The subhead of this post might be: “Writing code as an extracurricular activity” or Venturebeat‘s headline, “Why your 8-year-old should be coding,” or just “Let them learn code!” Another article about Harvard undergrads’ extracurricular code-writing activity shows how that activity can enrich a whole lot of lives as well as open up careers for young [...]
These are projects that get young people and classrooms participating in the digital maker movement: Current or aspiring videogame designers and videographers have about a month to submit their creations to three different contests: The National STEM Videogame Challenge, Whyville’s game design contest, and Trend Micro’s What’s Your Story video producing contest. Design a videogame [...]
Filed in constructivist learning, education technology, learning, Literacy & Citizenship, online safety, School & Tech
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Also tagged contests, digital media, ed tech, Joan Ganz Cooney Center, learning, maker movement, online safety, STEM, Trend Micro, video game design, video production, videographers, Whyville, Youth
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A recent survey by the Pew Internet Project shows how pervasive technology has become in American classrooms. “Laptops and desktops are central, but … mobile technology use has also become commonplace in the learning process,” the Pew researchers write, adding that the 2,462 teachers surveyed feel “digital technologies have helped them in teaching their middle [...]
Guest post by Marianne Malmstrom At the Elisabeth Morrow School, we have been on a journey to help our students develop the essential skills of creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking and citizenship. We turned to virtual worlds and MOGs because these are the same skills many young gamers practice through immersive play. Initially, we used [...]
Filed in education technology, school, School & Tech, school innovation, School Policy, teachers
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Also tagged digital citizenship, digital environments, digital literacy, education technology, Elisabeth Morrow School, learning, Marianne Malmstrom, media literacy, MineCraft, social literacy, students
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Well, two great back-to-school messages, actually. I’ll get to the one from two organizations in a minute. First, one from a parent: At a time when so many families are feeling swamped with stuff added to schedules and school supplies lists – and that’s on top of run-of-the-mill, everyday parental pressures that probably include worries [...]
Filed in student activism, students, Youth, youth activism
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Also tagged back to school, Born This Way Foundation, bullying, cyberbullying, FOSI, grassroots, MacArthur Foundation, Platform for Good, social action, social good, students, Youth, Youth Advisory Board
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As I read “5 myths about mobile learning,” I realized how literal we are in our assumptions – and how much we base them on a technology’s physical properties. When you really think about it – or compare the assumptions to the reality – it can make you smile (if you don’t let yourself get [...]
Filed in education, education technology, Mobile, mobile learning, School & Tech
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Also tagged 21st century learning, cellphones, classroom, digital media, education technology, mobile learning, mobile technology, teaching
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This week: the first of a three-part series on two educators working in very different spheres – John Seely Brown at the University of Southern California, helping adults think creatively about learning, and Marianne Malmstrom at the Elisabeth Morrow School in New Jersey, helping children learn creatively Play is essential, says John Seely Brown, to [...]
Filed in digital citizenship, digital literacy, digital media, Digital Tech, education technology, learning
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Also tagged 21st century learning, digital learning, digital media, DML, Douglas Thomas, homo ludens, John Seely Brown, MacArthur Foundation, MineCraft, play, videogames, World of Warcraft
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Listen. Ask our kids about their in-game experiences, and then listen a lot. It may sound simple and we’ve heard it before, but listening can have powerful effects. This video interview for Kids and Media UK about kids and videogames with University of Bournemouth professor Stephen Heppell, who for more than 30 years has been [...]
Filed in Gaming, Parenting, play, Youth
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Also tagged Child Development, education, education reform, learning, online games, Parenting, Stephen Heppell, videogames
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…with the focus on the learners, which can certainly include the teacher. This is the conceptual infrastructure, presented in educator Jackie Gerstein’s User-Generated Education blog, for using tech in the classroom. How does it play out? More emphasis on learners and learning, using technology to facilitate that. Starting when a class first meets. Literally – [...]
Filed in education technology, Literacy & Citizenship, mobile learning, pedagogy, Risk & Safety, Safety, School & Tech
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Also tagged digital citizenship, education technology, Jackie Gerstein, mobile learning, online safety, Social Media, wall wisher, wifitti
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Because most schools block entire social media sites in an effort to keep out inappropriate content, they also block all the perfectly appropriate and even educational content on the social Web. That goes for YouTube too, of course. But “YouTube has a vast library of content, much of which can be used for educational purposes,” [...]