No need to leave connected learning to the imagination. Well, sort of – plenty is left to students' imaginations! Teacher Jacqui Murray in southern California spells out in a blog post exactly how she uses Minecraft for students to work on reading comprehension, writing and problem-solving. She agrees with New Jersey K-8 teacher Marianne Malmstrom on what makes Minecraft so great for learning: … [Read more...] about A teacher on what teaching in Minecraft looks like
Search Results for: digital citizenship
Neutralize the ‘negativity bias’ against kids’ Net use
This post is not about technology. It's about how we (humankind) have been wiring our brains to think about technology. We have quite a hole to climb out of. Not only are our brains already "wired to scout for the bad stuff," the Huffington Post reports, referring to what neuropsychologist and author Rick Hanson calls our "negativity bias." We've been reinforcing that bias with at least 15 years … [Read more...] about Neutralize the ‘negativity bias’ against kids’ Net use
Parents more protectionist than empowering: Study
Readers, this post (like a few others, recently) is inspired by my participation on the Aspen Institute Task Force on Learning and the Internet that got started last month. The task force would love to have you join us in what we hope will become a nationwide conversation about safe, successful and connected learning. Pls sign up to join the conversation here, and you'll get more information … [Read more...] about Parents more protectionist than empowering: Study
Minecraft & the shared, creative safety of gaming, social media
Reporters and reviewers write about Minecraft as if it's just like any other videogame. Even this highly readable piece about its creator (Markus Persson, aka "Notch") and its parent company (Mojang) by Harry McCracken in Time magazine doesn't cover what makes it different from other games specifically for its kid (and parent) players. But he does bring out this extraordinary differentiating … [Read more...] about Minecraft & the shared, creative safety of gaming, social media
Why not a gazillion ‘likes’?: Getting wise to gamification in social media (& life)
Likes in Facebook and Instagram, +1's in Google+, (potentially) "HISCORE(s)" in Snapchat are fun to get (though there isn't much evidence having a HISCORE is a big deal for Snapchat users yet). They're a great example of gamification, a word that's increasingly heard in pop culture as much as education. There's nothing wrong with liking likes and other gamification forms (more on this in minute). … [Read more...] about Why not a gazillion ‘likes’?: Getting wise to gamification in social media (& life)

