HGSET545

story of a third grade class in Chicago using a computer-based memory game to improve their "fluid intelligence." article focuses on the work of Susanne Jaeggi and Martin Buschkuehl of the University of Maryland

Cute story about a renewed interest in table hockey. One quote: "In videogames, there is no humanity."

How a teacher incorporates educational technology into his KIPP classroom.

I met this woman this morning and her story made me think of a project based curriculum design. She created her own major in college around issues of equity in communities around the world. She combined that with an interest in ecological sustainability and she proceeded into a career with the question: How are all of these things related and how can we approach social issues with systemic interventions? Her work in New Bedford is as promising as initiatives like Geoffrey Canada's.

One Laptop per Child- results are still unconvincing.

An alternative to free online courses for all (a la Coursera/Udemy/Udacity), Minerva plans to charge ~$20,000 in tuition for an Ivy League - equivalent education. Anyone else think this is a stretch?

The new "open university" collaboration between Princeton, Stanford, UMich and Penn.

They have some interesting offerings with some impressive people!

I tried taking a course on there, and noticed that 1) offerings are very limited and 2) you have to wait until the course officially "starts", just like an in-person class. I think there are 3 starting April 23rd and all the rest are either this summer, next fall, or "TBA"...I thought the whole idea is that you could take them anytime!

resource for history teachers.

A very good meditation on how technology is changing who we are -- not all for the better.

This article talks about a participatory design initiative with undergraduates at Utah State University to determine how higher education could be transformed into a more engaging and cohesive experience. "What if we put students in the driver's seat of a new kind of R&D to transform higher education? One that provided a platform for engaging students more fully in a real world effort that also involved faculty, administrators, support services and more?"

Teacher David Suarez has developed a three-tiered approach to teaching math in which student choose how much of a challenge they want in class. Especially interesting because it's one of the first time I've seen a classroom teacher discussing how they support and manage a differentiated classroom.

I came upon this resource last December and I agree that this is a well documented effort for how to differentiate and create commitment. I have encouraged as many teachers as possible to try it out since I don't have a class right now to practice with it. It has so many elements from our readings and the video of his classes is an excellent way to help teachers understand what differentiation looks like in practice. Thanks for sharing.

Discusses the need for value-added assessment of learning effectiveness in college.

The trial of Anders Behring Breivik (Norway's alleged mass killer) is reintroducing the hot topic of violent video games.

The American School Counselor Association has released a guide to help school counselors make sense of the Facebook platform and its on-campus impact. In thinking about technology and EMF, we have yet to discuss cyberwellness issues. Presumably, one's engagement would be decreased if one felt unsafe.

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."