Talkcast on corporate e-learning
David had a great conversation online with Brent Schlenkner (audio here) yesterday about How Computer Games Help Children Learn, with particular emphasis on how the same principles of learning apply to adults as well–and how corporations need to rethink their learning and teaching strategies as much as schools do in the digital age.
Piling on
Computer and video games have a bad reputation in some quarters, to be sure. But some of the piling on is clearly over the top.
For example, a recent article in the Economist, “No Child Left Inside,” reports on the declining number of visitors to national parks in the United States. According to the article, environmentalists are concerned that children need “a transcendent experience in nature” to become committed to environmental causes.
What caught my eye, though, was the article’s subtitle: “Put down that Xbox, young man.” Because other than referring to a book by Richard Louv (“Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from nature-defecit disorder”), the article gives no information to suggest that the decline in park visits is related to video games in any way.
In other words, games (in this case) are guilty by assumption–and even more bizarrely, the fact that books (and homework, and schools, I might add) also keep children indoors is conveniently ignored.
Video from Macarthur Foundation talk now available…
At the first in a series of regional public conversations on digital media and learning, three experts in education and gaming–including David–shared their views and experiences about the use of video games for learning. It was held at the Newberry Library in Chicago on February 8.
“Be the Reporter” in minutes
In the journalism epistemic game, science.net, players spend days and sometimes weeks learning to think like reporters by taking on this professional role and writing, and ultimately, publishing stories. So I was a bit anxious when I learned that The Poynter Institute and News University were providing an online game called “Be the Reporter” (BtR) that promised to “help users understand some of the basics” in only 15 minutes! After playing the game a couple of times through (and taking nearly an hour), I’m less anxious and more excited by the interesting design elements built into this intriguing mini-game.
Continue reading »
The nature of cities
I recently read an article from Grist, a environmental news and commentary site, that discussed the purpose and relevance of nature writing in today’s technological world. The author, Jenny Price, argued that in addition to writing about places like Thoreau’s Walden Pond, today’s generation should think and write about the natural history of iPods, Wiis, cars, and the plethora of things that we encounter in our world.
Her article made me think about the types of questions we ask during Urban Science and the kinds of stories players tell themselves and others about the cities they redevelop. What types of tradeoffs (ecological, social, political, economic) are players learning about? Most importantly, how does an understanding of urban interconnections change how they look at and act within their city? I was especially inspired by the following two questions that she thinks nature writers should address. Continue reading »
