On 09/13/2011,
in accessibility / UDL, communications, educational games / serious games, play, special needs,
by Daniel Christian
On 08/23/2011,
in communities of practice, creativity, education, education technology, hearts -- matters of the heart, K-12 related, love of learning, passions, play,
by Daniel Christian
First day of school: Anastasis Academy #standagain — from iLearnTechnology.com
Excerpt:
Today was one for the books. We did it! We opened a school with a radical new vision for what a school should look like in light of learning. It was a truly great day!
Mission:
[Anastasis Academy’s mission] is to apprentice children in the art of learning through inquiry, creativity, critical thinking, discernment and wisdom. We strive to provide an educational model that honors and supports children as the unique and creative individuals that God created them to be. We work to shape the development of the whole-child by engaging the mind, body and spirit while inspiring each to personal excellence.
Also see:
Look where you want to go and steer in that direction: How a blog started a school — from Dreams of Education (6/24/11)
From DSC:
24 “The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26) May He bless your efforts as you seek to not only impact the minds of — but also the hearts of — your students.
We really need to impact both in order for our future students to make significant, positive impacts around the globe. Way to go Kelly!
On 07/26/2011,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, convergence, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, flipping -- inverted learning, future, future of higher education, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, multi-touch, multimedia, music, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, play, social learning / networks, social media, storytelling, streams of content, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Intel predicts Smart TV is the device of the future — from nyxiotechnologies.com’s blog
Chipmaker Intel believes that the Smart TV is the electronic device of the future, in the living room anyway.
Excerpt:
The Smart TV is already upon us, in its various forms from various manufacturers. It has arrived with 3D capabilities, web browsing and social networking and applications. Currently Samsung and LG seem to be two of the big players pushing the Smart TV to consumers.
Also see:
On 06/20/2011,
in Australia, innovation, interactivity, learning, learning spaces, play, smart classrooms, social learning / networks,
by Daniel Christian
On 06/14/2011,
in A/V -- audio/visual, art, creativity, Europe, innovation, interactivity, music, play,
by Daniel Christian
On 06/14/2011,
in creativity, digital storytelling, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, play, story, storytelling, transmedia,
by Daniel Christian
The Evolution of Transmedia Storytelling
These videos capture a discussion between Frank Rose, Author of “The Art of Immersion” (and a contributing Editor at Wired) and Jeff Gomez, President and CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment at Ad Age’s “Creativity and Technology” (CaT) Conference in NYC June 9th, 2011.
- The Evolution of Transmedia Storytelling (Part 1 of 3) (5 min introduction)
- The Evolution of Transmedia Storytelling (Part 2 of 3) (15 min)
- The Evolution of Transmedia Storytelling (Part 3 of 3) (14.5 min)
On 05/04/2011,
in 21st century, active learning, assessment, education reform, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, global / globalization, ideas, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, love of learning, morals/values, motivation, participation, play, policy, political science, presentations, project-based learning, real-world assignments, relationships, society, sociology, staying relevant, story, storytelling, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teaching & learning, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
John Hunter on the World Peace Game — TED March 2011 — my thanks to Mr. Joseph and Mrs. Kate Byerwalter for this great presentation
About this talk
John Hunter puts all the problems of the world on a 4’x5′ plywood board — and lets his 4th-graders solve them. At TED2011, he explains how his World Peace Game engages schoolkids, and why the complex lessons it teaches — spontaneous, and always surprising — go further than classroom lectures can.
About John Hunter
Teacher and musician John Hunter is the inventor of the World Peace Game (and the star of the new doc “World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements”).
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
- Hunch brings predictions to Internet TV — from ReadWriteWeb.com by Mike Melanson
- Group video calling comes to iPhone & Android in Fring beta test – from Mashable.com by Jennifer Van Grove
- State of the Art Tutoring is Going Online — from chatam.patch.com by K.F. Rogers (originally saw at Ray Schroeder’s blog)
- Storytelling: Video games’ next killer app — from CNN.com by Scott Steinberg
- YouTube finally launches live streaming portal to select partners — from ReadWriteWeb.com by Marshall Kirkpatrick
- The art of immersion, digital storytelling and transmedia — from Six Pixels of Separation
- Reversing course, U. of California to borrow millions for online classes — from The Chronicle by Josh Keller
- Non-stop Learning Futures conference spans three time zones to mirror demands of 24/7 global society — from 24dash.com
- Call for presentations: Online learning, teaching, and research in the new media ecology — from Ray Schroeder and the Sloan Consortium
…It is clear that we are in the midst of rapid and ongoing changes in the way that we communicate and represent ideas and these changes have profound consequence for how we know, learn, think, and teach in higher education and beyond. The dizzying pace of change is highlighted by the fact that even the relatively new conventions of online education associated with asynchronous learning networks are being challenged by emerging means of access, such as mobile and cloud computing, new forms of communication, such as video streaming and instant messaging, as well as the innovative modes of participation represented in social media.
Addendum on 4-14-11:
- Surprise! Online TV is billion-dollar biz — from cnn.com
On 03/16/2011,
in 21st century, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, educational games / serious games, ideas, innovation, lifelong learning, love of learning, mobile technologies, passions, play,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
The incredible potential of location-aware educational materials, which could greatly enable a student to pursue their passions.
The other day, I was talking to my son after he had just finished playing a Wii-based football game. As we were talking, the situation made me reflect upon the power* that could come into play when a game/resource knows your (general) location. For example, in this NFL-based game, the system might ask if my son wants the Detroit Lions involved in the game. If he said yes, then the system might ask if my son were interested in knowing more about the Detroit Lines upcoming schedule. Again, if he answers in the affirmative, the system could provide a link to instantly take him to that information.
Now…take that same concept into the world of education, as a student attempts to pursue her passions, interests, and gifts. If she’s using a device that is teaching her how to draw, the “game” might present a list of art shows and exhibits in her area, along with information on how to get tickets to such events. In this manner, she could feed her passion. Such applications could open up a network of opportunities — in real-time — and present to a student what’s currently happening around them that could further involve them in the very thing that they are working with at that time (be it music, art, math, physics, or whatever discipline that’s involved). This is especially powerful if one were traveling or on a field trip.
Museums and educational institutions could tag their events so that such software goes out looking for such information and would bring such information back to the “game”.
It seems to me that if such technologies uncover chances to further one’s passion, the student will develop more of a love for learning. If a student develops a love for learning, the chances are better that that person will become a lifelong learner.
My bet? Some pretty cool teaching and learning times are ahead…
.
* I realize there are reflections going on in my mind — and others’ minds as well — that such power needs to be taken seriously, responsibly…and not abused from a commercial standpoint nor from a security standpoint. Software may even be needed to absolutely block such inquiries — but if we get to that point, we’ve let the bad apples out there control everything…again.
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
On 03/11/2011,
in play,
by Daniel Christian
First of all, be sure to see this one:
Laughology Clip: Origins of the Laughman – MTV, Global, CBC, Good Morning America Test The Laughman
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First Competitive American Laughing Championship Set for California
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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.
On 01/19/2011,
in creativity, digital learning, digital storytelling, interactivity, K-12 related, learning, love of learning, multimedia, music, play, storytelling,
by Daniel Christian
