ClappingTree’s Web 2.0

From the preface of a book by Clark Aldrich (2005), “Learning by Doing — A Comprehensive Guide to Simulations, Computer Games, and Pedagogy in e-Learning and Other Educational Experiences”:

“FIVE BLIND PEOPLE were walking down a path. They stumbled upon something that none of them had ever experienced before, an educational simulation. They each tried to describe it to the others.

“It is a class. People sit down and learn important ideas,” said the first.
“I don’t think so,” said the second. “It’s a computer game. It moves quickly, it involves a mouse, and requires my complete attention.”
“No,” said a third, “It can be used with a class, but it’s more like a book. It can be sold anywhere in the world. It is scalable–hundreds of thousands can engage it at the same time.”
“What are you talking about?” asked the fourth. “It is like a pill. It is a compact package of intellectual property that improves quality of life.”
“I beg to differ,” said the fifth. “It is more like a gym. It requires the users to work hard and sweat and put in hours to tone themselves.”

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LEARNT BELATEDLY after bible class last Sat how to put Avantgo channels into my Tungsten E. My ‘teacher’ was an old man who called himself GMGW (general manager – general worker) and who taught himself all kinds of things — including how to transfer daily updates from the Web into his PDA. Read the rest of this entry »

DAY TWO of a three-day seminar on Design-Based Research (DBR) by Asst Professor Christopher Hoadley. Intriguing, mind-boggling, relevant, complex, and “aren’t we already doing this in the industry?” (albeit with less rigor). Not surprising perhaps.

DBR subscribes to the sociotechnical systems theory and the activity theory. It studies learning in context, taking into account the impact of contextual factors on the measured outcomes of specific interventions (which in turn are based on certain theories, hypotheses or methodologies). It integrates design practices and academic research, so as to make the outcomes both relevant and rigorous for all stakeholders — teachers, students, researchers, designers and policy makers. Somewhat like Action Research (Lewin, 1946) with a contextual and design focus, as well as a longitudinal and multi-party view. Read the rest of this entry »

An adapted extract from an article in Education World, 2001:

SIXTH-GRADE teacher Ellen Berg desperately wanted to show her students the true meaning of a fairy tale, but [how to] organize an activity that would encourage them to develop their own definition of the term, willingly? The “jigsaw method” provided the backdrop for the dynamic and engaging lesson that her students still recall!

Berg began by having her students divide into five equal groups, each with one fairy tale to read: “The Ugly Duckling,” “Snow White,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” or “The Three Little Pigs.” Each was responsible for collecting information such as: Who are the characters in the story? Where does the story take place? What are the major events of the story? Are there any supernatural events? If so, what are they?

After the students read, discussed, and recorded the above information, one person from each fairy tale assembled in a new jigsaw group. Each spent three minutes to tell the other new members the story they read and researched. After that, every group created a poster and gave a presentation addressing two points: (1) What do all five stories have in common? (2) Using what you found in common, write your own definition for a fairy tale. Read the rest of this entry »