games

MIT creates the one video game you’ll be thrilled to see your kid get hooked on

On 04/20/2011, in educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, science, by Daniel Christian

MIT creates the one video game you’ll be thrilled to see your kid get hooked on — from FastCompany.com by David Zax

“The premise is that people living in the future have contacted us in the present, to answer a question: What event occurred between our time and theirs that led to the loss of civilization’s historical records? Students must decode clues in hidden messages, and in response find and provide information about Earth’s current condition, such as temperature and species data, to help people in the future deduce what wound up happening.”

Tagged with: digital video • engagement • engaging students • games • Keeping students engaged • science

A hugely powerful vision: A potent addition to our learning ecosystems of the future

On 04/09/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, change, colleges, convergence, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, e-books, e-readers, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, immersion, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning agents, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, lifelong learning, marketplaces, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multi-touch, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, pace of change, Personal Learning Networks (PLNs), personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, podcasting, professional development, reinvent, RSS, simulations, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, social media, society, storytelling, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, surviving, tablets, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telepresence, television, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, universities, user experience (UX), using teams, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, by Daniel Christian

Daniel Christian:
A Vision of Our Future Learning Ecosystems

In the near future, as the computer, the television, the telephone (and more) continues to converge, we will most likely enjoy even more powerful capabilities to conveniently create and share our content as well as participate in a global learning ecosystem — whether that be from within our homes and/or from within our schools, colleges, universities and businesses throughout the world.

We will be teachers and students at the same time — even within the same hour — with online-based learning exchanges taking place all over the virtual and physical world. Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) — in the form of online-based tutors, instructors, teachers, and professors — will be available on demand. Even more powerful/accurate/helpful learning engines will be involved behind the scenes in delivering up personalized, customized learning — available 24x7x365. Cloud-based learner profiles may enter the equation as well.

The chances for creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship that are coming will be mind-blowing! What employers will be looking for — and where they can look for it — may change as well.

What we know today as the “television” will most likely play a significant role in this learning ecosystem of the future. But it won’t be like the TV we’ve come to know. It will be much more interactive and will be aware of who is using it — and what that person is interested in learning about. Technologies/applications like Apple’s AirPlay will become more standard, allowing a person to move from device to device without missing a beat. Transmedia storytellers will thrive in this environment!

Much of the professionally done content will be created by teams of specialists, including the publishers of educational content, and the in-house teams of specialists within colleges, universities, and corporations around the globe. Perhaps consortiums of colleges/universities will each contribute some of the content — more readily accepting previous coursework that was delivered via their consortium’s membership.

An additional thought regarding higher education and K-12 and their Smart Classrooms/Spaces:
For input devices…
The “chalkboards” of the future may be transparent, or they may be on top of a drawing board-sized table or they may be tablet-based. But whatever form they take and whatever is displayed upon them, the ability to annotate will be there; with the resulting graphics saved and instantly distributed. (Eventually, we may get to voice-controlled Smart Classrooms, but we have a ways to go in that area…)

Below are some of the graphics that capture a bit of what I’m seeing in my mind…and in our futures.

Alternatively available as a PowerPoint Presentation (audio forthcoming in a future version)

— from Daniel S. Christian | April 2011

DreamBox Learning CEO to speak on adaptive learning

On 04/05/2011, in educational games / serious games, higher education, innovation, learning agents, mathematics, social learning / networks, by Daniel Christian

DreamBox Learning CEO to speak on adaptive learning at Arizona State University Education Innovation Summit – from

DreamBox Learning (http://www.dreambox.com), the leading adaptive learning company, today announced that its President and Chief Executive Officer, Jessie Woolley-Wilson, will speak at the Arizona State (ASU) Education Innovation Summit about the positive impact of intelligent adaptive technology in the classroom. The panel session — Is Farmville the Future of Learning? Games, Social Platforms, Adaptive Technology – will be held on Wednesday, April 6 at 1:15 p.m. at SkySong, the ASU Innovation Center in Scottsdale. The full Education Innovation Summit runs from April 5-7.

“The ASU Education Innovation Summit provides a platform for education and technology trailblazers to come together in a think tank environment to share ideas about how to ensure that our kids, teachers and school administrators have the critical tools to achieve academic greatness,” said Jessie Woolley-Wilson, President and CEO of DreamBox Learning. “I’m very excited to join respected industry colleagues to discuss how intelligent adaptive learning technology, social platforms, and gaming principles are collectively having a transformative impact on our education system and future generations of learners.”

Ms. Woolley-Wilson will share insights on the evolving adaptive learning sector as well as showcase how DreamBox Learning’s intelligent adaptive learning platform is leading the transformation, helping kids at any skill level achieve math proficiency.

Tagged with: 1:1 • customized learning • games • higher education • innovation • Learning Agents • math • personalized learning • social learning

Find the future! An upcoming event/game at the New York Public Library

On 04/01/2011, in educational games / serious games, future, library / librarians, student-related, by Daniel Christian

Originally saw this at:
Jane McGonigal hits New York Public Library in new game — from cnet.com

Tagged with: future • games • library / librarians • society • student-related

EdWeek’s 2011 Technology Counts [comments by Jesse Moyer]

On 03/28/2011, in 21st century, assessment, education technology, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, K-12 related, leadership, personalized/customized learning, student teaching/teacher education, by Daniel Christian

EdWeek’s 2011 Technology Counts — from The Future of Education by Jesse Moyer

Also see the report at:

Tagged with: 1:1 • 21st century • assessment • customized learning • educational technology • engagement • games • K-12 • leadership • personalized learning • student teaching/teacher education

The Education Game-Changer [Neal Bascomb]

On 03/22/2011, in education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, future, game-changing environment, by Daniel Christian

The Education Game-Changer — from the Huffington Post by Neal Bascomb (author of THE NEW COOL, a story about science, education, and robots)

Charter schools, standardized tests, merit pay, teacher tenure — worthy topics, but ones about incremental movements in an American educational system desperate for a game-changer.

…

A noble ambition, but the truth is we already have the technology to transform education and return American schools to their preeminence in the world. The game-changer is the creation of a first-class, digital educational platform with enhanced, immersive lessons across a range of subjects at all grade levels. Technology will be in our schools, the focus should be on the quality of content on their screens.

For generations calculus has been taught the same way.

…

Now imagine learning calculus in a new way. Color tablet computer in hand, students choose their preferred learning style (lecture-based, symbolic, text, or visual). They set their own pace and level of interactivity. They select the avatar of their choice to deliver lectures (will.i.am, anyone) and how often they need to be quizzed to determine/aid retention. The standards of what is taught do not change, but their presentation is remarkably transformed. Instead of a blur of equations and two-dimensional graphs, imagine calculus illustrated with 3-D animations and defined in terms of its real-world applications. Solving a differential equation to determine trajectory is a lot more interesting if we make it about a doomsday scenario of an asteroid crashing into Earth — or just missing. Such video game-like techniques would be part and parcel of this new platform. Add in a social network, where students can interact with their peers, and an “app” market where experts offer their own pieces of the puzzle, and this platform comes even more alive.

More here…

Tagged with: education • education reform • educational technology • future • game-changing environment • games

Game levels and scaffolding–they’re related [Karl Kapp]

On 03/14/2011, in educational games / serious games, instructional design, learning theories, motivation, play, by Daniel Christian

Game levels and scaffolding–they’re related — from Kaplan EduNeering by Karl Kapp

Tagged with: educational gaming • games • instructional design • learning theories • motivation • play

When textbooks and social media collide

On 03/09/2011, in digital storytelling, education technology, educational games / serious games, history, online learning, online media, play, simulations, social media, textbooks, by Daniel Christian

When textbooks and social media collide — CampusTechnology.com by Bridget McCrea
A professor at a Christian liberal arts college in Michigan puts textbooks together with social networking to get students jazzed about historical events.

Right around the time that the term “social networking” was starting to roll off the tongues of school administrators and teachers, Christian Spielvogel was already deep in the throes of a project that would combine the next concept with traditional textbooks.

The year was 2007, and Spielvogel, now an associate professor of communication at Hope College in Holland, MI, was experimenting with the idea of implementing gaming and computer simulations while on sabbatical at the University of Virginia. Having conducted intensive research into the public memory of the Civil War period, Spielvogel wanted to “un-romanticize” public perception of the conflict and create a more realistic, engaging, and even risky learning experience for high school and college students.

Using the University of Virginia’s Valley of the Shadow digital archive as a guide–and funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Virginia Foundation for the Humanities for financial support–Spielvogel developed an online reenactment and multiplayer role-playing simulation that takes place during the American Civil War.

…

Little did Spielvogel know at the time, but his creation would become an early example of how computer gaming can be successfully combined with education. “At the time, there had already been some efforts made to develop games and simulations with most of them based on single-player models,” said Spielvogel, “but the whole idea of a multiplayer experience that allowed a group to become involved in the game and interact online was still pretty new.”

Tagged with: digital storytelling • educational gaming • games • history • online learning • online media • play • simulations • social media • textbooks

Game theories: What online gaming teaches us about talent development

On 03/08/2011, in business, educational games / serious games, leadership, professional development, strategy, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Where can our most talented, passionate individuals thrive through accelerated learning, sharing, self-managed teams, transparent and mutual accountability, clear markers for merit and the opportunity to volunteer for work that involves their best talents and strongest interests so they stay passionately involved?

Thankfully, we have discovered that seven game-like conditions can be adapted to the workplace to accelerate talent development. As competitive and economic pressures mount, companies will need to find ways to transform the workplace into an environment that helps talent to develop faster.

Here is a brief description of this addictive game that attracts over 12 million people around the world and the practical pointers that can be gleaned from it.

Tagged with: business • games • leadership • professional development • strategy • workplace

What makes a good learning game? Going beyond edutainment.

On 03/04/2011, in educational games / serious games, instructional design, learning, motivation, play, by Daniel Christian

What makes a good learning game? Going beyond edutainment — from e-Learning Magazine by Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen

After developing more than 30 learning games I can safely say that it is definitely not an easy task. Developing good learning games requires constant attention to opposing factors, which only through creativity can truly be made to smoothly work together.

Since the inception of computer games, there has been learning games. In the early years, games were used to demonstrate the potential benefits of computers. Although learning games date back to at least the 1960s, it is still a discipline fraught with challenges [1]. One of the fundamental questions that remain unanswered is: What really makes a good learning game? This simple question is far from trivial as it might be seem upon first sight. The question relates to what we define as a good game and what we define as good learning—none of which have been fully answered.

This article is not be a quick-guide for “how to design” learning games with ideas like points, leveling, power-ups and clear goals. Rather it will present a helicopter view on what often happens when you apply these principles and ignore the fundamental structure of games. You may very well create a learning game that is motivating, and uses level and feedback in some ways, but still fail miserable. This often happens because designers are not conscious of how games are fundamentally structured. They forget games are about “what you do” and not “what you see.” Instructional designers apply game principles but forget to step back and see whether these principles distort the learning experience. Often this happens by failing to integrate game and learning goals, losing sight of the difference between seeing and doing, and accidentally derailing the player away from learning in favor of pure fun. When you use very simple principles from games in your e-learning applications the risk of distortion is less, unlike when designing more complex, game-based learning applications.

Tagged with: games • instructional design • learning • motivation • play

Top Mobile Internet Trends — from Mary Meeker & Matt Murphy

On 02/11/2011, in convergence, dangers of the status quo, disruption, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, game-changing environment, internet, mobile learning, mobile technologies, strategy, tablets, trends, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: convergence • dangers of the status quo • disruption • engagement • game-changing environment • games • internet • Mobile learning • mobile technology • strategy • tablets • trends • vendors

Alternative reality games (ARGs) as mobile learning

On 02/07/2011, in creativity, digital storytelling, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, interactivity, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, storytelling, by Daniel Christian

Alternative reality games (ARGs) as mobile learning — from Float Mobile Learning by John Feser

Excerpts:

An alternate reality game, or ARG for short, (pronounced by saying the letters ‘A-R-G’, not by sounding like a pirate) is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a stage for telling a story, playing out a scenario or creating a learning experience. ARGs make use of diverse media and game elements to help tell and impact the outcome of the story.

…

Mobile devices combined with a good story and an educational game can be a powerful way to increase engagement and activity level of your learners. ARGs offer an interesting way to bring your mobile technology along for the ride. ARGs are being successfully used in marketing and entertainment as well as to train and solve real world problems. Organizations that are looking for creative ways to engage in mobile learning should consider the benefits ARGs have to offer. By crafting a realistic, enjoyable experience, you’ll be reinforcing behavior that most companies are actively seeking in their employees: critical problem solving, inquisitiveness and creativity.

Tagged with: creativity • digital storytelling • engagement • engaging students • games • Mobile learning • mobile technology • multimedia • story • storytelling

Tagged with: games • iPhone • K-12 • programming

How will technologies like AirPlay change education? 24x7x365 access on any device is one possibility..

On 01/17/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, e-books, e-readers, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, flipping -- inverted learning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), informal learning, innovation, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, lifelong learning, media/film, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, play, simulations, social learning / networks, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, technology (general), telepresence, training / L&D, transmedia, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), user interface design, videoconferencing, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, web-based collaboration, webinars, by Daniel Christian

Addendum on 1-20-11:
The future of the TV is online — from telegraph.co.uk
Your television’s going to get connected, says Matt Warman

Tagged with: 1:1 • 21st century • 24x7x365 • 3D • A/V • Apple • blended learning • corporate training / universities • Daniel S. Christian • digital audio • digital learning • digital storytelling • digital textbooks • digital video • disruption • distance ed • e-books • e-learning • e-readers • education reform • educational technology • engagement • engaging students • entrepreneurship • flipping -- inverted learning • future • future of higher education • games • higher education • homeschooling/homeschoolers • human-computer interaction (HCI) • hybrid learning • informal learning • innovation • interaction design • interactivity • interface design • internet • iPad • iPhone • iPod • IT • Keeping students engaged • kiosks & digital displays • learner profiles • learning • learning spaces • Lifelong learning • Media/film • multimedia • online learning • online media • play • podcasting • simulations • social learning • teaching & learning • technologies for the home • telecommunications • telepresence • training • transmedia • TV • ubiquitous learning • user experience • user interface design • UX • videoconferencing • virtual reality / worlds / learning • visualizing information • vodcasting • Walmart of Education • web-based collaboration • webinars

TED talk about re-engaging boys in learning — from GETIdeas.org

On 01/15/2011, in educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: educational gaming • engagement • engaging students • games • Keeping students engaged • student-related

Previous Entries Next Entries

Learning Ecosystems