Archive
element:how
Review: The Multiplayer Classroom by Lee Sheldon
"Play the game," is a phrase commonly thrown around when people are discussing a challenge in the workplace or at school. We say that to mean - look at life like a game of chess that requires you to make calculated risks, problem solve, rise to challenges and interact with others. The big question is: Can everything in life be game? According to Associate Professor and Co-Director at the Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Lee Sheldon, the answer is yes.
The Seven Steps to Becoming a 21st Century School or District
Last summer, as I was winding down my eight years as president of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, I went around the country and met with 30 superintendents, asking them, "What can I do to support your efforts to implement 21st century education in your district?" Together we came up with the idea of creating a professional learning community (PLC) of education leaders committed to 21st century education. A team of us liked the idea so much that earlier this year we launched EdLeader21, a community of education leaders committed to building critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity into their educational system.
Q&A: Video Games Broaden Learning for Diverse Learning Styles
Dr. Paul D. Cotnoir, who leads the computer video game department as chair of design at Becker College, answered a few questions for Getting Smart on his views around gaming for learning following the Serious Play Conference in Redmond, Wash. this August.
Excited and Concerned about the Shift to Personal Digital Learning
Based on a sample of about a hundred educators from 16 southern states, the shift to personal digital learning creates new opportunity and new concerns. In several settings, we discussed factors accelerating the shift: Inexpensive mobile devices, learning apps The shift to online assessments led by two state consortia…
Relationships Key to High Quality Online Instruction
Last week we explored the importance of quality content but it is teachers that bring it to life. This week, Digital Learning Now released a video summary of Element #6, high quality instruction.
Leading the Shift to Personal Digital Learning
The shift to digital learning is expanding educational opportunity in the U.S. and even more significantly in emerging economies. The potential to customize learning, to boost engagement, and to extend learning at reduced costs is a set of world-changing opportunities.
18 Low Tech Ways to Help Kids & Educators Get Smart
I frequently write about new learning technologies, but there are lots of low tech learning innovations (i.e., produce better outcomes and potentially cost less). Here’s a lit of 18. I bet you can add two to the list to make it an even 20. At this point, some aren’t…
Serious Games Promote Engagement and Learning
Game developers, educators and business professionals met at the DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Wash. this week to explore the ways games and simulations (sims) are revolutionizing learning, professional development, military training and health for the annual Serious Play Conference.
OpenEd: Changing the Way the World Learns
A New York Times article last week suggested that big ideas are dead. At Open Education Solutions, we don’t think so—we want to change the way the world learns. We see evidence of new approaches to learning that work better. Following are four examples of how we’re helping to deploy new strategies, structures, and technologies.
Demonstrated Competence
The goal of school is learning but we still manage it based on time. Students still progress a year at a time after a 180 day school year along with other kids their age. Occasionally politicians call for an end to social promotion, but just mean making struggling students repeat a grade. We didn’t really have a better way to manage matriculation in the era of data poverty.