Recent posts for Gina Navoa Svarovsky
Google Universe
This just in from the BBC:
Detailed 3D images of the Moon and Mars will soon be just a click away for web users, following a deal between search giant Google and US space agency Nasa.
The Space Agreement Act, signed on Monday, will put “the most useful of Nasa’s information on the internet”.
…
“This agreement between Nasa and Google will soon allow every American to experience a virtual flight over the surface of the moon or through the canyons of Mars,” said Nasa administrator Michael Griffin.
I don’t think there’s any need to explain why that is INCREDIBLY COOL… or after Gina’s recent post, why it opens up exciting possibilities for epistemic games….
Happy happy holidays from Google and NASA.
Google-icious!
It appears that Google is jumping headfirst into the primordial soup that is technology-based K-12 education. CNN has recently reported that Google is offering a free online word processor and spreadsheet editor (among several other useful online tools such as Google Maps, Google Earth, and a 3D imaging tool called Google SketchUp). This is great news for schools and educators that would like to develop technological fluency in their students but cannot afford higher-end software packages like MS Office or AutoCAD.
The new King has arrived
On Sunday night I was watching TV and a Burger King commercial came on and peaked my interest. The fast food giant has teamed with the gaming industry and is offering three Xbox/Xbox 360 games for sale during the holiday season. The titles include Pocketbike Racer, Big Bumpin’ (where BK characters engage in bumper car action), and Sneak King (a stealth game where players sneak up on hungry customers and offer them BK products). Each game can be purchased for $3.99 with the purchase of any value meal. (And for those interested, you can also get various Dance Dance Revolution toys with the purchase of a Kids Meal.)
The Next Frontier
Over the past four weeks, I’ve visited about 12 Catholic schools (distributed across elementary, middle, and high school levels) as part of my new job. Given what I’ve been working on for the past 5 years, I’m naturally drawn to asking about the technology available at these facilities. Since the ACE program typically works with under-resourced schools, one might expect there to be a lack of infrastructure within these buildings. Surprisingly, over 75% the schools that I visited had quite adequate computer labs with machines less than 4 years old, and many also had wireless internet access. I found this impressive, particularly considering several of these schools are in depressed areas where many students cannot afford to pay the full tuition.
off the beaten path
Gina recently took a position with the Univeristy of Notre Dame’s ACE program, which is a two-year, degree-granting, teacher training initiative. College graduates who are accepted into ACE work towards a Masters degree in Education (M.Ed) while teaching in under-resourced schools throughout the country. Gina supervises 32 ACE teachers located in 6 different cities. During the school year she visits and evaluates the teachers once a semester, and during the summer she will teach courses as part of the M.Ed curriculum. There are also several opportunities to potentially implement versions of epistemic games at the schools where ACE teachers are working. Gina is very excited to be working with the ACE program once again in this new capacity!
