This ten-minute video uses the protein-folding game FoldIt and another crowdsourced science game called EteRNA as examples. Speaker Adrien Treuille (from CMU) talks about rewards in these types of crowdsourcing games starting around 5:50. He envisions scientific discovery, software development, product design, and societal change being "solved" in the future through a platform that allows for finding, engaging, and paying people at a very individual level: "Find Me, Engage Me, Pay Me."

If everyone is learning to write code for the internet, will we see an explosion of new sites, apps, and even games?

More "ipads in education." There is also a point in her about customization for student needs which relates to UDL.

Children with autism spectrum disorders enjoy screen time, underscoring an opportunity to use interactive devices to encourage social learning. Despite how much children who have autism enjoy the stimulation of a computer or mobile device, few engage in social media pursuits, such as emailing or chatting, researchers found.

A brief interview with L. Rafael Reif, MIT's provost, and Anant Agarwal, director of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory about MITx, a new/developing online certificate program. Interesting how much they can not anticipate how/what this will impact (re: education, jobs, higher ed market).

This article details how a charter school ("Rocketship education") is using computer games based on drill to improve test scores. Assessment procedures in place is obviously a very important driver for such initiatives.

By reading your linked article I came across this post about Carol Dweck's Brainology work and what it says about praise in schools: http://mindshift.kqed.org/2012/02/discovering-how-to-learn-smarter/#more-18821. Thanks, Pradeep!

Thanks for the link to the brainology article, Stephanie! So, instead of saying "You are so smart", can we point out to the students how they are getting 'smarter'? That way they will get the notion of growth.

Big state investment in online (old school) testing- new ways to test old models.

The University of Colorado Boulder exceeded its own researchers' expectations with its iDREAMS Scalable Game Design Summer Institute, and that success has been rewarded with a new $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation. CU-Boulder researchers are tracking how video game design engages students in computational thinking and STEM simulation design.

When you design a didgital product, it pays to look ahead and see what is coming around the corner.

Even though the products of this company have been ranked highly as an education app, I am unable to see how this game is any different from the drill type computer games that have been around for ages. Am I missing something ? I think there is a need for both clear guidelines and regulation before a product can be claimed to have educational value.

This NRC book is freely available as a pdf.

Pradeep, thanks for sharing this resource.

Emotion-sensing computer software that responds to students' cognitive and emotional states, including frustration and boredom. This tool seems to address all the issues we've been talking about in T545! Could this be the tool that replaces teachers?!

Article discusses a MIT/Columbia project currently underway that uses AR systems to assist Marines during difficult repairs to weapons systems and vehicles. The test found that mechanics could perform the repairs in half the time when using AR assistance versus the more traditional text-based repair manual. I would be very interested in seeing how more AR in classroom seetings in physics and math might accelerate learning.