Want to reduce test anxiety? ... Play Video Games! (This week - post #2)

Article - A "Stealth Assessment" Turns to Video Games to Measure Thinking Skills
Avoiding complications like test anxiety is one benefit of a method for evaluating difficult-to-capture abilities


Professor Valerie J. Shute


If you are an educator who notes that some of your students rountinely suffer from text anxiety, there may be a possible alternate assessment option available: Video Games. 

Valerie J. Shute, an associate professor of educational psychology and learning systems at Florida state University, recommends employing stealth assessment - the administering of tests without students' knowing via video games. Specifically, students playing video games will allow educators to watch students solve complex tasks while immersed in virtual worlds. Ms. Shute also hopes that stealth assessment might engage students unmoved by traditional teaching and testing. She states, "we have this whole group of kids who are not engaged with school, and appropriately so, because schools are so antiquated."

College 2.0 - 5 Teaching Tips for Professors - From Video Games (This week - post #1)

This week in IDE 611, we are discussing online games and their educational uses.
The video below has commentary from Will Wright (game designer), the Creator of "the Sims" Talks Educational Gaming

• Mr. Wright maintains that "Play" is a fundamental educational technology.
• He sees games as a great way to "motivate" students to investigate/follow-up on different subject areas as oppose to "educating" them.

Education and Gaming

1. Give frequent and detailed feedback
2. Test before going live
3. Narrative can answer the question "Why are we learning this?"
4. Don't be afraid of fun
5. Not every subject works as a game

Reference: URL Address: http://chronicle.com/article/5-Lessons-Professors-Can-Learn/63708/

Advocate of Online Education - Bill Gates Predicts Technology Will Make ‘Place-Based’ Colleges Less Important in 5 Years

K-12: Advocates a longer school day. 

Students: Full immersion in the learning process & ethic via weekday + Saturday school or Boarding school (Must capture 80% of their waking time).

Life-Long Learning: Sees self-motivated learners as consistently on the internet and using Web 2.0 technologies as well as dialoging with others.                             

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URL Address: http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/bill-gates-predicts-technology-will-make-place-based-colleges-less-important-in-5-years/260926092 (Original Article)

This Week's Recap: Wiki and Twitter (Post #3)



This week in review



This week I blogged about the Web 2.0 technologies, Wiki/Twitter and college students.  For the Wiki posting, I discussed how the use of wikis in Singapore clashed with the Asian cultural perception of correcting/editing other individuals in a public setting. Basically such a practice is frowned upon because it might result in an individual feeling embarrassed or humiliated (i.e., losing face). Wiki researchers now seem more sensitive to cultural notions and are working with students closely to finding common ground for technology to be in alignment with cultural beliefs and practices.

The second blog posting dealt with an experiment with Twitter and 1st year college students. One research found that students who were instructed to Tweet about their course assignments earned higher grades than those student who only engaged their course assignments via Blackboard discussion type interactions. The feedback from my fellow IDE classmates on this topic was split. My two Thai classmates seemed to readily accept the research findings and one stated that she will also try to integrate Twitter use into her on class instruction and assignment for her one personal experiment. In contrast, my two American classmates suggested that further research and study had to be conducted into this area/topic. they were both hesitant in accepting the research experimental results, but found the overall experiment quite interesting.

I truly enjoyed blogging about these two topics this week because they demonstrate the versatile impact that Web 2.0 technologies are having on students and in college/university settings. In addition, some of my topics seem to be interesting and engaging to my fellow IDE classmates. I hope that this upcoming week's blog will continue to be as interesting to my classmates as well.

Want to earn a good grade?...TWEET!!!! (Post #2)

Article - The Wired Campus: Tweeting Students Earn Higher Grades Than Others in Classroom Experiment

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that "students chatting on Twitter both inside and outside the classroom got higher grades than their nontweeting peers in a recent experiment conducted at a medium-size public institution in the Midwest."  Specifically, with a student population consisting of 125 first year pre -health - professional majors participating in the voluntary experiment, researchers divided students into two groups: 70, experimental and 55, control.  The experimental group were instructed to use Twitter to "access information and complete four class assignments required in a first - year seminar course. In contrast, the control group were informed that they would complete "the same tasks on a Web-based program that functioned like a typical course - manage system's discussion board (i.e., Blackboard, Moodle)

According to researchers, "at the end of the semester, the tweeters had grade-point averages half a point higher, on average, than did their nontweeting counterparts. And students who tweeted were more engaged." Also, "Twitter users scored higher than those who didn't use the tool on a 19-question student - engagement survey over the course of the semester - using parameters like how frequently students contributed to classroom discussion, and how often they interacted with their instructor about course material."

Despite the above research findings and announcement, some faculty members have expressed skepticism and doubts over the above Twitter results. For example, Dave Perry, an assistant professor of emerging media at the University of Texas at Dallas, "questioned whether the tool was the cause of the improved grades" and called for additional study and research.

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                                                  What's your opinion?

Culture and the Wiki (Post #1)

Article - College 2.0: Wiki Project Brings Some Student Wariness at Singapore Management U

In the push to expand technological capabilities, some school personnel are learning an important lesson .... Culture Matters and can impact technological receptiveness. In an interesting article, College 2.0 writer, Jeff Young reports that a number of 1st year students at Singapore's Management University were wary of using the Web 2.0 technology, the Wiki, after learning that they would be able to edit the writings of their fellow classmates. Many students felt that the idea of the wiki could lead to the cultural notion of "losing face." Two Asian students made the following statements:

• "Its dangerous, actually, I can change everything that others have done."

• "It's a very Asia context. You have to be more aware of others and have sensitivity to others."  

Jason Woodard, Assistant Professor of Information Systems followed up the students commentary by noting: "People were very reluctant to edit things that other people posted, I guess out of deference. People were very careful to not want to edit their peers. Getting  people out of that mind-set has been a real challenge."

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Any Thoughts?

Wikipedia Cartoon

This week my blog posting was about Wikipedia and its future potential to become an accepted scholarly resource. The overall consensus from my fellow IDE 611 classmates is that Wikipedia is a good informational resource when one is aiming for quick and easy convenience in finding answers in an informal fashion; however, in terms of using it for academic or important research assignments, there was hesitancy due to the editability feature and need for information verification associated with Wikipedia.

I came across the Cartoon below which succinctly highlights one of  the main key critique of Wikipedia.

Visual Image Source: http://virtualeconomics.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c5b7853ef00e553fdeb818834-800wi

What is Wikipedia?

Below is a Youtube.com video that gives a brief introduction to Wikipedia (An evolving information resource). The video addresses the issues of bias, reliablity, expert knowledge and accurracy in relation to Wikipedia.



Wikipedia: Benath the Surface
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY8otRh1QPc

College 2.0: Can Wikipedia attain the status of a scholarly resource?

Article - College 2.0: Bringing Wikipedia into the Classroom 

A few weeks ago in the online discussion for IDE 611, the question was raised if Wikipedia was considered a reliable and scholarly resource.  The above article brings the issue of source reliability and Wikipedia to light once again. Specifically, the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, the creators of Wikipedia and other Internet wiki projects are committed to significantly improving the content accuracy of Wikipedia because as they readily admit with the current state of affairs and educational expectations, "Citing Wikipedia in your footnotes is an easy way to get an F on your term paper" due to "inaccurate, incomplete and often downright suspicious articles."

To address the above scholarly concerns, the Wikimedia Foundation have launched an improvement campaign entitled, "Public Policy Initiative" (PPI) in which they are calling for educators and college students to act as "critical editors" for the Wikipedia website.  Nine public policy professor from educational institutions such as Harvard University, George Washington University, Indiana University-Bloomington, and Syracuse University have agreed to participate in the PPI pilot program. The professors will employ a variety of instructional approaches and methods for integrating Wikipedia into their academic courses.

• Do you think in the future Wikipedia will eventually be accepted as a scholarly resource? If yes or no, please elaborate on your response.

College 2.0: Should the use of technology be banned in the college classroom?

Article - College 2.0: Teachers Without Technology Strike Back

There seems to be a heated debate taking place in university and college settings about the use of technology in the classroom. On one side of the debate are faculty members who believe that the use of technology in the college classroom is taking away from the overall level of high quality teaching, while on the opposite end of the spectrum there are faculty that believe the increase use of technology in the college classroom is a continuing trend that can improve and promote better quality teaching. 




Professor Mark James

In the attached article, readers are introduced to both sides of the debate. For example, Professor Mark James (University of West Florida) prohibits students from using their laptops in class and advises them to silence their cellphones.  Professor James states,  "The students seem more involved in the discussion than when I allowed them to go online.  They were more attentive, and we were able to go into little more depth."

In contrast, there is Professor Joanne Budzien who is receptive to technology in the college classroom, but  recommends that all instructors must contextualize the need and use of the technology to the needs and learning outcomes of their students. Specifically, Professor Budzein discusses her decision to not use clickers in her small classes. She stated, "My classes are very small - I have 24 students, and it just seems impersonal to put up a question and use a clicker.  I just have a raise of hands, and I can call on them and say why do you think this and why do you think that."

Personally, I do not believe that technology in the college classroom is a bad  thing; however, I firmly believe that technology is a tool and not a substitute for good and effective teaching. The selected technology should always support the instructor's content material and learning outcomes.

Which side of the debate do you fall on? If neither side appeals to you, please explain.