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This paper is about functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a groundbreaking research for learning sciences. It allows learning scientists to understand which brain parts are activated during learning. For example "lateralization of brain" hypothesis (it was saying that one hemisphere is responsible for wholistic-creative learning one is for analytical) is refuted using fMRI. Because both hemispheres were active no matter when people engaged in creative thinking or analytical thinking.

It gives you a big opportunity to be in the game when you do sport. You can challenge with yourself by seeing yourself in the real sport field. Also you can improve your performance and learn with enjoyable games.

I agree with you Busra, it is very lightly augmented:) We may say that in time you may learn how to run in which distance and which tempo but that is all for now.

I agree with büşra, it a kind of visual version of runtastic with that form but it can be developed. For example, think about you run at treadmill (maybe upgraded version for VR) and with the VR glasses you can go to the any environment from the list you can choose. I think, it would be fantastic.

I think that commercial can help to increase the awareness of society about global warming effects on polar bears by augmented reality.

The Pursuit Of Happyness is beyond a film for me, because the impact of film changed my point of view and ideas a lot. Maybe you watched it but if you do not know its topic, the film is based on true life story of Chris Gardner who established Gardner Rich company at Wall Street starting with selling medical devices at his penniless situation. The scene is taken from that movie and although it is simple scene, I think the idea behind that scene is really important for intrinsic motivation. Because like at the scene, people say you cannot and we believe them or we want to believe them because we think it is really hard. However, all we have to do is just wanting and struggling.

A system of small cubes that can be used for STEM. Each cube has sensors that are sensitive to different things and can gain the ability to move in this way. Thanks to all these sensors, everyone can use their creativity and design robots for different purposes. An application that I think would be very useful, especially for young children. Although the prices are a bit expensive (330$), I think it is a tool that children can enjoy and learn at many sizes.

Tynker is the English online platform where the students (children) are taught programming. The aim of the platform is to provide a solid infrastructure for STEM to prepare for the 21st century. Its slogan is "the easiest way to learn programming at school" and more than 20,000 schools use this program. It also include design base learning. I think learning programming at early ages is very important for children to develop their critical and algorithmic thinking skills. This platform facilitates both teachers' work and makes it fun for children.

I really like the program. Even I can use it to learn the basic things from this program. Thanks for the share!

Although it is a kind of advertisement, I like this smart technology products and the idea of smart classroom. Small groups can be engaged very easily for collaborative activities and they can touch the multi touch screen at the same time. Also, teacher can connect it to smart table with a software.

I think it is basic but very effective application. Especially it is fun and when thinking the usage of it is for children, it is a great advantage.

"Codecademy - Learn to code interactively, for free"

What makes a tutor intelligent? Its design to simulate a human tutor's behavior and guidance. Evrim Hocam I see your point:) but I think it's a basic intelligent system, isn't it?

Mustafa, I was just wondering how the literature on ITSs define "intelligence" in their context. What makes a system intelligent? Let's elaborate more on this in class.

-Why are you doing this? -I just felt like running!

Kiewslovski movie! I especially like the scene when father and son calculate whether the son could skate safely or not. He has a great deal of curiosity and father leads his motivation via scientific methods;)

definitely Sinem :)) you summarized the kid's motivation and situation very well :))

I've watched the video twice and in the end I've felt some concerns about the results of the studies. In the "how people learn" part, researchers were testing the storage and connection system of the brain through some high-tech tools. However, does neuropsychology provide enough evidence on the functioning of the brains? Can we generalize the results to all people from all cultures? I am not the one who is against neuropsychology, but for me one discipline may not give an appropriate answer to such a deep question. My second concern is about the integration of computer programs into the curriculum as a major learning tool. We see a program where "Betty" is speaking and giving feedback on the video. The program seems user friendly, but what about the negative aspects and limitations of the integration of technology into learning? Ok, I agree that we have to adapt to the rapid technological changes in the society. However, is technology the key to all learning processes? Plus, the program is designed on the mapping of the concepts. Does concept mapping make a curriculum compelling all the time? I am not sure about all characteristics of the program, but if it hasn't been designed in a challenging style and if all students come up with the same products, then how will they develop their knowledge and reasoning abilities? I couldn't find an answer to that. As for the part "effective teaching", I am in the same opinion with the researchers that there should be a connection between the real world and the subject taught. Moreover, I think the integration of the disciplines is difficult but a very good way of giving meaning to life. Besides, in the video we see teachers as a guide, as a facilitator and there is no doubt that providing individual support to the students helps students feel more involved.

Firstly, even if it is designed by utilizing modern technology and different understanding, which makes it a more developed and complicated one, the program used in the video reminded me the teaching machines of old times. It gives the priority to the cognitive aspect of learning. This seems to be a one-dimensional approach which underestimates the social aspect of learning. I think the value of classroom interaction for effective learning cannot be replaced by any kind of computer programs. Research on brain is really important and it provides very useful insights for learning and instructional activities. However, it should be supported by the findings of research by social psychologists as well. The very same individual may perform at varying levels when he is taught with the same methods in different environments. I personally experienced many times that even the absence of one individual in my classes affected the teaching an learning processes in a negative or positive way depending upon the classroom dinamics.

it seems that we will try to go to some Chinese Universities in ten years time, instead of Europe or States.

In my opinion education policy of the countries do not be planned based on the students' academic achievement. Real achievement of an education system could be observed as individuals' adaptation to life. For example the main vision of the elementary science curriculum defined by Ministry of National Education of Turkey [MONE] (2005) is that regardless of the individual differences of students, they are educated to become scientifically literate, the uniqueness nature of the learner; background and culture of the learners and motivation of the learners were taken into consideration in the development of the curriculum (MONE, 2005), but putting those in the practice is very difficult.

Also, as mentioned in the text "… those results come at the cost of one of the highest levels of student anxiety in the world." Anxiety is very important and big research area in educational psychology also the news in the link http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-04/10/content_9710997.htm exemplifies its importance in Chinese case.

Here, we try to answer your questions about the different integrating components of a design learning experience into familiar, pre-existing scenarios that play out in every school.

The article mentions key features of LBD from a practical perspective. But, I still have some questions about how to apply LBD effectively in traditional classroom environment while trying to keep up with the requirements of the curricula in practice. The current curricula are assumed to be designed considering the contemporary approaches and methods. But the more I learn about the current improvements in the field the more I question our " current curricula".

Here is an interesting example how learning is practiced in social media. If you want to find out more about the theoretical background, google "Professor Sreenivasan".

Some of social media samples can be used during some spesific classes such as History, English, Biology and likewise. But as a Maths teacher, I do not believe that I can use it as a tool to teach a subject. However, I definately aggree that it is obviously a great thing to exchange new ideas, to make brain storms, to create a discussion platform and broaden ideas according to several perspectives.

I liked the idea of integrating social media into instruction. But the teacher or instructor should be extra careful and strategic as it may be risky. Such devices or technology are mostly to capture the attention of the students or to keep students engaged in the lesson. I still think that the magic is in the hands of the teacher to keep the students attention and ensure effective learning. It may be too much technological to use facebook or tweeter in each lesson, which constitutes a balance issue. The students need to be close to the books, pencils and notebooks, papers etc. The dose of social media should be arranged carefully and strategically.

"...being the best requires a lot of time and effort, and few people are willing to dedicate so much of their lives to a single pursuit. So while practice may get some of us close to perfection, for many of us it is an unattainable goal..."

I guite agree with Christian. When I first read the ten thousand hour rule, I felt that this is a hypothetical number that was just used for to emphasize that we need endless effort, hard practice to become good at any field.

As mentioned, the role of talent are still questionable. Also guaranteeing the same amount of hours as a general rule gives me the message of ignoring unique personal factors such as motivation or other internal personal sources.

This excerpt is taken from the book "The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education" Game-based learning have been increasingly used in educational settings in the last 10 years and there is a lot of research on this subject. I wonder if there is any on game-based learning how experts and novices solve certain problems in the game environments. Sounds a promising research area.

The example of Making sale in differentiating novices and experts is stunning.While novices focus on making the sale , experts develop relationships. The former aims to think, organize information for a limited time for that thing only.However the latter thinks more elaboratelly, develop ways for a long period of time for future connections which is wiser.Thus, we can see that experts know how to use their long term memory effectively compared to novices.

The first robot teacher was tested in Tokyo in 2009 to sixth and seventh graders. The robot teacher can express six basic emotions - happiness, surprise, fear, disgust, sadness and anger. As I know a French company has developed a robot teacher, too.

To admit, yes it is an impressive way. However, I got stuck when it was said that robots could replace teachers in case of teacher shortage. It can be used as a tool for teaching-learning but it can not be treated as a teacher in real terms.

I think this is too much technological, where is the interaction? I totally agree with Yelda and Sinem in that a robot teacher cannot provide the effective class environment and fulfill teaching. The communication is really important in learning process, with a robot teacher this is impossible.

"Every child is a scientist!!!" Do you agree?

I wish he were not a scientist but eventually he is especially in the kitchen he can create different tastes he prepares coctails for himself and drinks it and tries new forms of chemical experiements and reaches different tastes it goes on like this :)

I totally agree with the idea. If you had a chance of observing little kids around you, you may have seen that they have lots of questions that even we as grown ups do not know the answer. also, the simple answers that you provide for them are never enough for them. Our professor Mr. Ok shared his experience with one of his colleague's daughter. a five year old girl learned from her parents that she came to the world as her father and mother loved each other so much. When she saw that our professor do not have a child she concluded that he doesn't love his wife so much :) and then her parents had to provide a new answer for her curiosity about how she came to world.

While playing computer games, children learn English, thinking and deciding quickly and even how to rule a kingdom. Is there anything new for us, as prospective teachers, to develop our teaching? It seems that some people think so.

The website describes how Professor Paul Harris advises the interactive learning company Mindshapes on incorporating educational principles into the development of websites and apps for young children.

I think games always work and the company seems really successful at locating the points children may find interesting and enjoyable. After reading your post, I watched a video at youtube, Hickory-Dickory Dock and it was very enjoyable. It teaches not only vocabulary but also how to tell time. It seems a really effective tool. Like the company, I also think that students should be exposed to the changes in the technology. There is always a world outside the classroom and they should keep themselves up-to-date. And our job is to provide them with such opportunities.

Actually your point is really important, changes in the technology should be followed and used as a tool in the classroom, the tools that are significant in terms educational value for sure. Or the other end would include only games on stealing or killing as mentioned. I have checked out Hickory-Dickory Dock now and it seems effective to me as well. The website "mindshapes.com", provides us with detailed information on the games.

Research finding on Flipped Classrooms. Connected to some of the reading reflections this week on technology.

This classes can have no effect on students learning, in a short term. For me, a study should measure the long term effect of the flipped classroom. This point can be missed. there is need for not only summative but also confirmative evaluation.

As a language teacher, I've felt really interested in such a change in the instructional process. I always need more time for activities and hands-on experiences; however, I fail to have. I think if the initial preparations are well-organized and students are provided with effective support, flipped classrooms idea may work better than the traditional classes. Therefore, I disagree with the researchers who have found no significant difference in learning. One research may not set a good example for a generalization.