education
Part I: The Unique Obstacles Teachers Face Today’s 21st century students are not like their parents’ generation. Never before have we, as a civilization, experienced such a large generation gap — and the reason behind it is video games. Within the span of only one generation the world’s dominant form of entertainment has shifted from passive (TV, Novels, Comic Books, Theater, etc) to interactive. This represents a fundamental shift in individual interactions with the community, and other segments of society are struggling to keep up. The goal of making the rest of our lives as engaging, interactive, and collaborative as the entertainment our generation consumes is the essence of gamification, and nowhere else is gamification as needed as in the classroom.
The Gamified Classroom
Research Sheds Light on Mobility in Teaching, Learning
Posted September 19, 2011 ABILENE, TX – Abilene Christian University announces recent research findings from its ACU Connected mobile learning program that show how mobility is transforming teaching and learning. After three years of investigations and empirical research studies based on Apple's iPhone, iPod touch and last year, the iPad, ACU named time efficiency, increased independence, engagement and enhanced communication as mobility's emerging themes. Seven newly appointed ACU 2011-12 Mobile-Learning Fellows have launched six new studies to explore these themes in depth. In a highly-controlled scientific study, ACU students who used an iPad to annotate text performed at a rate 25 percent higher on questions regarding transfer of information than their counterparts who used only paper. A study of student iPad usage patterns is currently underway, conducted by Dr.That includes me. I’m not worried, though, at least for the moment. Amid acute budget crises, state universities like mine can’t afford to take that very big step — adopting the technology that renders human instructors obsolete. I began teaching classes online 10 years ago, but the term “online” is misleading.
Online Courses, Still Lacking That Third Dimension