One of the most remarkable things about the report of the Aspen Task Force on Learning & the Internet, I believe, is how in sync it is with students' own view of what needs to happen in US education. Clearly, if a constitutional convention on students' rights were held today, the various parties – students, educators, parents, policymakers – would have a good deal of common ground right out of … [Read more...] about A task force report & a student bill of rights
School & Tech
Toward student-centered learning: Delete fear, add agency
"School," said University of Maryland student and game designer Erik Martin in a TEDx talk last fall, "operates counter to the interests of children. In school, we're not really taught to overcome a challenge; we're taught to fear the prospect of failure…. How on earth can you innovate in a system that fears failure so much?... Our education method … doesn't create resilient, inspired … [Read more...] about Toward student-centered learning: Delete fear, add agency
Digital summer camp Part 2: Of managing a child’s Minecraft time
"I'm sad that my son is so busy with homework and other stuff lately that he hasn't had time to even play Minecraft! I think it's a better use of his time than homework." That's a comment from a mom and educator in San Jose, Calif., posted under an article by educator Kevin Jarrett in Edutopia last fall: "Too much is never enough: managing a child's time playing Minecraft." Because he ran an … [Read more...] about Digital summer camp Part 2: Of managing a child’s Minecraft time
For digital summer camp, kid-source a game (or play this one!)
One year ago this month, its 3rd-through-6th grader designers launched the fifth and final iteration of Escape to Morrow, an open source digital game they designed in Minecraft for Minecraft players. The five iterations – including writing and rewriting backstories, creating maps, finding mods (Minecraft modifications out on the Web) and producing the trailer – took a year of work in summer camp, … [Read more...] about For digital summer camp, kid-source a game (or play this one!)
A media mentor for every child
Author and journalist Lisa Guernsey has a great idea – one that clearly grows out of her research for the recent book, Screen Time: How Electronic Media – From Baby Videos to Educational Software – Affects Your Young Child, and her work in early childhood education for public policy think tank the New America Foundation. [I loved her cover story for The Atlantic based on the book and wrote about … [Read more...] about A media mentor for every child