The Awesome Power of Gaming in Higher Education
EDUCAUSE 2013 welcomes Jane McGonigal and considers the potential of games in education.
http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2013/10/awesome-power-gaming-higher-education
The University of Washington’s Foldit game enables anyone to contribute to scientific research through virtual protein folding. The university’s game developers posit that human gamers’ propensity to not give up on a gaming task – resiliency – make them much more adept at solving complex protein structure prediction and design than supercomputers. And in some ways, they’ve already proven that to be so. Foldit game participants have been named in several published scientific journal articles, including one that describes how a protein structure could be solved and used in the treatment of HIV.
The rich, interactive universe of Grand Theft Auto was the inspiration for this game, developed for The World Bank as a way to teach Sub-Sahara African youths to solve social problems in ways that also could provide a sustainable living. The platform is free and available online and can be used by schools to teach social entrepreneurship. A graphic novel serves as the game’s centerpiece, and players build out their gaming profiles as a comic or graphic novel might retell a superhero’s origin story. Participants complete projects in real life to solve real problems, such as securing a community’s food supply or establishing a sustainable power source, then progress through levels of the game. Those who successfully complete their 10-week missions ultimately earn certification from the World Bank Institute. In 2010, 50 student participants saw their entrepreneurship models funded by the World Bank, including Libraries Across Africa (now Librii), a franchise operating in Ghana.
Not all games must be played out in a virtual space. This game – developed by McGonigal with Natron Baxter and Playmatics – combines real-world missions with virtual clues and online collaboration, resulting in young people working together overnight in the New York Public Library to write and publish a book of personal essays about what they learned.
“The game is designed to empower young people to find their own futures by bringing them face-to-face with the writings and objects of people who made an extraordinary difference.”
Participants spend a night wandering throughout the library’s stacks and research materials, scanning QR codes to prove they found and interacted with the objects of their clues or missions. One 2011 participant, upon discovering the library’s early draft of the Declaration of Independence wrote an essay called a “Declaration of Interdependence.”
More on Jane McGonigal on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjSVo8N31r4
http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_the_game_that_can_give_you_10_extra_years_of_life.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t3y7EeBhxg
from http://inalj.com/?p=10038
1) Codecademy – http://www.codecademy.com/
Need to learn JavaScript, Ruby or HTML? Codecademy provides free interactive online tutorials that will help you learn these languages and more. It’s great for visual learners, such as myself, and let’s be honest – who doesn’t like earning badges for completing a task?
2) Lifehacker – http://lifehacker.com/
Lifehacker posts about tips and hacks to make your life easier. I frequently learn about tweaks or new software from this blog.
3) The Librarian in Black – http://librarianinblack.net/
If you haven’t read Sarah Houghton’s blog, you really should. Sarah posts about issues in libraries and frequently touches on technology. She is not afraid to voice controversial opinions.
4) Teleread – http://www.teleread.com/
Teleread covers news related to ebooks and online publishing. The blog also includes a section specific to libraries, so you can easily find relevant library news and stories.
5) Mashable – http://mashable.com/social-media/
Mashable posts news about social media and other Web 2.0 systems. Click on the Social Media tag to bypass the entertainment stories.
6) Not Safe! [for Libraries] – http://ns4lib.com/
Michael Schofield posts about web design specifically with libraries in mind.
7) In the Library with the Lead Pipe – http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org
Although not specific to technology issues, In the Library with the Lead Pipe posts peer reviewed journal articles that challenge many preconceptions of librarianship.
8) ReadWrite – http://readwrite.com/
Formerly ReadWriteWeb, ReadWrite posts the latest tech news in a highly digestible way that is friendly towards non-techies.
9) Agnostic, Maybe – http://agnosticmaybe.wordpress.com/
Andy Woodworth blogs about libraries, technology and life as a librarian in New Jersey. I especially enjoy reading his opinions on ebooks and licensing.
10} ALA Techsource – http://www.alatechsource.org/blog
Last, but not least, the ALA Techsource blog provides updates on technology news and initiatives that are occurring in other libraries.
I hope that this list gave you some new reading material! Which technology blogs do you recommend? Join the conversation on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=4112382&type=member&item=215928370
D2L: SHARING PRACTICES IN LEARNING AND TEACHING
– mostly it is visual changes. D2L is now using a lot of collapsing / scroll down bars to navigate. it is more compact
– changes and improvements in different tools: e.g. discussion, rubrics, grades (e.g. export straight to Excel), pager etc
– faculty cannot add tools to the default navbar, but can email d2l@stcloudstate.edu and request a tool to be added. Faculty CAN take off tool; don;t forget to save
– must post first in discussion
- 10:00-10:30am: Make D2L work for you: discussions and grades in D2L . Dr. David Switzer, Economics
– grades, how to streamline them. copying again and again in D2L can be too timeconsuming. exxporting to Excel, calculating and importing back is easier. Remeber to export a blank D2L grading item, so the template can be set. q/n: when final grades will be able to export straight from D2L to R&R
-use subscription on discussion
-show students in class that surveys are anonimous indeed
– who to turn for help and ideas: colleagues, tech support, tech insrtruct people, students
– how to organize lectures’ content and put it online, D2L in particular
– F2F, hybrid and online. how do we choose and discriminate?
– online learning, disruptive technology. touched on MOOC, student-center edlearning
– Camtasia. free version of the C Studio 8.0 for Win and Mac. Shareware (30 days). for every min of recorded lecture, will take 5 to 10 min to record it, edit it and prepared it.
– Adobe Captivate. use it through the virtual lab. it is not that connvenient. $30 per year for the key server version
-Blue Berry is superior to Camtesia by allowing to draw
– Jing. Free
– Screencast. bandwidh restriction. means that too many students cannot view simultanously the lecture video. Flash-based and this is not compatible with Apple products.
– Mediaserver (media4.stcloudstate.edu) upload zipped folder (SCORM compliant). Need an account, request from Greg Jorgenson.
— Mike from the Adobe Connect participants shared ” I’ve used Screenhunter to captures images (jpg), which is a free software”
– multimedia formats: video, audio, images, animations
– differences between raster and vector graphics. Camtasia will accept only JPG, PNG formats, but not vectorgraphics
- 11:30-12:00pm: Open time for individual projects and problem solving.
Lunch Break
– Steve: rubrics and grading. D2L is not flexible and we need to adapt our assessment to the D2L capabilities.
– homework and papers, holistic and analytic.
– Amazon Kindle much better for grading online then iPAD.
– separate criteria did not work for Steve, but Ken has his rubrics in different criteria. KISS rule. Properly defines students’ expecations. Create a grid of the rubrics and then cut and paste into the D2L rubrics. Also go over with students over the rubrics details.
– Ken: have several levels in rubrics. New Rubric must be “published” and not a “draft” otherwise cannot be linked to grades.
– calibrated peer review.
another way of using rubrics. potential advantage of using this app is to do automated blind peer review. D2L cannot do it that well as this app. handy for large classes and short writing assignments. Contact Joe Melcher (jmmelcher@stcloudstate.edu) for an account to be created.
crowd control versus really learning the content. The software gives a good feedback what students have actually done (student progress tab).
export callibrated results to D2L
- 2:00-3:00pm: Open time for individual projects and problem solving.
You can also join us via virtual synchronous connection through Adobe Connect at:
http://media4.stcloudstate.edu/d2lworkshop/
Limited space; please consider registering at: https://secure.mnsu.edu/mnscupd/login/default.asp?campusid=0073
We would like similar event during the Spring 2013 semester? Please share with us your preference for day/time, as well as topics of interest.
For any questions, recommendations, suggestions, please use the following contact:
Plamen Miltenoff
320-308-3072
pmiltenoff@stcloudstate.edu
- 9:00-9:30am: Snacks, networking and welcome.
- 9:30-10:00am: D2L Version 10 update.
- 10:00-10:30am: Overview of D2L basics and share best practices. Dr. Plamen Miltenoff, LRS
- please enter ideas and suggestions
who is helping students with the new D2L interface?
PPT about the changes to the new version at:http://web.stcloudstate.edu/informedia/d2l10.pptx
the new version does not discrimante the teacher, versus T2 and GA unless you
change of Navbar. BE AWARE that you cannot add tools (you need to request via d2L@stcloudstate.edu) but you can take off tools from the new navbar. To take off a tool, go to “Edit Course” in the new version, click on “Tools” and find “Set Inactive”
Dropbox addition. Feedback left for students can be kept as a draft
- 10:30-11:00am: Automation of lab reports using D2L. Dr. Zengqiang “John” Liu, Physics
- please enter ideas and suggestions
– D2L dropbox:
1. when papers are a big stack of paper, versus electronic format in dropbox, is it a bigger psychological burden?
2. Navbar CANNOT be changed by faculty. Need to request the change from D2L@stcloudstate.edu
3. BWhen assignng bonus points work, they fine, but do not apply to the final grade
4. Naming the file deposited in the dropbox is crucial to navigating later on
5. “Properties: One file per sumbission | overwrite submissions” is probably the best way to streamline the dropbox flow
6. “Restrictions: Display in Calendar” helps student as a reminder, even if the D2L calendar is not populated and used regularly
7. “Restrictions: Additional Release and Conditions” is the overarching idea of successful teaching. Conditioning Dropbox with Content, Discussions and Quizzes can bring uniformity and structure in students’ learning
8. Restrictions: Special Access” is poorly phrased and can confuse faculty.
9. Downloading all files at once via zipped file attaches Last Name First name of the student to its paper’s file name
- 11:00-11:30am: Organization of D2L Content delivery and student learning. Dr. Lakshmaiah Sreerama, Chemistry
please have a link to Ram’s presentation: http://web.stcloudstate.edu/informedia/d2l/Organization_D2L_Content_Student_Learning.pptx
- please enter ideas and suggestions
1. what is optimal when using CMS.
2. the switch from WebCT to D2L was very consuming. Is it gonna be again when we switch to a different one?
3. How to deliver content is challange. write versus speak. Student takes notes or listens? Also engage, becomes to much. Classes become “flipped classroom”
4. Modular | recorded lectures | lectures notes in several formats | study guides
5. develop best practices for my discipline
6. modular guide: goals | outcomes | objectives | readings | activities | quizzes
7. recorded lexture: in sciences is easIER to organize, how it will be in humanities? This is where we can be creative
8. providing all this content in all thes[e] format[s] made me a better teacher. It also made students better prepared for class. student learning success
9. Best Practices used by Ram: check his PPT. -) choose simler presenation format -) listen to student feedback -) privacy issues (release form about taping students), intellectual property rights
10. Flipped classroom: -) capture
11. discussion – Camtasia versus Adobe Connect how do we manage this. Camtasia has larger file size. Kaltura is still tested. The MediaSite server as carrying the heavy duty files. Authentication not needed if the files are made public.
- 11:30-12:00pm: New tools in D2L. Greg Jorgensen and Karin Duncan, ITS
- please enter ideas and suggestions
1. search option in minibar only if faculty has ten or more classes
2. instant notifications: new features. ellect to receive emails
3. discussions managed in two spots: -) via subscription on the top as general, or -) subscribe for each topic. There is an option: include in my summary of activity
4. D2L now keeps “sent” email. Comibne an email to all six classes I teach; how do I do that?
5. Classlist has inconsistency, be aware, ask D2L@stcloudstate.edu about it
6. Assesst discussions has a sqaure ot check “must post first.” It is off by default. Edit topic, under Options: “A user must comopse a message before participating in the topic.”
7. reset dates by Manage Dates: instead of going to separate modules one by one and changing dates. Notice the checkbox on the right for Calendar. The offset option makes the dates relevant to this semester.
8. App for iPAD, free, Assignment Grader. leave feedback, asses using rubrics and review on PDF and feeds D2L.
9. SCORM user, can be reported into D2L. If Polleverywhere is SCORM complient it can be reported via SCORM like poll in Adobe Connect.
10. Grates, Discussions, and other areas, which are wide, the header image goes away
- 1:00-1:30pm: Case study and sharing best practices. Dr. David Switzer, Economics
- please enter ideas and suggestions
1. creating groups in class and each person in a group and locking up. but that before subscribing for discussions.
2. gradebooks exporting and importing. Problem. D2L graidng is not very flexible. First export to CSV file. Sort in excel by last name and have it in order.
3. bonus items in grades: to curve grades, instead exporting importing, go to grades, createa bonus item called “exam 1 curve” and thus not only automating the grading but seeing the curve next semester
4. switch in quiz from the default “users” to tab “questions” it saves time when grading
5. take home exam is in quiz, not in dropbox, because dropbox cannot be taimed
tip for students
6. tip for students: discussion forums. Subsribe to topics by students. It helps students a lot, since they don’t have to go and login into D2L, the get it via email. Quesion: how many of them are using now mobile devices to get this notifications?
7. New section shows only the most recent announcments. This can be changed via settings
8. Video, mp4 format, 7 min, intro screencapture walking students through D2L. A MnSCU video might exist.
9. Narrated PPTs does not act well when hand writting. Presenter for PPT. Or Camtasia
10. Surveys. Show in class that “anonymous” is real.
11. practice quizzes. also similar in Content. also the gamification: can go to the next quiz after 75% of the previous one is resolved
- 1:30-2:00pm: Creating and assigning online quizzes. Dr. Eugmin Kang, SOB
- please enter ideas and suggestions
1. quiz structure. the option for randomly assigning questions. So every time the student takes the trainng quiz again, new questions are assigned.
using different types: multiple choice, true/false, images as part of the quiz question. To ensure that equal questions from each section are chosen, one need to create separate sections in the library. To do it, create a new “random’ section, with name “random1” and import the quiz q/s from the book section 1 etc.
accumulative final. Pull questions for the final quiz from training quizzes randomly.
- 2:00-3:00pm: Open time for individual projects and problem solving.
please enter ideas and requests
You can also join us via virtual synchronous connection through Adobe Connect at:
http://media4.stcloudstate.edu/d2lworkshop/
Limited space; please consider registering at https://secure.mnsu.edu/mnscupd/login/default.asp?campusid=0073
We would like to organize similar event sometimes in January. Please share with us your preference for day/time in January 2013, as well as topics of interest.
Follow us on Twitter: @SCSUtechinstruc #techworkshop