Ed Media/Academia meets Instrusty Summit

Posted onJuly 13, 2008 
Filed under Conversations, EmergingTechnologies, Learning 2.0, ReportingIn, Trends | Leave a Comment

Conference Notes

I generally focused on topics around web 2.0, virtual environments, and gaming. Connections to the people behind some of these presentations you’ll find in my Twitter and Facebook friends.

Here are my notes for EdMedia. I have too a CD of the proceedings papers and abstracts for anyone to use.
(World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications)
I also attended a small conference on the visual web and Academic Meets Industry a summit where academics and the gaming industry talked about big picture trends and issues. Here are my notes

Games for education and the industry

  1. There are already gaming platforms available that can be used to redesign curriculum
  2. Inquiry/problem based design are two approaches
  3. Example of a Computer Science game-based curriculum is at RIT
  4. Games are successfully used in Language learning, training, fitness,health,
  5. Hunter Hoffman uses games for young burn victims. Instead of morphine, they play immersive games while getting treatments
  6. A great game can become a cultural phenomenon.
  7. There is way too little assessment or evaluation of the outcomes of games for learning.
  8. It’s also not clear that they are effective, educational games tend to take the fun out of the game. And there’s some evidence that the learning that does happen, takes place during associated activities

The Talent Crunch

  1. It’s hard to find students with the STEM skill
  2. Students who are trained in “traditional” computer science, the arts and graphic design are better prepared than students who are in poorly designed game design curriculum. “IF students don’t have the core competencies in art, cs and design, they can only go as far as the tools will take them.
  3. There’s a concern in academia that the industry is too focused on vocational training
  4. At the same time, there are no good models for educating students to work in this industry. Looking at film schools and art schools is useful.
  5. Some companies like Electronic Arts have their own curriculum to train new hires.
  6. Everyone agrees that industry needs to be more actively involved in working with academia to meet the demands of industry
  7. Although engineering leads designs, the field is very creative, with artists, cinematographers, composers.
  8. And while technical and creative skills are very important, communication skills are considered extrememely important.
  9. Casual games see the largest and fastest growth
  10. High Definition may detract from storytelling which is the kingpin in good game design
  11. Universities can provide a context that adapts to the shifts in Industry and technology and as such developing students core competencies in CS and the ARTS is a good strategy.
  12. It is very difficult to say what technologies will take hold and how they impact the field.

Learning in Virtuality Archived Session

Posted onJune 25, 2008 
Filed under EmergingTechnologies, Events, Learning 2.0, Trends, Uncategorized, announcements | Comments Off

Access the archived Horizon Wimba session go to Blackboard>Course Design Institute>Communications>Live Classrooms>Learning in Virtuality Archive.*

* A string of links with the greater than symbol “>” inserted is a simplified way of showing the path to a link that’s a few levels into a website. The links are often, but not always in the main menu of each level.

Deliverables 2 and 3 for 2007 Fellows up and ready to go

Posted onJune 23, 2008 
Filed under CourseDesign, Housekeeping, announcements | Comments Off

We had a very successful working group session on June 13th for 2007 Fellows. One of our goals was to collectively produce a draft of the the next 2 deliverables. The impetus behind having Fellows decide what their goals will be is rooted in creating more collaborative leadership mechanisms and bringing Faculty’s organizational and governing experience into programmatic decision making. We also believe that folks are generally more enthusiastic about achieving goals when they’re involved in setting them. The document is linked here and on the Resources for Fellows page.

Learning in Virtuality - A Primer

Posted onJune 9, 2008 
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virtualityflyer.jpg

Webinar June 9 “Assessing the Impact of Technology on Learning”

Posted onMay 30, 2008 
Filed under Events, announcements | Comments Off

Another great webinar from ELI.

We’ll be showing it in AH 1112 (Monday, June 9, 10 am). It’s open to all and archived too. Access archived sessions here. You’ll need to set up an Educause account with your sdsu email to do so.

Karen Swan
Research Professor,
Research Center for Educational Technology
Kent State University

Good questions, Swan argues, specify not just outcomes but also inputs and, most importantly, learning processes. In this seminar, she will review the major issues and processes to consider in assessing the impact of technology on student learning. In particular, she will highlight the importance of carefully assessing teaching and learning inputs and processes in addition to learning outcomes in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of where and how the use of technology supports learning.