educational games / serious games

Study: Teachers love EdTech, they just don’t use it — from edudemic.com by Katie Lepi

Excerpt:

EdTech Is Essential!

86% of teachers think it is ‘important’ or ‘absolutely essential’ to use edtech in the classroom
965 say that edtech increases student engagement in learning
95% say that it enables personalized learning
89% say that it improves student outcomes
87% say that it helps students collaborate

However…

Only 19% use subject specific content tools weekly
Only 31% use information or reference tools weekly
Only 24% use teacher tools weekly
Only 14% use digital curricula weekly
Despite all the buzz about 1:1 classrooms, only about 1 in 9 are implementing a 1:1 or BYOD classroom
…

From DSC:
Looking at this solid posting from edudemic and Katie Lepi, I can’t help but ask:

What might this tell us about the model/approach that we are using?
Is that model/approach working?
Is that model/approach working fast enough to prepare our students for the futures they will inherit/experience?
Are there other approaches that would work better?

I’d like to add some potential factors to the list of why educational technologies might not be being implemented in certain situations:

We decided not to use teams; that is, we decided that our teachers (or professors or trainers) should continue to do everything — “it is their job after all”
A teacher (professor, trainer) may not be gifted in a particular area (such as creating digital audio or digital video, designing simulations, developing educational gaming, designing e-books, offering mobile learning, etc.)
A teacher (professor, trainer) may not be interested in a particular area (such as creating digital audio or digital video, designing simulations, developing educational gaming, designing e-books, offering mobile learning, etc.)
May view an area as totally irrelevant because that wasn’t part of that person’s background/experience (i.e. Who needs educational gaming? Why should that matter/help? I didn’t have that in my toolbox.)

With the rapid pace of change, time is no longer on our side. That is, it doesn’t serve our students well if it takes us 2-3 generations to get teachers, professors, and trainers ready to use all of the relevant technologies. That is a pipe dream and we need to abandon it asap. No one has all of the gifts that they need. We need to work with teams of specialists. It will take team-based efforts to create and deliver learning environments, products, and services that feature more choice and more control for our students. They — and all of us actually — are encountering a different world every single day that we wake up. Are we preparing them for it?

2013 Yearbook: Technology Innovation in Education [Center for Digital Education]

On 11/07/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, attention, Bring your own device (BYOD), budgets, business side of he, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, convergence, cost of getting a degree, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, higher education, innovation, interactivity, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, learning theories, love of learning, mobile learning, mobile technologies, more voice more choice more control, online learning, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, social media, storytelling, strategy, streams of content, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technology (general), trends, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Description:

The Yearbook is a unique publication produced annually by the Center for Digital Education (CDE) that highlights some of the outstanding trends,

people and events over the past year in education technology. The first part of the Yearbook gives readers market awareness by outlining how much money schools spent on education technology, where the funding came from and what technologies have been garnering the most attention.

The second part features 40 education innovators who are using technology to inspire their students, improve learning and better the K-20 education system. We hope that this 2013 Yearbook issue provides inspiration to our readers to continue on their quests towards innovation in education.

From DSC:
My quote in the Center for Digital Education’s 2013 Yearbook reads:

“Educational technologists need to be bold, visionary and creative. They need to be in tune with the needs, missions and visions of their organizations. We have the opportunity — and responsibility — to make lasting and significant contributions within our fields and for the organizations that we work for.”

“Learning in the Living [Class] Room” — as explained by Daniel Christian [Campus Technology]

On 11/05/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adult learning, analytics, animation, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, attention, blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, computer science, consortiums, content development, aggregation, repositories, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, creativity, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, expectations, experimentation, flipping -- inverted learning, formal learning, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, IBM, ideas, immersion, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, liberal arts, lifelong learning, love of learning, machine-to-machine communications, marketplaces, media/film, Michigan, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, motivation, multi-touch, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), neurodivergent/special needs, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, organizational change, pace of change, participation, passions, personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, professional development, programming, real-world assignments, reinvent, second screen apps, simulations, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, social media, society, staying relevant, STEAM-related, story, storytelling, strategy, streams of content, student-related, surviving, tablets, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telepresence, television, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, universities, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Learning from the Living [Class] Room — from Campus Technology by Daniel Christian and Mary Grush; with a huge thanks also going out to Mr. Steven Niedzielski (@Marketing4pt0) and to Mr. Sam Beckett (@SamJohnBeck) for their assistance and some of the graphics used in making these videos.

From DSC:
These 4 short videos explain what I’m trying to relay with a vision I’m entitling, Learning from the Living [Class] Room. I’ve been pulse checking a variety of areas for years now, and the pieces of this vision continue to come into fruition. This is what I see Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) morphing into (though there may be other directions/offshoots that they go in as well).

After watching these videos, I think you will see why I think we must move to a team–based approach.

(It looks like the production folks for Campus Technology had to scale things way back in terms of video quality to insure an overall better performance for the digitally-based magazine.)

To watch these videos in a higher resolution, please use these links:

Alternatively, these videos can be found at:

.

Mobile education: Lessons from 35 education experts on improving learning with mobile technology [Citrix]

On 11/04/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, attention, blended learning, collaboration, communications, convergence, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, e-books, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future, game-changing environment, heutagogy, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, interactivity, internet, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning theories, mobile learning, mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, online learning, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, student-related, technologies for your home, technology (general), telepresence, tools, trends, vendors, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Description:

Education is at a tipping point. From the rising cost of a college education and the financial pressures upon local districts and state agencies to fund K-12 schools and programs, to the questions of how to employ mobile technologies and leverage social platforms to support the growing trend toward mobile, collaborative learning models, educators face an almost overwhelming set of challenges. While there are no easy answers to these and other issues, Citrix believes strongly that online learning technologies can help enhance and extend the teaching and learning process and provide greater, more wide-spread access to education to students. We are committed to developing and delivering learning solutions that will meet the evolving needs of teachers and students in this changing landscape. We hope that our sponsorship of this ebook and other projects will help you, the reader, gain a better understanding of the opportunities that online learning technologies provide, increase your mastery of these solutions, and enable you to put them to productive use. We look forward to working with you as we explore new and effective ways to help teachers teach and learners learn.

CaIlin Pitcher
Product Line Director, Collaboration, Citrix

Comments/disclosure from DSC:
I do not work for Citrix — I have been at Calvin College since
March 2007. I was not paid to develop/contribute this piece.

I’d like to thank David Rogelberg for his work on this project.

“These smaller, lesser known devices are prime targets for educational and kid-friendly material” [Steven Chevalia]

On 11/01/2013, in Apple, digital learning, education technology, educational games / serious games, entrepreneurship, Google, ideas, innovation, interactivity, Microsoft, platforms, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Some items re: Steam and OUYA — with a thanks going out to Mr. Steven Chevalia for the information here

For the past 20 years, the video game industry has been controlled by three primary companies:

Nintendo (Nintendo, Gamecube, Wii)
Sony (Playstation)
Microsoft (Xbox)

However, the past two years have shown an increased interest in hardware solutions from 3rd parties, such as:

OUYA is a 3rd party console that was designed to be a gaming system with a lower cost and was meant for all open-source games.
(Further details at wikipedia.org)
Steam is a 3rd party that sells and updates all their games digitally. They offer all the same games as most of the consoles (listed above) and will soon be offering their own console, which will connect to the internet and allow you to play any game that you own on their service.
(Further details at wikipedia.org)

These smaller, lesser known devices are prime targets for educational and kid-friendly material. (NOTE: Not all of the games available via these sites are appropriate for kids, as many of the games therein are meant for older audiences.) It is likely that iTunes U, YouTube, etc. will all be viewable on these consoles and the games made for them will be able to be made by smaller companies that can’t compete on the market with Nintendo, Playstation, or Xbox-based games.

Five things that Instructional Designers can learn from game designers [Kapp]

On 10/25/2013, in attention, creativity, digital learning, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, innovation, instructional design, learning theories, participation, by Daniel Christian

Why education should embrace games [Roscorla & McGonigal]

On 10/22/2013, in educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, by Daniel Christian

Why education should embrace games — from centerdigitaled.com by Tanya Roscorla

Excerpts:

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Video games may sound more recreational than educational, but experts believe that games will play a greater role in student engagement in years to come.

…

According to McGonigal’s research, the 10 positive emotions of engagement that gamers experience are:

Creativity
Contentment
Awe and Wonder
Excitement
Curiosity
Pride
Surprise
Love
Relief
Joy

Highlights of Educause 2013 Annual Conference [EdTechMagazine.com]

On 10/18/2013, in career development, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, IT in HE, professional development, teaching & learning, universities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
There’s something here for classrooms/education — even for the living rooms of the future!

Little Mermaid Second Screen Live makes iPads part of the movie world — from gigaom.com by Liz Shannon Miller

Summary:

Disney advertises the Second Screen Live experience as a rebellion: “Break the rules — bring your iPad to the movies!” But it’s less a trip to the movies and more a fully interactive experience.

…

As the film began, so did the games. Most second-screen experiences I’ve tried have been largely passive, but Little Mermaid demanded the audience’s attention right from the beginning with games, trivia questions and other forms of interactivity for all ages.

…

The action on the big screen even froze from time to time for more complex games, and there were moments of seemingly new animation inserted at key plot points, as well.

True personalization is the next big thing in multiscreen TV [Moulding]

On 09/18/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adult learning, analytics, Apple, blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), collaboration, communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, disruption, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future of higher education, global / globalization, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, internet, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, love of learning, machine-to-machine communications, Microsoft, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multi-touch, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, storytelling, streams of content, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, transmedia, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

True personalization is the next big thing in multiscreen TV — from .v-net.tv by John Moulding

From DSC:
Not a far stretch to see some applications of this in the future aimed at learning objects/learning agents/and personalized streams of content.

The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

Addendum:
(With thanks going out to Mr. Richard Byrne over at the Free Technology for Teachers blog for this item)

IBM and USTA captivate tennis fans with immersive second screen experience [MarketWatch.com]

On 08/28/2013, in analytics, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, health, IBM, innovation, interactivity, internet, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, second screen apps, social learning / networks, streams of content, tablets, technologies for your home, technology (general), by Daniel Christian

IBM and USTA captivate tennis fans with immersive second screen experience — from MarketWatch.com
Analytics, cloud, mobile and social computing technologies deliver US Open to fans’ fingertips

Excerpt:

The innovative digital US Open environment provides fans, players, broadcasters and media with access to a range of Big Data insights streaming from the courts, including stats, facts, videos, live scoring, and historical and real-time analysis of tennis data served to tablets, smartphones, PCs and other devices.

Also see:

.

From DSC:
Questions I wonder about:

How might this sort of thing help us in education? What if, instead of a tennis match, it was a debate on X vs. Y…?
.
Could we use it in educational gaming apps?
.
If so, what sorts of apps that lean on social learning could we create?
.
How could professional development/conferences use this type of immersive second screen experience? What sorts of opportunities for participation would open up?
.
Could we develop things like this that help us learn things IN REAL TIME from the streams of content flowing by? (Do learning agents employ this sort of thing?)

Somewhat-related items:

College students bring targeted media to doctors’ waiting rooms — from entrepreneur.com by Michelle Goodman

Excerpt:

Their idea was to sell doctors’ offices prepackaged video segments containing tips on diet, exercise and other lifestyle tweaks patients could make to improve their health. A TV screen in the reception area would broadcast this programming, modeled after segments on shows such as Today, while patients waited for appointments.

To test the idea, Agarwal, Shah and classmate Derek Moeller bought TVs and DVD players, culled content from the internet and distributed the equipment and “shows” to 50 doctors in five states.

MOOCing the Liberal Arts? Technology and Relationship in Liberal Arts Education
The Thirteenth Annual Conversation on the Liberal Arts
February 13 – 15, 2014

Transmedia stories and games explained — from splash.abc.net.au by Dr. Christy Dena; with thanks to The Digital Rocking Chair for Scooping this onto Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age
Opportunity abounds in the area of ‘transmedia projects’, or stories and games that span more than one medium or artform. Dr Christy Dena explains this evolving area of education. This is Part 1 in her blog series.

Excerpt:

One of the areas I work in is ‘transmedia’ or ‘cross-media’ writing and design. I work in the area as a practitioner, and also as an educator for industry professionals and undergraduate students. Transmedia or cross-media fundamentally refers to projects that span more than one medium; for example, a book and computer. I work in creating transmedia stories and games, and so also teach students about making their own. Over my two articles for ABC Splash, I share some of the approaches I use when giving students the opportunity to make their own transmedia stories and games.

Opening the door to transmedia projects — from splash.abc.net.au by Dr. Christy Dena
In her second article on transmedia projects, Dr Christy Dena shares the guidelines she’s created to open the door to this form of education in schools.

Excerpt:

It is important that students are given at least two media locations to work with, such as a website and poster. I always include a live event of some kind as well.

edShelf: Find the right educational tools for your needs

On 08/13/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, biology, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, computer science, creativity, digital learning, digital video, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, homeschooling/homeschoolers, interactivity, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, love of learning, mathematics, mobile learning, multi-touch, multimedia, online learning, participation, personalized/customized learning, productivity / tips and tricks, programming, science, simulations, social learning / networks, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, by Daniel Christian

With thanks to
Robin Good for curating this item

The battle of the ecosystems: Apple, Google, Microsoft, & Amazon.com [Christian]

On 08/12/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, business, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, computer science, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, Google, higher education, innovation, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, media/film, Microsoft, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, music, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, programming, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social media, student-related, tablets, technologies for your home, technology (general), tools, trends, ubiquitous learning, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual K-12 schools, virtual tutoring, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The battle of the ecosystems: Apple, Google, Microsoft, & Amazon.com — by Daniel Christian with thanks to Krista Spahr, Michael Mandeville, Bill Vriesema, and Adam Tozer from Calvin College for their feedback/inputs on this.

PDF version here [1.35MB]

Also see:

A game of ecosystems: Measuring ecosystem performance — from visionmobile.com by Andreas Pappas

Addendums on 8/13/13:

Battle of the media ecosystems: Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft — from computerworld.com by Michael deAgonia, Preston Gralla, JR Raphael
Four large tech ecosystems are currently vying for our attention — and for our dollars. How well are they succeeding?
Apple still tops the App Store despite Google Play growth — from tapscape.com

Learning Ecosystems

Reflections on “Study: Teachers love EdTech, they just don’t use it” [Lepi]

“These smaller, lesser known devices are prime targets for educational and kid-friendly material” [Steven Chevalia]

Five things that Instructional Designers can learn from game designers [Kapp]

Why education should embrace games [Roscorla & McGonigal]

Highlights of Educause 2013 Annual Conference [EdTechMagazine.com]

Transmedia stories and games explained [Dena]

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