What Can You Learn from a Cell Phone? Almost Anything!

One and a half billion people, all over the world, are walking around with powerful computers in their pockets and purses. The fact is they often do not realize it, because they call them something else. But today's high-end cell phones have the computing power of a mid-1990s personal computer (PC)—while consuming only one one-hundredth of the energy. Even the simplest, voice-only phones have more complex and powerful chips than the 1969 on-board computer that landed a spaceship on the moon. In the United States, it is almost universally acknowledged that computers are essential for 21st-century students. To most educators "computer " means a PC, a laptop, or, in some instances, a personal digital assistant (PDA); cell phones, on the other hand, are more often regarded as bothersome distractions to the learning process. However, it is time to begin thinking of our cell phones as computers—even more powerful in some ways than their bigger cousins. Both have microchips and perform logical functions. The main difference is that the phones began with, and still have, small size, radio transmission, and communication as their core features, expanding out toward calculation and other functions. This has happened at precisely the same time as the calculation machines we call computers have expanded into communication and other areas. Clearly the two are headed toward meeting in the middle; when all the miniaturization problems have been solved, the result will be tiny, fully featured devices that we carry around (or perhaps have implanted i

Students as designers and creators of educational computer games: Who else

Abstract In the companion article, Spirit of the Game: Empowering Students as Designers in Schools?, author Cher Ping Lim puts forth strong arguments supporting the creation and use of curricular, educational games in our schools and education. His essay ends with the question 'Can students build such games?' This paper responses to this question and provides examples of how students can design and build games within the school curriculum to enhance engagement in the classrooms. Two approaches are suggested: Mini-game-based curriculum and complex game for entire course

Por qué los defensores del “aprendizaje a lo largo la vida” están en lo cierto solo a medias

Many currently promote a new need for Life-Long Learning in the future distinguishing it from the older model of learn once and then work. We argue that while life-long learning may indeed happen for many, it is not a useful goal. A far better goal is Life-Long Accomplishment, since, outside of academia, humans learn in order to accomplish. Too many assume that if people learn things, accomplishment will automatically follow, but this is false. Although learning new things is certainly a piece of what is needed in a changing world, it is far better to focus people on why, for instance, what do they want to accomplish?  Focusing on the continuation of learning throughout life, and not on the accomplishments it leads to is, in many cases, self-serving for those who see themselves in the learning business. Life-Long Learning leaves unasked and unanswered the question of to what end. The world does not need life-long learners, however the world needs people who can get things done and learn whatever they need as they do. Focusing people only (or even primarily) on the goal of learning gives a false idea of what is truly needed for in the 21st century, and therefore deserves only partial credit as a useful solution.Actualmente se habla con frecuencia de una nueva necesidad de aprendizaje permanente, distinguiéndolo del modelo precedente basado en primero aprender y luego trabajar. Argumentamos que, si bien el aprendizaje permanente puede desarrollarse, no es un objetivo útil. Una meta mucho mejor es el logro de por vida, ya que, fuera de la academia, los humanos aprenden para lograr. Demasiados asumen que si las personas aprenden cosas, el logro seguirá automáticamente, y esto argumentamos que es falso. Aunque aprender cosas nuevas es ciertamente una parte de lo que se necesita en un mundo cambiante, es mucho mejor enfocar a las personas en por qué, por ejemplo, ¿qué quieren lograr? Enfocarse en la continuación del aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida, y no en los logros a los que conduce es, en muchos casos, egoísta para aquellos que se ven a sí mismos en el negocio del aprendizaje. El aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la vida deja sin plantear y sin respuesta la pregunta de con qué fin. El mundo no necesita aprendices de por vida, sino que el mundo necesita personas que puedan hacer las cosas y aprender todo lo que necesitan mientras lo hacen. Centrar a las personas solo (o incluso principalmente) en el objetivo de aprender da una idea falsa de lo que realmente se necesita en el siglo XXI, por lo que esta idea solo merece un crédito parcial como solución útil

Lest they forget:exploring commemoration and remembrance through games and digital technologies

The centennial of the First World War has encouraged a wide range of projects to commemorate the participants and communities affected by the conflict. This chapter considers how games and interactivity can be used to enhance commemoration and remembrance with new audiences. The digital commemorations undertaken for the Battle of Loos, and as part of the wider “Great War Dundee” project, are discussed. Emphasis is placed on how game design techniques and technology were utilized to plan an empathy game and then further developed into the interactive documentary and visualization, Loos: The Fallen Fourth. The chapter concludes with a consideration of how these narratives engaged with the community and helped shape a wider understanding. The digital components of this project can be accessed via greatwardundee.com and greatwardundee.itch.io

Digital habits and competences of health professionals the Health Area East of Málaga−Axarquía (Málaga)

Las competencias en lectura y escritura digital -que se engloban en la Alfabetización Informacional- son imprescindibles para participar plenamente en la sociedad del conocimiento y afrontar nuevos esquemas y enfoques en los procesos educativos, para poder afrontar los retos de una sociedad global cada vez más exigente tecnológicamente. Las plataformas de formación e investigación, así como la aparición de medios y dispositivos digitales que dan acceso a Internet y permiten la gestión, generación y difusión de la información, están produciendo cambios en los hábitos de lectura y escritura hasta el punto de encontrarnos en un nuevo paradigma de intervención donde la traslación a lo digital es ineludible e irrevocable. Nos interesa conocer los cambios que se están produciendo y cómo se está produciendo la transición hacia el consumo y uso de la información digital entre los usuarios de las bibliotecas de ciencias de la salud, ya que éstas son proveedoras pioneras de acceso a los medios digitales para los usuarios de la información. Conocer las prácticas de lectura, escritura y gestión de la información de los profesionales sanitarios del Área de Salud Este de Málaga. Se utilizó un enfoque metodológico de investigación mixto mediante el uso de técnicas de investigación cualitativas y cuantitativas en diferentes etapas. Se incluyó un estudio exhaustivo del estado del conocimiento científico sobre lectura y escritura digital, Alfabetización Informática/Digital, plataformas virtuales para la Gestión de la Formación, Ecosistema de Libros Electrónicos, Entornos Personales de Aprendizaje y Gestión del Conocimiento. Recogeremos información sobre los profesionales en cuanto a su desempeño en sus funciones profesionales y personales mediante un cuestionario específicamente diseñado. La muestra de la población está formada por 1.300 miembros del personal que trabajan en todas las categorías de trabajo implicadas. Como resultado, esperamos poder establecer un diagnóstico de la situación actual, que permita diseñar un plan de acción dirigido a potenciar la alfabetización digital específicamente en los profesionales sanitarios

The rise of the citizen author: Writing within social media

The concept of the citizen author is defined and explored within the publishing industry. In order to understand what positions the citizen author currently, and potentially could, hold it begins with a historical view of their rise, including concepts of their eighteenth century antecedents. But the focus of this research is on their growth alongside that of social media platforms. This allows for drawing out relationships between genre fiction, publishers, and the citizen author, which provides a more full understanding of the power dynamics involved when publishers, social media, and the citizen authors mix in the current industry climate.N/