Approximate Reading Time: 3 minutesOne of the things I keep coming up against again and again is the ‘language’ problem. Having come from computer science and only recently introduced to ‘formal’ education (I”ve been teaching at university for ~30 years), I was at first … Continue reading
Approximate Reading Time: 3 minutesWhy Education Research Is Failing Us: Begley – Sharon Begley – Newsweek.com. Synopsis: This article reports on a meta study comparing inquiry methods against a more trditional approach. What was found is that: “There is a dearth of carefully crafted, … Continue reading
Approximate Reading Time: < 1 minuteThank you Freeman Dyson. http://www.edge.org/documents/archive/edge219.html#dysonf “In the modern world, science and society often interact in a perverse way. We live in a technological society, and technology causes political problems. The politicians and the public expect science to provide answers to … Continue reading
Approximate Reading Time: 2 minutesAmong the points highlighted in Clark’s recent article trashing serious games are that “…the research shows no instructional advantages of games over the other instructional approaches (such as lectures)…” and that “only poorly designed studies find learning benefits from games“. … Continue reading
Approximate Reading Time: 2 minutesClark, R. E. (2007). Learning from Serious Games? Arguments, Evidence, and Research Suggestions. EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, May-June 2007, 56-59. Richard E. Clark says, “My goal in this column is to offer a brief view of the current state of the evidence … Continue reading
Approximate Reading Time: 2 minutesI have recently been working on a new methodology for the analysis of commercial video games in order to uncover mechanisms used to support learning. I am calling this new approach Instructional Ethology. It combines structural analysis based on black … Continue reading
Approximate Reading Time: 2 minutesI’ve noticed that quite a few big names in ID (Instructional Design: Papert, Schank, Merrill,..) have backgrounds in AI (Artificial Intelligence, rather than the other AI) I find this a little disconcerting. In some sense the application of concepts from … Continue reading
Approximate Reading Time: 4 minutesI have seriously misjudged M. David Merrill. His Component Display Theory was very computer sciencey, and unwieldy, and really turned me off; but First Principles is *really* good. Thank you Gail for pointing me at it! I’ve had this notion … Continue reading