Archived DML Competition blog

Yes, you will be able to watch the recording of th...

2011-09-12T10:12:03.456-04:00

Yes, you will be able to watch the recording of the event at the same address as the live web cast.

Thanks for your interest!

Really would like to attend, but time zone does no...

2011-09-11T06:03:02.994-04:00

Really would like to attend, but time zone does not match mine. Will there be a recording available to view later?

Voting in the People's Choice Awards (for both...

2010-05-13T10:36:54.220-04:00

Voting in the People's Choice Awards (for both Learning Labs and Game Changers) will start after the judge-selected Game Changers are announced.

When will voting open for the Learning Labs catego...

2010-05-12T08:34:04.831-04:00

When will voting open for the Learning Labs category? Thanks!

Also note the EXCELLENT product placement, three a...

2010-02-12T08:59:46.060-05:00

Also note the EXCELLENT product placement, three adorable kids in www.hastac.org t-shirts, front and back. And LBP too. The snow day was really fun for the HASTAC adult team too. It was great to have the kids around for a day.

I certainly made a last day snafu and sent my appl...

2010-01-22T10:57:45.741-05:00

I certainly made a last day snafu and sent my application with an email address that doesn't seem to work yet. (Due university merge at 1.1.2010, our emails should change, but seemingly not yet) I left a note explaining the situation using your contact form, but I am still quite worried. Please reply with email (working address is in contact-note) or reply to this comment if everything will be fine or if I should resend the application while there is still time.

Jukka Purma, Aalto University, Finland

Hi, Charles, Thanks for your interest in the Dig...

2010-01-19T11:49:03.730-05:00

Hi, Charles,

Thanks for your interest in the Digital Media and Learning Competition!

The first round of the Competition requires information about the primary applicant and collaborators (if applicable), a title, 50 word brief description and a longer 300 word description of your project.

Please note that the structure of this year's Competition includes a period (January 22-February 22) during which applications are posted publicly for public comment. This will be a good opportunity for you to leverage the wisdom of the crowds and strengthen your application based on public feedback, as well as find other collaborators for your project. Similarly, you will be able to view other people's applications and may find one that you would like to collaborate on.

After the final submission of all preliminary applications on February 15th, a panel of expert judges will be reviewing all applications and selecting those that best meet the criteria of the Competition. These applicants will be invited to round two of the Competition.

During the second round, applicants will create a three minute video of any style, including a verbal pitch, story narrative, dramatic rendering, or machinima-style demo, etc. that will "pitch" their project and provides more in-depth information. Applicants will also be required to submit a budget and budget narrative as part of Round Two.

I hope this clarifies.

Best,
Mandy

Hi, Will you be asking for a detailed application...

2010-01-16T00:11:48.699-05:00

Hi,

Will you be asking for a detailed application at a later point or will this contest be decided mainly on what we state in 300 words?

Thanks.

Charles

Exactly. No argument. These are not mutually excl...

2010-01-02T11:08:08.177-05:00

Exactly. No argument. These are not mutually exclusive by any means, or should not be, but I am suggesting that NCLB (and others too, such as some college admissions offices) place too much emphasis on one form of standardized testing. I'm not against testing per se but only the belief that one kind of test reveals all there is to reveal about knowledge. I agree entirely that innovative approaches should be multiple in emphasis and in assessment. We've gone way too much in one direction and it may be that encouraging right answers postulated in a particular form does not encourage process-oriented scientific thinking and the experimental method (including trial and error and other forms of iterative thinking. I am suggesting that, if we have a crisis in STEM interest, we should think about what we are doing to model and reward and, most important, inspire true scientific thinking.

It sounds like teaching is being confused with tes...

2009-12-31T11:00:36.942-05:00

It sounds like teaching is being confused with testing. It is the fault of the system that teachers teach to the test and only the test. I see no conflict between a child being able to answer factual multiple choice questions and critical thinking. I'm sure Einstein could tell you which element had how many electrons, or what force applied in this or that situation. He had to understand gravity and all the calculations to know and verify that they were indeed wrong. He set up the experiments according to traditional methods to prove it.

Evaluation on a mass and standardized scale has its benefits. Instead, it is the system and method of teaching that fails to incorporate and accomodate both. Innovative approaches can do both.

Hi DaveB, if you are interested in contributing to...

2009-12-21T12:38:07.041-05:00

Hi DaveB, if you are interested in contributing to an open source learning game initiative, the 21st Century Learning Lab Designers category may be for you: "The 21st Century Learning Lab Designers category is for learning environments and digital media-based experiences that allow young people to grapple with social challenges through activities based on the social nature, contexts, and ideas of science, technology, engineering and math. Digital media of any type (social networks, games, virtual worlds, mobile devices or others) may be used. Proposals are also encouraged for curricula or other experiences that link or connect to any game. Learning labs may be designed around new games or expand the potential of open source or commercial games."

The Game Changers category is specifically in association with two of the world's most popular commercial games, focusing on ways to build learning components into those popular games. Many of the projects funded by the Digital Media and Learning Initiative by the MacArthur Foundation are, indeed, open source. This one happens to be an experiment between a Foundation, commercial, and public interests on behalf of digital media and learning.

This a cheesy baldfaced promotion of commercial vi...

2009-12-19T16:52:15.068-05:00

This a cheesy baldfaced promotion of commercial video-game equipment. It's little more than product placement. Would that the MacArthur Foundation had the sense to support free and open source software approaches to "Game Changers" - that would really be game-changing. Too bad, the MacArthur brand is tarnished by this.

This is a marvellous initiative, producing educati...

2009-12-16T19:23:50.140-05:00

This is a marvellous initiative, producing educational environments is like games as they in turn have become like movie films being full scale productions. Still some way to go for 'procedurally generated content' you hope....
Peter Jones
http://hodges-model.blogspot.com/
Hodges' Health Career - Care Domains - Model
http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/
h2cm: help2Cmore - help-2-listen - help-2-care
http://twitter.com/h2cm

Yes, this year's Competition is accepting appl...

2009-12-16T16:33:09.357-05:00

Yes, this year's Competition is accepting applications from outside of the United States. Please note that individuals applying from outside the United States must apply as part of an organization or institution.

Thanks for your interest!

Okay, and since not everybody is enthralled by tra...

2009-12-14T19:56:51.251-05:00

Okay, and since not everybody is enthralled by trains... just look at the popularity of fantasy sports leagues. Look at all the strategy taking place. You don't just calculate stats, you need to predict what will happen the following week. You need to see if the particular type of runner or passer will perform against the style of defense of the next team. this takes real analysis. Should you make the substitute? Will the game be close and require a field goal kicker instead of another position player (thinking the field goal kicker will see more action in a close game).

All this requires the testable questions of figuring out statistics - yards divided by carries, passing completion percentages, etc., done within the larger context of strategy and big picture thinking.

Another benefit of using the video game structure ...

2009-12-14T19:23:47.732-05:00

Another benefit of using the video game structure for teaching is that you can do BOTH multiple choice testing and big picture thinking, collaboration, and analytic decision making all at once therefore making "testing" and 21st century learning possible at the same time.

For example: Imagine running a railroad yard where goods are transported through your junction for delivery to many local industries. And conversely, finished products and raw materials need to be picked up from your local industries for distribution outbound.

The student must develop a big picture concept of industries that need raw materials on time, just in time maybe, and others that have less immediate needs. Some that have perishable goods and others that don't. So the player will have to juggle the priority of trains that need to stop and drop off cars at particular stations. There also is a limited supply of fuel and engines to do the picking up and dropping off of cars as well as limited track space for storage. Optimization of this process is the goal.

Tracking the decisions the player makes at each step is like a multiple choice question. In fact, a well designed game makes this a question: YardMaster asks - "How many refrigerator cars do we need for industry x?" The student checks the cargo sheet and sees how many cars are needed - division! If you literally want to make it multiple choice, you put 3 cars on track 1, 5 cars on track 2, and 7 cars on track 3 and ask which track we need to use for the next delivery.

A good simulation then presents more dynamic situations that call for big picture and strategic thinking. For example - you can put cars closer to the industry than others, or you can have empty cars coming in being dropped off by a different train, or potentially delay the shipment splitting it into two different pickups with later deliveries.

Bottom line is, you can test for specific knowledge (division, addition, multiplication, time calculations, weight of goods, speed, fuel consumption, all kinds of things) within a bigger picture scenario that creates 21st century perspective and learning (collaboration happens with a yardmaster and several engineers and industry managers).

The future of education satisfies BOTH the need for testing and evaluation within a big picture, collaborative, strategic thinking framework.

What sets video games apart as an amazingly succes...

2009-12-14T18:56:05.621-05:00

What sets video games apart as an amazingly successful teaching tool is that they make failing fun. Think of a racing game. What's the first thing everyone wants to do? CRASH!!! But that's technically "failure". But the video game doesn't scold you, instead it rewards you by letting see explosions, fall over a cliff (which you never get to really do by the way), flipping and crunching your car.

But what has this really done? While failing you may have learned a little about the physics of certain environmental objects, the reaction of other cars, or that the game let's you start over right there instead of going all the way back. These are little nuggets that the player learns will actually help them down the line - crashing into a car may help you turn faster for example.

Bottom line is, making failure fun actually stimulates the risk taking and exploratory attitudes of the player without extinguishing the desire to accomplish the "goal". Eventually, the player is done exploring, wants more of a challenge and enjoys pushing the car to its limits without going off the track.

Making failure fun is what makes the video game model for teaching so effective.

Elegant! Thanks. I'm in the process of design...

2009-12-14T01:53:34.169-05:00

Elegant!

Thanks. I'm in the process of designing immersive, interactive learning environments. This is a great foundation and inspiration for a conceptual approach.

Marv Lyons

Here are url's for four of Howard's blogs ...

2009-12-01T09:56:22.635-05:00

Here are url's for four of Howard's blogs on 21st Century Literacies:

Crap Detection 101: http://tiny.cc/uxmLI

Mindful Infotention: http://tiny.cc/tuGBn

Attention Literacies http://tiny.cc/MHBfS

Twitter Literacies http://tiny.cc/vvD8s

Can people from other countries help? I am frmo Br...

2009-11-26T13:25:20.971-05:00

Can people from other countries help? I am frmo Brazil.