BBC NEWS | UK | England | Wear | Magic tricks aid research project
Heard on the radio yesterday>...The methods of David Blaine should be studied, researchers say Researchers at Durham University have turned into magicians to better understand how humans think and act. Listening to this story I thought of how "magic" can be used in the classroom. There is more on Gustav Kuhn's Wed site on his interests and the three elements of magic.
"The key is to generate emotion," explained Sundar. "Ideally, a good teacher can energize the class and make them much more emotionally invested through presentations, guest lectures, and group discussions. Video games can help achieve that in an already simulated way."
Flash Games A simple flash game generator you can use at no cost. Simply select the type of account you want and get started. You could also have your students create accounts to keep track of scores. From Southern Adventist University.
The Firefly Group has a number of usefullgames and simulations available at no cost on their website. Brian Remer, the founder, is a colleague through the North American Simulation and Gaming Association. He is one of the most insightful trainers I have experienced.
60 Second Lectures from the University of Pennsylvania reminded me of an creation of Sivasailam Thiagarajan (aka Thiagi) called 99 seconds. A group of presenters gave 99 second presentations. There was something for everyone attending the session. Handouts were available to ease the remembering.
You can learn what it takes to give a powerful presentation by attempting a 99 second event. Read more in Thiagi’s newletter and tips from ISPI Michigan. Jeff Thomas Cobb of Mission to Learn provides 6 presentation tips from the 60 second lectures.
The Out on a Limb - Instructors' Guide will walk you through the a series of conflict resolution presentations and exercises. It also has additional activities to be used in the classroom and home.
Designed for use with children, I thought the materials could be adapted for use in a training session for the workplace. The conflict resolution styles presented were easier to understand and in that way more useful than some of the more traditional materials usually used in conflict resolution.
Instructional Games Here is a set of Free online course materials from Utah State University on using games for learning. The course is aimed at the computer/video game end of the game spectrum although the underlying readings are of interest to any game designer. Great collection of readings as a part of the course. Many with links to other freely available materials.
I heard a story on NPR the other day entitled. Creative Play Makes for Kids in Control I thought, " great this will be about kids in control of the classroom and the value of just playing around...." When the story came on I was stunned to find out that it was really about this...
In one corner of a busy classroom, 4-year-olds Zee Logan and Emmy Hernandez want to play bookstore. (but)...before Emmy and Zee even think about picking up a toy, they sit down with their teacher at a small classroom table and fill out some paperwork.That's right. Paperwork.On a small blank form, they spell out their intentions. "I want to play bookstore," each girl writes with assistance from her teacher. (more)
Now, the story demonstrated some value in what was going on, but to me it was like they had turned play into project management work to improve the kids executive function. Executive function? these are 4 year olds! Maybe its good but why do we feel the need to make play useful? Can't play be useful unto itself? As it happens, Bernie DeKoven, a true master of fun saw a related story on the same day and wrote Of play, talking to yourself, and self-regulation
All of this got me thinking about Alan Watts and Lila or Leela, a Hindu concept of play. For some it is this "play" that creates "reality" and this thought led me (back?) to God's Nonsense.
The Effectiveness of Instructional Games: A Literature Review and Discussion From the Defense Technical Information Center--"This report documents a review of 48 empirical research articles on the effectiveness of instructional games. It also includes summaries of 26 other review articles and 31 theoretical articles on instructional gaming." The recommendations are not too surprising.
The decision to use a game for instruction should be based on a detailed analysis of learning requirements and tradeoffs among alternate instructional approaches.
...Instructional game developers demonstrate how their game will support instructional objectives.
Games should be used as adjuncts and aids, not as stand-alone instruction.
