Turns Out, Play is Play, Even If It’s a Videogame

Approximate Reading Time: 2 minutesWell that’s nice to hear. Children get the same value from playing videogames as they do from other forms of imaginative play. A Surprising New Study On How Video Games Impact Children. However, the findings do indicate “that electronic play … Continue reading →

What Wellesley learned when it stopped giving out so many A’s – Vox

Approximate Reading Time: 4 minutesI’m not defending grade inflation, but I also think it’s misguided to think every class contains a statistically normal range of abilities. If courses are focused on learning rather than sorting, then the idea of requiring professors to give out … Continue reading →

The Learning Myth: Anyone can Be/Learn Anything

Approximate Reading Time: 3 minutesWhen you say that all you need to do to succeed is to try, and they fail, the implication is they simply aren’t trying hard enough. That’s not good. Not everyone is a genius. Really. And there is no evidence … Continue reading →

The 2014 ESA Essential Facts is Out

Approximate Reading Time: < 1 minutehttp://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2014.pdf A few of the highlights that stood out for me: Women and men are roughly equal in terms of who plays (though they do tend to play different games). Gameplay on smartphones and mobile devices is on the rise. … Continue reading →

Help Joy help you. On the unusability of internal systems. – disambiguity

Approximate Reading Time: 2 minutesYup. No-one wants to use your software – they merely want to get their work done. When will software designers realize, that they are NOT the experts when it comes to design? Usability is one of the few areas where … Continue reading →

Creative Random Word Generator

Approximate Reading Time: < 1 minuteOK, now this has some fun applications….. Creative Random Word Generator Click a button above to generate a set of random words. Use the random word generator to generate between 1 and 8 random words. Use the idea visualisation features … Continue reading →

Course Design is Scholarly Work and Deserves Attribution

Approximate Reading Time: 3 minutesMy course websites used to be public, but I got tired of others taking my design work w/o permission or attribution. Now most of my courses are password protected. I hadn’t really thought about my syllabi until last year when … Continue reading →

Students drop a bomb at the #gafesummit Vancouver: “We don’t like rubrics.” | A Stick in the Sand

Approximate Reading Time: 3 minutesDo students really like rubrics? Are YOU using them right? Students drop a bomb at the #gafesummit Vancouver: “We don’t like rubrics.” | A Stick in the Sand. For my part I quite like rubrics, but I also think many, … Continue reading →