Group items tagged

Here's some more stuff on technology and STEM, but as it pertains to professional development. The question is how does this program motivate teachers other than the extrinsic reward of professional development points???

twitter as a form of professional development

Lecture on engagement and motivation of creative professionals

Overview of what teachers are being offered as professional development for educational games

Taking focus to a whole new level! "While the equipment could have other uses for doctors, psychologists and other professionals working with the mind, developers are creating equipment that gamers can use to play with their minds." "The Neurosky Mindset includes a "Brainwave Visualizer" that lets you control on-screen shapes with your mind. A Math Trainer enables you to answer math questions with your mind. The company also has a MindHunter game in which you can fire a weapon by concentrating hard enough, or you can use the Mind Labyrinth where you travel by meditating through 52 levels of an ancient temple as your relax more and more. "

Twitter as a means of professional community

Professional athletes are using video games to study strategy and "preset" their brains for game time.

mobile technologies, handhelds, e-learning, m-learning, professional development, PD

relates to our tweeting as part of the blended learning community

http://www.thersa.org/events/rsaanimate/animate/rsa-animate-drive This RSA animate featuring Daniel Pink focuses on motivation. Although not Pink's thesis, to me it provides the explanation for why bonus pay to teachers (or students) for student achievement, particularly on tests is wrong-headed and damaging to educators and schools as professional environments in the long run. You can't pay people to care but you can organize school environments in which meaningful learning can be achieved. Teachers generally want to succeed and simply need a well-managed opportunity.

Thanks Uche for sharing this talk. I found Dan's insights interesting especially when he said that management is a technology that cannot lead to engagement. It struck me that it was a delicate balance between managing from the outside and developing self-management from inside.

Virtual Patient App that is being presented at the HGSE Social Innovation competition. It was developed at HMS and is described in the video as a "game" for patient diagnosis and treatment. I downloaded the app and am not so sure I consider it a "game" but found it to be a good tool at developing differential diagnoses and treatment strategies. It also says the app is applicable for med students, residents and attending physicians (in addition to other healthcare professionals), though I don't know if attending physicians would find it very useful.

A conference devoted to play (relevant to creative professionals in industries targeted at children). The key note speaker is Jesse Schell of Schell games. There's a link to a set of cards titled " The art of game design" that you can find using the search term "Schell"

An article about what we can learn from the Finish education reform - we need to raise the standards for entry into the teaching profession, and future teachers should have intensive professional and academic preparation. Finnish teachers are driven by a sense of intrinsic motivation, not by the hope of a bonus or the fear of being fired. Intrinsic motivation is also what they seek to instill in their students.

Clark Aldrich's "The Complete Guide to Simulations and Serious Games" is a good complement to Prensky's books on the subject. We require both in our "eLearning Games" course at UB. The instructor of that course directed my to these two resources.

This article is a bit snarky but it raises some worthwhile cautions around the buzz of tech in education, particularly Apple.

It is amazing to me that Apple and technology can take center stage in the education conversation without a word of professional development, best practices, learning outcomes... As I have stated before, I/we are an Apple family... but I am worried about the prospect that Apple's role in the textbook industry will eliminate other platforms and in-turn will limit access to many.