HGSET545

Strong claims (with no evidence) about games and learning

A good collection of digital teaching tools.

Hands Up! It's game on in the classroom Digital New Zealand report finds 7 out of 10 parents use computer and video games as an educational tool Auckland, 30 April 2012 - New Zealand parents are increasingly embracing computer and video games as an educational tool, according to the latest research commissioned by the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (iGEA).

I now know where the EMF Rater should live or at least get a link...

A good site that encourages kids to upload their artworks. They are encouraged by rewards. Parents can monitor their kids' portfolio using their dashboard and give comments. Instruction is kept simple on the site.

Thank you for sharing. I've signed up.

To be piloted in New York City schools to get parents more engaged

I would have loved this when I was in the classroom!!! Our principal used to make home visits, but some parents felt this was really intrusive (understandably); this sounds like a great easy & quick to implement intervention.

also mentions the sandbox summit and learning styles of young people

"These digital natives expect to share information on social media, collaborate, and create their own content." This sentence reminds me of the apparent contradiction of digital natives vs. digital divide. What happens to a student who doesn't have access to these types of tools and then is expected to collaborate and create at the same level? One more piece of evidence that schools need to be committed to 21st century skill development for all children.

"Identifying promising models for mixing online learning and face-to-face instruction Challenges in e-learning Building partnerships to increase virtual learning collaboration among districts Teaching a "flip model" of instruction with online lectures as homework"

This article addresses how to foster motivation in a child - including being interested in the child's interests, pinpoint the source of frustrations, encourage the child at every step, focus on the child's strengths, and take time to overcome the frustrations.

Beautiful article Jing Jing. Thanks for sharing. Too often we push children through "our" timelines and curriculum without bothering to consider their interest or their development level. This article is a nice reminder that some kids are on their own clock and page.

My reaction to this article was "aren't these five principles common sense? Why doesn't everybody follow them?". And I realized that I haven't followed them either. Not all of them. Not all the time. Seems to me that either as a parent bringing up a child or as a society tasked with shaping the next generation we usually know the right things to do, but don't do them.

'DU The Math' (http://www.duthemath.com/) is an educational game and this competition touts prizes and pop stars. Interestingly, the reporter asks important questions, such as : But is competition between students the best way for educational gaming to increase its penetration into formal K-12 education? Or would game makers be better served to focus gaming on competition between the student and him or herself, especially for players who are struggling to keep pace with class and feel left behind?

More help to sort out the wheat from the chaff.

As we get closer to the presidential election, organizations and individuals are once again appealing to officials for an education reform. Over the past few years there has been a push for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) programs. What about a push for language instruction?