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Chris McEnroe

µTorrent 3.0 - µTorrent - a (very) tiny BitTorrent client - 2 views

www.utorrent.com/ut3

shared by Chris McEnroe on 29 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • Chris McEnroe on 29 Oct 11
     
    Does anyone have any experience with this tool. It looks like a very interesting example of a Intelligent Web Filtering. Wow! Good side is that this is like Tivo for the web. Bad side is that you better have nothing else to do but look at the web. Also an interesting take on Personal Learning Networks.
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Bharat Battu on 30 Oct 11
     
    I am familiar with BitTorrent, and it's interesting Chris that you came about it excited for its uses in education. But have you read or heard about the controversy surrounding it? In a nutshell- BitTorrent is a technology that allows large collections of files and data to be shared across the internet in a decentralized, peer-to-peer manner. A person who has the original files decides to share them via BitTorrent, so others can download from him/her. But as the others begin downloading the files, they also start sharing the pieces they've downloaded with the ever-growing set of new users asking for the file. BitTorrent works like a growing web- in order to download files shared via BitTorrent - you have to share the pieces you get with others. More downloaders = more uploaders as well, ensuring popular files will always be accessible. The benefits - this is cheap and decentralized, no need to pay to host the files on the web. The users who have the file are sharing the file from their own computers with others requesting it. And this can be permanent - if you host a BitTorrent to share a file, you have that sharing channel last forever (not relying on external services that cost $ or can be shut down).
  • Bharat Battu on 30 Oct 11
     
    BitTorrent is a really powerful technology that allows large amounts of files and data to be shared quickly with a limitless number of people. It's scalability at no cost. Could be a great tool for educators to share content across the globe in a hassle-free way. Even the folks at Khan Academy are excited to use it: from: http://blog.vipeers.com/vipeers/2008/10/bittorrent-is-a.html "For Khan Academy, BitTorrent was a natural extension for it stated mission of "a world-class education for anyone anywhere," Sal Khan tells Fast Company. Kahn was excited for activist educators to be able to download the Academy's entire portforlio, burn it on a CD, and distribute it to rural or underdeveloped areas otherwise unable to access it without a broadband connection. "I think the single most fun thing about BitTorrent," Khan adds, "is this content will never die. A nuclear bomb could hit our offices tomorrow and could take down our servers, but its going to sitting somewhere in the world on somebody's server." He added, "We don't care about monetizing the content; we just care that it gets used."
  • Bharat Battu on 30 Oct 11
     
    But despite the prospects of BitTorrent being a great technology to allow sharing of digital content freely, to allow downloading of vast amounts of data that can then be stored offline and shared with anyone... the rest of the article (http://blog.vipeers.com/vipeers/2008/10/bittorrent-is-a.html) mentions that Google was unhappy with Khan's decision to use BitTorrent. Google actually blacklists BitTorrent content from its searches, and so is actually blacklisting Khan Academy content, despite being a recent financial backer of Khan. Why? This is the controversy: BitTorrent's power to share digital content in a decentralized way, where the more popular a file is, the faster it'll spread-- has led it to become the most popular method of digital piracy out there today. This has quickly become the most common use of BitTorrent, far exceeding the sharing of legitimate digital content. It's become a nightmare for the movie, music, software, and video gaming industries. A summary of the legal issues surrounding BitTorrent: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_issues_with_BitTorrent
  • Chris McEnroe on 30 Oct 11
     
    Hey Bharat, I am so glad I asked. I had no idea. Very interesting. New dimension to the concept of free knowledge vs. intellectual property. I think the kids at my school are using this to share music. I'll have to check it out. I find this conflict- "Google actually blacklists BitTorrent content from its searches, and so is actually blacklisting Khan Academy content, despite being a recent financial backer of Khan. " so intriguing. At first glance it looked to me like a vision of networked learning that was aimed at an authentic task with authentic participants (as portrayed by actors :).
Uche Amaechi

BYOD - Worst Idea of the 21st Century? : Stager-to-Go - 7 views

stager.tv/blog

technology Emerging Technology T561

shared by Uche Amaechi on 09 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • Allison Browne on 10 Oct 11
     
    Uche, you keep posting stuff I have a problem with- OK I understand that BYOD policies may not be so great but I really believe that familes should shoulder some of the costs for hardware since degredation is such a problem. The schools can have agreements with vendors to provide certain laptops or tablets for a certain price point and they can design their systems to support these items. Parents are expected to purchase backpacks, binders, and school supplies. When parents can't provide these back-to-school supplies, schools cover it. The same should be for computers. Speaking as a middle class parent (refer to above article) I believe this is an important investment in our schools so that they can focus on hardware support and software implementation/ integration.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Bridget Binstock on 10 Oct 11
     
    @Allison and Uche - I am torn. While I initially thought BYOD was a good idea so that schools would have to stop "blaming" their fiscal woes on their inability to integrate emerging technologies into the curriculum, I now have some appreciation with points from this article - especially around "false equivalences" and "enshrining inequities" in light of my own children's "bring your own electronic device" day that took place two weeks ago. As a school wide reward for meeting their Accelerated Reading goal, all students were told they could bring an electronic device to school to "play" with on Friday afternoon. This prompted my kids to call me (Skype) on Thursday night and ask me if I could buy them a DS or a SmartPhone that NIGHT so that they could bring either of those devices to school for the celebration. Now mind you, my kids have access to lap tops, iPad, Smart Phones, Wii games, GameBoy, iPods, Flip camera, digital camera, etc - albeit not their OWN - but still access to them for use (when Mom and Dad are not using them). But apparently, of the devices left that Mom and Dad weren't using, none of them were "cool" enough for this event. That got me wondering if BYOD might have the same effect on our learners making those who don't have the latest and greatest feel bad or less adequate then their friends or classmates who could bring something they deemed as "better?" Allison, your point seems to be that requiring parents to cover the expense of a digital device as a requirement for school is not a bad idea, but I think you are referring to expecting the SAME device to be purchased and used, not myriad devices with various capabilities, features and functions - am I understanding you correctly? And if we did try to mandate parental supply of digital devices, would we have a different kind of fight on our hands because, as consumers, parents might have their own biases around what they deem is the best device of all (not just PC vs MAC or iOS vs Android, but sma
  • Allison Browne on 10 Oct 11
     
    I still believe that a system properly designed could mitigate some of your concerns. In reality, schools can not support any device that a student brings in. They are capable of supporting a certain number and if they build relationships with the vendors to sell those devices that the school is capable of supporting then families will be aware that the school will offer the best deal on the items that are compatible. Every year the school recommends items for back to school supplies. If the laptop could replace all of the binders it might be worth it. There are many factors to consider but the biggest obstacle is that schools maintain such old equipment because of their budget woes. Even when we can purchase the latest and greatest software, the computers can't run it.
  • Erin Sisk on 12 Oct 11
     
    What a great debate you guys are having! One point worth considering is that typically the parents are responsible for purchasing the supplies, while the school is responsible for providing the content (textbooks, workbooks, handouts, worksheets, videos, etc). In the near future these devices may also be the primary sources of content, replacing textbooks altogether. I would hope perhaps funding for textbooks could be transferred to funding for these devices. I would also hope that the price of these devices drops significantly (is the $35 tablet in our future?). Then of course the question of who pays is less important. In my job producing educational video for publishing companies, I spend way too much time dealing with various formats and compatibility problems with browsers, so I'd love to see a future where this becomes more standardized.
Maung Nyeu

Apple Woos Educators With Trips to Silicon Valley - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...h-trips-to-silicon-valley.html

online learning technology education learning

shared by Maung Nyeu on 05 Nov 11 - No Cached
  • Maung Nyeu on 05 Nov 11
     
    After School officias from Little Falls, Minn., visited Apple HQ, they decided to spend $1.2m on 1700 iPads. Late Mr. Jobs in an interview with Wired mangazine said, "what's wrong with education cannot be fixed with technology." "Mr. Jobs blamed teachers' unions for the decline in education." Walter Issacson, the biographer of Steve Jobs, writes Bill Gates and Steve Jobs "agreed that computers had, so far, made surprisingly little impact on schools - far less than on other realms of society such as media and medicine and law."
Bharat Battu

Hands On: India's $35 Aakash Android tablet lands in America (exclusive) | VentureBeat - 2 views

venturebeat.com/...akash-android-tablet-exclusive

mobile tablet low-cost education

shared by Bharat Battu on 30 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • Bharat Battu on 30 Oct 11
     
    A hands-on report with the $35 tablet (Aakash). Interested that they call it a "leap frog" technology, in that it's a modern technology brought into a society that didn't have related legacy technologies to begin with. Relates to our class discussion of 'disruptive technologies'- if a group is starting with nothing at all, the bar can initially be set very low and it's still better than nothing. From there, the only direction to go is up (improvement). The article was also updated with a detailed use report w/ video: http://venturebeat.com/2011/10/28/aakash-35-android-tablet/
Bharat Battu

What Would You Pay for a Great Educational App? | MindShift - 1 views

mindshift.kqed.org/...ay-for-a-great-educational-app

mobile apps pricing education subscriptions digital content

shared by Bharat Battu on 30 Nov 11 - No Cached
  • Bharat Battu on 30 Nov 11
     
    full disclosure: classmate Alex Schoenfeld first shared this with the us in the TIE facebook group :). But it brings an interesting trend in the adoption and pricing of mobile apps: Article outlining what lots of us know when it comes to moblie apps and pricing - free, $1, and $2 are the price-points that sell, and allow us to try out an app with minimal regret. But with the rise of more and more high-quailty, high-profile, and high-budget educatioanl apps, will the pricing structure change? Will parents and educators be willing to spend the prices of traditional computer software ($50 or more?) for really great mobile apps? The article brings up an interesting model that seems to already be coming to life looking at how apps are being sold and updated lately: "Donahoo and Russell propose there's a better way: subscriptions and content expansion packs.  Launchpad Toys follows the latter tact. The initial price the Toontastic app for $3 (though it's currently free). Users can use that fully functioning app, or choose to add additional characters and themes with $.99 expansion packs. This way, they contend, costs are controlled; it's cheap for parents and children to evaluate an app, and the model encourages regular updates."
Ayelet R

App helps special students with Asperger's | CJOnline.com - 1 views

cjonline.com/...rgers-syndrome-adjust-socially

app technology social disabilities Asperger's

shared by Ayelet R on 06 Nov 11 - No Cached
  • Ayelet R on 06 Nov 11
     
    This app is designed to help students with Asperger's in a variety of ways. I'd be curious to hear from anyone who has worked with students with Asperger's if they think this kind of thing is helpful.
David Chen

Official Google Blog: Transparency, choice and control - now complete with a Dashboard! - 0 views

googleblog.blogspot.com/...cy-choice-and-control-now.html

google privacy technology

shared by David Chen on 05 Nov 09 - Cached
  • David Chen on 05 Nov 09
     
    Now you can see exactly how much information Google has on you with the launch of Google Dashboard - "Today, we are excited to announce the launch of Google Dashboard. Have you ever wondered what data is stored with your Google Account? The Google Dashboard offers a simple view into the data associated with your account - easily and concisely in one location."
Malik Hussain

ZaidLearn: The Autism Revolution: Chronic, Persistent & Changeable Features (Martha Heb... - 0 views

zaidlearn.blogspot.com/...autism-revolution-chronic.html

Autism BlogStyle

shared by Malik Hussain on 13 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Malik Hussain on 13 Oct 12
     
    I have found Zaid's blog postings to be very appealing visually (with good use of colors) and to the point (with higher signal to noise ratio). Here is an example of a "1, 2, 3" style posting on the important topic of Autism with Dr. Martha Hebert (a prominent Harvard Medical School researcher and clinician).
James Glanville

Auburn School Department - Home - 1 views

www.auburnschl.edu/...default.php

Emerging Technology educational_technology t561

shared by James Glanville on 18 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • James Glanville on 18 Feb 12
     
    Interesting report from Main on an iPad Kindergarten pilot.  A study in collaboration with Boston College showed evidence of increased kindergarten literacy scores compared with a control group of Kindergartens with traditional instruction.
Cameron Paterson

Pedagogical enhancement of open learning - 1 views

www.irrodl.org/...1634

t561 open

shared by Cameron Paterson on 21 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Cameron Paterson on 21 Oct 10
     
    A small but very pertinent article in the recent edition of the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL) by Seth Gurell, Yu-Chun Kuo and Andrew Walker called The Pedagogical Enhancement of Open Education: An Examination of Problem-Based Learning1 is a real gem. The Pedagogical Enhancement of Open Education is a gem because it is focussed on pedagogy and online open learning. Gurell et al argue from a review of the literature and practical experience that problem based learning can work well with online open education. For example, traditional problem-based learning requires the learner to find and review resources which are usually print based materials such as books, journals, newspapers and so on, many of which take time to locate and access. However, using problem-based online learning using open education resources can remove much of the distraction of finding resources and enable greater attention to the learning task. Although problem-based learning (PBL) may not be suitable for all types of learning, a review of the research does indicate that students perform equally well using PBL as they do in traditional learning. Students engaged with PBL also perform better on retention tasks and on explanatory tasks, reveal Gurell et al. There are many sources of open educational resources. Two such examples that are well known are the Open Education Resource (OER) Commons, the Open Courseware Consortium. However, others such as Academic Earth, Scientific Commons, and Project OSCAR are also interesting. The Pedagogical Enhancement of Open Education is a very succinct review of online PBL and its fit with open online learning. Gurell et al have provided an excellent review of the versatility of online open education and how to maximise pedagogy to achieve improved learner outcomes.
Cameron Paterson

A Case for Disruptive Education - 3 views

teachingcollegemath.com/...holy_grail_education_draft.pdf

t561 disruption

shared by Cameron Paterson on 30 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Cameron Paterson on 30 Oct 10
     
    A system for personalized learning will not grow from inside formal education. Education is like a field that's been overplanted, with only patches of fertile soil. Too many stakeholders (parents, Unions, adhow to change, acting like weeds or plagues that choke off plant growth. The fresh and fertile soil of the open web can foster the quick growth of a personalized learning system. ministration, faculty) compete with each other with various ideas about
Bharat Battu

India's $35 tablet is here, for real. Called Aakash, costs $60 -- Engadget - 3 views

www.engadget.com/...or-real-called-aakash-costs-60

tablet low-cost rural india student

shared by Bharat Battu on 05 Oct 11 - No Cached
pradeepg liked it
  • Bharat Battu on 05 Oct 11
     
    Tying into discussions this week about bringing access to mobile devices to all via non-prohibitive costs, while still reaching a set of bare-minmum technical specs for actual use: India's "$35 tablet" has been a pipedream in the tech blog-o-sphere for awhile now, but it's finally available (though for a price of roughly $60). Still though, as an actual Android color touch tablet, with WiFi and cellular data capability - I'm curious to see how it's received and if it's adopted in any sort of large scale
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Bharat Battu on 05 Oct 11
     
    http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jkCXZtzqXX87-pXex2nn23lWFwkw?docId=87163f29232f400d87ba906dc3a93405 A much better article that isn't so 'tech' oriented. Goes into the origin and philosophy of the $35 tablet, and future prospects
  • Bridget Binstock on 08 Oct 11
     
    I had heard months ago that India was creating this, but was not going to offer it commercially - rather, just for its own country. Just like the Little Professor (Prof Dede) calculator, when tablets get this affordable, educational systems can afford classroom sets of them and then use them regularly. But to Prof Dede's point - can they do everything that more expensive tablets can do? Or better yet - do they HAVE to?
  • Bharat Battu on 08 Oct 11
     
    I think this is what they're aiming to do - all classrooms/students across the country having this particular tablet. They won't be able to do everything today's expensive tablets can do, but I think they'll still be able too to do plenty. This $35 tablet's specs are comparable to the mobile devices we had here in the US in 2008/2009. Even back then, we were able to web browse, check email, use social networking (sharing pics and video too), watching streaming online video, and play basic 2D games. But even beyond those basic features, I think this tablet will be able to do more than we expect from something at this price point and basic hardware, for 2 reasons: 1. Wide-spread adoption of a single hardware. If this thing truly does become THE tablet for India's students, it will have such a massive userbase that software developers and designers who create educational software will have to cater to it. They will have to study this tablet and learn the ins-and-outs of its hardware in order to deliver content for it. "Underpowered" hardware is able to deliver experiences well beyond what would normally be expected from it when developers are able to optimize heavily for that particular set of components. This is why software for Apple's iPhone and iPad, and games for video game consoles (xbox, PS3, wii) are so polished. For the consoles especially, all the users have the same exact hardware, with the same features and components. Developers are able to create software that is very specialized for that hardware- opposed to spending their resources and time making sure the software works on a wide variety of hardware (like in the PC world). With this development style in mind, and with a fixed hardware model remaining widely used in the market for many years- the resultant software is very polished and goes beyond what users expect from it. This is why today's game consoles, which have been around since 2005/6, produce visuals that are still really impressive and sta
Susan Smiley

Technology Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...udents-learn-teachers-say.html

technology education learning

shared by Susan Smiley on 01 Nov 12 - No Cached
  • Susan Smiley on 01 Nov 12
     
    Interesting article with cons and pros of effects of technology on students attention. I know good teachers are competing more and more for kids attention. But I also wonder if students waning abilities to think deeply and critically have as much to do with flaws in our education system/schooling as use of tech.
  • Jeffrey Siegel on 01 Nov 12
     
    Susan, I agree with your comment that waning attention have as much to do with flaws in our education system/schooling as use of tech. There's no reason to assume that kids 30 years ago were any more attentive during class or lecture. They simply had far fewer options on where to place their attention. I wonder if traditional classroom where equipped with as many distractions as one can find online how it would effect children's behavior and attention span?
Angela Nelson

Guess who's winning the brains race, with 100% of first graders learning to code? | Ven... - 1 views

venturebeat.com/...estonia-code-academy

Writing Code Tech Literacy K-12

shared by Angela Nelson on 05 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • Angela Nelson on 05 Sep 12
     
    Program in Estonia designed to have all students age 7 to 16 learn to write code in a drive to turn children from consumers to developers of technology.
  • ...3 more comments...
  • Heather French on 05 Sep 12
     
    I just posted an article from Wired onto twitter about this! http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/09/estonia-reprograms-first-graders-as-web-coders/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_campaign=twitterclickthru I wonder how deeply the program goes in coding or if it is more in line with applications like "Move the Turtle".
  • Angela Nelson on 05 Sep 12
     
    I am very curious, as well, and trying to find more information. I think it would necessarily be a program that expands with their comprehension and maturity... starting with very basic "Move the Turtle" applications and then grown with the student, hopefully to real world application, as they go until age 16!
  • Jeffrey Siegel on 06 Sep 12
     
    Who initiated this ProgreTiiger program? The Estonian government? Local IT companies? Concerned parents who disparately wanted their children to learn to code? Estonia is very wired country and it's economy has found a niche in IT services, so much so that it's even been dubbed "eStonia" (http://e-estonia.com/). This program seems to be an example of market forces guiding educational policy since there are clear incentives for it's population to be technologically literate to ensure it's competitiveness and dominance in the tech sector (see: The Many Reasons Estonia Is a Tech Start-Up Nation (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303734204577464343888754210.html) A little blurb on how "plug-in" Estonia actually is: "The geeks have triumphed in this country of 1.3 million. Some 40 percent read a newspaper online daily, more than 90 percent of bank transactions are done over the Internet, and the government has embraced online voting. The country is saturated in free Wi-Fi, cell phones can be used to pay for parking or buy lunch, and Skype is taking over the international phone business from its headquarters on the outskirts of Tallinn. In other words, Estonia - or eStonia, as some citizens prefer - is like a window into the future. Someday, the rest of the world will be as wired as this tiny Baltic nation." (http://www.wired.com/politics/security/magazine/15-09/ff_estonia) p.s. I hate sensational titles like "Guess Who's Winning the Brain's Race" Learning coding doesn't automatically make your brain bigger or necessarily increase your intelligence. Sure, it's a very useful skill, but I wonder what classes will be cut out to make time in the school day for coding. Coding vs recess: Tough call.
  • Irina Uk on 06 Sep 12
     
    Hmmm.... I read about Estonia being very plugged in as well. I wonder if there is research on whether the kids are actually learning better as a result. I think that you have a point Jeffrey. It depends what the cost is. If kids are missing some critical lesson because they are coding at such a young age, there may be a trade-off. On the other hand, maybe the skills they are obtaining from coding are more critical. I wonder...
  • Angela Nelson on 06 Sep 12
     
    Ideally, the tech skills would be used to enhance and deepen some of the other curriculum areas. But, yes, 7 years old may be young.
Angela Nelson

Rosalind Picard: Assisting Autism with Emotion Technology | TREND GUARDIAN: The Most In... - 1 views

www.trendguardian.com/...ard-assisting-autism-with.html

Autism Emotion Stress MIT

shared by Angela Nelson on 05 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • Angela Nelson on 05 Sep 12
     
    Using technology developed at MIT to measure emotion and stress in children with Autism and in the general population.
Tomoko Matsukawa

Balancing your child's time spent with technology - Orlando Sentinel - 0 views

articles.orlandosentinel.com/...d-technology-yearbook-director

t561 children technology

shared by Tomoko Matsukawa on 11 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • Tomoko Matsukawa on 11 Sep 12
     
    - as technology become more available everywhere, how to deal with its use among children in informal setting is a topic under discussion - for now, it seems like individual parents are providing their own guidance to their children (or no guidance) with no common understanding of what is best for the children of certain age - the pessimistic view in this article claims for the risk of ''the Nobody Scenario'' and seem to believe that there would be many negative cognitive consequences for the children if heavy-used (the definition of 'children' and 'technology' here is not clearly defined) Understanding and cooperation from children's parents would be very important in the process of implementing emerging technologies in school settings thus this type of controversy is interesting to watch.
Molly Wasser

Boy Genius of Ulan Bator - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...-boy-genius-of-ulan-bator.html

technology MOOC

shared by Molly Wasser on 14 Sep 13 - No Cached
  • Molly Wasser on 14 Sep 13
     
    Here's an example of one person who excelled in a MOOC. While everyone may not have the drive of this student, this is a good example of how an online technology facilitated a social learning group. Also - yet another example of how online resources can benefit people across the country who do not otherwise have access.
  • Laura Stankiewicz on 15 Sep 13
     
    A friend just sent me this same article, Molly! However, my takeaway was much different. Whenever I read articles about young people doing extraordinary things with limited resources and technology, my first thought is always "how is this possible??" The article addresses my question directly: "The answer has to do with Battushig's extraordinary abilities, of course, but also with the ambitions of his high-school principal." The principal, also a graduate of MIT, was focused on developing more skilled engineers in Mongolia, and made it his mission to bring science and tech labs to his students; while MOOCs, the government's heavy investment in IT infrastructure, and the ubiquity of a 3G network made it possible to extend and enhance learning opportunities, the students may have never been exposed to engineering were it not for the encouragement of the principal. This human component, combined with technology, was what nurtured Battushig's drive and talent. This path will not work for just any student. If most homes in Mongolia have an Internet connection and even nomads cell phones, why have more people not found success with MOOCs? The author of the article summed it up best when she said, "Battushig's success also showed that schools could use MOOCs to find exceptional students all over the globe." Battushig is exceptional, just as elevated learning through MOOCs is still the "exception" and not the rule. MOOCs still lack a certain (perhaps human?) element that can move them from producing the anomaly of one "boy genius" to a more widespread level of learning.
  • Molly Wasser on 15 Sep 13
     
    Hi Laura - That's a good point about the principal. The principal and the student were both exceptional. While I do not think that MOOCs, as they are right now, can work for everyone, I do think that this example of educating an exceptional student is heartening. Maybe this exceptional student can learn a lot and then in turn, help others in his community. As undemocratic as it is, many advances in society are made by individuals or small groups of people. Overall though, I agree that MOOCs lack, as you said maybe a human element, to promote widespread education.
Chris Johnson

Opinion: The First-Person Immersion Myth (Gamasutra) - 0 views

www.gamasutra.com/...news_index.php

games editorial immersion nerd

shared by Chris Johnson on 05 Sep 09 - Cached
    • Chris Johnson
      Chris Johnson on 05 Sep 09
       
      I tend to agree with the author, though I would be interested in seeing evidence to support his claims. I remember playing the classic horror survival game "Alone in the Dark" (from 1992) The graphics were fairly primitive by today's standards, the controls could be clunky, but I felt more immersed in the experience, even upon replaying years later. By contrast, I played through first-person shooter and survival horror game F.E.A.R. recently. The graphics are very realistic and the controls are smooth, but something was missing that kept it from being an immersive experience for me. People who haven't played the original "Alone in the Dark" may recognize more with games like "Resident Evil" in comparison with "Half Life".
  • saves developers from having to develop
  • has a high learning curve for those who haven’t already experienced many first-person games
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • The reason for that is likely that we are used to seeing games and movies play out before us in a third-person view.
  • Having an avatar gives us a strong frame of reference,
  • Are first-person games inherently more immersive? A lot of developers seem to presume that they are,
  • most of us do is identify with the character
  • the “silent hero” dilemma
  • do a somewhat better job by at least allowing the player to make some dialog choices -- but still, the character isn’t you
  • What makes a game immersive or otherwise is not the viewpoint
  • because his world is so well-realized
  • we’ve come to our own conclusion that first-person games are inherently intuitive and more immersive, simply by virtue of their camera position
  • a couple people mailed me to say that they feel I have too closely tied character identification with immersion, and that’s not my intention
  • Chris Johnson on 05 Sep 09
     
    This is an opinion article that talks about immersion and the first-person camera angle in video games. He argues that game developers should re-evaluate the assumption that the first-person viewpoint is inherently more immersive than other gaming experiences.
Devon Dickau

Google Instant search feeds our real-time addiction - CNN.com - 0 views

www.cnn.com/...index.html

technology education Google search instant knowledge predictive customized

shared by Devon Dickau on 12 Sep 10 - No Cached
  • By providing results before a query is complete and removing the need to hit the "enter" key, Google claims users will save two to five seconds per search
    • Devon Dickau
      Devon Dickau on 12 Sep 10
       
      Two to five seconds to hit Enter?  In a society obsessed with saving time, even mere seconds are perceived as valuable.
  • Web connections have become significantly faster over time
  • Web connections have become significantly faster over time
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • quick status updates
    • Devon Dickau
      Devon Dickau on 12 Sep 10
       
      Are the speed and brevity of these messages bypassing the potential exploration of a certain topic area in-depth, or is very topic only superficial?
  • many social sites now use our social connections to recommend content to us without the need to seek it out
    • Devon Dickau
      Devon Dickau on 12 Sep 10
       
      Search engines do the work for us.  We don't even need to know how to find the information ourselves these days.
  • What's more, this feature enables truly personalized discovery by taking into account your search history, location and other factors -- Google is essentially emulating social networks by trying to predict what we're looking for without the need to submit a fully-formed search
  • The next step of search is doing this automatically. When I walk down the street, I want my smartphone to be doing searches constantly: 'Did you know ... ?' 'Did you know ... ?' 'Did you know ... ?' 'Did you know ... ?
    • Devon Dickau
      Devon Dickau on 12 Sep 10
       
      Constant delivery of knowledge.
    • Devon Dickau
      Devon Dickau on 12 Sep 10
       
      In thinking about evolving technology in terms of both formal and informal education, I question whether or not constant and immediate access to information is improving or harming individual knowledge.  By this I mean that because we can so easily search for something online, what motivation is there to actually know anything.  If we have Wikipedia on our phones, and know HOW to find it, can't we just spend 30 seconds finding the page and "know" something for topic of conversation, or a test?  What is the point, then, or learning, of retaining knowledge?  I feel that this may be a problem in coming generations.  What knowledge will our students actually feel they need to retain? I took solace in the fact that at least we have to learn and teach HOW to find the information, but with new technologies like predictive and instant searching, it almost seems like that is a skill that will soon become unneeded as well.  We might as well just be physically plugged in to the Internet with access to all information simultaneously. Thoughts from the group?
Devon Dickau

Classroom iPad Programs Get Mixed Response - Wired Campus - The Chronicle of Higher Edu... - 0 views

chronicle.com/...27046

higher education education technology college students ipad classroom

shared by Devon Dickau on 21 Sep 10 - No Cached
  • At those early-adopter schools, iPads are competing with MacBooks as the students' go-to gadget for note taking and Web surfing.
  • the iPad's technological limitations—its inability to multitask and print, and its limited storage space—have kept students dependent on their notebooks. "That's the problem with the iPad: It's not an independent device,
  • really excited about the technology but have not been "pushing the capabilities" of the device.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Seton Hill University, which gave iPads to all full-time students, are working with the developers of an e-book app called Inkling to come up with new ways to integrate the iPad into classroom instruction
  • he faculty at Indiana University has formed a 24-member focus group to evaluate iPad-driven teaching strategies.
  • Devon Dickau on 21 Sep 10
     
    What about providing students iPads so that they purchase textbooks on these devices to save resources for both the students and the school? Can we assume that all students will be comfortable using an iPad, or might there be implications for students with learning differences? What about the socioeconomic gap for students who cannot afford a computer to LOAD the books onto their iPads (even if the iPads themselves were provided)?
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