Category Archives: General

Another Attempt to Fix Broken Education by Simply Making it More

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Katrin Becker

I’ve seen this before. Summer Vacation is once again under attack in the U.S. See: The Case Against Summer Vacation – TIME. There is no question that formal education is broken in the U.S. (To be fair, it isn’t so … Continue reading →

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In-Depth Game Reviews: Mathblaster

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Katrin Becker

When I was working on my PhD (2003-2008), I found it very hard to find any decent reviews of educational games. There are plenty of reasons for this, including: Teachers aren’t, for the most part, gamers and so really have … Continue reading →

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Why can’t EdTechs get along with IT, and how that effects Education

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Katrin Becker

Why do so many people in Ed Tech denigrate people who actually know tech? Isn’t knowing tech supposed to be a good thing? Do people with Education degrees feel that they are somehow better than the rest of us because … Continue reading →

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Rare Breeds

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Katrin Becker

For those who are unaware of this issue (that’s MOST people these days) there are a great many breeds of domestic livestock that are in danger of vanishing. That’s right folks, cows, sheep, chickens, and the like come in various … Continue reading →

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My Stampede Experience

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Katrin Becker

The Calgary Stampede, called the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, started this Friday. It is one of the things for which we are world famous. It always starts on Friday with a parade. People in Calgary get time off work … Continue reading →

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All Simulations are Educational????

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Katrin Becker

I’ve had more than one educator tell me that they thought all simulations were educational. If you are looking at simulations designed to be educational, then, sure – it’s a tautology. But coming from CS and having some experience with … Continue reading →

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A Programming Language does NOT count as a second language

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Katrin Becker

Although I still think learning several is good for you. Hello Worlds (why humanities students should learn to program) « Matthew G. Kirschenbaum. (May 23, 2010) While I do agree with some of what he says, his misconceptions convince me … Continue reading →

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Knowing ‘X’ does not imply knowing ‘Y’

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Katrin Becker

Earlier this spring, I had a lovely conversation with a fellow game researcher and enthusiast (Jostein Hassel) about how digital games are related to non-digital games. I learned a lot from this conversation (more on that in an upcoming post). … Continue reading →

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