Category Archives: Educational Technology

All Videogames, All the Time?

Posted on September 21, 2009 by Katrin Becker

Now, I’m a big fan of Serious Games, but I’m also quite sure that this is one of those cases where more is not necessarily better. What is important is balance. I suppose it may be difficult to make sure … Continue reading →

Posted in American Society, Education, Educational Technology, Games, Teaching & Learning | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Be professional enough to do a decent literature review…

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Katrin Becker

SHEESH! I get a lot of papers to review in Game Studies; Serious Games; Educational Games., etc. I used to learn a lot from reading these papers. Not anymore. Not only is much of what I read “old news” (i.e. … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, conferences, Educational Technology, Games, Higher Education, Interdisciplinarity, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Look out SMART Technologies – the writing may be on the wall, and it isn’t yours.

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Katrin Becker

In Today’s MIT Tech Review: A Better, Cheaper Multitouch Interface A new pressure-sensitive pad could improve large and small touch screens. I’ve thought for some time that the SMART Technologies’ White Board which is marketed so vigorously to Alberta schools … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Science, Educational Technology, HCI, Higher Education, Software Industry | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

In Class Laptop Use Shown to Lower Test Scores…

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Katrin Becker

Intellagirl posted a note about this article today and I was curious, so I read it too… She suggested that the article had entirely missed the point, and she is absolutely right! The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 16, 2009 … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Educational Technology, Higher Education, Teaching & Learning, Trouble in River City | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to avoid the 70-hour work week.

Posted on November 3, 2008 by Katrin Becker

Warning: what follows is another rant. So here I am working at a new job. I really like the institution (for the most part). I really like the faculty (for the most part). I really like the job (for the … Continue reading →

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Why Should Students Come to Class if They Already Have My Notes?

Posted on September 30, 2008 by Katrin Becker

Once again, there is an article where some professor (or group of professors) laments that people won’t come to his(her) class if they have prior access to their notes. Students profit from diligent note-taking Knetwit.com offers cash, gifts for students … Continue reading →

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Kids These Days (sheesh)….

Posted on August 14, 2008 by Katrin Becker

Net Gen kids cheat, they say…. OK, this annoys me.  Apparently, we learn very little through the millennia. “The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Educational Technology, Ethics, General, Teaching & Learning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Videogames – Ya Got Trouble!~

Posted on May 17, 2008 by Katrin Becker

Some years ago I was at a conference where Dmitri Williams was talking about the social history of videogames. He made reference to this song as a way of illustrating how the societal reaction to videogames isn’t really new. Since … Continue reading →

Posted in Anti-Games, Educational Technology, Game Studies, Games in Society, Silliness, Trouble in River City, Violence, Virtual Learning Environments | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment