Group items tagged

In recent years there has been an explosion of virtual worlds intended for early childhood populations; however, because the majority of research on games and such worlds has focused on adults and adolescents, we know very little about these spaces. This article attempts to address this gap by providing a qualitative content analysis of the affordances that Webkinz World an online environment that as of March 2010 had over 3 million unique site visitors per month, offers for children's literacy and language development. Analyses suggest that the site provides unique opportunities for immersion in literacy-rich contexts and academically-oriented practices that may enhance those that are readily available in many children's daily lives. However, looking beyond the discrete linguistic and technical aspects of learning in Webkinz World reveals a designed culture with limitations on learning and a constrained set of literacies and social messages that warrant further critical exploration.

In recent years there has been an explosion of virtual worlds intended for early childhood populations; however, because the majority of research on games and such worlds has focused on adults and adolescents, we know very little about these spaces. This article attempts to address this gap by providing a qualitative content analysis of the affordances that Webkinz World an online environment that as of March 2010 had over 3 million unique site visitors per month, offers for children's literacy and language development. Analyses suggest that the site provides unique opportunities for immersion in literacy-rich contexts and academically-oriented practices that may enhance those that are readily available in many children's daily lives. However, looking beyond the discrete linguistic and technical aspects of learning in Webkinz World reveals a designed culture with limitations on learning and a constrained set of literacies and social messages that warrant further critical exploration.

Sir Ken Robinson, Ph.D is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources and a New York Times Best-selling author. He works with governments in Europe, Asia and the USA, with international agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and some of the world's leading cultural organizations. In 1998, he led a national commission on creativity, education and the economy for the UK Government. All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education? (The Robinson Report) was published to wide acclaim in 1999. He was been honored with the Athena Award of the Rhode Island School of Design for services to the arts and education; the Peabody Medal for contributions to the arts and culture in the United States, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the Royal Society of Arts for outstanding contributions to cultural relations between the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2005 he was named as one of Time/Fortune/CNN's Principal Voices. In 2003, he received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the arts and education. He speaks to audiences throughout the world on the creative challenges facing business and education in the new global economies.

"How is the use of technology changing the way we think about education, and what are some of the new ways we can foster productive and co-operative learning environments through the use of computers? What will the classroom of the future look like? We'll tackle these questions and more in the Tech Stream this week with a special program focusing on education and digital technology. Follow the MP3 link

Interesting Radio Australia show that I am listening to again from ACEC2010. Helen Otway has some good points to make (and writes a great blog).

"So while I was talking to a client today who has been agonising over the detail of the design, features and colours for their website (for the last 5 months) I was reminded of the principle of "Just Ship It" and how important it is in the new age of digital media and how even more relevant Nikes slogan of "Just Do It" has become."

Some good lessons and rules here for teachers mulling over social networking, when and where to start. Just do it.

The partnering organisations behind the initiative are: Australian Museum, Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum, Australian National Maritime Museum, Bradman Foundation, Fizzics Education, Literature Live, Opera Australia, Museum of Human Disease, Powerhouse Museum, Questacon: The National Science and Technology Centre, State Library NSW, Sydney Living Museums, Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney Opera House, Australian Institute of Policy and Science (AIPS), Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), CAASTRO All-sky Astrophysics University of Sydney, National Film & Sound Archive, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre, Australia's Academic and Research Network (AARNet), Cisco, Distance and Rural Technologies - NSW Department of Education and Communities, Electroboard and Polycom.

"This paper examines the educational impacts of the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative (BWLI), a pilot program that provided 1:1 technology access to all students and teachers across five public and private middle schools in western Massachusetts. Using a pre/post comparative study design, the current study explores a wide range of program impacts over the three years of the project's implementation."

Reading an interesting tertiary summary report of a 1:1 pilot computer progrqam.

"High-resolution aerial photos taken over Brisbane last week have revealed the scale of devastation across dozens of suburbs and tens of thousands of homes and businesses. The aerial photos of the Brisbane floods were taken in flyovers on January 13 and January 14. Hover over each photo to view the devastation caused by flooding."

Interactive visualisation of before and after images from the QLD floods.

Most of Australia is well positioned to witness the next transit of Venus on Wednesday 6th June 2012. The Surveying and Spatial Sciences industry in association with the Astronomical Association of Queensland (AAQ) is providing resources to enable students to participate in a re-enactment of a great scientific endeavour and in doing so learn valuable lessons in science, mathematics, history and geography.

"The six levels of Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives as found in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Music from Pirates I and III"

Nice metaphore for graduate teachers :-)

"We invite you to explore the various features of Diigo. Become educated and informed on the powerful use of Diigo for student learning. Learn how this research tool can enhance classroom instruction and promote higher levels of student collaboration. As you navigate through our site you will see examples of valuable lessons and resources, all displayed for your use. "

Nice website for teachers to learn how to navigate the Diigo environment and examine examples of how they can use it to enhance student learning.

"Matt Locke originally came up with the concept of the Six Spaces of technology (test.org.uk/​2007/​08/​10/​six-spaces-of-social-media/​). I added a seventh earlier this year, Data Spaces, and have played around with how education could harness these spaces, and the various transgressions between them, for learning. This short presentation tackles the potential of adjusting our physical school environments to harness technology even better. What happens when we map technological spaces to physical ones?"

"Photo laboratory photl.com is the owner and distributor of the largest collection of exclusive free photos (Free Stock Photo Images) of high resolution for commercial purposes. All the photo images are subject to extended license on usage (Extended Royalty Free). They are absolutely free and are intended to be used in commercial activity. All the photo images can be used as a whole and also partially (their fragments). After a simple and quick registration (necessary for a better functioning of the resource) your account will be immediately activated and you will be granted with full access to our images. "

Free images available for commercial and non-commercial use.

Darfur is Dying is a viral video game for change that provides a window into the experience of the 2.5 million refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. Players must keep their refugee camp functioning in the face of possible attack by Janjaweed militias. Players can also learn more about the genocide in Darfur that has taken the lives of 400,000 people, and find ways to get involved to help stop this human rights and humanitarian crisis.

"SOME of the biggest brands in Australia have been revealed as poor users of social media such as Facebook and Twitter -- often creating a presence there, only to then leave them dormant. Research by public relations agency Burson Marsteller on Australia's top 20 brands indicates that many are bungling their approach to the emergent media channel of social networking."

Good how groups like QSITE know how to handle social networking, often pioneering things so that the rest of us have to catch up. :-)

An excellent example of the things your students must be aware of when blogging. I like the positive 'I will' beginning for most of them.

"The online behaviors of youth and how to improve and correct them are part of how James feels new media can be used to address the world's challenges .. In their research, the team has found that most young people are devoid of ethical thinking or consideration for others when using the web."

Interesting article, are the youth really devoid of ethical thinking when using the web? Is this because there are no adults around to correct or give feedback to their behaviour?

"I've come across a lot of articles containing examples and suggestions for using Twitter in instructional applications. I've combed through many of these and tried to boil down the redundancies to create a rich set of idea-laden resources. "

Nice collection of articles and links to support microblogging in the classroom.

"In what could be one of the great misjudgments since the record company that turned down The Beatles, one of Stephen Fry's teachers once described him as "feckless, fickle, flamboyant and evasive .. He told ABC Radio's PM of his enthusiasm for all things digital, including micro-blogging site Twitter, which he think has also been misjudged as trivial."

Fascinating to read this interview with Stephen Fry and consider how he has engaged with social media such as Twitter.

" The Computers in Education Group of South Australia is a professional association of educators that promotes and supports teaching and learning with Information and Communication Technologies and the study of Information Technology as a discipline. "

If any teachers are interested what our sister group in SA are doing.