10-Rep Learning ~ Teague's Tech Treks

Learning Technology & Tech Observations by Dr. Helen Teague

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Probably time to buy one of these if you haven’t already

Update on mobile learning in schools: From a Tech and Learning post by Kevin Hogan, Editorial Director: Google Chromebooks continue to surge: According to TechRepublic, Virginia’s Chesterfield County Public Schools ordered 32,475 Dell Chromebooks for its student population. Milwaukee Public Schools purchased 11,400 Chromebooks, Edmonton Public Schools bought 13,000 Chromebooks, and Chicago Public Schools will have 16,000 new Chromebooks for their students.

iPads also continue to be popular choices too: St. Paul (MN) School District has supplied almost half of its 70 schools with the tablets and plan to be fully 1:1 by 2015. Coppel (TX) school district is also expanding its iPad initiative.

To Read–Whitepaper: Durable Devices for the K-12 Classroom

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Weekend Ed. Quote~June 14~Vygotsky

Vygotsky Quote

 

 

 

 

~~~

Additional Posts featuring Vygotsky

More Weekend Ed. Quotes

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Nanocrafter Game Review Abstract-Updated

RUNNING HEAD: Nanocrafter Game                                                                                                               1

Academic Game Review: Nanocrafter
Helen Teague
EDLT 728: Game, Simulations, and Virtual World for Learning
Dr. Mark Chen
Summer 2014

Abstract

 Research verifies the important role of exploratory play in the development of cognitive ability, creativity, and concept management (O’Rourke, et al, 2013).  Nanocrafter is the newest game to leverage exploratory play, offered in Beta from the Center for Game Science at the University of Washington (CGS). Announced at the Games for Change conference in April, 2014, Nanocrafter offers progressing levels of skill building for players as they visualize and build nanoscale representations of synthetic protein bonds. Synthetic protein bonds do not exist naturally and must be combined by scientists through synthetic biology. Synthetic biology and DNA protein bonds can be the medical solution to real-world challenges, such as disease treatment and debilitating medical conditions.

Educators will notice how Nanocrafter leverages the cognitive precepts of Wiggins and McTighe’s Understanding by Design (UbD), Strategic Design, and socio-affective attributes such as peer-review and collaborative groups. High-school students will find an engaging portal to strengthen STEM core competencies.

 

Keywords: games, simulations, protein bonds, synthetic biology

References

Finnish Innovation Fund (2014). Helsinki Design Lab. Retrieved from: www.helsinkidesignlab.org

Minoff, A. (2014). Can we game our way to better health? Science Friday podcast, April 24, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/04/25/2014/can-we-game-our-way-to-better-health.ht

O’Rourke, R., Butler, E., Liu, Y., Ballweber, C. and Popovi´c, Z. (2013). The Effects of Age on Player Behavior in Educational Games. Foundations of Digital Games. Center for Game Science Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington.
Retrieved from http://homes.cs.washington.edu/~eorourke/papers/age_behavior_fdg.pdf

The Center for Game Science at the University of Washington. Retrieved from http://centerforgamescience.org/

Wiggins, G., McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. Pearson.

Academic Game Review

 

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Our Playtesting Games Session Today at GLS

Playtesting games: Iterating failures to success
Mark Chen, Ellen Jameson, Marshall Behringer, & Cadre 19

This workshop will provide hands-on experience with game design’s playtesting cycle (cf. Fullerton, 2014). Participant-players will playtest tabletop and digital games in progress, providing valuable feedback to participant-designers while also learning and reflecting on the playtesting process.

To fit in the one-hour format, the workshop will consist of two 30-minute playtesting cycles, each including time for playing (20-25 min) and time for structured feedback (5-10 min). If the workshop is granted more time, each additional 30 minutes allows for one more cycle. Thirty minutes is a rough estimate, however. Some games may be much shorter than 20 minutes, allowing for more players to rotate through their playtests. Likewise, some games may take longer, and we will attempt to accommodate designers who wish to hold one long playtest.

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A word Douglas Adams would love

I know I’ve been spending probably too much time on SWTOR trying to get passed Level 11, but here is a word straight out of the science fiction galaxy:

Dark Silicon (cue the deep, echo voice)

Dark silicon” is silicon you can’t afford to turn on without blowing your power budget.

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How much data is created every minute? in real time?

infographic

 

and here is a link to mind-numbing site that gives the data generate on the internet in real-time

 

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Happy 37 Apple II

Where were you in 1977?

On this day in 1977, the Apple II computer went on sale, and the PC moved from the garage to the mall. Developed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the Apple II was the first successful mass-produced microcomputer designed for home use. It came standard with 4 kilobytes of memory, game paddles, and a demo cassette with some programs on it. Most people used their televisions as monitors. This occurred in the mists of time before the Internet. When card catalogs ruled research and librarians still sshhushed rowdy students.

The Apple II sold for about $1,300. As a reflection of Moore’s Law, today that same money will buy you an iMac, with 4 gigabytes — one million times the original amount — of memory, a sleek backlit 21-inch monitor, and a 2.7 gigahertz processor.

Happy Birthday Apple II  !!!

Source: The Writer’s Almanac

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Surfly~Share Links Remotely~Surf the Web Together

Sharing is a Good Thing. Been that way since Kindergarten

Surfly is big on sharing.

Surfly is a new web-based app which allows you co-browse any web page while being able to show and see each other live cursor in real-time. You can invite multiple attendees, and each one of them can see your selected web pages no matter what kind of device or screen size they have. As you scroll the page, they see it scrolling too. To start a session you simply share a URL with those who you want to invite. No software to download or install. No need to even to register or login. My comment: The best, easiest and most convenient tool to co-browse and collaborate over any web page at a distance. It works instantly. Nothing to do make it work. Simplicity and immediacy win over features. API available. Free to use. Try it out now: https://surfly.com/ Company Blog: http://www.surfly.com/blog/  ~Robin Good via ScoopIt

Surfly from Nicholas Piël on Vimeo.

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Being Able to Just Play: Systematic Learning and Enjoyment Through Games

Being Able to Just Play.

Give a listen to four crucial minutes discussing games and their systemic engagement characteristics. Colleen Macklin, Parsons The New School of Design has a limitless quote (at about .30)

“Games themselves are not going to contain all the learning…they provide players with the disposition for future learning about a topic.”

 

“Ultimately,” says Macklin,  “games are a cultural form of systems thinking and systems understanding.”

 

Being Able to Just Play. MTMDC 2014 | Digital Games: Persuasive Play for Social Impact

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Summer To-Do List~join a book club

Summer To-Do List: Join the Summer Reading Clubs @ Your Library!

It’s officially summer and libraries across the country have summer reading clubs, groups, ‘fests, and promotions. . Reading clubs are usually divided by age: (up to Grade 5), the Teen Reading Club (Grades 6-12), and the Adult Reading Club (Ages 18+) and by genre. There’s something for everyone this summer, and often you’ll have the chance to earn prizes for continuing to read during the summer break.

Not interested in dead tree reading? Go online and join a reading group. Goodreads has many, many, many engaging and welcoming reading clubs. I’ve blogged about the one I’m in and it is the best one!!

Don’t pass up on all of the great activities because, whatever you do, don’t be caught not being a part of our club!

books in rows

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