Games and Simulations for Learning

I don't want to lose this great list of resources related to games and simulations for learning. I haven't had (made) time to follow the Serious Games discussions lately, but this resource list should get my brain in gear again.

Discounted Emotional Development

More from Rob about Scientific Revolutions and How we Teach and Learn:

"Education as we think of it today has become an expensive, truly boring process, that fails to give society what it needs. We have lost the centrality of the need to develop character because we have discounted the emotional and physical development entirely. We then wonder why so many of our kids seem lost and act out. It is based on a process of instruction which violates the core learning process, experience."

In the discussion that follows, Cyn makes some great points in rebuttal, pointing out that although the public system has its flaws, her kids both found their way through using different paths and thrived.

Switching to E-ducation

Brian Micklethwait has a couple of interesting posts about the benefits of virtual schools. His writing is always funny and to the point -- even long, rambling ones like this. The followup includes some outside feedback pointing out that many kids love regular schools for some of the same reasons that "unschoolers" want their kids taken out of school. A fascinating discussion.

Laptops and Learning

The Maine laptop experiment is winding down -- this article sings the praises of the program. Meanwhile, a similar program in Minnesota has turned up no improvement in test scores. Granted, test scores don't tend to measure anything of value, but I'm skeptical that the hardware itself does much to improve the teaching and learning going on in schools.

Universities -- The New Context

Robert Paterson does some ruminating about the future of post-secondary education: Universities - The New Context. What I like about Rob's writing is that he moves between the macro and micro views of the issues, offering big-picture vision and practical details all in one -- in this one he mostly raises good questions.

Hiatus

Not sure if anyone's still reading this, since posts have been few and far between, but I thought I should make a note about my hiatus. I'm on four months of parental leave, and right now I'm on "vacation", so I won't be updating for a while. For the oh-so-exciting details of my non-work life, feel free to check out the other side of my site.