This response to Leah A. Bricker and Phillip Bell's paper, GodMode is his video game name, examines their assertion that the social nexus of gaming practices is an important factor to consider for those looking to design STEM video games. I propose that we need to go beyond the investigation into which aspects of games play a role in learning, and move on to thinking about how these insights can actually inform game design practice.
Designed-based research principles guided the study of 51 secondary-science teachers in the second year of a 3-year professional development project. The project entailed the creation of student-centered, inquiry-based, science, video games. A professional development model appropriate for infusing innovative technologies into standards-based curricula was employed to determine how science teacher's attitudes and efficacy where impacted while designing science-based video games. The study's mixed-method design ascertained teacher efficacy on five factors (General computer use, Science Learning
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Annetta LeonardWendy FrazierElizabeth FoltaShawn HolmesRichard LambMeng-Tzu Cheng
Web 2.0 technologies have introduced increasingly participatory practices to creating content, and museums are becoming interested in the potentials of “Museum 2.0” for reaching and engaging with new audiences. As technological advances are opening up the ways in which museums share information about the objects in their collections, the means by which museums create, handle, process, and transmit knowledge has become more transparent. For this to be done effectively, however, some underlying contradictions must be resolved between museum practices, which privilege the account of the “expert,”
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ramesh SrinivasanRobin BoastJonathan FurnerKatherine Becvar
This paper suggests new strategies for introducing students to robotics technologies and concepts, and argues for the importance of providing multiple entry points into robotics. In particular, the paper describes four strategies that have been successful in engaging a broad range of learners: (1) focusing on themes, not just challenges; (2) combining art and engineering; (3) encouraging storytelling; (4) organizing exhibitions, rather than competitions. The paper describes a new technology, called the PicoCricket, that supports these strategies by enabling young people to design and program
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Natalie RuskMitchel ResnickRobbie BergMargaret Pezalla-Granlund
The term 'cyberlearning' reflects a growing national interest in managing the interactions of technology and education, especially with respect to the use of networking and information technologies. However, there is little agreement about what the term means. Such disagreements reflect underlying differences in beliefs about the purposes of education. These disagreements are problematic for anyone interested in evaluating cyberlearning practices. This study used surveys and interviews to investigate how practitioners and experts in the field of cyberlearning define it, how they implement it
FUSE is a new kind of interest-driven learning experience being developed by researchers at Northwestern University with the goal of engaging pre-teens and teens in science, technology, engineering, arts/design, and mathematics (STEAM) topics while fostering the development of important 21st century skills including adaptive problem solving, creativity, self-directed learning, persistence, and grit. FUSE is now offered in-school, after-school, and on the weekends at 23 different locations in the greater Chicago area. Through FUSE, teens can "hang out, mess around and geek out" with the FUSE set of challenges, the core activities in our Studios. Each challenge uses a leveling up model from gaming and is carefully designed to engage teens in different STEAM topics and skills sets. FUSE currently has 21 challenges in areas such as robotics, electronics, biotechnology, graphic design, Android app development, 3D printing and more. New challenges are always in development. FUSE Challenges can be tackled individually or in groups. Professional scientists, engineers, advanced undergraduates, and graduate students are available as mentors and provide a real-world connection to the concepts learned and practiced through the challenges. All challenges result in digital media artifacts that are shared online for peer review, remixing, expert judging, and collaboration. We designed the FUSE program to appeal to the interests of all young people, especially those youth who are not interested in or don't think of themselves as "good at" math and science in school. FUSE challenges provide a new way to explore science, technology, engineering, arts and design, and math in a fun and relaxed way. FUSE is based on many years of research in the learning sciences by faculty in School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University.
Multimodal technologies are creating new experiential opportunities for exploring, tinkering, learning and interacting in the virtual world. Once combined with sensorial objects and open-ended activities in the physical world, they introduce a new genre of interactive environments called ThinkeringSpace. ThinkeringSpace is a hybrid system - made of networked and remotely accessible physical environments - that seeks to bring school-age children together to collaborate face-to-face and tinker with things, both physical and virtual, reflect upon what they do and discover, and elaborate their
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Heloisa MouraDale FahnstromGreg PrygrockiT.J. McLeish
The article offers information on Quin Etnyre, a 13-year-old boy from Southern California who founded the electronics company Qtechknow. Topics discussed include Etnyre's invention of the ArduSensors plug-and-play electronic device components, Etnyre's used of the open-source electronics prototyping platform Arduino to began his company, and Entyre's hobbies such as sports including volleyball, track, and swimming.
In the article, the author discusses technological developments in the education sector in the U.S. as of October 2013. He cites the introduction of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in early 2013 that is focused on science and engineering in the K-12 curriculum. The NGSS' four disciplinary core concepts include Earth and Space Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Engineering and Technology. He presents several NGSS-friendly software like Celestia and NetLogo, as well as hardware such as the Arduino open-source programmable controller.
The main objective of the CONNECT project is to develop an innovative pedagogical framework that attempts to blend formal and informal learning, proposing an educational reform to science teaching. The project will create a network of museums, science centres and schools across Europe, to develop, apply and evaluate learning schemes by pointing to a future hybrid classroom that builds on the strengths of formal and informal strategies. The proposed approach will impact upon the fields of instructional technology, educational systems design and museum education. It will explore the integration
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Sofoklis SotiriouEleni ChatzichristouStavros SavasNikolaos OuzounoglouLynn DierkingSalmi Hannu SakariAvi HoffsteinSherman Rosenfeld
Modern zoological gardens have invested substantial resources in technology to deliver environmental education concepts to visitors. Investment in these media reflects a currently unsubstantiated belief that visitors will both use and learn from these media alongside more traditional and less costly displays. This paper proposes a model that identifies key factors theorized to influence the likelihood of visitors engaging in technology-delivered media. Using data from two case studies of large National Science Foundation-funded projects in zoos, the authors argue key factors in predicting
Young people today have grown up living substantial portions of their lives online, seeking entertainment, social relationships, and a place to express themselves. It is clear that participation in online communities is important for many young people, but less clear how this translates into civic or political engagement. This volume examines the relationship of online action and real-world politics. The contributors discuss not only how online networks might inspire conventional political participation but also how creative uses of digital technologies are expanding the boundaries of politics