Worth a Read: Computer Science Courses that Don’t Exist, But Should

Approximate Reading Time: < 1 minuteA list by James Hague: CSCI 2100: Unlearning Object-Oriented Programming Discover how to create and use variables that aren’t inside of an object hierarchy. Learn about “functions,” which are like methods but more generally useful. Prerequisite: Any course that used the … Continue reading →

Worth Sharing: I have one of the best jobs in academia. Here’s why I’m walking away. – Vox

Approximate Reading Time: < 1 minuteI also walked away from a tenured position. I did it literally to save my life. In my case it was determined bullying from my department head, which turned into departmental, and then faculty mobbing. The last straw was being … Continue reading →

Gamification 101[10]: Getting a Gamified Course Up and Running

Approximate Reading Time: 2 minutesThis is Part 10 in my continuing saga of my current iteration of a gamified course. The design of this class is more complex than most other classes. Remember that I have 20 different kinds of things that students can do. … Continue reading →

Worth Sharing: Some Rules for Teachers – The New Inquiry

Approximate Reading Time: < 1 minuteThis is a great list – I only disagree with one or two….. as for the rest, YES, YES, YES!!! After John Cage. Source: Some Rules for Teachers – The New Inquiry 1. only ask the questions to which you … Continue reading →

Happy New Year! (A.K.A. Start of the Schoolyear)

Approximate Reading Time: < 1 minuteAs long as I can remember, September has been the start of the school year. It’s always exciting and filled with new hope and opportunities. Fresh paper; new pencils and all that. When I was a student,I always looked forward … Continue reading →

A Gamified Instructional Design Model for University Courses

Approximate Reading Time: 12 minutesI thought I’d take a wee break from the Gamification 101 posts to post a paper I wrote describing a gamified ID model. Gamification is still relatively new – far too new for there to be any decent guidelines for … Continue reading →

Gamification 101[9]: Coming Up With New Quests

Approximate Reading Time: 4 minutesThis is Part 9 in my continuing saga of my current iteration of a gamified course. It occurs to me that it might be worth spending a little more time exploring the process of coming up with new quests. I spend … Continue reading →

Gamification 101[8]: The Iterative Quest

Approximate Reading Time: 2 minutesThis is Part 8 in my continuing saga of my current iteration of a gamified course. So far I have talked about deadlines, the difficulty of modularizing, scoring, and the quests. I finished reviewing my quests from the last year. Most … Continue reading →