Articles in Editorspicks

[10 Apr 2012 | Comments Off on Can Computer Games Help Kids Learn? | 3,223 views]
Can Computer Games Help Kids Learn?

The explosive growth in video gaming has brought some positive attention to the power of video games to engage kids and also to teach. As with anything in life, there is the risk of playing too much, playing the wrong kind of games, and even of addiction. It is the fear of addiction and other negative effects of video games that have some calling for restraints on all video game usage.

[11 Mar 2012 | Comments Off on 22 Ways to Create Compelling Content When You Don’t Have a Clue [Infographic] | 3,147 views]

So I’m not a big fan of infographics in general, but this one from Copyblogger is well done.

See the full infographic on Copyblogger for 22 ways to create compelling content when you don’t have a clue.

[13 Feb 2012 | Comments Off on Pedagogy in Commercial Video Games | 2,623 views]
Pedagogy in Commercial Video Games

This post is based on an email correspondence with a colleague; it became an interesting discussion so I turned it into a blog post.
What do you find meaningful about the emphasis on fun in games?
I think the power of “fun” to create engagement in learning can’t be underestimated. Marc Prensky describes a certain game that detects player decision-making and makes the game harder for them. Despite being more frustrating, players keep playing and try to overcome the limitations they are given. “Fun” doesn’t mean avoiding challenges, in fact when it …

[1 Feb 2012 | Comments Off on Edtech and Elmer Fudd | 3,370 views]

OK, in this post I’m not going to talk about Elmer Fudd but rather a distant cousin – the FUD factor. What is the FUD factor? Unfortunately, it’s something that rules many aspects of our lives. FUD stands for

Fear
Uncertainty
Doubt

When faced with something new, or sometimes just different, it’s natural to react with fear or uncertainty about the new thing and doubt that it’s worth our time. Or doubt that we can figure out what’s worth our time, since there are so many new things all the time – especially when …

[25 Dec 2011 | Comments Off on The Top 10…Top 10 lists from 2011! | 2,394 views]

I know, I know, I can hear the groans – “Not another top 10 list for the end of the year, there are already too many to read!” No problem! I’m here to help – what follows – in no particular order – is the list of the only top 10 lists an EdTechie (yes, that can be a word now!) should bother reading for the end-of-year list-fest for Dec 2011.
NOTE: Yes, I also noticed these aren’t strictly all top 10 lists – top 3, top 5, and many other …

[24 May 2010 | Comments Off on It’s not what you know, it’s how you know it | 1,960 views]

It’s not what you know, it’s how you know…that you know it… (huh???)
What’s an educational technologist to do? Objectivism, constructivism, behaviorism, cognitivism, there are many isms that don’t seem to get along very well. Although each perspective seems to reflect at least some part of reality, there is little middle ground to reconcile all these varied theories. Reality either exists and is revealed to us as we learn, or there is no reality outside of what we think we know. Each theory seems to exclude the world view of the …