Peter Skillen's Public Library

Are adults naturally self-directed learners?
Posted on May 26, 2012 | 4 Comments
This is an intriguing question that I have been pondering for years.

Stephen Brookfield in this paper on self-directed learning concludes:

A view of learning which regards human beings as self-contained, volitional beings scurrying around in individual projects, is one that works against cooperative and collective impulses. Citing self-direction, people can deny the importance of collective action, common interests and their basic human interdependence in favor of an obsessive focus on the self.

mindfulness self-efficacy self-directed

Some of you know me through my work in studying how social media and disruptive technology impact business and culture. Others have worked with me in translating insights into action and change within the enterprise.  Every now and then, I share another side of myself that evokes the aspiring social scientist in me as I explore how all of this is affecting us as individuals and human beings.
Not a day goes by when I’m not asked about whether or not the social media bubble will finally burst.

information_literacy information_overload information mindfulness

I do VRPR (virtual reality public relations) for a state of the future company called The Vivid Group. Our product is the Mandala Virtual Reality System.

Techsplanation: What is Mandala?

Standing in front of a video monitor, a camera instantly displays your entire body onto that monitor so that, as if in a mirror, you view yourself in a "virtual environment." When you move, your discarnate body on the monitor moves and, thanks to a computer linked to a real-time digitizer, you can manipulate and interact with the icons, graphics and animations around you. For example, if there is a drum kit in front of you, you could reach out to where your video-self could beat the animated skin. This will trigger the appropriate sound in real time. It is unencumbered VR -- you don't have to wear or hold anything. With this exciting, particular interpretation of the VR concept, The Vivid Group is a world leader in the field of virtual reality.

mandala vincent jon vincent vivid videogames learning

COCA is a network of Education leaders committed to the exploration of the instructional use of technology.  Our membership includes CIOs, Coordinators, Consultants and teachers from school boards through out south central Ontario.

Meetings take place 4 times a year.  Once a year a conference or retreat have also been organized.

coca

100 Time-Saving Search Engines for Serious Scholars

By Staff Writers

While burying yourself in the stacks at the library is one way to get some serious research done, with today’s technology you can do quite a bit of useful searching before you ever set foot inside a library. Undergraduates and grad students alike will appreciate the usefulness of these search engines that allow them to find books, journal articles and even primary source material for whatever kind of research they’re working on and that return only serious, academic results so time isn’t wasted on unprofessional resources.

Search Research searchengines resources Scholars

Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It is used primarily in photography, filmmaking and architecture. It manipulates human visual perception through the use of scaled objects and the correlation between them and the vantage point of the spectator or camera

photography perspective

The appearance of collaboration tools such as blogs, wikis, social media, and video games has altered the way individuals and organizations relate to one another.[i] There is no longer any need to wait on professionals to share material and report on new developments.  Today, people communicate directly in an unmediated and unfiltered manner.

mindfulness gamification learning video games Brookings

Rather than using computers to help children learn, one group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, is far more interested in using children to help computers learn. It’s not the child-slavery proposition that it sounds like. In cognitive development labs at the university, psychologists are using puppets, flashing toys, lollipops, and a variety of other tools to determine how young children--some not even talking yet--make calculations in their head that help them understand the world around them. By studying how the kids’ fast-growing brains process information, the psychologists and their computer-scientist colleagues hope to create computers that think and react in more human-like ways.

mindfulness teaching

Augmented Reality: Coming Soon to a School Near You?

Augmented Reality mobile learning education

ARIS is a user-friendly, open-source platform for creating and playing mobile games,
tours and interactive stories. Using GPS and QR Codes, ARIS players experience
a hybrid world of virtual interactive characters, items, and media placed in physical space.

Augmented Reality augmented_reality mobile gaming iphone learning

A New Organizational Learning Goal: the Accrual of Awareness
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I talked to Toby Daniels, co-founder of Social Media Week, the global multi-city conference, on the subject of cross-functional collaboration and how this is impacting the future of how people learn.

organizational learning forbes John seely brown

TLLP 2012

What's the Big Idea?

“Contemporary research on consciousness in neuroscience rests on unquestioned but highly questionable foundations. Human nature is no less mysterious now than it was a hundred years ago," writes philosopher Alva Noë in his book Out of Our Heads.

mindfulness

edublogs iicti

MARIO KART WII LITERACY & MATH RESEARCH PROJECT RESULTS...
Originally, as per my last post, I was supposed to bring the Wii project to another Gr. 2 class--instead I got an email from my school board indicating that my project needed to be finalized so it could be presented during Education Week.

videogames learning

Digital Game-Based Learning
Chapter 1
The Digital Game-Based 
Learning Revolution
 by Marc Prensky

videogames learning gamification

WHY MINECRAFT?

Every day, more and more teachers are using the world-building game Minecraft to engage and educate. The game is a true phenomenon and gamers young and old are using it in countless creative ways. Practitioners of Games Based Education have realized the potential and have embraced Minecraft in classrooms around the world. Now you can too!

Minecraft education videogames

Minecraft in the Classroom is a recent addition to the field of game-based learning. It is a sandbox game where players can create and build, fight off enemies and explore vast landscapes. As is the nature of sandbox games, players can roam free, choosing objectives as they go. Because Minecraft has such open possibilities and potential, the teacher can choose how he or she wants to use it. Just as the student has the ability to be creative, the teacher has the same. That can be overwhelming, but luckily, there is a tool for using Minecraft created by teachers for teachers.

minecraft videogames classroom learning

I used Second Life to collaborate with fellow students from around the world during my time at Harvard. We set up chat sessions, drew out wireframe sketches for various projects, and basically made learning a bit more like a video game.

So if you’re considering the usage of virtual worlds like Second Life, check out this terrific presentation from David W. Deeds on Slideshare.

virtual worlds gaming videogames education