HGSET545

One of the most powerful classroom management strategies available to teachers is the provision of learning activities which actively engage students during the lesson. When students arrive at the lesson in a motivated state, eager to take part -- and then apply themselves to a given task - there is far less likelihood that their behaviour will become a problem. Like most teachers, you have probably tried a wide range of student engagement and motivation strategies to deal with disruptive students but if you are looking for a reliable SYSTEM which has been proven to raise motivation and engagement levels among the most uninterested, dispassionate learners, you'll love this video series. In this first video, Rob Plevin from Behaviour Needs Ltd explains two reasons WHY it is important to engage your students during lessons. There are hidden benefits to ensuring your students are motivated and engaged during learning activities -- as the video shows.

In light of Chris' closing comments today...

Schell's talk ends with a simple but important question. How can we design games to not only motivate us in life but to help us be better people?

Hi Maria! Thanks for this posting! It was really interesting to read. I totally agree--it's important to give our girls the same praises that we give our boys in the classroom so that they both feel empowered and capable. This is also an interesting site to check out--- http://www.forbes.com/sites/deniserestauri/2013/05/01/why-the-ripple-effect-for-change-starts-with-educating-girls/

Continuing the discussion of how to make online learning count towards actual degree credits, the ACE accreditation service I described yesterday provides colleges and universities the means to judge whether a course taken by one institution (or taken online) is equivalent to a course taken locally.

I agree that some students may be more musically inclined but will integrating music into all aspects of the curriculum, as the article suggests, really help students learn?

Thanks for sharing Sandra. I think it depends on how well the teacher designs the activity. It also depends on how the music is used. For example, music in a game is really important, but it's in the background. So the player doesn't really pay attention to it, until it's turned off. I think music can really help us learn, but it depends on the context in which it's used.

Thanks for this link, Matthew, and for the comment on it, Sandra! I think that music is a great avenue for learning. From personal experience, I seem to study better and with more focus and future recollection when music is playing in the background. It would be great to see if music truly does have a connection with the acquisition and recollection of knowledge.

this is a great resource. thanks!!

This website offers numerous serious games that claim to offer serious training for various businesses.

On Novemeber 27, Luke Crane asked why there are so few "lady game creators?" The hashtag #1Reasonwhy exploded on twitter. Now folks are tweeting en masse about gender injustices in the game industry. In this post from Forbes contributor Carol Pinchefsky, I learned that 88 percent of the game industry's employees [...]

This op-ed reminded me of the Warschauer and Matuchniak article and our 4/15 discussion of equity and access.

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.

A nice video presentation of practical strategies to engage students