Informal Learning

Created by OnePlusYou

I’ve been thinking recently about the question of what “knowledge” actually is these days, and what form examinations will take in the future.  It’s so incredibly easy to find something out using the Internet, that fact-based recall has become, in some ways, a useless ability.  How this affects us in the future is something for the policy makers to consider when writing the next set of assessment criteria.

I came across this article via Lifehacker today, which delves deeper in the changes that websearch is making to the way we think, and ultimately, to the way we’re going to be educated in future.

College@Home just posted a list of the 25 best games that involve learning in some way.  The list is nicely categorised, and while some of the selections are predictable, the sheer number and detailed explanation makes this a handy post indeed.
Virtual Learning: 25 Best Sims and Games for the Classroom (College@Home)

Children in hospitals across the USA will soon have access to Xbox 360 consoles, complete with a private version of Xbox Live thanks to Microsoft and Companions in Courage.

Full Story.

That’s right!  I thought the days were gone where pupils could have an active input into the running of school networks, trust has just about evaporated in most places, so how about this?

Over at Jay Cross’ site you can find this excellent poster summarising the key areas of informal learning.

Here is a delightful general knowledge game from the BBC.

I was never into D&D myself, although a lot of the things I did enjoy, like the Fighting Fantasy books, were obviously inspired by it,  Gary Gygax’s death this week has prompted a lot of discussion, here is an excellent comment from a Kotaku post:

Gary Gygax’s Video Gaming Legacy
Comment by: Islandkiwi

“I owe this man a lot. When I was a kid in the late 70’s - early 80’s, D&D was a new kind of experience. Playing it with my friends allowed us to puzzle-solve, deduce logically, and think creatively. I mean, you could create your own stories. We branched out to Gamma World, Top Secret, then there were the new games like Ultima and…what was that car one, we friggin’ loved that game.The point I’m trying to make is that D&D opened a creative door that got me and my friends thinking, rather than being mindless hooligans we became thoughtful hooligans. The result has been an explosion of sci-fi/fantasy books, games, and movies. From a more personal perspective it allowed so many of us to think…we always think learning takes place in the classroom, but for many of us learning also took place in small groups, with small statues and dice.

I stopped playing sometime in intermediate school, but I went on to college and law school and became the man I am today. Games like D&D encouraged creativity and critical thinking, and I personally believe that the experience of putting my brain to use helped me get to where I am today. And it’s funny, even twenty years later I can still recall some of those missions I played with my friends. They were good times, and I thank Mr. Gygax for inviting us all to play.”

Two great links here from the TES Forum, thanks to “madcat” over there for finding them.

First up is a free e-book “Snake Wrangling for Kids”   aimed at kids and beginners who want to begin to learn to program.

Second up is The LiveWires Python Course  also aimed at kids, but accessible to anyone.

That second link is part of the LiveWires Technical Activity Holiday for 12-15s, which I confess I hadn’t heard of before, but it certainly looks interesting.

After this week’s earthquake in the UK I discovered a game called Stop Disasters, which is hosted by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, who I confess I hadn’t heard of before this week.

The game aims to educate players on the impact of different types of disasters on communities around the world, and was received favourably by students when we used it as a model to demonstrate the benefits of running simulaitions.

http://www.stopdisastersgame.org/en/