Archive for the ‘Learning (general)’ Category

Making History (which seems to have disappeared) is an educational simulation game from Muzzy Lane Software. Users are placed in a historical context (either Europe or the Pacific) and they need to make decisions in the roles of various dictators, prime ministers or presidents. Making History has many of the right elements for an effective […]

This article about online testing in Oregon has holes in it that you could drive through: "Online testing helped raise scores" [Unfortunately, the article no longer exists.]. At least the article has... State officials attribute the gains in part to the use of a home-grown, web-based testing service When will people realise that: Education is […]

The interesting debate about No Child Left Behind continues. Stacy Debroff, in an article on MSNBC Today[no longer available], laments that... Instead of raising children who love to learn and solve problems creatively, we are raising a generation of terrific test takers. Hmmm - it sounds a lot like the affliction that traditional Asian schools […]

NewsU is an interesting site. It provides free e-learning modules, aimed at journalists. Of course, I chose "Math for Journalists" to see what it was about. (Registration is simple and quick). Unfortunately, it is rather confusing to navigate (some links didn't work as expected and it wasn't always clear what the learner was supposed to […]

Bill spoke at the Microsoft forum in Singapore last week The audience of 6000, which included many students, was respectfully silent throughout. Bill's one-hour Powerpoint-based talk was mostly forgettable - several people that I asked commented that they found it "hard to follow". I felt it lacked spark and was not very inspiring. He spoke […]

There is an interesting section on Teacher Assessment and Teacher Development in Classroom Assessment Issues and Practice (see my summary review of the book). There are several levels of accreditation that teachers in the US go through - and on the surface, a lot of it makes sense. At the national level, there are 5 […]

by Patti Shank, Amy Sitze A Summary Review A Guide for Beginners and the Truly Skeptical Even though technology has radically changed the way the world works - and learns - there are still many luddites out there who refuse to accept that technology should be closely integrated into the design of learning. How many […]

by Roger C. Schank A Summary Review Schank is strongly opinionated - but we need a jolt occasionally to produce fresh approaches to education. There are several themes throughout this book (eg, learning is best done when we do something, failure should be encouraged, institutions should be about learning and not only about certification) that […]

by Joel Bauer & Mark Levy John Wiley, 2004 A Summary Review "[Bauer's] experience proves that the best way to influence others is to employ fun and enterntainment to make a more convincing pitch." Source: Dust jacket notes. As a teenager, Joel Bauer used to work as a magician on cruise liners. So his approach […]

by Sean Covey Fireside Books, 1998 A Summary Review Sean Covey is the son of the (highly successful) Stephen Covey who wrote "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". The book suffers somewhat from the "Oprah Syndrome" - it is on occasions rather saccharine and simplistic in that 'we can fix your problem in one […]