I think board games can be really useful as well. Did you know Monopoly was designed to teach children about wealth imbalance between land owners and renters? And Risk is a great way to learn Geography. I think there is a bit of an edge to digital gaming to get kids familiar with modern technology but the real value of both is that they are fun. Kids can focus on the game without stressing over how effectively they are learning and will be evaluated.

Way to suck up to Dr. Nelson (JK =P)

But you’re right, the blogging is a pretty good way to encourage us to read the material. I think the autonomy and flexibility we have in what we’d like to blog about is an important factor. The readings and discussions give us a place to start and maybe some general direction but the willingness to tolerate our creativity is what leads to some of the better posts.

Maybe board games? I think some of the side ways learning examples have been interesting too. Like theatrically reenacting the debate and signing of the Constitution. Or trying to capture the plot of Romeo & Juliet in a painting or sculpture. A good thing about video games is that they offer opportunities for complex and innovative problem solving. Create open ended problems.
For instance:
imagine a maze, in the center is a small wooden A. The maze is filled with various puzzles and obstacles. The A is also hanging on a broken pulley system. How can the student get the A?
Maybe they find their way through the puzzle and take the route where they have to solve analytical problems. Maybe the route where they solve word puzzles. Maybe they’re claustrophobic and fix the pulley to bring the A to them.

What if you could get students to conceptualize the entire process of school as one big game? Maybe with multiple ways to win? I played a video game last summer that had something like 80 hours of cinema scenes and 36 possible endings depending on the players chosen dialogue throughout the game. Ultimately, I think the value of games is that they are fun so people focus on the material rather than their performance.

I think it would be more accurate if I had written, “Teaching children to design video games seems like a wonderfully effective method and medium for education.” Aaskash makes a good point that basic computer knowledge is something that falls under the category of “literacy” in our technological age. It seems strange to me to think someone couldn’t be into coding. Its like reading and writing. With an engaging task to accomplish, I think programming can always be made enjoyable.

I don’t know how prevalent virtual reality will be in the future. I think we will continue to see increases in augmented reality technologies and things like location based games. But I think high demand jobs in 20 years will involving computer coding or linguistics. Despite advances in translation technologies I think people that can connect with and truly understand other cultures by learning the native language will have big advantages in the increasingly connected globe.

It’s pretty good but a bit long. I’d recommend Siddhartha if you’re unfamiliar with Hesse’s style. It’s much shorter and shares many themes with The Glass Bead Game.

Atiyeh, I think I have it a bit easier than you in that I am only teaching 6 students and only 3 at a time. But I think one way you might encourage more active learning is to have the students suggest and debate potential test questions. Perhaps incorporate the more intriguing questions into one of your evaluations. What is it that you teach?