http://mashable.com/2013/11/16/finland-tech-education-schools/?utm_cid=mash-prod-email-topstories&utm_emailalert=daily&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily
Finland Eyes Programming Classes for Elementary School Students
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Beyond Mindcraft: Games That Inspire Building and Exploration
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/11/beyond-minecraft-games-that-inspire-building-and-exploration/
Garry’s Mod (GMod) is a sandbox game like Minecraft but instead of building and exploring, students use a fun physics engine that simulates things like gravity and mass. They also use a virtual toy box of assets from Valve Software’s popular games. The tool is a step up in complexity from the elegant simplicity of Minecraft, but with Garry’s Mod,students are exposed to physics concepts while having madcap fun.
Kerbal Space Program has a robust physics engine too, but it’s more focused than Garry’s Mod. Players purchase rocket parts, put them together, and then see if they can get a ship into orbit, to one of two moons, or even to another planet. These aren’t easy tasks, so play is focused on trial and error testing, and, like Minecraft, seeking help from the community is part of a successful strategy.
Sound Shapes is a visually stunning platform puzzle game set to a rich musical soundscape. Even better: students can create and share their own levels – like interactive sheet music — using sounds and objects unlocked by playing the platform game. It’s an accessible entry point into musical composition as well as game design, and provides an experience that builds on the creativity of Minecraft while offering something wholly unique for music lovers.
For creative kids who want to get their hands dirty, check out DIY, a site where students can find things to build, instructions for how to build them, and ways to share their creations with others. All projects are aligned to 50 skills that run the gamut from outdoors to indoors, and feature various challenges to complete and cool badges to earn and display.
Computer programming is a great next step for students who love to mod Minecraft or toy around with the redstone resource (which simulates basic logic and circuitry). One solid entry-level tool is Stencyl, a game creation program focused on codeless, cross-platform game making. By snapping blocks of code together, students can create games that can be published and played on a variety of platforms including mobile phones.
Codecademy is a web-based, self-paced site that teaches actual industry-standard languages like PHP, Javascript, Python, Ruby, HTML, and CSS. While students don’t create publishable games like they would in Stencyl, their learning is purpose-driven and contextualized, e.g. JavaScript for web development or Ruby for app development. And students do get to see their code’s output directly onscreen.
Minecraft has introduced a lot of youth to games as well as the critical thinking, problem solving, and creation skills necessary for self-motivated learning. The games and sites on this list have the potential to extend that learning, providing fresh outlets for self-expression in the digital world and beyond.
Top Tech Trends – 2013 Annual
http://www.ala.org/lita/node/723
Trends
- DIY Library eBook Platforms
- Digital Rights Management
- Discovery and rights determination
- MOOCs, flipped classrooms, and gamification fatigue
- Linked data
- Makerspaces
- Data collection and data mining
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/5-creative-ways-to-drive-more-traffic-to-your-blog-posts/
5 Creative Ways to Drive More Traffic to Your Blog Posts
Promote Your Article Across a “Wider” Variety of Platforms
Here are some examples of smaller networks:
- Quora.com—A question/answer-based website founded by two former Facebook employees. What makes Quora unique is that all content is created, edited and organized by its user community. The user base tends to be more business- and academic-oriented.
- Tumblr—A microblogging site that recently made headlines when Yahoo! acquired it. Its user base tends to be younger and more “hip,” making it the perfect platform to share edgier, niche-based content.
- Empire Avenue—Part social network, part social media marketing tool, Empire Avenue uses gamification to enable users to broadcast content across all of the other social networks. The primary members of EAv are small businesses, social media professionals and blogger
Grab Viewer Interest With Different Types of Media
promote your posts with images, audio and video.
#1: Use Dubbler to Give a Short Audio Introduction
#2: Create a 6-Second Preview of Your Post with Vine
#3: Create a SlideShare Overview of Your Post
#4: Pin Your Post to a Pinterest Group Board
#5: Instagram an Image From Your Post
Benchmarking Software – Show how many Frames Per Second (FPS) you are getting in a corner of your screen. Perform custom benchmarks and measure the frame rate between any two points. Save the statistics out to disk and use them for your own reviews and applications.
Screen Capture Software – Take a screenshot with the press of a key! There’s no need to paste into a paint program every time you want a new shot. Your screen captures are automatically named and timestamped.
Realtime Video Capture Software – Have you ever wanted to record video while playing your favourite game? Come join the Machinima revolution! Throw away the VCR, forget about using a DV cam, game recording has never been this easy! Fraps can capture audio and video up to 7680×4800 with custom frame rates from 1 to 120 frames per second!
http://www.fraps.com/
- 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