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The package of software and technology that Google used to build its "Power Searching with Google" MOOC.

Related to our design exercise in section. Checkout the video at the bottom. Howard Gardner adds his two cents on online ethical issues .

Udemy offers online platforms easy to design courses

are you taking the designing a new learning environment online course?

Follow up to that last post. Here's the Institute of Play website.

Alas, NASA has almost no funding for the multiplayer game, and there is substantial opposition from internal leadership

The article highlighted the different agendas of the administrator (who brings the budget), educator (who is concerned with lesson objectives), and game designer (who wants to create an engaging game). I think that if students are not sufficiently engaged by the game, the educational objectives would probably not be delivered successfully either. If budget cuts ended up taking the fun out of an educational game, perhaps it might be worth rethinking if it should still be a game?

Matthew, you raise a good point. Users should be seen as stakeholders who can help improve the game in terms of both engagement and learning.

If you start watching at the 30-minute mark, you can get a peek at how he uses technology in the design of his course and to shape participation during class. At the 34:00 minute mark he is describing a jigsaw reading activity, similar to the study groups we are often encouraged to form. You won't believe where he and his students go with this. I love his statement, "There are no natives here." So true. I can't find the other video where he shows his collaborative notetaking platform that he uses in a 200-student class, but it's very cool. That's where I got the idea for some kind of wiki or google doc that might allow us to manage lecture notes and the backchannel.

This is the nonprofit that I used to work for!! :) Great org that is on the verge of scaling...

Some of you in Dock's Innovation by Design class might be interested in this... drop down towards the end of the article for commentary on students using augmented reality as a a means of narration.

discussion of how AR is being used in schools

The author identifies areas for skepticism about ed. tech research: MONEY-DRIVEN RESEARCH. LACK OF CONSENSUS. PUBLICATION REPUTABILITY AUTHOR TIMIDITY AND PRAGMATISM.

Making ed tech decisions based on "best guesses," Richard Rhodes advocates, strikes me as a pretty weak recipe. I'm not saying that a healthy amount of skepticism isn't required, but Rhodes seems to have a bone to pick with experts of any kind.

If you are not familiar with connectedlearning.tv ... you should be. They tackle issues related to instructional design--and associated professional learning structures needed to transform education.

The last point this article makes is an interesting one: clearly the gaming folks were at the table when the iPhone 5 was designed but what about the education people? What would it look like if the new version of iOS had a learning management system embedded within the OS?

While I understand the reasons behind designing tablets like these, that monitor the content kids consume really carefully, it does bring up the larger issue of how do you really want to introduce kids to the internet. Do you shelter them by only letting them use kid-friendly apps, search engines, etc. or do you teach them early about smart and safe digital practices? There are of course plenty of safety reasons to go with the former, but I'm also interested in seeing how the latter might look.

platform for game creation

Platforms like this open up so many possibilities to put development into the hands of the masses. It boggles the mind to consider what will be the effect of removing the barriers to entry from development.

This is great! I'm very curious to see how this is being used, what types of conversations are being asked, and how and if this turns into longer term mentorships. Our team for Innovation be Design class is looking to create something like this for high school girls already engaged in STEM...so we are looking at the step right before this so making sure that the "interested" girls actually major in STEM fields.

How well-designed video games can help education reform.

For the first time, Amazon's digital books had outsold paper books. While many popular consumer books have successfully made the switch into the new format, textbooks are still widely read on paper. However, textbooks as e-books ought to be seen as a stepping stone to the future. And we need to design devices that are specifically made to support academic reading.

Hard to resist such a title ! Lives at war is a online virtual reality game designed to teach world war 2 history to British pupils. The use of archival videos in the game within the context of objects is a creative blend of videos and VW for education. Another interesting example of a VW that exemplifies situated learning.

Yet another Virtual School Proposal. I think the economic argument is loud and clear. Do they understand how to design for learning?

A new social network for colleges and universities called "GoingOn." Maybe the new Edmodo for higher ed? This article is a Q&A with the designer. Something interesting to keep your eyes on...